Desperate HELP needed with Commute from Acton to Boston (Worcester: live, rail)

[complady]

He could find a 1BR apartment in Quincy for $900. There are 4 red line stops in Quincy which go right into downtown in about 30-35 minutes.

[SoFresh99]

I wish you would have asked the forum before renting in Acton. The situation is untenable without either more time or more money. I would have him spend a diligent week skipping "school" after work and finding a place with 2 roomates near a subway or bus that goes where he needs to go. It will be $900 + utilities but he should be able to ditch the car and car insurance and make up the utilities. Use craigslist and friends at work.

[DK Abba]

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for your replies... ONE MORE HUGE PROBLEM.... SCAM RENTALS!!!!! It seems as if every darn listing I reply to I get an email back explaining how they owner had to leave the country but would be happy to rent to me if I send them money. And I have been using only reputable websites, EVEN real estate company listings and still so MANY SCAMS!! What am I missing???? Thank you

[bler144]

Originally Posted by DK Abba

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for your replies... ONE MORE HUGE PROBLEM.... SCAM RENTALS!!!!! It seems as if every darn listing I reply to I get an email back explaining how they owner had to leave the country but would be happy to rent to me if I send them money. And I have been using only reputable websites, EVEN real estate company listings and still so MANY SCAMS!! What am I missing???? Thank you

Possible you're looking for incredible bargains that don't really exist. Most scammers are looking for easy pickings, and 'too good to be true deals' are a good way to winnow out the sophisticated and patient.

If your son is working 60 hrs/week and isn't making enough to live closer in, well...that's not a good situation coming or going. On the bright side, he should be heading home after rush hour traffic has started to die down.

[timberline742]

If he's young (assumption due to parents doing this) and working that much, just have roommates. There are always people looking for roommates. He'd be closer and save a ton of money. If he works that much its mostly a place to crash.

[SoFresh99]

I have found apartments in Boston online since the dawn of Craigslist and never run into a scam. However deals that look like reasonable rents to YOU (as in someone from afar)are probably scams. He needs roommates so don't even bother with the apartment listings, just do the roommate listings. That will be enough to wade through. Keep in mind however, how it comes across to potential roommates that the parents are doing the contacting and not the kid.

[DreamworksSKG]

He could get a monthly student pass for the commuter rail and take the commuter rail in from South Acton or Littleton...a lot of people who live in the Acton area commute into North Station via the commuter rail. -

Driving by car would be frustrating and take forever, unless he learned the back roads....he would still have toallow at least an hour to get back forth from Boston and that's if there's no heavy traffic.

The Route 2 corridor can be a nightmare driving wise into Boston in the morning and afternoon unless you know all the back routes. to avoid traffic. I would highly recommend getting a GPS Map system in your car so he can access the roadway network easily and learn shortcuts. Also get the Eastern Mass Guide book by Arrow Maps its like $30-40 but worth it and gives you all the back roads and roadways by town in Eastern Mass from North to South Shore and also some of the downtown Boston roadways.

and also download the J4 Traffic app its free. and they are only doing the AM commute for 3 hours now but will hopefully add more times later.

If he needs any shortcut assistance let me know I can help PM me.

I would highly suggest commuting in Via Commuter rail with monthly passes. Its a bit pricey but worth it.

The only other option would be driving route 2 into Alewife every morning which would be like an hour commute with traffic (at best.) maybe 30 min if there's no traffic but allow at least an hour if not a little more even in good weather for traffic delays the Alewife area can get very congested around rush hour. into the garage.. for the RED LINE parking. you'd have to pay $$ to park I the garage every day and then money for Charlie card to put money on for the subway...plus the gas money so it might be more efficient to use the Commuter Rail and save the gas money and frustration time to get in and out.

The commuter rail is usually reliable. Most of the time.

Acton has a station S. Acton and some people use Littleton stop. - from Acton.
should be around 30-40 min into the city via Rail. You can buy monthly passes for the "T" commuter rail. or individual tickets from the machines or ticket windows. They charge extra surcharge and cash only on the Train itself. Some local retail outlets also sell Commuter rail tickets.

Sincerely
Jeff Dearman

[DreamworksSKG]

Overall Acton isn't that had you're halfway between Worcester and Boston and easy access via Back roads to Route 128/95 and route 3 as well as route and the Mass Pike.

I would highly recommend learning the back roads. Drive them on a Sunday and learn the shortcuts. when there's less traffic to get to the Burlington Mall and to businesses in the area, etc. etc. Acton is a very very small town there's a lot of small towns around the area too. so services may have to be driven to.

-jeff-

Overall Acton is a nice place for a small town and people are friendly.

[DreamworksSKG]

But yeah I'd suggest pulling out of the Acton apartment and trying room sharing with multiple roommates. That way you get friends and such and closer into the city. You might try ---Quincy or maybe Medford or Watertown ...also I've seen some apartments for around $900 in Arlington which is a very ice town and has bus access to the "T" stations. on a regular basis. Davis Square in Somerville might be another option to room share with Tufts. Room Sharing might also be an option around Brighton/Allston or Brookline vIllage area.

--- Jeff ---

[DreamworksSKG]

The only option for Acton would be to use commuter rail to get into the city. Driving in would be a hassle...
Acton is quite a ways out from the city closer to Worcester than Boston and he wouldn't get to know as many people.
You might try room sharing!