Need advice on nice family town with commute to cambridge

[kdjack]

All the info is great. Since I've never been to the area though, can someone compare the drive times between say Winchester/ Cambridge, Hopkinton/Cambridge, and Littleton/Cambridge? I've been using realtor.com to look at properties and have found several in each area that I like (although most are still more $ than I'd like to pay !) I know that Hopkington and Littleton are probably on the 1 hour limit, but how much closer are BLW? Also, if you were to commute, am I correct that the trains have wireless? It would at least help if you knew you could get some work done. Finally, most of the towns further out are W or SW of the area. Are there any places either N or S that we should consider as well? Thanks again!

[ogre]

BLW? If you mean Belmont, Lexington, and Winchester, they are much closer to Cambridge than Hopkinton, Holliston, or Littleton. The first three towns are basically in the same local area as Cambridge. The others are well out away from Boston/Cambridge. Most likely the reason people suggested HHLi was to give you more options to consider, in case you preferred a town that was a bit more open and woodsy. Also, Littleton and maybe Hopkinton may have lower house prices on average than the three towns closer to Cambridge.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by kdjack

All the info is great. Since I've never been to the area though, can someone compare the drive times between say Winchester/ Cambridge, Hopkinton/Cambridge, and Littleton/Cambridge? I've been using realtor.com to look at properties and have found several in each area that I like (although most are still more $ than I'd like to pay !) I know that Hopkington and Littleton are probably on the 1 hour limit, but how much closer are BLW? Also, if you were to commute, am I correct that the trains have wireless? It would at least help if you knew you could get some work done. Finally, most of the towns further out are W or SW of the area. Are there any places either N or S that we should consider as well? Thanks again!

You mentioned North Cambridge, so I'll make my best guesses getting to there. Cambridge is pretty long and narrow, just getting across Cambridge during rush hour can take a while (15+ minutes, even).

Winchester/Cambridge - Close enough that where in Cambridge you're going will make a difference. There is a bus, but you will want to drive. If you're brave, you could even make this on a bike. I would guess 15-30 minutes, depending on traffic.

Belmont/Cambridge - Belmont borders North Cambridge, so depending on where in Cambridge and where in Belmont, could be as little as a five minute walk. More likely 10-15 minute drive. Again, can't really say much unless you have addresses, as the entire commute will be in either Belmont or Cambridge. The bus is better option than in Winchester, but depending where you go, may not be convenient. Biking is also a realistic option (I work in East Cambridge and have colleagues that bike from Belmont)

Arlington/Cambridge - Same as before, Arlington borders Cambridge so it depends where you are. The bus is a good option for Arlington, as is biking.

Lexington/Cambridge - you could take a bus, in theory, but you will want to drive. Depending on when you go, should be pretty close (11 minutes without traffic, google says, traffic could easily double that time)

Hopkinton is really far away, 41 minutes according to google, without traffic, to Alewife Station (sort of the edge of North Cambridge and barring something more specific a good guess). In theory you could take the train from here, but that take 1:30 or more, as you would need to transfer through south station.

Littlleton / Acton / Concord are also far away, but the trains from these towns stop directly in North Cambridge (at Porter Square) so commuting by rail is feasible. If you go to the MBTA website (MBTA.com > Official Website for Greater Boston's Public Transportation System) you can get detailed schedules to give you more of an idea. It's about 30 minutes without traffic to drive from Littleton (according to google), but I have no idea what it becomes with traffic (my guess--a lot more)

[jayrandom]

Also, some trains do have wifi, but those are on a different line. They may expand wireless to all the trains, but they haven't yet.

Winchester is due North of Cambrdige. There are other nice towns to the North, but the schools generally aren't as well regarded as Winchester and/or they're a real pain driving to Cambridge. Lynnfield and North Reading come to mind, but I'm not very familiar with either and just looking on google maps can tell you that it's not an easy commute. As for South, that is the city of Boston. Brookline has great schools, but is way out of your price range if you're looking for a single family 4+ bedroom. Newton is the other option and has been mentioned.

Most of the towns recommended are W or NW of Cambridge (Concord/Acton/Littleton are NW of Cambridge) and there is a good reason for this. Boston has a very radial plan, and the center is downtown Boston. Roads and rail lines tend to extend radially from this center, like spokes in a wheel. Traveling along those spokes tends to be easy and traveling radially tends to be hard (except for 128 and 495). Cambridge is already on the spoke heading NW of Boston, so you'll find the easy commutes to Cambridge generally lie further along those spokes. Furthermore, the Charles River is a natural obstacle to travel south of Cambridge, so living south of the Charles generally adds time to your commute to Cambridge.

[kdjack]

Thanks jayrandom, you really helped with the time/commute info. I had been using mapquest to get my distance/time for a commute, but have no idea what the traffic does to the suggested drive time. It sounds like we will have to decide between style/age/size of house and commute time. Currently my husband commutes and it takes him about 1 hr 10 min with public transit, and he hates it (although he has to change links 3 times.) So either driving, or a more continuous public transit would be better. Anyone who does the drive during the rush hour from Littleton or Hopkinton areas, let me know how long it takes. Thanks

[hummingbird52002]

did you consider Bridgewater? I worked in Kendall square (cambridge) and I commute with the commuter rail to South Station. It's approximately 1 hour to commute by public Transportation and a 35 minute drive with no traffic.

there are colonials for sale here that are 2600 square feet and approximately 450K.