Help with rush hour morning traffic please (Boston, Somerville: apartment, rent)

[dhman_06]

I was recently offered and accepted a position with my company in Framingham. I will be relocating from CT and I'm thinking about getting a place in Everett, Malden, or Chelsea area.

I know it'll be a bit hike to work and lot of my friends and colleagues have suggested living in either Framingham/ Natick or Watertown. But being in my mid 20s I think I want to live closer to the city. Medford, Somerville, Watertown are a little out of my budget and Everett, Malden, or Chelsea are more in line with my budget of $800 - $1200/month.

I've heard bad things about Chelsea. So I'm crossing that off my list. Everett seems closer to the city than Malden and rent is a little better than Malden as well (I'm looking at a place near Everett High School for $850!!!). But it seems like the only way to get on I-90 West from Everett is through Route 1A which can be backed up quite a bit in the morning.

So I was wondering if someone else knows of any back-route/ better route for getting on I-90 West from Everett. I'm ok with taking local streets to get on I-90W/ some other highway that can get me on I-90W quickly. Typically I'll be leaving around 7/7:15-ish and need to get into the office by 8:30. But obviously the earlier, the better.


Any input will be appreciated.

[gf2020]

A few things...

1) I would heed the advice of your colleagues and live somewhere closer to work. The morning commute out to Framingham actually won't be too bad, but the drive home will be fairly lousy. My brother-in-law has commuted from Marblehead to Bose in Framingham for over 10 years. During a winter snowstorm, your typical ~32 mile, 45 minute commute could turn in to a 3-hour ordeal.

2) If you decide to go ahead with the Everett, Malden, or Chelsea idea, you do have a few options to get to the Mass Pike, but they will depend on where you actually end up living. In general, from Malden you need to get to 93, in Everett you want to get to Route 1 and in Chelsea you can go Route 1 or 1A. From that apartment near Everett High School, you would want to use surface roads to cut thru Chelsea and get on Route 1 near Kayem Foods just before the Tobin Bridge. Using the Waze app on your phone will be a good idea.

3) I would try and leave by 6:30 each day. You will encounter less traffic and get to work earlier.

[Dm84]

There's really no good reason to choose the places you're looking at over Framingham.

Realistically after getting home at 6 (optimistic coming from Framingham) the last thing you're going to want to do is spend an hour getting into the city.

Live in Framingham (10 minutes from work) and enjoy your evenings. Drive to Boston on the weekends.

[shiraziman]

I made the same mistake! Getting out of Malden and Everrett is painful. You'll be spending most of your valuable youth time in transit.
You can live in Framingham and commute to Boston for fun. Don't do it the other way around.

[timberline742]

Malden, the downtown has a bunch of pretty decent places. You couldn't pay me to live in Framingham as a single 20s person. Wasteland.

If you're like most single guys, you won't want to be driving in for fun as it greatly limits your fun.

Also, really, I'd say if you're in your 20s, use that $800-1200 and living in Brighton on Somerville with roommates. All around better situation... better social life, hands down... probably Brighton as it is easier to get to the pike.

[BostonMike7]

Everett/Malden are kinda on par with each other. I don't see one as being better than the other. Avoid Chelsea though. Revere is another option as you can get right on 1A from many different parts of it. When I lived in Revere, I could hope on the pike from 1A and be out by I-95 in 25-30 minutes. However, I was leaving at 6AM. If I were to leave at 7-8AM, it would be chaos.


Unless you really want to live alone, I'd have to second the idea of picking up a roommate and moving to a "better" city. You'll have more fun in Somerville, Charleston, or other area like that, vs Everett/Malden. Everett/Malden are a bit more family-centric and aren't geared much towards your younger 20's scene. However, when I lived in that area, the one main benefit was that you could drive into Boston in less than 10 mins on a Sat night. You also had decent MBTA service as well.


Personally, I would despise driving to Framingham from there every day. Plus your entire commute would require tolls. I was doing that drive once a week from Revere, and it got old fast, especially if it rained, or there was an accident.


I wouldn't want to live in Framingham either

[bjimmy24]

Framingham isn't my idea of a great time, but I'd rather live there and work there than commute from Malden.

But honestly, unless the job itself is amazing, I wouldn't take it.

[dhman_06]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. One of my friend's parents will be buying a house in everett and they said they wouldn't mind renting me a room for $400-$500/month which can be significant saving for me. Which is one of the reasons I'm picking everett. But tbh I don't want to live in Framingham. I really like the idea of living near the city - like somerville, malden, arlington, everett, medford. Are there any backroads to get on I-90s which can offer less traffic than route 1A?

[gf2020]

Originally Posted by dhman_06

Are there any backroads to get on I-90s which can offer less traffic than route 1A?

Yes, there are, as I mentioned in my response above.

It will really depend on the exact address you are coming from. If you are in Everett there is no need to go on 1A. You could leave Everett on Chelsea Street, turn right on to Everett Ave. and take that all the way to the Tobin Bridge ramp. You cross over the bridge and pick up 93 South to the Mass Pike West.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by dhman_06

Are there any backroads to get on I-90s which can offer less traffic than route 1A?

Yup, but all depends on where you plan on living, and if you would accept a slightly longer commute to skip around some traffic. You could certainly take the tobin over ($3 toll) or even hop on Rt 99 if nearby and pick up 93 south from Sullivan Sq in Somerville.


Depending on what time you leave, traffic here will vary.




Your Friday home commutes in the summer are going to be pure torture coming home though. Everyone tends to leave the office around 2-3PM and the roads back up early.