safe cities that are a 30 minute commute to boston (Springfield: middle-class, apartment)

[orangeyaglad]

hello and good day!

my husband and i are relocating to the boston area and are interesting in knowing about safe areas around the city.

My husband will be working downtown and prefers no more than a 30 minute commute. We can afford $1600 a month.

we need to be near public transportation; whether it be by bus or T.

if you need anymore information just feel free to ask. i frequent this website.

thanks for all your help!

[stephen n]

I live in Quincy, and that's a place for you to consider. You can probably find a decent apartment in your price range. It's about 20 minutes by train to Boston.

[orangeyaglad]

Originally Posted by stephen n

I live in Quincy, and that's a place for you to consider. You can probably find a decent apartment in your price range. It's about 20 minutes by train to Boston.

Thank you. Are there any parts that I should stay away from or it is generally a good area?

Thanks again!

[stephen n]

Originally Posted by orangeyaglad

Thank you. Are there any parts that I should stay away from or it is generally a good area?

Thanks again!

Overall, Quincy is considered safe. It's known as a high crime area. Some neighborhoods are better than others, but you never hear someone say "I am afraid to drive in Quincy after dark".

Feel free to send me a private message if you'd like more specifics.

Stephen

[brightdoglover]

I'd consider Arlington. Bus right to Harvard Square or on down Mass. Ave. Bus to Porter Square and the Red Line into downtown. Lots of rental choices for $1600, and next to zero crime. Also, if you do keep a car, car insurance in Arlington is among the cheapest anywhere near the city (insurance being charged partly by location of principal garaging).

[stephen n]

Originally Posted by stephen n

Overall, Quincy is considered safe. It's not known as a high crime area. Some neighborhoods are better than others, but you never hear someone say "I am afraid to drive in Quincy after dark".

Feel free to send me a private message if you'd like more specifics.

Stephen

Oops - I realized that I made an error in my post. The correction is in bold.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

I'd consider Arlington. Bus right to Harvard Square or on down Mass. Ave. Bus to Porter Square and the Red Line into downtown. Lots of rental choices for $1600, and next to zero crime. Also, if you do keep a car, car insurance in Arlington is among the cheapest anywhere near the city (insurance being charged partly by location of principal garaging).

Belmont and watertown are options, too. I would say either Arlington, Belmont, or Watertown are about 40 minutes from downtown with normal public transit. All are very nice and would have many opportunities at $1600.

Good luck!

[ogre]

I'd suggest Newton as a possibility. It's an affluent town, with high housing costs, so 1600 might not go as far there as it would in some towns, but you should still be able to find something. Very low crime (I recall that several years ago Newton made the news for having the lowest crime rate of any city in the U.S.), and convenient location. Well serviced by public transit (bus, commuter rail, and green line trolleys).

The next town to the west of Newton along the same commuter rail line is Wellesley. It's an upscale town heavily oriented toward single-family houses, so there aren't likely to be many rentals available. Clean, safe town, though, if you were able to find a rental property.

Next to the west is Natick. It's a pleasant, middle-class suburban kind of town. Probably more rentals available than you'd find in Wellesley, but still maybe fewer possibilities than you'd find closer to the city. The ride on the train is around 20-25 minutes to South Station, so you'd need to live close to a commuter rail station, and your husband would need to work near the station in town, for the total commute to stay down to half an hour. Probably more than a half-hour driving commute, due to traffic. Worth keeping on the list of possibilities, though, if you're looking for a nice clean, safe town.

[azaleaeight]

Newton is very nice. Wellesley is nicer. Less upscale is Arlington, Lexington, and Belmont. I don't think I'd second Quincy as a recommendation.

A few cities immediately around Boston aren't particularly known for being dangerous, but they aren't all that nice either - Chelsea, Somerville, Everett, Malden. Reading and North Reading are nicer. Chelsea is the worst. Revere is generally not too great. Somerville has worked to make itself nicer. Malden is a city - not a horrible one, but not like Newton by any means. I, personally, wouldn't gravitate toward Watertown.

Stoneham is a nice suburb, Wakefield, and Melrose are kind of nice (again, not Newton). Cambridge has everything - good and bad, although, in general, Cambridge isn't making the news for murders the way Dorchester usually does.

Generally, the city-type "suburbs" North or South of Boston are less safe than the very suburban-type suburbs. Generally, too, you don't get anywhere very rural or country-like within 30 minutes of Boston. For the most part, that 30-minutes would have to include a lot of sitting in traffic, which would mean staying within, say, 15 or 20 miles of Boston at the most.

Technically, my town is said to be "30 minutes from Boston" (which it is if you use Route 93 in the middle of the night or on some Sunday mornings). In reality, 45 minutes or an hour are more like what my commute to Boston would be.

Of course, a 30-minute commuter rail would get you quite a bit farther away from Boston. Most of the towns and cities within a commuter rail ride are pretty safe. Nothing is ever 100% safe. "Tougher" cities are Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Brockton, Lynn. I, personally, wouldn't choose Quincy, Braintree, Hyde Park, Fall River, New Bedford, or Springfield (which is pretty far from Boston anywhere).

If I were choosing the place handiest to Boston (and the least aggravating to get home to) I'd choose Newton, Wellesley or Belmont if money weren't the issue. If I had to watch the money factor I may choose Wakefield, Stoneham, or Melrose. The North and South Shore (both mostly safe) have commuter rails. So does Wilmington/Reading. Andover is a very nice town, farther up from Boston but with a commuter rail.

[NorthShoreBeauty]

I'd say check out the North Shore! Places like Beverly, safe & beautiful, lots of beaches, and 2 train stations, and Boston is only 18 miles south. So, you have the city life & a nice suburb city to live in, bustling but family friendly.