Best place to live outside of Boston with easy commute into Berklee? (Framingham: 2010)

[HotVidMan]

Hello,

My son is thinking about going to Berklee (starting Fall 2010) and we are thinking about selling everything and moving near Boston, but we want to be as far out in the country as possible, with a train ride into downtown Boston to the Berklee area. Rural or coast, anything away from the congestion, but within a decent drive to a train station that leads into Boston.

Is that possible? Could it be done without a ton of money? We can't afford an expensive house near Boston and are not looking to live in the city. He would deal with a longer commute if need be. I hope I am making myself as clear as I would like, but it is 5:45AM and I have been up all night!

Thanks!

[holden125]

Without some sense of what you could afford (or how small you're willing to go), it's hard to say if it's possible. It will also matter if you want a town with a top school district, etc. For a house with train access to Berklee, I'd look at the towns with trains going through Back Bay station. From there it's a 10-15 minute walk or one stop on the Green Line T to Berklee.

MBTA.com > Commuter Rail Maps and Schedules

Congested is also relative. "Not congested" by Greater Boston standards might be very congested to you. I've spent far too much time in New York City, so there's hardly anything in the Boston area I consider all that congested at this point. The towns west of Boston on the Framingham train line are probably too congested by any measure, until you get out to Ashland and beyond.

I suppose for the best combination of access to Berklee and affordable/not congested, I'd look south at places like Mansfield or Walpole, which are on different train lines and each about 40 mins to Back Bay station. Maybe Canton, which is a little closer.