Working AT MGH- Where To Live Without Much of A Commute. (Boston: apartment, crime)

[RoxyB]

My family and I will be moving to the Boston area where my husband will be working at MGH. I have been researching several areas outside of Boston, but most of the commutes were pretty long regarding commuter rails or the arrival times at certain stops would arrive too late in the morning. We want to live in a single family house with a garage so Brookline proper would be out. I have some concerns about living in south Brookline. I guess Newton would be an option, but in what village. Any advice would be much appreciated. Also, I need to consider schools as well. It also seems that most of the areas that are serviced by the red line may be a little "iffy" for me regarding the potential for crime or the schools are not so good.

[clevedark]

What are your concerns about living in South Brookline?

[RoxyB]

South Brookline borders J.P and West Roxbury. Should I be concerned? I looked into Winchester, but the commuter train was about 50 min long after the switch over to the red line. The commute from Wellesley wasn't too bad around 30-40 min. Thanks all!

[holden125]

Southern Brookline is chock full of palatial mansions and very nice and safe non-mansion neighborhoods. Absolutely nothing to worry about there. In any event, most of JP and West Roxbury are safe and nice as well, so being in some degree of proximity to them is not an issue.

What about Belmont? Easy to take the commuter train to the red line at Porter, or the bus to Harvard for the red line. The 73 bus along Belmont St/Trapelo Rd is quite reliable, as is the Concord Av. bus line. If he goes early enough and you pay $7 a day, you can park at the Alewife station and take the red line from there. Charles/MGH in under 20 mins from Alewife most of the time.

Newton to MGH is a bit of a lousy commute by MBTA, in my opinion. Green line D can take almost 45 mins from Newton Center to downtown, let alone the transfer to the red.

[RoxyB]

Holden 125,

I really appreciate your response, but now I have to call back the MBTA which initally stated that the earliest the commuter train arrives at Belmont is at 7 am and that is too late for my husband. I find it hard to believe that there is not an earlier commuter train that arrives in Belmont at around 5:30am - 6:00 am. Anyway, thanks again. Any thoughts on Arlington, Needham or Cambridge?

[clevedark]

I live in Brookline Village in a single family house with a garage (Pill Hill). There are some lovely homes in this neighborhood. Fisher Hill also has some nice single families. So does Coolidge Corner and Cleveland Circle. Chestnut Hill, also. All parts of Brookline have single families with driveways, sprinkled between apartment building, too.

You can't beat the commute. It takes my DH 15 minute to drive to work in downtown Boston at around 6:15 am. It takes a little longer in the evening because of traffic.

This is a fantastic town. The schools are good, the people are interesting, cosmopolitan and diverse. People from all over the world live here. It's more like a city than a suburb. Of course, you don't get much for your money, but to all of us who live here the trade off is so worth it.

[scarletfire]

MBTA Commuter Rail > Fitchburg / South Acton Lines Schedules and Maps

[scarletfire]

More MBTA maps that may be useful:
MBTA Subway 'The 'T' > Maps, Schedules, and Fare Information for the Boston Area Subway System

If you click on red line or green line you can see schedules.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by RoxyB

Holden 125,

I really appreciate your response, but now I have to call back the MBTA which initally stated that the earliest the commuter train arrives at Belmont is at 7 am and that is too late for my husband. I find it hard to believe that there is not an earlier commuter train that arrives in Belmont at around 5:30am - 6:00 am. Anyway, thanks again. Any thoughts on Arlington, Needham or Cambridge?

No commuter train at Belmont before 7, it's true. I've never had to get on one any earlier so it's worked for me. The train starts way out in Fitchburg at 5:45 or so but doesn't get to Belmont until 7. The commuter rail needs to run more trains generally. Some lines out of South Station have no train from 6:30 PM to 8:40 PM or so, which to me is just ridiculous and will keep me from living in those towns.

I grew up mostly in Arlington and it's a great place. More cosmopolitan today than at that time, with a lot of new restaurants of all cuisines opening in the past few years. The schools are good (some say they're not as strong as other towns nearby, but there are some very top-notch districts to compete with around here and they did great by me). If he's going in that early, it certainly would be possible to park at Alewife if you're willing to have a car tied up all day.

Needham is another very nice town with a good school district, more suburban and less dense than any of the others you've mentioned. The train from Needham to South Station is a bit slow considering that it's really not that far.

Cambridge is a great place but it's really much more of a city than any of the others. It's got some beautiful homes but they're packed in pretty tight (with rare and very expensive exceptions). Single family with a garage might be tough there; it's more multi-family homes and apartment buildings. The schools are not the average top-ranked Boston suburb schools. They are hard to get a bead on; they've got some city problems but also produce some very well-educated people. Maybe a little like New Rochelle schools in NY.

Brookline is a wonderful town as well but single family homes there are often considerably more expensive per square foot than in neighboring towns because of its sophistication and proximity to Boston. Brookline is more like a city in some parts, more suburban in others, and downright woodsy in others. If you can afford it and don't mind a bit less space than you'd get two towns over, it can be great. Commute to MGH by transit still requires taking the Green to the Red, though, and the Green can be slow and crowded (though probably much less so at 5:30 or 6 AM). By car, commuting from Brookline is a breeze at such an early hour. By transit, perhaps an Alewife commute is most direct.

[FellsMom]

Winchester has the best commute to MGH, either by car or by commuter rail. As a result, many MGH doctors chose to live in Winchester. If your husband will take the commuter rail, he can walk to MGH from North Station without transferring to red line (almost all MGH train commuters do just that). There are two commuter rail stations in Winchester, many houses are within walking distance.