I think the train is a fantastic option that we have here. It's ideal. You can sit back, relax read a book, listen to music on your IPOD, take a cat nap, whatever. It's GREAT. I think it's the best thing since sliced bread that came down the pike for commuting in to Boston. I took it from Newburyport though never Exeter, Durham or Dover. You'd be taking AMRAK's Downeaster from Durham if you lived closer to that station. It's running roughly $15 one way and it takes roughly 1 hour and 21 minutes. It took me may be an hour and 10 minutes from the MBTA commuter rail at Newburyport to get down to North Station if I remember right. I took the 5:55 AM train, back then it was 6:05 I think, I forget now, but we got in to North Station like clock work around 10 after 7 the majority of the time.
In the winter months when it's freezing out? There were days when there were delays, not many, but they happened. It's expected. During snow storms? It worked out really good because the only thing you had to worry about was getting your car out of the parking lot. Just throw a shovel in the back and you're golden. I never had any issues with the train at all. YES, it can be very very tiresome working 5 days a week, although I did the 4 day work week and also took classes at night on top of that. I was like a zombie coming home late at night, but I did it. Some times I'd drive all the way in to the MBTA Wellington or Oak Grove stations if it was on a class night. You'll get used to the commute. It's really not that bad. The USA's average commute to work is one hour and this is just a little more, that's nothing!
Some people thought I was SO crazy when I first moved to the seacoast and told them I was keeping my job in the Financial District. But don't forget it was back in the early 80's in to the late 90's. Not as many people did it then like now. More and more people are living up through here now more than ever before. You'll get used to it. It's better than putting all that wear and tear on your car! I finally woke up one day, the light dawned on me finally and I started taking the commuter train down to Boston and it was the best best move I made with that commute! It's worth every dime you pay too!
For me it was great because I could still meet my good friends that live in Boston and meet them for the North End for dinner and still catch a train to get home!
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) has been the long commute time from Durham to Boston. I'll be working in Cambridge and would love to hear thoughts on commuting via the Downeaster. Looks like I'll be in transit about 2 hrs each way, between the hour and a half on the train and then the transit time from North Station to Cambridge?
