Towns to Consider Commuting in to Cambridge? (Boston, Lynn: real estate, houses)

[iim7v7im7]

Hi,

I am considering a position at a company located in Cambridge near the Kendall Square/MIT stop on the T. I was hoping to get some advice on some potential communities to live in.

Criteria:
- Single family home, 2,000-3,000sq. ft., >0.2 acres, <$600k
- No children, so schools while important for real estate is not a driver
- We like trees and older neighborhoods
- It is nice to have a small downtown/village
- We have a dog so access to parks is welcome
- <45 minutes door-to-door
- Will consider driving in, train or T

We have identified communities on the NE coast such as Beverly, Marblehead and Swampcott.

Communities in the inner suburbs such as Arlington, Melrose, and Stoneham. Communities such as Belmont, Winchester and Lexington while close, seem too expensive based on our budget.

Communities farther out such as Reading, Wakefield, Lynnfield, Wilmington, Burlington and Bedford seem like possibilities.

Are any of these good choices based on my crieria or should I consider some others?

As usual, the farther out you go, the more you can get property wise, but I want to be realistic about commuting. Should I forget even thinking about driving and focus only on trains etc.? For example many of the communities to the north require taking a train in to North Station and then taking the Green Line to the Red Line. Perhaps this is easier than it sounds.

Thanks,

[Bostonmania]

You seem to have some good communities in mind, I'd agree with you on most of them. Melrose seems like it would work for you, since you can drive to oak grove and then take the T to downtown crossing, where you can switch over to the red line. It also seems like it would work for your other requirements. I would also look into Beverly, since it has good transportation and a nice downtown. You can take the train into North station, and instead of taking the green line, I would take the orange line to switch to the red line.
Also, If you choose a town that is accessible to the Fitchburg commuter rail line, you wont have to transfer and can get off at a Cambridge stop, since the Fitchburg line goes through Cambridge.

[iim7v7im7]

Thanks for your response...

I can see that the Fitchburg MBTA is more convenient as you say. The towns of Waltham and Belmont are on this line and I could take the train to Porter Square and switch to the Red Line T to work.

I also can see towns on the Haverhill MBTA line that are not too far out like Melrose, Wakefield and Reading might work to North Station and the Orange Line to Red Line to Kendall Sq.

On the Rockport line I could look in Beverly or Swampscott. That is farther out and has similar North Station transfers.

What about any southern communities? I see that communities like Hingham are commutible into South Station which is a direct transfer onto the Red Line T. Any towns down there worth considering?

:-)

Originally Posted by Bostonmania

You seem to have some good communities in mind, I'd agree with you on most of them. Melrose seems like it would work for you, since you can drive to oak grove and then take the T to downtown crossing, where you can switch over to the red line. It also seems like it would work for your other requirements. I would also look into Beverly, since it has good transportation and a nice downtown. You can take the train into North station, and instead of taking the green line, I would take the orange line to switch to the red line.
Also, If you choose a town that is accessible to the Fitchburg commuter rail line, you wont have to transfer and can get off at a Cambridge stop, since the Fitchburg line goes through Cambridge.

[Bostonmania]

Down south is going to be more expensive, and I'm not as familiar with some of those places. I've been to Hingham, which is a fairly nice town, and so you might want to look more into that. You could look in Braintree, which is pretty nice and you can take the red line to straight to Cambridge. Also Milton, which I'm not very familiar with but have heard good things about. Why do you keep using italics?

[gf2020]

Medford, Melrose, Stoneham and Wakefield will probably meet your requirements. Bedford, Reading and Lynnfield will be too expensive. The commute from Burlington, Wilmington, Swampscott and Beverly will be over your 45 minute threshold.

Doing any of those commutes utilizing the commuter rail and the red line will exceed 45 minutes, driving in is your best bet if there is parking nearby.

[iim7v7im7]

Thanks gain...I use the italics just to pull the name of the towns to attention within the body text.

Originally Posted by Bostonmania

Down south is going to be more expensive, and I'm not as familiar with some of those places. I've been to Hingham, which is a fairly nice town, and so you might want to look more into that. You could look in Braintree, which is pretty nice and you can take the red line to straight to Cambridge. Also Milton, which I'm not very familiar with but have heard good things about. Why do you keep using italics?

[iim7v7im7]

THanks for responding. Yes, the company does offer parking. So for closer in communities I should consider driving to work then.

Originally Posted by gf2020

Medford, Melrose, Stoneham and Wakefield will probably meet your requirements. Bedford, Reading and Lynnfield will be too expensive. The commute from Burlington, Wilmington, Swampscott and Beverly will be over your 45 minute threshold.

Doing any of those commutes utilizing the commuter rail and the red line will exceed 45 minutes, driving in is your best bet if there is parking nearby.

[gibroni]

Check out West Medford. You could drive to Cambridge from there in less than 45 min. Belmont would be nice too, more expensive but you can find houses under 600k.

I agree, the commute on the rail and the T will take longer than you expect. Go on the MBTA website and check out itineraries for specific trips, see how long it would take in the morning and afternoon.

[NotAPrincess]

If you can be flexible on the land (settle for less than a quarter acre), then Arlington, Belmont, Watertown, or West Medford would be my personal choices. Belmont might be tough under 600K and over 2000 sqft, but you might get lucky. I would probably drive from those locations.

Anything that requires a change of train is going to push your commute to over 45 minutes. So if you want to rely on public transport, then I'd look at towns on the red line (East end of Arlington, Somerville, Quincy, Braintree) or towns on the Fitchburg commuter rail that are closer in (Waltham, Belmont). You'd have to switch to the red line at Porter Square to get to Kendall/MIT, but you probably could do that in under 45 minutes.

My advice is Arlington.

[iim7v7im7]

Thanks again for taking the time to respond...

Driving In:
Arlington
Belmont (May be to expensive)
Medford
Melrose
Stoneham
Wakefield

Taking the T:
Arlington (alwife)
Braintree

Fitchburg to T :
Belmont (May be to expensive)
Watertown (Waverly)
Waltham

>45 minutes (1 hour door to door?)
Beverly
Marblehead
Swampscott
Reading
Woburn
Hingham
Hull

I can go smaller on the lot if the house is nice, but having a fenced area for tossing a frisbee to the dog would be nice...

:-)

Originally Posted by NotAPrincess

If you can be flexible on the land (settle for less than a quarter acre), then Arlington, Belmont, Watertown, or West Medford would be my personal choices. Belmont might be tough under 600K and over 2000 sqft, but you might get lucky. I would probably drive from those locations.

Anything that requires a change of train is going to push your commute to over 45 minutes. So if you want to rely on public transport, then I'd look at towns on the red line (East end of Arlington, Somerville, Quincy, Braintree) or towns on the Fitchburg commuter rail that are closer in (Waltham, Belmont). You'd have to switch to the red line at Porter Square to get to Kendall/MIT, but you probably could do that in under 45 minutes.

My advice is Arlington.