Advice on commute to Boston vs. Norwood (Providence, Warwick: home, transfer to)

[back2rigirl]

Last August my husband, two school-age sons and I moved to Warwick from Baltimore. It was a move back home for me, since I grew up in RI. I've been commuting to Norwood twice a week (a 75-min drive), working from home the other three. I've got an offer through my company to transfer to a position in downtown Boston. It's a lateral move, but with more interesting work and much more promise for growth than my current job.

As I'll be expected to be in the office most days. I'm looking for advice/insight on the commute from the Providence area to South Station in Boston. I've been told I should catch the commuter rail in S. Attleboro because parking in Providence is limited. How reliable is the MBTA? How bad does it get in the dead of winter? Any idea when they're looking to get Wifi on the Providence line? Is it possible to get work done on the train using a laptop wireless card? Will accepting this job complete ruin my current quality of life??

Thanks in advance for any and all words of wisdom!

[ProvGuy]

Well you'd be looking at a 20 minute drive or so from Warwick to S Attleboro, if there's no traffic, and then about an hour train ride to Boston, so you're commute time would increase a little bit factoring in waiting time. The MBTA is fairly reliable but of course there are delays sometimes. S Attleboro is either 2 or 3 dollars per day to park depending on what lot you get in to, whereas Providence is a garage so I think it's much more expensive.

[mr2448]

Originally Posted by back2rigirl

Last August my husband, two school-age sons and I moved to Warwick from Baltimore. It was a move back home for me, since I grew up in RI. I've been commuting to Norwood twice a week (a 75-min drive), working from home the other three. I've got an offer through my company to transfer to a position in downtown Boston. It's a lateral move, but with more interesting work and much more promise for growth than my current job.

As I'll be expected to be in the office most days. I'm looking for advice/insight on the commute from the Providence area to South Station in Boston. I've been told I should catch the commuter rail in S. Attleboro because parking in Providence is limited. How reliable is the MBTA? How bad does it get in the dead of winter? Any idea when they're looking to get Wifi on the Providence line? Is it possible to get work done on the train using a laptop wireless card? Will accepting this job complete ruin my current quality of life??

Thanks in advance for any and all words of wisdom!

parking in both cases is difficult, but easier in So Attleboro. Your commute to the station should be before normal Providence commuting so delays should be few. The MBTA in a snowstorm or the hgwy? MBTA is reliable. Like any transport there can be spot delays. It is expected that the MBTA should be into Warwick in the next year or two, although they said this 5 years ago.