💸😵‍💫 Young Bostonians have it ROUGH

🚀 Calling all student entrepreneurs! Fetch’s Defeat the Odds Competition is giving college students the chance to pitch their idea and win up to $30,000, expert mentorship, and an onstage spotlight at The Boston Globe’s Tech Innovation Summit. Apply here by March 20.

🥳 Happy Birthday to B-Side Members Chris Lopez and Emma! Celebrating your birthdays is the best idea we’ve ever had. <3

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

It’s not easy to be a recent grad in Boston. From sky-high rent to expensive groceries to a tough job market and low entry-level salaries, it’s hard to afford a life here. So, the Globe asked some Gen Zers how they’re making it work.

Here’s what they said: 

🏠 Living in tight quarters. 26-year-old lawyer Josie Golder could’ve followed her peers and secured a cushy corporate job out of law school, but she took a pay cut to work for the city. To save a few bucks, Golder lives in a 200-square-foot attic in Beacon Hill, where she forks over $1,950 a month for rent, plus $1,000 in student loans. One way she keeps costs down: washing her clothes in the bathtub with a portable laundry system.

🚗 Moving out of the city. After a breakup last year, 28-year-old Ella Halpine considered living alone in Boston, but couldn’t swing it on her $57,000 graphic designer salary and $24,000 of debt. What she can afford is a 450-square-foot studio in Worcester. Though she’s become a fan of the area — especially the library — her new digs mean an exhausting 90-minute commute to the office each way several days a week, and seeing her friends less than she’d like.

💸 Paying their way through school. 21-year-old student Jordan Elliott is studying communications at Emerson and working at an upscale grocery store for $18/hour. He’s hoping to secure a full-time job before he graduates this spring, but with funding cuts to public media, he’s had little success despite applying to over 100 positions. In the meantime, he’s juggling the schedules of his job and work, and often skips meals to save money. 

🚚 Packing it up and leaving. Even with her $67,000 salary as a graphic designer, 27-year-old Paula Ayala López knows she’ll be priced out of the city soon. When she lived in Dorchester, rent rose by $200 every year, forcing her to Brighton, where she pays $1,300 a month for a place with leaky ceilings and a broken carbon monoxide alarm. Though she’d want to stay in Massachusetts, she and her partner will likely leave in the next few years for a place where they can buy a home.

🤔 Want to know more? You can read the full piece here.

🖼️ 📸 Most people leave behind photo albums. Isabella Stewart Gardner left behind a literal museum — and still somehow stayed out of the public eye. She dodged cameras, hid behind veils, and treated her public image like a private Instagram. Now, Picturing Isabella at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is pulling back the curtain, with rare photos, candids, and glimpses of the woman behind the myth you may have never seen before. Grab your tickets now and get to know Boston’s most mysterious curator.

📲 Cambridge is officially OUT on X. On Monday, Cambridge’s City Council moved to ban all city departments from using X (formerly known as Twitter). The idea came from residents concerned about hate speech and weak moderation since Elon Musk took over the platform in 2022. Though some officials are worried about cutting off communication with constituents, the city is pointing them toward its Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, or email newsletter. Technically, the ban won’t go into effect until May, but that didn’t stop the city’s main account from signing off early. 

🐶 It’s dog licensing season, Boston. Yes, that’s a thing! By law, the City of Boston requires you to license your pooch every year by April 1 or face a $50 fine, so consider this your official reminder. The license acts as an ID for your dog, making them easier to find if they get lost. You can get it done online or by mail, but to make things easier, the city is also offering a series of IRL licensing and vaccine clinics, including this weekend. Here are the details.

✈️ Two flight deals in two days? YUP. If yesterday’s Southwest deal wasn’t enough, JetBlue is also offering an epic spring sale on one-way flights. The sale is good for Tuesday and Wednesday flights between April 14 and June 10 with fares starting at $79 (minus a few blackout dates in May). Deals out of Logan include a $79 ticket to Daytona Beach; $94 ticket to Nashville; $119 ticket to LA; and $144 ticket to Aruba. The sale is on through 11:59 p.m. on March 5. Peruse the deals here.

🐻‍❄️ It’s time to take the (polar) plunge. Literally! There are not one, but two polar plunges going down on March 8. Local advocacy group Tomorrow’s Women Today are hosting a plunge at Castle Island at 10 a.m. The $25 registration gets you access to a heated tent pre- and post-plunge, hot chocolate, and a swag bag. Meanwhile, at Eastie’s Constitution Beach, Save The Harbor’s Shamrock Splash will be going down at noon, where $30 will get you hot chowder, brews, and entries for FREE JetBlue tickets. Go forth and plunge!

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Unfortunately, Boston’s top dog names are about as basic as they come. 

Every year, the city releases a list of the most popular names and breeds among registered pups … and every year, we’re a little disappointed with the creativity. Topping 2025’s list: Luna, with 137 registrations, followed by Charlie, Bella, Lucy, and Daisy.

As for the top breeds? Labrador Retrievers won by a mile, with 1,961 registrations. Behind them were Golden Retrievers, Miniature Poodles, Chihuahuas, and German Shepherds. The data tracks with national trends, where labs are the second most popular breed nationwide, behind the French bulldog (which came in 10th on Boston’s list).

You can check out the full list here.

— Written by Gia Orsino

🐶 Thanks for reading! Our suggestions for next year: Fenway Frank, Beans, and Dunkin. Just sayin’!

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, for supporting local journalism and bringing culturally rich experiences to our city. 

🥐 The results are in: It’s neck and neck, but so far, Wildgrain Bakehouse looks like the pick for this month’s B-Side Certified, with 29% of the vote. One reader said: “We can always use more carbs in Somerville!” Amen!

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