Commute from Boston/Brookline/JP/Dorchester to Mansfield (Newton, Braintree: best neighborhood, apartments)

[vanessa2323]

I will soon be working in the Mansfield/Foxboro area of MA and want to live in a T-accessible area in Boston. I am trying to figure out which neighborhoods will have the best commute. Right now I am considering Brookline, JP, and the Savin Hill area of Dorchester. I am fine having about a 45 minute drive to Mansfield/Foxboro.

My budget is around 1400 (for a 1 bed) and I need off-street parking (willing to pay ~100 more per month if parking is included). I would prefer a safe neighborhood with some restaurants/bars.

Does anyone have experience commuting south to Mansfield/Foxboro? If I live in Brookline, how is commuting on Rt. 9 west to 95 south? Is it slow-moving, will it take me half an hour to get to the highway during rush hour?

Please share any experience commuting south from Brookline, Jamaica Plain or Savin Hill! Or recommend the best neighborhood.

Thank you

[vanessa2323]

Any info about commute times during rush hour from these places would be helpful!!

[jlyang]

Hi,
I remember Rt9W to 95S during rush hour to not be bad...maybe 12-15 minutes from Brookline Village to Rt 9 in the morning. It is often pretty slow and backed up (20-30 minutes) from 95 back to Brookline Village in the evening, though.

Traffic on 95S during morning rush hour is not bad, so would estimate 50-60 mph for the highway stretch of your commute.

Brookline would work better than JP/Dorchester, as you need to get to Rt 95, and from Dorchester you'd have to take 93S, which would be very very slow during rush hour.

If you could live in West Roxbury or Dedham instead that would save you a lot of driving time.

Originally Posted by vanessa2323

Any info about commute times during rush hour from these places would be helpful!!

[shiver]

Brookline - depending on where you live, I'd say average of 20 mins. At least around 8/8:30.

Obviously, the closer you are to Rt. 9, the faster it is. From my personal experience, it backs up a little bit (but not awful) around the Chestnut Hill Mall since cars are merging from the other side of Rt 9 and from Hammond Pond Pkwy. I used to exit Rt 9 at Newton Highlands and traffic was usually getting pretty backed up to 128. I just don't know how long it would take to get through it. Sometimes traffic isn't as bad as it looks.

Actually, you could even exit at Newton Highlands (Winchester St) and take Needham St./Highland Ave all the way down to 128. It's actually a little more direct. Again, I just don't know how backed up the end of the Highland Ave gets getting onto 128.

For me, I worked off of Needham Street for a few months. Leaving Coolidge Corner around 8:10 or so and via Rt 9 (would catch it at Cypress St), I averaged about 25 minutes to get to work.

[Bostonmania]

I recommend Brookline, Jamaica Plain, or Braintree. Because they are all close to Boston and have good transportation, and would be a good option if commuting to that area. Apartments in these area's are going to be more expensive though. I have made these trips before, and they don't have bad traffic.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Bostonmania

I recommend Brookline, Jamaica Plain, or Braintree. Because they are all close to Boston and have good transportation, and would be a good option if commuting to that area. Apartments in these area's are going to be more expensive though. I have made these trips before, and they don't have bad traffic.

Not so sure about Braintree. It's very suburban, so from many neighborhoods you'd have to drive to the T. I'm not highly familiar with commuting through that area, but I suspect that getting around the 93-95/128, 128/24 complex of interchanges is likely to be a tough crawl through some heavy traffic.

[lportadin]

I actually travel in the opposite direction, from Mansfield to JP. Obviously, it's a heavier commute going towards Boston, but it typically takes me 1 hour (although I've done it in 30 minutes on a great day and 3+ hours because of an accident on 95).

There is typically no traffic in the opposite direction, so I would bet on a 40-45 minute drive from JP. West Roxbury might be a good option. Will probably cut you down to a half hour.