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The Orange line would seem like the solution, but it is very infrequent, crowded, and slow. I often found myself standing at North Station wondering what I was doing in life. The commute was horrible.
That also doesn't solve the issue of North Station Celtic/Bruins game congestion.
You will easily find a nice home in a great town west of Boston. Although some of the towns on your list are WAY too far away- Harvard, Westborough/Grafton, Acton, Holliston/Hopkinton (depending on part of town).
South Shore will be even worse to commute in by car than the N. Shore.
You have to narrow that list Have you been in the area recently to scout around towns?
Way too far away: Harvard, yes. Westbourough/Grafton, probably. Acton, Holliston/Hopkinton are probably on or close to the outer fringe of that one-hour preferred commute, if you drive to the nearest commuter rail station and take the train to the city. The commute gets longer if you drive the whole way.
The desire to avoid North Station might be a reason to choose a place to live, if ALL other factors were equal. That's unlikely to be the case, though. If I found a house and a town that seemed like the best place for me to live in the Boston area, in every way except for the fact that I planned to use commuter rail and I'd be arriving at North Station, the arrival at North Station would certainly not change my mind.
I'll admit that I don't have much experience using the orange line during commuting hours, but it's one of the main subway lines. It's hard for me to believe that its service is so slow that avoiding the orange line would be any reason not to live in what would otherwise be the best possible location for your needs.
I used to work in Back Bay, and rode the train into North Station, and I've had plenty of experience with the game crowds. They're not that bad. Sometimes you encounter crowds when you're in a city. It's not that big a deal. It takes a couple of minutes to maneuver through the crowd and pass through the station, and then you're out on the platform boarding your train. I don't see it as a major problem.
If you happen to find a place you really like in a town on a South Station commuter rail line, so much the better, but I wouldn't avoid something that looked really good just because the closest commuter rail line happened to go into North Station. I just don't see that commuting through North Station is a huge problem.
..we essentially moved for the reasons you are saying aren't a big deal Ogre my friend. You also have to consider the opposite- for some people the commute will override the desire to be in a certain town. For us, the commute took only 3 years to wear us out. Yes- weaving through the crowds during games isn't that bad. But after about 20-25 times of being bumped and having to run for a train only to rush through the doors and out into the cold on the platform, you sort of get really tired of it. Little things like that can add up to alot of unneeded frustration in you life
Since moving out of the North Shore and into Metrowest,
1) my wife gets home earlier each day
2) I get home earlier each day
3) I can leave later in the morning to travel into the city
4) I don't have to scope out Boston commuter websites every morning at 5:45 am
5) we actually get to eat breakfast and dinner together
So you see...little things can add up to alot of positive change in a lifestyle- for the better!
The house prices in these towns might be a little out of reach. Not sure. The median price in each of them is above your range, but by little enough that it's possible you might find something in the half below the median. They're worth having on the long or medium list of possibilities at least. Both are nice towns, closer to Boston than many of the others that have been mentioned already. Even during the times of heaviest traffic, you should be within your preferred hour commute time, driving. Lincoln in particular would also be convenient to commuter rail, since there's a stop right in town. That line does go to the dreaded North Station, but the relatively short train ride (just over half an hour) should keep the total commute under an hour, even if you did have to wait a few minutes extra for the subway on the orange line. Wayland has no commuter rail stop, but there are stations in adjacent towns, close enough so that the total commute--the train ride, and getting to and from the stations at both ends--should be within an hour.
..we essentially moved for the reasons you are saying aren't a big deal Ogre my friend. You also have to consider the opposite- for some people the commute will override the desire to be in a certain town. For us, the commute took only 3 years to wear us out. Yes- weaving through the crowds during games isn't that bad. But after about 20-25 times of being bumped and having to run for a train only to rush through the doors and out into the cold on the platform, you sort of get really tired of it. Little things like that can add up to alot of unneeded frustration in you life
Since moving out of the North Shore and into Metrowest,
1) my wife gets home earlier each day
2) I get home earlier each day
3) I can leave later in the morning to travel into the city
4) I don't have to scope out Boston commuter websites every morning at 5:45 am
5) we actually get to eat breakfast and dinner together
So you see...little things can add up to alot of positive change in a lifestyle- for the better!
I agree completely with the idea that shortening your commute and reducing the effects of traffic as much as possible is a good idea. Patapsco, I don't know what traffic is like where you're from, but you should be warned that it's pretty bad in the Boston area. I find driving in Boston traffic, particularly during commuting hours when it's especially heavy, to be stressful enough that dealing with this five days a week truly can affect your quality of life. And, of course I agree that the less time you spend commuting the more you enhance q. of l. by being able to spend more time with your family.
These are all factors to consider seriously if you're driving to work, and generally the easiest driving commute (easy being a relative term) to Boston would be from the west. If you're taking the train, however, the only difference between the north or south lines is what happens after you arrive at either North or South Stations. It's very possible that your husband might plan to commute by train but you'd both still like the flexibility of keeping a driving commute as a possibility. In that case once again the relatively easy commute from the west would be a factor to consider. If you're sure, though, that he'll take the train, basically there are two drawbacks to North Station you want to consider: 1) From North Station, instead of the short walk to Federal Street he'd have from South Station, he would probably be taking the subway for a short ride (two stops), on a line which you've been told above has a bit more of a wait than some of the other lines. 2) For about half the year, two or three nights a week, he'd have to maneuver through a big crowd inside North Station. (I'm not sure the discussion of that issue has made this clear, but the indoor arena, where the Celtics and Bruins play, is in the same building as North Station, so about the time of the afternoon commute on game nights, it gets crowded inside the station, as people arrive for the game.)
I personally do not think these two situations present enough of a problem that I would pass up what otherwise would be the best possilbe house and town for my needs just becuase I would be taking the train to North Station instead of South Station. It's a matter of personal preference, however. In deciding what works best for you, just be aware that these are the factors your husband would be dealing with in the case of North Station. Also, yes, be aware that if a driving commute is a real possibility, the scales start tipping heavily in favor of suburbs to the west.
I checked out Lincoln, and it looks fabulous... if we win the lottery! there were exactly 3 houses under $700K on realtor.com .
Do hear what you're saying about not being dictated where we'll live by a train station! Point taken. That opens up Newton again, for example. Plus I think the T is workable...
That said, it's really important to us that he get to see kids AT LEAST once/day on weekdays, preferably before AND after work, so that's why we're trying to stick to the 1 hr thing if possible.
Hopefully he won't end up driving. For one, the hassle, and for another, the tree hugger in me wants ONE LESS CAR on the road!
We're in suburban Baltimore now and his commute on a good day is about 30 minutes, but sometimes can be over an hour.
I commuted to DC on the MARC train from here, and by the time I drove to the train, etc. etc. it was 2 hours each way. He did that as well post-9/11... moved home to his folks in Morristown, as his apt. was 2 blocks from the WTC... and his commute by train was 2 hrs each way. Sucks, to put it mildly.
As for the train station thing, his new office I think is only a couple blocks from S. Station, so that's why the emphasis there.
Sorry,I'm rambling!
Anyway, thanks so much for your imput! Definitely researching places you all have suggested.
I checked out Lincoln, and it looks fabulous... if we win the lottery! there were exactly 3 houses under $700K on realtor.com .
Do hear what you're saying about not being dictated where we'll live by a train station! Point taken. That opens up Newton again, for example. Plus I think the T is workable...
That said, it's really important to us that he get to see kids AT LEAST once/day on weekdays, preferably before AND after work, so that's why we're trying to stick to the 1 hr thing if possible.
Hopefully he won't end up driving. For one, the hassle, and for another, the tree hugger in me wants ONE LESS CAR on the road!
We're in suburban Baltimore now and his commute on a good day is about 30 minutes, but sometimes can be over an hour.
I commuted to DC on the MARC train from here, and by the time I drove to the train, etc. etc. it was 2 hours each way. He did that as well post-9/11... moved home to his folks in Morristown, as his apt. was 2 blocks from the WTC... and his commute by train was 2 hrs each way. Sucks, to put it mildly.
As for the train station thing, his new office I think is only a couple blocks from S. Station, so that's why the emphasis there.
Sorry,I'm rambling!
Anyway, thanks so much for your imput! Definitely researching places you all have suggested.
-P
Wow! I used Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed for my info on median house prices. Apparently they need to update their data on Lincoln!
Newton is really nice in terms of being safe and affluent. It's close to Boston, and is more densely populated than some of the other towns that have been mentioned on here, though it does have primarily a suburban, residential character rather than urban. Despite the fact that Newton's population is that of a small city, it's possible to find a small-town feel there, because there's no large central downtown area. Instead, the town is divided into smaller sections, often referred to locally as "villages," each with its own small, usually upscale, shopping area. If Newton's less rural character works for you, it's very convenient for commuting. Depending on what part of Newton you're in, it's a much easier driving commute than you'd have from the suburbs farther out. It's also very good for a commute by public transit, with three commuter rail stations (on a line into South Station, no less) and several light rail stops.
As for the old issue of which train station works best, if your husband will be working right on Federal Street, this may depend in part on which end of Federal Street. More toward the north end, and he'd have enough of a walk from South Station so that it would be a toss-up between that and taking the subway from North Station, to the State Street stop, which is close to the north end of Federal Street. If he'll be working near the south end of Federal, the walk from South Station would be much quicker than the subway ride from North Station followed by a walk down Federal. Still not to the point that I personally would pass up what otherwise would be the ideal property, but if he's working toward the southern end of Federal Street, South Station would be significantly more convenient than North Station.
Best of luck with the house hunt.
Last edited by Yac; 01-08-2008 at 04:51 AM..
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Have you been in the area recently to scout around towns?
Lincoln or Wayland? At least worth checking out.
there were exactly 3 houses under $700K on realtor.com . 
