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Old 09-30-2015, 10:29 AM
 
12 posts, read 13,677 times
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So I currently work in an office near the intersection of 9 & 128 on the border between Wellesley & Newton. My wife is considering a job on the north shore. As far as we can tell, the only way this will work without unbearable driving commutes is if we live by North Station so she can commuter rail up north and I can do a combo D green line/car commute.

Is this possible? I'd be taking the C from North Station to Park St, the D to Elliot/Waban/Woodland, and then my car the last 5-10 minutes. In the summer I would street park overnight & in the winter (during the on-street ban) I'd pay the $6-7 overnight at the MBTA lots. I'm estimating this would be a 55 min commute, but at least most of it is not me driving in awful Pike traffic outbound. I have no idea how crowded/the reliable the D is reverse commuting, though. Any ideas?

Otherwise, I guess I drive & just put up with 45 min of traffic + pay for central Boston parking

Last edited by skiingavocado; 09-30-2015 at 11:50 AM..
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Old 09-30-2015, 11:44 AM
 
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This is a horrible idea.
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Old 09-30-2015, 11:48 AM
 
12 posts, read 13,677 times
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Originally Posted by Dm84 View Post
This is a horrible idea.
I figured that might be the case. Where's the weak link?

Look like I'm driving!
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Old 09-30-2015, 11:48 AM
 
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My wife got a great job offer. I decided I'd rather her be right next to work and just me have the long commute. We wanna start a family so this just made the most sense to me that her work home and daycare would all be right next to each other one day. My commute is about 78 miles each way, straight shot on the Turnpike. Cost is upwards of $27 a day (this was a wash as my wife no longer has a commute). Some days I just zone out and it only takes like an hour and 10 mins and I'm at work before I even know it. Other days I hit traffic and next thing I know I'm in the car for 2 hours. The amount of miles I'm putting on my car is killing me as I know the resale value is just disappearing each week. Would I do it again?? Yeeeeaaa probably, but I'm not gonna lie like it doesn't suck.
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Old 09-30-2015, 11:53 AM
 
3,176 posts, read 3,693,252 times
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Originally Posted by skiingavocado View Post
I figured that might be the case. Where's the weak link?

Look like I'm driving!
The idea that you can just leave a car on random side streets every night is questionable. Eventually people will become suspicious. Similarly overnight parking in Riverside could be problematic in the winter due to snow removal.
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Old 09-30-2015, 11:55 AM
 
12 posts, read 13,677 times
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Originally Posted by ericp501 View Post
My wife got a great job offer. I decided I'd rather her be right next to work and just me have the long commute. We wanna start a family so this just made the most sense to me that her work home and daycare would all be right next to each other one day. My commute is about 78 miles each way, straight shot on the Turnpike. Cost is upwards of $27 a day (this was a wash as my wife no longer has a commute). Some days I just zone out and it only takes like an hour and 10 mins and I'm at work before I even know it. Other days I hit traffic and next thing I know I'm in the car for 2 hours. The amount of miles I'm putting on my car is killing me as I know the resale value is just disappearing each week. Would I do it again?? Yeeeeaaa probably, but I'm not gonna lie like it doesn't suck.
It looks like we're in similar situations, though I'm at least asking the wife to take a quiet commuter train for 35 min to knock a little time off my drive/ride. No kids yet, so that may change haha.

Glad to know someone else has toughed out something similar, though. Her job offer is great and worth some pain... but I like my current job too!
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Old 09-30-2015, 12:01 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,804,851 times
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Terrible idea for both of you to take public transportation into the suburbs. Best to just live somewhere between Waltham and Lexington so you both can drive. Her commute will be a breeze going up 128. Going down to Rt-9 is a bear, so you should live closer to Wellesley if possible. I'm assuming you can afford any town along 128 if you can afford an apartment near North Station.
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Old 09-30-2015, 12:03 PM
 
12 posts, read 13,677 times
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Originally Posted by Dm84 View Post
The idea that you can just leave a car on random side streets every night is questionable. Eventually people will become suspicious. Similarly overnight parking in Riverside could be problematic in the winter due to snow removal.
Yeah the lots filling up was a big concern. Especially during winter and when people do Park & Ride for Sox games. What do you mean by suspicious, though? From what I can tell, Newton is 2 hour parking during the day but no restrictions overnight in the summer. Is there some rule that you need to be a resident too?
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Old 09-30-2015, 12:12 PM
 
12 posts, read 13,677 times
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Originally Posted by Parsec View Post
Terrible idea for both of you to take public transportation into the suburbs. Best to just live somewhere between Waltham and Lexington so you both can drive. Her commute will be a breeze going up 128. Going down to Rt-9 is a bear, so you should live closer to Wellesley if possible. I'm assuming you can afford any town along 128 if you can afford an apartment near North Station.
Splitting a 1BR with someone & two professional jobs makes it pretty easy to afford a modest place in most neighborhoods. Plus we're both from NY originally, so tiny apartments are kinda what we're used to. We'd love to not break the bank, but priority #1 is just finding a location where our two commutes are doable.

I'm quickly finding out that my public transit dreams are probably toast. But what do you see as the problem with my wife taking the Newburyport/Rockport Line? It seems to have pretty frequent service. Good to know a drive north along 128 in the AM is definitely doable too though.
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Old 09-30-2015, 12:36 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,804,851 times
Reputation: 2962
Quote:
Originally Posted by skiingavocado View Post
Splitting a 1BR with someone & two professional jobs makes it pretty easy to afford a modest place in most neighborhoods. Plus we're both from NY originally, so tiny apartments are kinda what we're used to. We'd love to not break the bank, but priority #1 is just finding a location where our two commutes are doable.

I'm quickly finding out that my public transit dreams are probably toast. But what do you see as the problem with my wife taking the Newburyport/Rockport Line? It seems to have pretty frequent service. Good to know a drive north along 128 in the AM is definitely doable too though.
Nothing wrong the commute as long as she works near one of the stations. It's the extra costs that I was referring to as crazy. People take the commuter rail into the city to save on parking costs, but you have free parking if you're commuting to a suburb like Beverly. So you'd be paying around $250/mo for a commuter rail pass and $400/mo for a spot in a parking garage. That's on top of the premium you're paying to live within walking distance of North Station. Being from NYC you probably wouldn't want to live outside the city though, so I can see how you can justify those extra expenses. Many families would love for both spouses to work in the suburbs because they'd be able to live in the suburbs w/o dealing w/the crazy commute into the city.
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