Anyone live in Scituate? Facts... (Boston, Haverhill: home, buying, theatre)

[GypsyMama3]

I am looking for people who live in Scituate, or have live within the last 2 yrs.
We just got back from vacationing to Mass., and checked out a couple of places to live, and Scituate was one.

We got an awful shock on the traffic from Scituate to Boston, it took us 1.1/2hrs. My husband would have to commute to Boston from Scituate, or might be commuting in and around the 128.

What I am wondering is if it is always like that or are there special times that will make the commute easier?
Also, if anyone does live in Scituate, can you tell me about the town? We have children and was wondering about the community. We saw the downtown and got the feeling that it is a nice small beach town, but didnt know if there was much to do for adults.

Would love some more info.
Thanks.

[shiver]

I have a good friend who grew up in Scituate so I dont' know the ins and outs of the town but can give you some general ideas. In light traffic the drive is under an hour, but that's not most times. The issue with Scituate is that it's a bit off the highway so during commuting times it's probably a 20-30 min drive just to get to the highway and then it's probably another hour to get into Boston.

There's a commuter boat that goes between Hingham (neighboring town to Scituate) and Boston's waterfront (Rowes Wharf). It's pretty convenient for those to work in the Financial District and I hear the boat ride is around 40 min and operates year round on weekdays.
MBTA > Schedules & Maps > Boats > F1 (Hewitt's Cove, Hingham to Rowes Wharf, Boston)

[NewfieMama]

Hey, GypsyMama,

I live in Norwell (used to be part of Scituate) and DH and I lived in Scituate for about a year prior to buying in Norwell.

Your husband's commute is going to be over an hour each way, no matter how you get to Boston. Driving to the city would be a last resort for me and will probably take the longest, but you have two other options:

1. The Greenbush Commuter Rail. I take this train (though not from Scituate) and love it. It's not as crowded as some other commuter rail lines and it's a relaxing way to get into the city. From Greenbush to South Station is right at an hour, so you have to add on commuting time to each shoulder: driving to the train and getting from South Station to his office. If he works in the financial district, it's probably a 10-minute walk max. If he works in the Back Bay, then you're looking at 20+ minutes to get from South Station to his office.

2. The commuter boat from Hingham. This is also better than driving, but probably not as efficient as the train. We lived in Scituate before the Greenbush line was in, so we commuted via the boat. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the boat, then another 45 - 50 minutes on the boat. Then, of course, time to get to the office from Rowes Wharf. The boat is especially nice in the summer, but in the winter our boat rides were closer to an hour.

When we commuted, it was 1.5 hours each way. BUT! By not driving, we were able to work or relax as opposed to sitting in maddening traffic.

In my opinion, the long commute to Boston is the biggest drawback of Scituate, however it's just a matter of priorities. The town itself is great and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. But I think it's wise to know about the commute since that is the main reason we decided to look at neighboring towns.

[gf2020]

Originally Posted by GypsyMama3

We got an awful shock on the traffic from Scituate to Boston, it took us 1.1/2hrs. My husband would have to commute to Boston from Scituate, or might be commuting in and around the 128.

What I am wondering is if it is always like that or are there special times that will make the commute easier?

During traditional AM and PM commuting times it's always like that.

He can take the commuter boat from Hingham or the train as alternatives.

[a bag of it]

I've lived in scituate my whole life. Commute time during rush hour can be just over an hour with very aggressive driving. That is always a last resort though. Train first, boat second.

[holden125]

It's almost an hour, just on the train. Given the spread-out nature of Scituate you could be adding 15 minutes or more just to get to the train station. To me the downside of the Greenbush Line, beyond the length of the commute from either Scituate station, is that it does not run often.

If you can't make the 5:45, it's an hour until the next train. If you're held up and miss the 6:38 pm, you're stuck in Boston until 8:25 and you'll get home close to 10. The last train out of Boston is 10 pm, so no Sox games or theatre or long dinners in the city.

Other commuter lines run more frequently during the rush (5 trains on the Haverhill line between 5 and 7 pm, 2 on the Greenbush) and have an option later than 10 pm. The line's out on weekends for construction and it's not frequent even when operating.

[chaxey]

I grew up in Scituate, and still return on a weekly basis as my folks still live there. My wife and I are also looking for a place to move to outside of the city as we're ready to 'settle down'.

My dream would be to live in Scituate, but I'm obviously biased. I think it offers a lot, safety, SOME diversity (not a lot), a decent school system, and the beautiful coast. But let it be known that it really is small town living. Any shopping would have to be done outside of the town lines, and while people are trying to get excited about some of the new restaurants in Scituate Harbor, in reality, they just aren't that good, at least if you are comparing them to what I'm used to in the city. That said, things have gotten a lot better, and there are new restaurants being added and developed in Cohasset as well, which is more or less, Scituate-light.

My wife abhors the idea of living in Scituate because of the commute, but I'm fighting for it... In reality, the commute from Scituate to the Financial District or South Boston is not bad (as others have stated, a little more than an hour in rush hour). Anywhere else, and things get DICEY. This is the problem with Scituate for us, as my wife works in Back Bay, which woul dessentially relegate her to drive, or take the train to South Station and then take the green and red lines. So t hat would be Car to Commuter Rail, to Red, to Green to walk a few blocks to her office. I really can't argue against that not being that bad. I would NOT want to do that. The alternative would be to drive... Again, the Financial district via 3A and Morrisey Blvd is really not that bad of a drive, a little over an hour... but if you have to then cross the city? Things get dicey! Sometimes it takes 20 minutes to get from South Boston/Financial District to Back Bay, sometimes it can take 40. If one road is closed or blokced, you can really get screwed.

I did briefly commute via the boat and loved it in the summer, but he winter it was depressing, and not worth while. Plus it's pricey...

Does anybody from Scituate/Norwell/Hanover/Cohasset commute into Back Bay? If so, I'd love some ideas or tricks to alleviate some of that pain. Or are we making it to be worse than it is?

[NewfieMama]

Chaxey, I live in Norwell (take commuter rail from Weymouth) and while I do work in the Financial District, my husband works in the Back Bay. And when we lived in Scituate, we both worked in the Back Bay.

My husband walks to work from South Station, rain or shine, cold or hot. It takes him about 15 minutes on a normal day. If he's late, he jogs and cuts it down to 10. Once he was really late and made it from the Back Bay to SS in 7 minutes. But he's across from the Public Garden--he doeesn't work in the Pru or anything.

When I used to commute to the Back Bay I worked in the Pru and it took me at least 20 minutes taking the T (red line to green line). The commute from Scituate to the Pru was right at 1.5 hours door-to-door.

When buying, my cutoff for commute was an hour door-to-door. Where we live in Norwell, plus being in the Financial District allows me to have that and it's bearable.

[chaxey]

Yeah, she works down on Berkeley St, so it would probably be a bit of a longer walk than your husband's walk from the p.garden... The other concern is that the train schedule is a bit constraining. We have friends in Sci that complain about that frequently. They are either relegated to stay at work too late, or get there too early.

I guess I'll need to invest in a helicopter....

[NewfieMama]

Hehe, if you get a helicopter I will totally copter-pool with you

Agreed about the train schedule being constraining. Occasionally my husband will take the train to Braintree and I'll pick him up (if he misses a train), but then we still have to go pick up his car from the parking lot and it can be such a pain.