Newburyport commute to Westborough

[johngolf]

I once lived in Andover MA and my company was in Providence RI. As I was in sales, I was on the road quite a bit and did not have to do a daily commute. Maybe once or twice a week at the most. If I had to do a daily commute, no way would I have worked for them. I93 to I95 South/Rte128 South and continue on I95S. Once in a while I would go I495 to I95 but only if the other way was "blocked".

[Idontwanttocheckmymessage]

Thank you very much for your replies and advice. Sobering, but not unexpected.

[spitfire8580]

Not sure if this helps, but I grew up in Merrimac, MA and my father worked in Westborough for 20 some-odd years of my childhood. Hour commute. Newburyport would probably add 10 to 15 minutes, but if you lived in Amesbury on 495 ... Just saying, if where you live is important to you and you don't mind listening to audiobooks / teleconferencing / etc... you can make it work.

[Idontwanttocheckmymessage]

@spitfire8580 thank you for posting about your father's commute -- good to hear it can be done. Going in with eyes open, though. But also confirms that 495 from Westborugh to Amesbury and back roads to Newburyport is the way to go.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by spitfire8580

Not sure if this helps, but I grew up in Merrimac, MA and my father worked in Westborough for 20 some-odd years of my childhood. Hour commute. Newburyport would probably add 10 to 15 minutes, but if you lived in Amesbury on 495 ... Just saying, if where you live is important to you and you don't mind listening to audiobooks / teleconferencing / etc... you can make it work.

495 has become significantly more congested than it has been in the recent past (i.e., within the past 5 years). I'm not sure the times you're quoting are relevant given current traffic trends/volume.

[Idontwanttocheckmymessage]

Did a trial run from Westborough to downtown Newburyport last Thursday at 5pm via 495 to Amesbury exit. Took 1hr and 12 minutes with hitting two pockets of very slow traffic on the way but no accidents. The weather was not an issue last Thursday so I'd call this a "best case scenario" commute.

[spitfire8580]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

495 has become significantly more congested than it has been in the recent past (i.e., within the past 5 years). I'm not sure the times you're quoting are relevant given current traffic trends/volume.

Oh, that's very plausible - I think he stopped doing that commute about 10 years ago, so things could definitely have changed. But I'm just reiterating it can be done. My mother's family is from the Merrimack Valley area and she was stubborn about not moving. So my dad put up with it. He also travelled and occasionally worked from home - so that may have made it more doable. I drove into Boston from Merrimac for three years with a similar duration commute (that was even more susceptible [I think] to serious traffic changes with weather and accidents. I remember one night where there was a giant sinkhole on 93 north that made my normally 75 minute commute two hours - I wanted to cry.) Good luck!

[GeoffD]

I do the afternoon rush drive on I-495 northbound occasionally. It's usually OK to the Westford/Chelmsford line and then the world ends. It's been 10+ years since I did the morning 495 southbound drive when I lived in Portsmouth. It wasn't great then and I imagine it's awful now.

[robr2]

Geoff - are you back to being an office drone??