commute from NEU to Waltham (Boston, Cambridge: apartments, to rent, transfer)

[khanmurtuza]

I live and work in Waltham, my current commute is like 5 mins by car. My wife will be going to NEU starting Fall 2010 and we are planning to move to area around NEU. We were thinking of staying within walking distance to campus as she does not drive. Can any one suggest how is the commute on this route to waltham, I have a car, not sure if driving or public tranport is better option.

If some one on this forum with experience on this route can suggest me best way to commute on this route and time it take.

[holden125]

Public transportation is tough since Waltham is on the other side of the river. You'd have to get yourself to North Station or Porter for the train to Waltham. There are buses to some parts of Waltham from Boston, but not from NEU. I think you'd have to go downtown and the schedule is not great for doing the "reverse commute."

You can drive fairly easily, though. You get on the Mass. Pike West at Mass. Av and Newbury St. If you work near 128, just take the Pike to 128 North. You're pretty much against traffic the whole way. If you're more in central Waltham near the common, you can get off at Exit 17 in Newton. You still have to pay the toll at Brighton, but not the one in Weston. From Exit 17 you can get to Waltham through the streets of Newton. E.g. follow Washington St to Crafts St to North St. or Waltham St.

Coming back, take the Pike eastbound to the Prudential/Copley exit. Follow the signs for Prudential and it deposits you on Huntington Av heading outbound toward NEU.

Your biggest problem will be getting a place near NEU with easy parking, and make sure to get a FastLane pass if you don't have one already.

[khanmurtuza]

Thank You holden123, my office is right on 128 so seems like driving is the best option.
Can any one please suggest areas to look for apartments I don't want to go over $1500 for a 1 br, will need a parking spot, proximity to Mass pike/128, proximity to NEU at least on short bus route not sure if I want my wife to take T and yes safety is a issue and if there are less undergrads in the area.

[Cantabridgienne]

Why don't you want your wife to take the T?

And why isn't that her decision anyway?

[holden125]

Originally Posted by khanmurtuza

Can any one please suggest areas to look for apartments I don't want to go over $1500 for a 1 br, will need a parking spot, proximity to Mass pike/128, proximity to NEU at least on short bus route not sure if I want my wife to take T and yes safety is a issue and if there are less undergrads in the area.

That gets hard. NEU is surrounded by expensive parts of Boston like the Back Bay and South End and undergrad-dominated parts like the east Fenway and Mission Hill. Parking is hard to come by in any of them. I don't know how the area behind NEU is these days (along Columbus and Tremont west of Mass Av). It was kind of rough a few years back.

One other possibility, though parking there is rare too, would be Cambridgeport near the BU bridge. The 47 bus runs down Pearl Street and goes to Ruggles station at the NEU campus. It's about a 20-25 minute bus ride, but I don't know of any safe place with ample parking in your price range that's any closer. For reasons that I will never understand, a lot of buses run to Ruggles, but most of them follow the same exact circuitous routes, and don't go anywhere that fits your description so well.

Cambridgeport also is good for getting on the Mass Pike for Waltham (it's near Exit 18 in Allston).

[khanmurtuza]

Well she just moved to USA, she is not used public transportation. So I want her commute to be simple and easy at least till she gets used to public transportation and living in city. She is even skeptical of using Bus, and I am pursuing her that it will be safe and easy and I think T might not be that easy atleast until she gets used to public transport. So I mentioned we want to stay away from T option at least for now.

[khanmurtuza]

Originally Posted by holden125

That gets hard. NEU is surrounded by expensive parts of Boston like the Back Bay and South End and undergrad-dominated parts like the east Fenway and Mission Hill. Parking is hard to come by in any of them. I don't know how the area behind NEU is these days (along Columbus and Tremont west of Mass Av). It was kind of rough a few years back.

One other possibility, though parking there is rare too, would be Cambridgeport near the BU bridge. The 47 bus runs down Pearl Street and goes to Ruggles station at the NEU campus. It's about a 20-25 minute bus ride, but I don't know of any safe place with ample parking in your price range that's any closer. For reasons that I will never understand, a lot of buses run to Ruggles, but most of them follow the same exact circuitous routes, and don't go anywhere that fits your description so well.

Cambridgeport also is good for getting on the Mass Pike for Waltham (it's near Exit 18 in Allston).

Thank You for the reply, I noticed that there is a T stop in Northeastern on Green line. Would you recommend any good place to rent on green line for a budget of $1500.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by khanmurtuza

Thank You for the reply, I noticed that there is a T stop in Northeastern on Green line. Would you recommend any good place to rent on green line for a budget of $1500.

Well, the thing is that the NEU stop is on the E branch of the Green line. That line goes through downtown Boston and the Back Bay, more expensive areas and very little parking. Then it passes through the Northeastern area, which also has little parking and has many undergrads. Next is Mission Hill/Longwood Medical Area. Mission Hill is a bit more affordable but also has a lot of undergrads and can be noisy. The E branch ends at the South Huntington Avenue and Heath Street, which is a little run down.

To get to the NEU stop from the other branches of the Green Line she would have to take the train inbound to Copley station, and then take the outbound E line to Northeastern. You could look in Newton Centre, for example, which is on the D line. It's an easy drive to Waltham and she could take the D to Copley and then the outbound E to Northeastern.

Perhaps a better option, to minimize transfers and travel time for her, would be living near Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. The 39 bus (which replaced the E line, which used to run past Heath Street all the way to Forest Hills) runs down Centre Street and then Huntington Avenue, going directly to Northeastern.

I didn't suggest it before because it's a little harder to get to Waltham from there, but you could either take Route 9 westbound to Route 128, or take Washington Street across Brookline and Brighton to the Mass Pike. It actually wouldn't be that bad a drive on Routes 9 and 128.

Also, if you live in Jamaica Plain between Centre St and the Orange line (I'd not recommend Jackson Square but the other stops in JP are OK for the most part), she could take the Orange line to Ruggles. That station exits right onto the Northeastern campus at the back side. It's a very quick ride (10 minutes at most).

[khanmurtuza]

Originally Posted by holden125

Well, the thing is that the NEU stop is on the E branch of the Green line. That line goes through downtown Boston and the Back Bay, more expensive areas and very little parking. Then it passes through the Northeastern area, which also has little parking and has many undergrads. Next is Mission Hill/Longwood Medical Area. Mission Hill is a bit more affordable but also has a lot of undergrads and can be noisy. The E branch ends at the South Huntington Avenue and Heath Street, which is a little run down.

To get to the NEU stop from the other branches of the Green Line she would have to take the train inbound to Copley station, and then take the outbound E line to Northeastern. You could look in Newton Centre, for example, which is on the D line. It's an easy drive to Waltham and she could take the D to Copley and then the outbound E to Northeastern.

Perhaps a better option, to minimize transfers and travel time for her, would be living near Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. The 39 bus (which replaced the E line, which used to run past Heath Street all the way to Forest Hills) runs down Centre Street and then Huntington Avenue, going directly to Northeastern.

I didn't suggest it before because it's a little harder to get to Waltham from there, but you could either take Route 9 westbound to Route 128, or take Washington Street across Brookline and Brighton to the Mass Pike. It actually wouldn't be that bad a drive on Routes 9 and 128.

Also, if you live in Jamaica Plain between Centre St and the Orange line (I'd not recommend Jackson Square but the other stops in JP are OK for the most part), she could take the Orange line to Ruggles. That station exits right onto the Northeastern campus at the back side. It's a very quick ride (10 minutes at most).

Thank You both Newton and JP seems to be good option.