Driving Times (Boston, Cambridge, Quincy: condo, home, employment)

[Secchamps98]

Hi,

I am considering a job in Raynham. My wife most likely will look for employment in Boston. Looking for ideas of nice cities in between and ideas on commute times. I looked at Quincy, and it seems nice and with water views. Nice cities meaning, water views nice, cafes, a few shops, no children. It looks like my commute would be 20-25 miles, but opposite of traffic. How would the commute be into Boston.
Train times - and difficulty driving in - lets say at 800-830 AM?

Thanks

[lrfox]

Quincy isn't a bad place to start looking as it's reasonably priced and you can get your water views. It'll be more convenient for your wife because she will have the option of the Subway (Red Line... from either Quincy Adams, Quincy Center, Wollaston, or North Quincy) or the commuter rail via Quincy Center. The subway is the most convenient option for her as trains leave at about every 10-15 minutes from those stations during rush hour. The commuter rail is a bit more comfortable (fewer stops to south station) but schedules are less frequent. For a complete list of train schedules and rates, check out MBTA.com > Official Website for Greater Boston's Public Transportation System . Subway fares are $1.70 each way if you have a charlie card (available at the station for free... rechargable) and there are monthly and passes and such available.

There is no train to/from Raynham to Quincy or Boston (though there should be by 2016) though so you will be driving. The good news is that you will be "reverse commuting" which means that going to Raynham will make it so you drive in the opposite direction of the heavy traffic each day. I drive the route you will drive to work frequently and it takes about 20-25 minutes (without major traffic disruptions) to get from Raynham (exit 13 on Route 24) to Quincy (Quincy Adams T Station). Of course, if you get a home or Condo on the water in Quincy you'll spend an additional 10-15 minutes commuting through Quincy to get to the highway so the total commute could be 30-40 minutes on average.

Quincy is also right near the relatively large retail area in Braintree (also a few subway stops away from the best of Boston) which includes large box stores and the massive South Shore Plaza Mall (probably my favorite New England Mall).

If you're looking at Quincy, look at Milton as well. It's a nice town close to Quincy (and therefore close to the subway and train) and your commute would be similar to what it would be in Quincy. No water views though.

Check out Weymouth and Hingham. Hingham is beautiful. It's a gorgeous New England town right on the water. It has commuter rail service to Boston as well as commuter boat service so commuting for your wife would be easy. It has an excellent little downtown area. It's expensive though, so you may get a bit less for your money there. Your commute would be a bit further than from Quincy. Weymouth is a bit more affordable than Hingham (though not cheap). You have access to rail here and still plenty of options for water views. It's a good town.

I'd also look at the area around Ames Long Pond in North Easton MA. You would be close to commuter rail for your wife (Stoughton) and close to the highway for you to get to work (probably only 15 minutes from this area to Raynham). It's reasobably priced and quite nice.

My last suggestion, and this one is a bit of a stretch, is Lakeville. As the name would imply, Lakeville is built around two very nice lakes, Long Pond and Assawampsett Pond (though they're called "ponds," they're actually large lakes... Long Pond is the largest in Massachusetts with the exception of the Quabbin Reservoir). Given the fact that Lakeville is one of Boston's exterior suburbs, it is a bit more affordable than the interior ones which means you could probably find some waterfront property at a reasonable price. Long Pond is a LOT of fun in the summer months (boating, jet skiing, sailing, etc)... Assawampsett pond limits boats to 10hp. There is a commuter rail station in Lakeville that connects the town to Boston's South Station. The train ride is about 50-60 minutes which could be a bit too long for your wife (also why I mentioned that this may be a bit of a stretch). It's only 10-15 minutes from Raynham. It's close to shopping in Raynham, Taunton and Dartmouth. It's a great community, but it MAY be a bit further than your wife wants to commute (though the town is full of people who commute to Boston for work).

[Secchamps98]

This is a great help. If my wife drives from Quincy to Boston, how are the commutes. Around 800-830 AM.

[brightdoglover]

Why not take the Red Line from Quincy to Boston? Driving and parking during business hours are terrible.

The major areas with "no kids" tend to be very expensive and within the city. I lived in Cambridge for years before it was pointed out to me that there were no kids around. I just took that for granted in a town with the highest number of single-person households in the state. Any place outside the city will have the usual number of children around.
(I also like a non-family environment, but since I also like trees and a fenced yard for dogs, am living in Family Central. Actually, it's an old town, so there are some 30% people over age 65. Not a happening place, but a peaceful place to live in my 50s).

[lrfox]

I second the mass transit option. If your wife is commuting to Boston from Quincy between 8 and 8:30am, she should just use the train since it's cheap and right there.

Driving from different points in Quincy during those hours could take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour to make the 10-12 mile drive. Furthermore, she'll likely have to pay anywhere from $30-40 to park each day if she's working downtown (as opposed to $7 if she parks at Quincy Adams subway stop).

I can't imagine wanting to make that drive every day with the subway right there.

[Secchamps98]

Thanks. Sure she would consider the train. We are only used to driving where we are at now, so I assume she would be fine wth the train.