Single moving to Boston, working in Burbs: Where does a single gal live? (Worcester: neighborhoods, restaurants)

[missionhill]

It seems as if people replying are thinking of your singles-friendly public spaces criterion. Public space is hard to find outside of certain cities and the cities mentioned so far have it. Don't know if Worcester really has any sort of scene. Framingham is something to consider; it's midway between Boston and Worcester and has some apartment complexes which are likely to have singles. I don't know if there's any singles scene in Framingham itself. Framingham is pretty suburban (meaning not much public space) but it has more cultural diversity than most of the suburbs. It's on the commuter railroad which is set up to take people from Worcester and Framingham into Boston and out again; you'd have to check with the MBTA whether it would work for a reverse commute into Worcester. Driving would be quicker. There's more than enough shopping in Framingham and next-door Natick, in the form of malls, and there's a downtown section that comes alive on summer nights. It seems to be an immigrant Brazilian and Hispanic scene rather than a middle class singles scene but it's interesting. Adam, who runs the Boston-Online website, knows a lot about Framingham and the surrounding area; you might try posting a question there, see what he says.

[movingtomass]

thanks all, i decided to go for it, in the city, near the pike, and really close to back bay to hit the commuter rail - so i have both the pike and the rail options. im paying more than outside of boston, of course, but i know my neighbors and have several neighborhood bars and cafes right outside my door....thank u for all of your help!

[RLamothe]

I would highly recommend Waltham. Close to Boston, Close to Natick. Easy Highway access, and a Great downtown! If you don't mind a 45 minute commute that is. I used to drive from DT Boston to Natick and the traffic wasn't that bad doing the reverse commute. I do think you need to seriously need to think about increasing gas prices. I am from a town (Westborough) and I am really not a fan of Worcester, I wouldn't live as a single woman. The area is improving but not to my living standards. Good luck and if you need any other help I'd be happy to help!

(I just moved to Raleigh almost a year ago, opposite of you!)

[Stockholmaren]

Originally Posted by movingtomass

thanks all, i decided to go for it, in the city, near the pike, and really close to back bay to hit the commuter rail - so i have both the pike and the rail options. im paying more than outside of boston, of course, but i know my neighbors and have several neighborhood bars and cafes right outside my door....thank u for all of your help!

Glad to hear that you found a place! You'll probably not be too far from where we're going since we'll be on the Pike and commuter rail as well, but one station west of Fenway Park. I'll be going to school there though.

[findingmesomeday]

Originally Posted by smarty

Shopping! A girl's best friend. The biggest shopping area in MA is Natick/Framingham. No Nordstorm. A new Neiman Marcus is going in.

Nordies is going in the same time as N-M. Building is up and signage is on. Slated to open September 2007.

[prov07]

i live in providence and am from right outside of washington DC. my roommate goes to school in worchester and i commute 50 mins to work around boston. whatever you do, do NOT live in providence. the drive to worchester and to the outskirts of boston is not bad, but living in providence is. i went to college there and loved it, but hate it now that i see how things in the city are really run. everyone will tell you that the city has come a long was in the past 7-10 years, which is true...but this does not mean it is a good place to live. the city seems fine until your house gets broken into, your car hit by a drunk driver, etc. It is still quite corrupt as you will come to find out. that being said, the bar seen is good, as is the shopping, and rental properties are very reasonable priced compared to boston and other areas in mass. all my friends, and myself included, can't wait to get out.

[CityGirl52]

A few months ago this poster decided to live near the pike in Boston evidently, I would say it's a perfect spot to live, especially for singles!

[Floridagirl08]

Movingtomass maybe they are not taking rush hour into consideration. In any city rush hour traffic will always take you forever. Once in Florida I sat for an hour at one traffic light waiting for it to change (7 times before I got to go). If you are working in Worcester why not just move there unless your free time will be spent in Boston. Ever consider Framingham? Seems like it is right in the middle between Worcester and Boston. I don't blame you for wanting to live in Boston. I plan on getting as close as I can to the city.

[movingtomass]

Hi all, well i've lived in Boston right near the pike for almost a year now, and have commuted to work in the Worcester area. Thanks to everyone who posted into my query - I could not have figured this out without you! I'm following up with some of the things I've learned in case anyone else is interested in how this experiment turned out for me, and to clear up a few misconceptions about reverse-commuting.

In a nutshell - Living in Boston worked out well for me, and I'm going to continue it. This is saying a lot considering how high the gas prices went up this year. I did my best to keep my driving only to my work commute, and use public transport whenever possible, so I probably used about as much gas as I would driving stop and go in the city, or living in a suburb using the car for errands and work.

What I discovered:

1. Single in Worcester - Absolutely not a good idea for the 30 and over crowd!! check online singles websites and you will see the statistics. I did and found that there were about 8,000% more dating website hits on people in my age and singledom range in Boston than in Worcester. In Worcester there were about 3 single men. One guy was missing a front tooth in his photo. Of course, everyone in boston could secretly be married and lying, but even accounting for some of that, them Worcester odds be sad. Also discouraging is that there is not much public space in Worcester - cafes, bars (unless you are into hard drinkin in a sports bar) city parks or otherwise. The museum is fantastic and so are the diners, and Ralphs, but that is not helpful for creating alternate ways of living besides a nuclear family.

2.. the commute IS do-able. Drive a small, fuel efficient car, get fast-pass so you breeze through the tolls, live within 5 miles of the pike, leave home by 8am, avoid getting back between 5 and 7pm, and you can get back and forth from Boston to Worcester on a reverse commute WITH NO TRAFFIC! DESPITE what many posters warned, you do not get stuck in boston or Worcester traffic when you live that close to the pike. Time: In clear weather it takes me 40 minutes! This year I'm going to see if I can do a car-pool -- craigslist has a rideshare page.

3. the commuter rail does go there, but only on restricted times. if you lived near south station or another framington line rail station, that would be ideal. otherwise if you miss a train, the next doesnt leave for 2-3 hours! I wouldn't plan on the commuter rail unless I lived anywhere on that line, however (eg, South End would be perfect), to minimize the train-missing and to have a backup plan to jump in the car if that happens.


CONS:
1. Frequency of commute: ability to withstand the commute depends on your work schedule: I dont have to go into work everyday, which means I only do the commute about half the week. so if you have to go in 5 days a week the commute might be more annoying. It would depend on if you could get off work at 4. if you could get of then it could be doable.

2. Transit and climate: the commute is fun when the weather is nice! in a rainstorm or with heavy snow, however, traffic is crawling. Light snow falling however is fine -- the traffic on the pike means that snow is melted there WAAAY before even mass ave. NEVERTHELESS, I drove thru the whole year, and I only had to drive in tough weather 4 days.

3. Cost: Yes the gas prices and the toll prices are too high. I compensate by living in a small place in the city to keep my rent costs down, using a fuel efficient car, and never using the car except while going to work.

Thank you to all posters for your help, I was really able to make an informed decision! Hope that helps someone out there in internet land.

[movingtomass]

hi Fla girl! thanks for your advice. yes i lived in some of the worst city traffic areas outside of LA. I've not becomemore tolerant of traffic, instead I abhor it even more than ever! But, except for a day when a sox game isletting out precisely when im coming home, I never wait in traffic on my reverse commute.
It seems to me that unless the road you use circles the city like a beltway, in which case rushour will affect outbound and inbound traffic, a reverse commute means no traffic.