New Job New Commute (worth it?) rt.128 (Boston, Newton: home, neighborhood) - Massachusetts (MA) - City-Data Forum

GeePee · 06-30-2016, 03:12 AM

I have been at my current job for over 6 years. My current commute is from W. Roxbury to Allston which takes me 25 by car and 30 min on my bike in the spring summer fall. The new gig is in Waltham and will change my commute to either rt9 to 128 or through Newton backroads. I have been looking on google maps as to typical travel times. Going in I have no problems as the commute is 25 min average.. Its when i look at 3pm coming home. 128 is at a standstill in this area constantly. average time usually says 55 min. What is the deal? Is this temporarily due to construction? did I make a mistake of trading piece of mind for more money? talk me off the ledge please.

dravogadro · 06-30-2016, 05:31 AM

Coming home is way worse than the way in. There are some days you cannot get out of your parking lot in those business parks because traffic is so backed up from the highways, onto the local roads (especially Totten Pond).

If you can work 'off' hours - 7am-3 or 4pm. I would consider it. We had friends that lived in W Roxbury and they ended up moving out to the west metro. My neighborhood in Waltham is filling up with ex-JPers because they can't deal with the commute out here any more.

I would even consider buying a parking pass for a city lot in Waltham and biking in from the city center (depending on where you are headed).

Dm84 · 06-30-2016, 05:47 AM

It's a tough commute. They're in the process of widening 128 north of the Great Plain Ave area to the Pike. Hypothetically things should improve a little when that's done.

The problem of course is with a few exceptions everyone has to drive to work in that area so it will always be tricky.

GeePee · 06-30-2016, 06:03 AM

I am having some major regrets about this. I needed the change. The money is nice. But this is sounding more and more like I am going to lose my mind on the way home every night. I do have a 7-3:30 shift so well see how that pans out.

Dm84 · 06-30-2016, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeePee

I am having some major regrets about this. I needed the change. The money is nice. But this is sounding more and more like I am going to lose my mind on the way home every night. I do have a 7-3:30 shift so well see how that pans out.

The morning drive in should be a piece of cake. The way home may take a bit longer but honestly I think you'll adapt to it.

Whatsnext75 · 06-30-2016, 06:20 AM

I would be suprised if the morning drive is really only 25 min?

Dont know what to tell you about the ride home. I've tried leaving work at 2pm before to try to get a head start and still there's traffic. This just isnt an easy area to get around quickly in.

chicagoliz · 06-30-2016, 08:09 AM

Don't look at google maps. Use the Waze app on your phone and plug in your addresses at the time when you would typically be leaving. Also, many of the back roads in Newton are awful, so be careful about using them as your plan. I would think your 3:30 leave time, while you will run into traffic, should be better than the 5-6 leave time, so that should help you some.

Your commute could be SO much worse. Yes, you had a pretty good commute before, but if this job really is better, I would bet that you made the right decision.

dravogadro · 07-01-2016, 03:08 PM

Sorry, I missed the time in your post last time! If you are leaving at 3pm, I think you will be fine, except for Fridays when I think everyone starts leaving at 3pm. Plus, if traffic is bad, you can just grab a great meal on Moody St.

juvi89 · 07-15-2016, 08:38 AM

It's really not that bad, other than the peak commute hours. I moved from Brighton to West Roxbury not long ago, as I also changed jobs from Downtown Boston to Waltham, and couldn't justify paying a premium and splitting a 2bed, just to live on the green line I didn't use. I'm in the Brook farm area, and mornings are generally ok, 25-30 mins going to work, and tack on about ~10-12 min coming back during rush hr i.e. 4:30-5:30. I generally hit the gym at my office, or catch up on on other work, and start heading home around 6:30, and its usually the same ~30 mins coming back at that time. Of course all this goes out the window when there's a freak accident..etc, which seems to happen more often than one would think. Alas, thank God for Google Maps/Waze and back roads.

BostonMike7 · 07-19-2016, 07:19 AM

55 min isn't that bad. For 8 years I did 60 in the AM and 60-90 in the PM. You get used to it. And it eventually convinced me to move outside 128 where COL got cheaper (slightly) and my commute improved to 30 min.

And yes, WAZE is the best app for navigating around standstill traffic.