Places to live in between Worcester and Charlestown (Boston, Newton: best neighborhoods, rentals)

[shka]

I am moving from Georgia to MA this summer. My wife will be working at Mass General Hospital in Charlestown, and I will be working in Worcester. We need to pick a place to live.

We are in our 30’s, with one dog and no kids. We can spend up to $2,000 a month in rent, but closer to $1,500 would be better.

Our number one priority is a good commute for both of us. What are the best places to live that allow for an under an hour driving commute for me and a reasonable public transportation commute for her?

If there is a location that would allow both of us to drive in under an hour, that would be okay too.

Thanks.

[scarletfire]

Framingham, Natick, Southboro, and Hopkinton (on the Southboro side of town) might be good to check out. There's a Commuter Rail line that runs from Worcester through the burbs (Westboro, Southboro, Framingham, Natick, etc) and into the city. For your wife she'd take the train to South Station and then pick up the Red Line to Charles/MGH. You can check out mbta.com for schedules & times.

May I ask where will you be working in Worcester?

[shka]

May I ask where will you be working in Worcester?[/quote]

In Shrewsbury, near 290 and Main Street

[scarletfire]

In that case unfortunately I don't think you'll have an easy Commuter Rail option for yourself. The Framingham/Worcester line has stops at Worcester/Union Station and then Grafton, Westboro, Southboro, Framingham, Natick, W. Natick, and on from there with stops in Wellesley, etc into Boston but I think the closest stop to Main St in Shrewsbury is the Worcester Station, which is a good three miles away. Unless your company offers a shuttle from the train, which some larger businesses do offer. If you're driving from Framingham, Southboro, Westboro, etc it will be a pretty easy commute for you though.

[scarletfire]

http://boston.craigslist.org/ is a good resource for finding rentals.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Originally Posted by scarletfire

Framingham, Natick, Southboro, and Hopkinton (on the Southboro side of town) might be good to check out. There's a Commuter Rail line that runs from Worcester through the burbs (Westboro, Southboro, Framingham, Natick, etc) and into the city. For your wife she'd take the train to South Station and then pick up the Red Line to Charles/MGH. You can check out mbta.com for schedules & times.

May I ask where will you be working in Worcester?

It seems like his wife is working in the MGH Charlestown Campus. The closest T stop will be Community College on the orange line. However, they have shuttle buses that go from the main MGH Campus on the red line to the Charlestown satellite campus, but obviously will add quite a bit of time. She should consider switching to the orange line via downtown crossing. Or if you can get on one of the commuter rails that get into North Station. Good luck.

[MAtoNC!]

I think Hopkinton would be a good pick in between those cities. It might not be exactly in the middle -- but it's one of the nicer towns. And of course as you get closer to Boston it's more expensive. You should have a reverse commute to Worcester though.

[shka]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I went on MBTA and looked at the times from Hopkinton into North Station ~ 65 min. Logistically, by the time my wife takes the shuttle to the MGH campus this is more like a 90 min commute.

How close can we get to Boston before my driving commute to Worcester becomes over an hour? On the map, Waltham and Newton look like good candidates. Any thoughts on these places as the relate to the commute?

[scarletfire]

Needham and Newton would be good choices for making your wife's commute easier and yours would still be less than an hour. Rents will be higher there but if you hunt around you might be able to find something reasonable. Waltham is more reasonably priced but I'm not sure what the public transportation options are there. You can visit www.mbta.com/rider_tools/servicenearby/ to find out. Parts of Waltham are nice while some are not very desirable. My grandparents lived off Lake Ave for years and we liked the area but I don't really know the other parts of town very well. Perhaps someone on the list knows that area better than me and could advise you on what are the best neighborhoods there.

Best of luck!

[NY'er lost in MA]

I think Waltham would be the best option. It has 2 commuter rail stations- the Brandeis stop would be more convenient if you find a rental on the outskirts of town. Easy access to 95/the Pike and rail service directly into N. Station to connect with the orange line.