Hingham to Longwood Medical Area (Boston, Lynn: homes, transfer to, neighborhood)

[Findou]

Considering a job at Brigham & Women's and relocating from mid-west to Hingham, and wondering if anyone has any feedback/thoughts on the commute (would be typical 8 to 5 type job)? We are originally from Long Island and have lived and worked in and around the city - so not necessarily scared off by a commute. My biggest concern is getting home at night as I have a four year old and a husband who will be away sometimes for work. So looking for input on how long the commute might be; is it a horrible commute; any "easier" way than driving to make trip.

The reason we like Hingham is the small, seaside town. I am originally from a similar town on Long Island (yes, they do exist and would love to be back in that type of community. That said, if folks have thoughts on other, small towns that would be an easier commute - I'm all ears.

Thanks!

[goyguy]

The commute really isn't all that horrible, especially by way of comparison to acronyms you probably know all too well: the LIE and the LIRR. There's now commuter-rail service from Hingham right into South Station, in addition to the ferry line downtown which might not be the best thing to utilize during the winter.

You have numerous alternatives for reaching the "LMA" from the South Shore:

1. Commuter rail to JFK/UMass; transfer to the "inbound" (to Alewife) Red Line subway, ride one stop to Andrew Square, catch the CT-3 express bus.

2. Commuter rail to JFK/UMass; transfer to the 8 bus bound for Kenmore Square.

2. Commuter rail to JFK/UMass; transfer to the "inbound" (to Alewife) Red Line subway, ride two stops to Broadway, catch the 47 bus.

3. Commuter rail to South Station; transfer to the "inbound" (to Alewife) Red Line subway, ride one stop to Downtown Crossing, transfer to a Forest Hills train on the Orange Line, ride four stops to Ruggles St, transfer to the CT-2 or CT-3 or 47 bus.

4. Commuter rail to South Station; transfer to the "inbound" (to Alewife) Red Line subway, ride two stops to Park Street, transfer to the Green Line "D" trolley bound for Riverside, ride to the Longwood Ave station (two stops past Kenmore Square), walk.

You can also use the "B" and "C" trolley from Park Street to Kenmore Square, then walk down Brookline Ave or catch the 8, 60, or 65 bus. And the "E" (Heath St) trolley has a stop at Longwood Ave, on the other side of the MCP buildings from the BIDMC campus.

Confused yet??? LOL. The Harvard Medical Area is a major employer and destination in Boston, hence all the different ways to get there by "T." My recommendation is to pore over the various bus schedules at mbta.com; when the buses run on time (as they more often than not do) the timetables are amazingly accurate. IMHO the "CT" - crosstown - routes with their bike racks and special bus-body logos are somewhat overrated. They don't skip all that many stops and are subject to the same traffic jams. You'd do about as well riding the 8 or 47.

Unless you're dead set on Hingham, you might also (depending on your affordability range) consider the South Shore towns of Braintree - a commuter-rail stop and Red Line terminal - and Scituate or Weymouth, also with commuter-rail stations. The cost of housing is lowest in Weymouth and highest in Scituate. On the North Shore, communities to consider would be the cities of Lynn (specifically the east-side Diamond District for its proximity to beaches), Salem, Gloucester, Newburyport, and Beverly; and the towns of Swampscott, Marblehead, Rockport, Ipswich, and Manchester-by-the-Sea. All have commuter-rail and/or express bus access into the city, with Green and Orange Line connections from where the routes terminate. Close-in, seaside Winthrop is also a pleasant and quiet community - but look out for the airport flight path.

[northsouthnorthsouth]

Originally Posted by Findou

The reason we like Hingham is the small, seaside town. I am originally from a similar town on Long Island (yes, they do exist and would love to be back in that type of community. That said, if folks have thoughts on other, small towns that would be an easier commute - I'm all ears.

Thanks!

Hingham is to Northport what Weymouth is to East Northport. But Weymouth is also on the water. Maybe that will make sense to you!

[clevedark]

Hingham is a pretty big town, and it doesn't really revolve around the relatively small waterfront. Unless you're living on the water or right near it you're not really going to notice it. There's a small bathing beach, but it's really muddy at low tide. There's sailing in the harbor. But it might be like that on LI. I'm from NJ, and you know that we don't cross those borders.

We lived in Cohasset for five years, the next town down, which for some reason is much more seasidey than Hingham. But it's isolated, most of the women are stay at homes, 100% white. I believe Hingham has a few more toes in the 21st century than Cohasset.

That said, we moved to Brookline which we love love love. Most people here are from another part of the country or the world, it's really cosmopolitan, the schools are great. So many of the parents here work in the hospitals. You can walk to Longwood from many parts of Brookline. While Brookline is a large town, it has eight k-8 elementary schools districts, making your school district a very close, walkable neighborhood. It's a paradise for my kids.

It's so easy to get to the beach or the mountains, or a lake in Massachusetts for the day. You don't have to live there to enjoy it. It's not like NY where it takes hours and hours just to get away somewhere. But you're hearing from someone who can't stomach a long cold lonely winter at the beach.

And as far as commutes go in Mass, you can have some pretty amazingly short ones, especially if you stick to the western suburbs, and Brookline and Newton. It takes my husband 15 minutes to drive to work now from Brookline. Or you can have some horribly long and miserable ones. When we lived in Cohasset it was one hour and fifteen minutes, which includes the ride to the boat, the boat ride, and the walk to work. Which still beats one minute in Penn Station at 6pm.

[seamusnh]

I'd be a little wary of a Hingham to Longwood commute. Driving, it would an hour minimum in rush hour. It is not long distance-wise, but you are going through a very congested area... As for the T, that would be longer.... The T works for getting downtown, but getting to Longwood means making connections and that adds to the length and uncertainty of the commute..

[kharing]

You can also drive to Braintree....take the Red line into town. Either get off at the UMass station and follow goyguy's instructions. Or take the Red line to the Green line to get to work.

Good luck on your move.