Help!! advice needed about orange line (Boston, Cambridge: renting, neighborhoods, place to live)

[bostoncoffee]

My partner and I are moving closer to Boston due to my new job.
We've tentatively decided on renting in Melrose due primarily to a combination of budget and commuter time. I was initially quite happy about the move, but lately have been hearing awful stories about the orange line. (I'll be doing a daily commute from oakgrove station to north station and my hours are erratic - 7-8am starts and 6-7pm finishing time.
Can anyone please tell me whether the commute on that section of the orange line is safe at those times (bearing in mind there are days when I will finish at 7-730pm)?
Our other alternative is arlington, but it is a bit pricier than we would ideally like, plus I would need to take the T and the bus.
Would be very grateful for any advice !!!

[Cantabridgienne]

You will be travelling during normal rush hour with thousands of other people doing the same. I don't think everyone else considers their daily commute to taking their lives into their own hands, so odds are, you won't either.

[bostoncoffee]

Thanks
Can you tell me whether Melrose as a town is a nice place to live in compared to places like Cambridge/ Somerville/ Arlington?

[Cantabridgienne]

Melrose is suburban; Cambridge and Somerville are urban. I much prefer the latter, personally. Arlington is somewhere in between.

[MassVt]

Melrose is just fine as a suburb; lots of very pleasant neighborhoods..

The Orange Line from Oak Grove to North Station is also very safe, as well, so no worries..

Melrose and Somerville are pretty much "opposites"; Somerville is very dense and urban, while Melrose is basically a very nice pre-WW2 streetcar suburb, and compares very favorably to Somerville, in my mind..

With Cambridge, I would say that some of Cambridge's neighborhoods are superior to Melrose, but many are rougly equivalent; Cambridge is more urban, however..

[NotAPrincess]

Originally Posted by bostoncoffee

Thanks
Can you tell me whether Melrose as a town is a nice place to live in compared to places like Cambridge/ Somerville/ Arlington?

It's kind of apples and oranges. Melrose and to some extent Arlington are much more suburban than Somerville and Cambridge. Depends what you want.

[wxjay]

I have taken the Orange Line for Bruins/Celtics games. I never felt unsafe on it.

[MassVt]

Just to be accurate--other parts of the Orange Line aren't so great, but they're at the other end of the line, near Forest Hills. The segment from North Station to Oak Grove is perfectly safe.

[bostoncoffee]

Thanks very much everyone for all the really helpful comments.
I feel a lot better about commuting from Oakgrove to North station now. As to Melrose as neighbourhood, ideally we would like some place in between urban and the suburbs, so sounds like Melrose scores lower on those points, so will give that some more thought.

[Beantown_mama]

The part of the Orange Line north from North Station (towards Oak Grove) is perfectly safe. I've commuted at night after games at the Garden and felt safe. Melrose is a great little town which is a great mix of urban and suburban. They just added 2 really nice cafes on Main Street.