safest/quietest town (w/ "T" access) between Brandeis and NEU (Boston: car rental, apartments)

[schnoo]

so I am trying to see how to work this out. One of us will go to brandeis and the other is going to Northeastern. We won't have cars, so I am trying to see where it will be "fair" to live. I think my partner will have earlier classes, so if anything we'd need something closer to NEU.

We're just looking for a quiet/safe 1bedroom, with some utilities under $1300.

[nate14ri]

Brandeis doesn't have T access but you can take the commuterail to waltham though. or you could bus it from harvard square maybe. either way i'd recommend having a car if your going to brandeis. either way newton would prob be your best bet.

[schnoo]

thanks, a car, insurance, gas was not in the budget. I think I am only going to school a few times a week in a grad program... not to mention i have a fear of driving.

but i will check out newton. isn't that on the greenline?

[DreamworksSKG]

Try Brookline or Davis Square area.

Brookline you could be close to NEU and about 40 min up to North Station and commuter rail to Brandeis..

Or another option

Davis Square area, a hip college atmosphere town with lots of cafes, restaurants, stores, etc. and porter square shopping center nearby for groceries .
You can use Zipcar if you need a car as well
Car Sharing, an alternative to car rental and car ownership – Zipcar
but plenty of bus-"T" options

From Davis
you could take 1 bus stop or two down to porter square or the Red line 1 stop to Porter and connect to the Fitchburg Commuter rail line to Brandeis, and the Red Line to Park St. and then take a B,C,D, train to Copley Square and change to the "E" or an "E" train right to the campus.


Davis might be the best option for both your needs and apartments are a bit less than Brookline

though both are nice areas

---jeff D.--
Winchester, MA

[holden125]

Originally Posted by schnoo

thanks, a car, insurance, gas was not in the budget. I think I am only going to school a few times a week in a grad program... not to mention i have a fear of driving.

but i will check out newton. isn't that on the greenline?

This is a challenging one requiring all the MBTA knowledge one could have.

Newton is on the Green Line D, which does not go to NEU. There's also no real easy way from most of Newton to Brandeis by mass transit even though it's very close. Newton and Waltham are mostly on different transit spokes because one is north of the Charles, the other south.

The 553 bus goes to Brandeis and stops in parts of Newton, but (A) not in parts of Newton where it's easy to get to NEU; (B) it makes a circuitous trip via Waltham Common, though this is not that big a deal; (C) it runs on a somewhat infrequent schedule and not at all on Sunday.

http://mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/bus/routes/?route=553

The best bet in Newton is something within walking distances of the commuter rail stop in West Newton and the 553 bus to Brandeis, which is about a 20-25 minute ride. For NEU, you take the commuter rail to Back Bay and then the 39 bus or the Green Line E from Copley. The problem is that the 553 bus stops running pretty early, so you'd be stranded at Brandeis in the evenings, which is very limiting. You do not want to take the commuter rail back in to Boston just to head right back out to Newton. That is taking a 10 minute commute by car and turning it into a couple of hours.

A better option (though probably more expensive per square foot) may be Cambridge. I'd look somewhere along the Red Line, not too far from either the 1 bus or the 47 (which terminates at Central). The 1 allows for a trip down Mass Av. to the general NEU area, but Mass Av gets clogged up a lot. The 47 has a more circuitous route but might be just as fast from Central.

Being by the red line allows for a transfer to the commuter rail at Porter, where the train goes to Brandeis (4 stops away). You've got to make sure not to miss that train, though. Outbound in the morning they only run every 45 to 120 minutes.

Maybe something near Porter is a good deal--direct commuter rail to Brandeis, Red Line to Central for the bus to NEU. Inman Sq. also allows for a ride on the 83 bus to Porter and a pretty quick walk to Mass Av for the bus to NEU.

Brookline to Brandeis by transit is quite hard. You don't want a 40 minute green line ride to North Station just to go back out for a 25 minute ride to Brandeis, especially with the trains leaving North Station so far apart. Frankly, Brookline to NEU is not that easy either since NEU is on the E and Brookline, except the part within walking distance of Huntington/S. Huntington, is not. You could take the C or D from Brookline and change to a bus but that's slow. Brookline's probably too expensive too.

[schnoo]

yeah davis or porter look to meet our needs pretty decently....
now the adruous task of finding some reputable landlords/companies to show apts.

[ogre]

If you can handle a more family-oriented town, I'll suggest Belmont as another possibility. Catch the commuter rail at Waverly Sq. Just a couple of stops in one direction is the Brandeis commuter rail station. The other direction takes you to North Station, where you can catch the green line out to Northeastern.

[schnoo]

thanks for that. belmont requires us both to ride commuter, it becomes less cost effective if we both have to pay for those commuter rail passes, instead of the standard $60 ones.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by schnoo

thanks for that. belmont requires us both to ride commuter, it becomes less cost effective if we both have to pay for those commuter rail passes, instead of the standard $60 ones.

I'd worry more about the convenience than the cost. If you live near Waverley, you can get a very nice apartment for so much less than in Cambridge that the cost of the train pass won't be a factor. What might be a factor is having enough stores, etc. within walking distance. The Waverley area is quite dense for "the suburbs" but not as dense as Cambridge. This means quieter and cheaper, but somewhat less accessible if you don't have a car. It can be done but you'd have to explore the area and see what you think.

You can also take the 73 bus from Waverley to Harvard and catch the 1 bus there, so it's not a given that you'd need two commuter rail passes.

[schnoo]

well i should note (as i thought i did), one of us will have 8am M-Friday classes at NEU, so its better for us to find something closer to NEU than Brandeis. i wouldn't want him to have to take buses and trains 5 days a week so early