Commute from Newburyport into Boston (Rockport, Merrimac: appointed, salon, hairstylists)

[mcmommy]

I just had a couple of quick questions. Can anyone tell me how long the commute is from Newburyport into Boston? Also is the town of Newburyport a nice one to raise a family? And how long is the commute from Portsmouth NH into the city of Boston?

Thanks for any information!

[Dragondog]

Newburyport is a very pleasant town to live and raise a family, lots of old brick buildings downtown, very charming. Housing costs are very high however.

Communting to Boston will via either I 95 or U.S 1- distance about 30-35 miles one way. Traffic on I 95 is likely to be heavy at rush hour in both directions.
US 1 will not be a freeway, and have lights, but less traffic.

From Portsmouth add another 21 miles or so to those totals one way.

[mcmommy]

Thanks Dragondog for the info. Could you estimate the driving time for me? I know it depends on rush hour. How long is the driving time for 35 miles during rush hour?

Thanks for the info again, it is helpful for us. We are trying to decide if we want to take a job in Boston, and my family lives in Maine, so we wanted to find a town close enough to Portland and to Boston. We are trying to find a small town feel type of community and Newburyport sounds so charming and safe to raise a family. Do you know what the schools are like in Newburyport?

[4acadia]

Hi Mcmommy,
I sent you a private message re what I've discovered about schools in these two areas...so be sure to check your private messages.

Take care.

[4acadia]

Oh...and from what I've been told and read Portsmouth is about an hour from Boston. Someone did tell me that Newburyport can take 1.15 in rush hour - I don't know if that's accurate or not...just what I was told by someone in MA.

[Dragondog]

Mcmommy

At rush hour from Newburyport I would say at least one hour, during an 'average ' rush hour- perhaps a bit less under favorable conditions and more if the weather is bad or an accident.

I am not sure about the quality of schools in Newburyport- but considering the towns upscale reputation, I think it would be fair to assume they are of good quality.

[mcmommy]

Thanks for all of your information, it is really appreciated!!

[CityGirl52]

Hi,

My dentist is in Newburyport, MA on Forrester St. in a renovated red brick building that used to be a school a long time ago, it's quite nice. It's roughly 8 miles from where I live in NH. I go right by the Newburyport high school all the time to get to this dentist. The building has recently been renovated and they did a beautiful job on it. It looks like they added a new wing to it, they blended it in SO beautiful to the whole area surrounding the school it's where a lot of the beautiful older New Englanders are and the colonials of yesteryear. You can check it out below on this site if city-data lets you, there's a good picture of it on the high school site. You have to see it in person though to really appreciate the beautiful architecture. The picture really doesn't do it justice; if not, then just google newburyport high school and you'll see the picture that way and the whole site is good it's on happenings at the school, who's who and where everything is located. At the top of the page are the various middle schools as well that you could read up on.

www.newburyport.k12.ma.us/high

A good friend of mine raised 4 kids in Newburyport and they all went to the schools there and grew up in the town. They're all over the country living these days and they have a very close knit group of friends to this very day. Like my nieces in NH these kids all grew up together since kindegarden, it's kind of nice to see that to me! It's a beautiful town. You'll see it when you get here and visit the region I'm sure and you'll agree with me I bet. The homes are incredible the closer you get to the town center. Very historical, older and a lot of them are of course on the National Registrar of Historical homes. During the holiday season it's a tradition for us to take rides down to Newburyport to see all the homes lit up at night! They're stunning over the holidays! There's a very strong sense of community there, they place a high value on public schools and on education and one thing you'll notice about Newburyport, they have an inviting Town Center!

Another town that you could look at when you are in the area is Newbury, it's only the next town over from Newburyport. It's also got older homes there and a lot of sub-divisions to drive through, there seems to be a little more land between each house as it's a little more rural. It's pretty nice driving through it all here, you'll pass Newbury and the next town I believe is Groveland, another gem of a town. From Newburyport locate Rte 113 and travel it all the way past the Dunkin Donuts, Market Basket and Shaw's all the way past the C&J Bus Terminal parking lot. Go straight all the way past all of this particular area and you'll be on the overpass of I-95 then as you're driving straight ahead you'll be in the town of Newbury before you know it.

Good luck!

[CityGirl52]

One more thing I forgot to add...Once you leave downtown Boston and head up to Rte 1 north, it's slow driving during rush hour every day but it moves, you know what I mean? Some times when it rains, there's tie ups, but usually it's not that bad. You learn to time things around this area when you're working and driving in and out of Boston. I drove from Boston for over 20 years and when I went back as a consultant down there the Newburyport Commuter Rail opened. It's beautiful. You time that too because the parking fills up. There's always a space though. This train was a God send for me when I worked in Boston that time, it was for a good 4 years. The train left Newburyport every morning promptly at 6 AM and arrived in Boston's North Station at 10 past 7 like clock work. Some times in the winter there would be may be ice on the tracks or the heat wouldn't work on certain cars of the train, things like that, but nothing major. I loved taking that train. There was less wear and tear on the wheels this way, so that's one thing about living in this area that you'll really like and might want to consider. The Whistle Stop in Newburyport at the rotary sells the monthly passes as well as North Station where you walk through the lobby, they sell them there too. You should remember this site, it's going to come in handy for you MBTA dot com. Click on Commuter Rail and you'll see the Newburyport/Rockport line as one of the many routes and the trains schedule each day is on there as well. Driving down to Boston is an alternative of course, you need to think of parking in the City. It can go up to 25 to 35 a day at some of the parking lots. If you want to visit Boston while you're here go to the post office garage site this way POSQUARE DOT COM. You can park down at this garage AFTER 4PM every day; even on weekends for $9.00 and you can leave it there until 8 AM the next morning. The Boston Common Garage is the same way. So remember that and THIS really good, if you parked there all day before that time? It's $32.00 a day; so hold on to your hat and think about that one the next time you want to park in Boston!

When you're in Newburyport, look for Joseph's Winter St. Cafe. On fridays they have a piano player there from 12 to 4 I think it is. The food is the best there. You can just google their site exactly as it appears with Newburyport, MA. We've been to the Black Cow Restaurant located at 54 Merrimac St. a few times, it's GREAT there; it's really fun with a group of friends, it's kind of set up that way, it's noisy on weekends, but it's fun anyway, we like their deck overlooking the harbor. Michael's Harborside is very good located at 1 Tournament Wharf. It's been there for years, but it's very consistant and another fun place to go.

One more thing (honest!) I also have been getting my hair cut at Interlocks Spa & Salon located at 58 Merrimac St. in Newburyport, you'll drive right by it when you're heading in to town, it's a little expensive but they won Best of Boston awards 2 years in a row. I'm fussy when it comes to hairstylists because I lived in Boston and went to really great hairstylists all the time and one thing about Newburyport, they have really good ones here for this "neck of the woods!" You won't be disappointed, there's several to choose from all around town.

Okay I'm done!!!

[mcmommy]

Citygirl52,
Thank you so much for all of that info! You made my day!!! It is so scary thinking of moving to a new city...and you have made me feel so much more reassured about that! I am so glad I joined this website! I will check out all of what you said. THanks again!