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Hello all! After three months now of not really finding what we want in a rental home in MA in the right locations (good schools, low crime, etc) we are contemplating living in New Hampshire instead. My boyfriend will have to commute daily during the week to New England School of Law (stuart street) in Boston. So I am looking for some general advice. He absolutely does not want to drive himself into Boston every day. So the other options we are left with are to use something along the lines of a commuter bus like Boston Express, or for him to drive to a rail station (as far as I know the only ones close to NH are lowell, newburyport, and haverhill, correct?). Can anyone give me some guidelines as to how far into NH we could essentially look at living in order to keep his commute to about 1.5 hrs or less? Thanks for any help in advance!
It's up to you, but I wouldn't do that commute. You're talking about 3 hours a day commuting. It is kind of hard to believe you can't find a suitable rental home with good schools and low crime anywhere in the eastern half of Massachusetts. I don't imagine the rentals will be that different in NH compared to what you'd find in the farther-out towns in MA.
You are correct about which train stations are closest to the NH line, and all three have ample parking as far as I recall. I think there's some traffic getting to the Lowell station, which is downtown and a bit removed from Route 3. Also, don't count out the traffic on the main roads heading from NH into Mass.
The Lowell line has fewer stops and is fastest. 40 mins to North Station on a couple of the express trains. Haverhill and Newburyport are more like an hour, or even 5-10 mins. Since all of these trains take a while, and he'd have to get from North Station to NESL, you're over an hour just from the point he gets on the train. To drive to the train station, park and get to the correct platform takes more time, especially in winter or rain. So I wouldn't go too deep into NH.
To hear personal experiences with the commute, or to hear more about towns, you might want to post on the NH board (if you haven't already). Though we do have people with NH knowledge on here.
Thanks for the info. I was unaware of any issues with Lowell. I believe we are trying to stick further to the coast anyway. Perhaps if we live in NH, then his best bet would be the express bus rather than driving to and then taking the rail. That seems to be what most people in this situation do and they get to Boston from Southern NH within 1 to 1.5 hrs for not much more than his rail pass wouldve cost us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by holden125
It's up to you, but I wouldn't do that commute. You're talking about 3 hours a day commuting. It is kind of hard to believe you can't find a suitable rental home with good schools and low crime anywhere in the eastern half of Massachusetts. I don't imagine the rentals will be that different in NH compared to what you'd find in the farther-out towns in MA.
You are correct about which train stations are closest to the NH line, and all three have ample parking as far as I recall. I think there's some traffic getting to the Lowell station, which is downtown and a bit removed from Route 3. Also, don't count out the traffic on the main roads heading from NH into Mass.
The Lowell line has fewer stops and is fastest. 40 mins to North Station on a couple of the express trains. Haverhill and Newburyport are more like an hour, or even 5-10 mins. Since all of these trains take a while, and he'd have to get from North Station to NESL, you're over an hour just from the point he gets on the train. To drive to the train station, park and get to the correct platform takes more time, especially in winter or rain. So I wouldn't go too deep into NH.
To hear personal experiences with the commute, or to hear more about towns, you might want to post on the NH board (if you haven't already). Though we do have people with NH knowledge on here.
I posted on one of your other message threads that I think the Franklin/Norfolk/Foxboro area could be good for you. The commuter rail from those towns comes in to South Station which is a short walk from the law school. The commute from NH would be lousy.
The last time I took the train in from Newburyport, we came into the North Station. No idea about the other town stations.
That is correct, the Fitchburg, Lowell, Haverhill, Newburyport and Rockport lines all come in to North Station. All the other lines come in to South Station, which is near the New England School of Law, which is why I recommended she look at those towns to the south and west of Boston and not NH. However, the commuter bus from Nashua or similar may be a decent option.
I just finished commuting into Boston for optometry school for the last 4 years. I'll tell you what...you really can't live in NH and not expect a completely insane commute most days. Maybe his class schedule will permit him to take more "off hour" courses so he can avoid rush hour some days? My solution was Wakefield, MA, just about 15 miles outside the city and I'll tell you what...it still took me 1.5 hours to get to class sometimes. Whether by car or train, NH would be rough. The problem is, the commute can vary like crazy. Some days, you'll sail right in, and others you'll just plain wish you stayed in bed (i.e. 2 hour commute in bumper to bumper traffic). You just can't predict. And this goes for anything between the hours of 7 and 10am and 3 and 7pm... If you have to, have to, have to...try Salem, NH and take the train from Andover, MA or Plaistow, NH and take the train from Haverhill, MA. I also commuted to BU for a semester in undergrad from Atkinson, NH and I can remember thinking I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Oh, and don't do anything up route 3 (i.e. Nashua). It's literally a parking lot during rush hour. A bus would be torture. A girl in my class took the downeaster (she had a house up in Dover, NH), and she got up at 4 in the morning to be there in time for our 7am class.
I take the 5:30 AM bus from Exit 4 on Rt 93 to Boston and the 3:45 PM bus back. It makes for a 12 hr door to door work day with a lot of down time.
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