Commuting from Lexington or Concord (Boston, Cambridge: condo, how much, house)

[VTLiving]

We are relocating to Boston in a year or so and I am just looking at different suburbs and trying to get a feel for places.

I've heard good things about Lexington and Concord. My husband would be commuting into downtown Boston. So it looks like Concord has a commuter rail going right to N. Station. So that seems easy enough. I googled a little about Lexington and there it seems like you would take a bus to Alewife and then the red line into downtown...can anyone tell me about that commute? Lexington is inside of 128 so closer to Boston. Is the bus/redline commute pretty quick?

[Cato the Elder]

From what I see, Lexington residents drive if they have access to parking. If not, Alewife is an option but it can be a bear to get there and park. Concord is farther but I would rather sit in a train longer than brave a daily commute in Boston rush hour by car. Other people don't mind. It depends on the individual.

[brightdoglover]

What part of Boston? The commuter rail in Concord runs to the red line station at Porter Square in Cambridge, and it's a short hop on the red line to South Station. Depends on where the job is, what makes the most sense.
Both are lovely towns, although I have more of a sense of the flavor of Concord. Best wishes.

[VTLiving]

His job would be in Post Office Sq...so by fanueil hall, state st, govt center...Was planning on taking the T, not driving. Just figured that would be easier

[Cato the Elder]

If he's commuting during rush hour, I would guess a 45-60 minute commute door-to-door from either town. From Concord, it's 30-40 minutes to North Station followed by a 15 minute walk or Orange Line ride (the T ride itself is obviously shorter but he would have to wait for a train). You also need to tack on the 5-10 minute walk/drive to a Concord station.

Lexington would be broken down into a drive to Alewife, T ride to Downtown Crossing, and 10 minute walk to the office. This is obviously more variable due to the park and ride segment at Alewife.

Unless you have your heart set on Concord or Lexington, your other option is to live closer on the commuter rail (e.g. Belmont, Winchester). South Station is a bit closer (~5 minutes) so don't forget about the towns in the southern half of the metro (e.g. Newton, Needham).

[Amontillado]

So much depends on your budget and whether you have children in school. If you're able to give serious consideration to Lexington and Concord, you might also look at Winchester, Brookline, Belmont, Newton, Needham and Wellesley. They all have easier transport links than Lexington. Trains from Wellesley or Needham would come into South Station, which is an easy walk to Post Office Square, whereas the others use North Station which would generally force a person to take the subway within the city. From Brookline or Newton you can get the subway directly into town. It depends on what you value most (and how much money is in your pocket).

[VTLiving]

I am also considering Winchester, Brookline, Belmont, Newton, Needham and Wellesley. I thought North Station was closer to Post Office Sq. I have done the walk from South Station and agree its an easy walk. I dont know what we will be approved for in terms of a mortgage. I think once we sell our house and by the time we moved we'd have $150-$200k for a down payment. Our yearly income would be at least $200k, probably lightly more but I am giving a conservative number for my salary since I dont have a job down there yet, but DH does.

Oh, and I will have children in school. One entering 2nd grade and one starting Kindergarten. So I want a town with good schools. Neither child has special needs so I am not as concerned with those aspects of the schools.

[brightdoglover]

Budget sounds terrific. I personally would want to live in Brookline, for schools, urbane lively environment, and easy T access. It would be worth it (to me) not to have a single-family house, depending on price, but to be in Brookline.
Any place with easy access to the red line (to South Station) would be fine. North Station, as others have pointed out, less helpful.

[VTLiving]

I have to have a single family house. My kids are loud and we have a big dog. My husband couldnt stand having a condo association or something like that telling him what he could and couldnt do to his own property. So yeah, single family house is a must. We are moving from a suburb right outside of Burlington VT with a .33 acre lot, house with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2600 sq feet + another 600 sq feet in the finished basement. Would like something somewhat comparable but I dont need a finished basement. I dont care that much about lot size either. I just need the 4 beds and 2.5 baths and dont want to lose too much space so at least like 2200 sq feet above ground.

Brookline does sound divine!

[InternationalOrange]

I lived for a while in East Lexington, and from that section of town, commuting to downtown Boston would be best done by driving to Alewife, parking in the garage there, and taking the red line to Downtown Crossing. Keep in mind that Route 2 (which is the highway you’d take to get to Alewife) gets very backed up during rush hour, so for the morning commute it’s best to get going by 7:45am to avoid sitting in traffic.