Working in Cambridge-- commute from Lexington, Concord or Acton suggestions (Brookline: rentals, school districts)

[mephie]

I work in Cambridge. I mainly work odd hours, but I still will sometimes commute in rush hour (usually only in the evening rush hour, not in the morning).

I am considering moving to Lexington, Concord or Cambridge. How is the commute to/from these places? It looks very close on Google Maps, but that doesn't take in account traffic.

Any suggestions and/or advice? Thank you!

[LexWest]

Are you still considering Acton from your title, or are you replacing that with Cambridge?

Unless you have specific reasons for choosing these communities, I'd stick with Cambridge: the less time spent on Rte. 2, the better.

[NotAPrincess]

I assume you're driving? The nice thing about Concord and Acton is that you have the commuter rail as an option. Lexington you'd have to take the bus to Alewife to get in to Cambridge. But if you're driving, then Lexington is definitely going to be fastest.

I did the Lexington to Cambridge commute this past summer during rush hour and it wasn't awful. I took Concord Ave through Belmont (skipping route 2 entirely). It was pretty painless (about 20-25 minutes). But I was going to Harvard Square. If you have to go to Central/Kendall/MIT, it'll be longer during rush hour by possibly another 15-20 minutes.

[mephie]

Thanks. Sorry for the confusion, I'm going to leave Cambridge for either Lexington, Acton or Concord. The reason is because I want to live in a more suburban environment. I don't do anything in the city anyway.

I'll be going to Harvard sq. NotAPrincess, can you take the same route to Acton or Concord?

I'll mostly be driving but I would like the option to take public transportation. The bus from Lexington to Alwiefe then the red line to Harvard Sq doesn't seem so bad...do you know how long that commute is? Is the commuter line generally faster?

[NotAPrincess]

My guess is that Concord or Acton would add another 20 minutes to the commute to Harvard Square vs. Lexington. But also keep in mind that within Lexington, the fastest commute will be from the Belmont line area which would roughly correspond to the Bridge or Bowman school districts.

I have a few workmates who commute in on the commuter rail, one from Acton and one from Lincoln. They say it's ok, though there are delays a couple of times a month, some minor, some major. I don't know how long it takes though. Alewife to H. sq is super fast (10 minutes?) but the problem is getting to Alewife during rush hour. Whether you drive or take the bus, the traffic backs up on rte 2 and it is not pleasant.

If you want to really minimize the commute, have you considered Belmont? The schools are very good, and it would be so easy to get into Harvard Square (the busses from Belmont are frequent and go straight to H. Sq., or driving is quite easy, too).

ETA: rentals will be easier to find in Belmont, too.

[mephie]

What are "the Bridge or Bowman school districts"? I searched the profiles page on the DOE website and do not see them listed as school districts...

Belmont's test scores are not comparable to Lexington, though I guess it is not a huge difference. But I do like the fact that Lexington is more math and science orientated. I also assume Lexington is much more rural, kind of like Acton and Concord. I really enjoy the Acton area-- it's beautiful.

How is the traffic on the 72, 75 and 77 bus lines that go into Harvard SQ? I just looked on Google Maps and I see the 77 goes along Concord Ave, and Rte 2 seems to run through there, but it is not clear to me.

[NotAPrincess]

Originally Posted by mephie

What are "the Bridge or Bowman school districts"? I searched the profiles page on the DOE website and do not see them listed as school districts...

Belmont's test scores are not comparable to Lexington, though I guess it is not a huge difference. But I do like the fact that Lexington is more math and science orientated. I also assume Lexington is much more rural, kind of like Acton and Concord. I really enjoy the Acton area-- it's beautiful.

How is the traffic on the 72, 75 and 77 bus lines that go into Harvard SQ? I just looked on Google Maps and I see the 77 goes along Concord Ave, and Rte 2 seems to run through there, but it is not clear to me.

Bridge and Bowman are elementary schools. You can see a map of the town by elementary school here:

http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Current/2010LPSchoolsdistricts.pdf (broken link)

Lexington is a true suburb. I wouldn't call it rural. Concord and Acton are much more rural than Lexington. Belmont has some parts that are like Lexington (suburban) and some parts that are more densely populated. It's true that Belmont probably has fewer opportunities than Lexington for science and math stuff, but it has such an easy commute and the school are still top notch. Anyway, depends on how you weigh certain things.

As for busses, the 77 comes from Arlington, the 75 from Belmont down Concord Ave (I think you might have mixed up your numbers). The 75 is fast and frequent. The 72 doesn't really serve Belmont, it just goes within Cambridge.

[mephie]

Thanks!

Are there anything particularly noteworthy of Bridge and Bowman elementary schools? I ask because in a previous post you singled them out. Or was it only for geographical reasons?

What is the town like? Is it liberal? I know Noam Chomsky lives in Lexington, but I don't know if that's an indicator of something...

Do you know how long the bus takes from Lexington to Alewife, both during rush hour and not?

[NotAPrincess]

Originally Posted by mephie

Thanks!

Are there anything particularly noteworthy of Bridge and Bowman elementary schools? I ask because in a previous post you singled them out. Or was it only for geographical reasons?

What is the town like? Is it liberal? I know Noam Chomsky lives in Lexington, but I don't know if that's an indicator of something...

Do you know how long the bus takes from Lexington to Alewife, both during rush hour and not?

I just singled them out because geographically those areas offer the fastest commute to Cambridge. The general "word on the street" is that Bridge and Fiske are the two most highly regarded elementary schools in Lexington, but honestly I hesitate to even mention that because it's really splitting hairs. They are all good.

The town was quite liberal when I grew up there. I think it is a bit less so now, though still liberal on the whole.

I'm afraid I don't know the answer about the bus to Alewife. The timetable on the mbta website should give you a rough answer though!

Good luck!

[mephie]

Thank you. Any other suggestions regarding moving to Lexington? I know it is generally a wealthy suburb-- will we find it hard to make friends there (we are not wealthy)? In other words, I have heard from people that residents in Brookline are very closed off and don't really talk with others outside their circle. (once you're in that circle, things are great, though). Is it the same in Brookline?