Commuting from Various cities to Boston? (Cambridge, Quincy: apartments, lofts, condos)

[klt0109]

Hello. I just got a job in Boston and I am wondering how long the average commute is from a few different towns that I'm interested in living in...if anyone could tell me the average commute into Boston during rush hour from Natick, Framingham, Waltham, Newton, Needham, Weston, or Belmont?? Also, any information on the best route to take or mode of transportation would be great. If anyone has any suggestions for any other good towns to live in that are west of Boston that would be great too. Thanks!

[DreamworksSKG]

Belmont or Needham would be better. Both have commuter rail right into Boston . The Needham branch line is shorter commuter rail line than some of the other lines...

Weston is in the yuppie western belt....of town so don't know if you like that kind of place...- its in the category of Wellesly, Carlisle, Lincoln, Concord, etc. That whole belt is full of the yuppie types..

if you know what I mean.

Belmont and Needham would be my picks.

Belmont commute would probably be about 15-20 min

Needham maybe 30-40 min via rail
Needham would be into South Station

Belmont would be into North Station (both connect with the Subways)
South Station (Red Line)
North Station (Green or Orange lines)

Belmont is about a 20 min ride into the city and also connects at the next stop @ Porter Square (red line)
Some busses go through belmont to the red line and Harvard Sq station (red line) as well

Hope this helps

[klt0109]

Thanks for the help! Are those times during rush hour or just regular?

[NotAPrincess]

Any reason you've left Newton off your list? Lots of good/reasonable transport options from Newton into downtown Boston (Newton is big though, so you'd have to make sure you lived near a train stop or express bus stop).

[holden125]

Originally Posted by NotAPrincess

Any reason you've left Newton off your list? Lots of good/reasonable transport options from Newton into downtown Boston (Newton is big though, so you'd have to make sure you lived near a train stop or express bus stop).

Newton's on the list! I agree that it's an easy commute. I'd say better than Needham, which via both train and car has a more circuitous commute that takes longer than it should given the proximity. If you're traveling at standard rush hour times, the commuter rail stops 3 times in Newton along the Mass Pike and it's about 20 mins to South Station. Express buses take about the same and there's the Green Line too.

I lived in Belmont before and for me was not a 15-20 minute commute to Boston. For me it took almost 20 mins to bus in to Harvard for a Red Line trip downtown. Door to door maybe 40-45 mins. The commuter rail's faster, but you either have to go to North Station (many jobs in Boston are closer to South Station or Back Bay) or transfer at Porter and take the subway.

[NotAPrincess]

whoops! I missed it. But of the towns on your list, personally I think Newton is the most interesting and has the easiest commute to downtown. Belmont may seem closer, but the connections between Belmont and downtown aren't as easy. If you were commuting to Cambridge, then Belmont would be easiest.

It will depend a little on where exactly your job is in Boston. If you have more info on that, small differences in office location can mean big differences commute-wise.

[kmann-sherborn]

boston-commuting.com may be helpful as well as the MBTA site itself. They have some pretty handy tools like "service nearby".

[DreamworksSKG]

Check the mbta.com schedule for the various lines..the Fitchburg Line for Belmont into North Station and the Needham Line into South Station.
the trains are about every hour ---non rush hours, and every half hour or so during peak rush hour times.

You might look into Waltham too - there's some express "T" busses and commuter rail right into Boston.....

Woburn Might be good too, its not that bad an area, in my opinion, though its a bit more diverse....the housing is more affordable, and there's commuter rail from Anderson_Woburn RTC, also logan airport bus to logan airport.

Medford Might be another choice or Malden
medford has bus routes to the Red line, Davis Square, and to Orange Line, and Malden has "T" Stops on the Orange line and bus lines to the orange line

Arlington Might be worth looking into as well it is a nice town on the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere route, and has a bike path you can bike to Alewife T Station in warmer months, or take a bus to Davis Square , Alewife or Porter Square. (Red Line)
Or park at the Alewife "T" garage.

Look in Somerville too, if you don't mind the urban life, there are some good condos and lofts there.

Also check out Lechemere neigborhood in Cambridge there are some good condos/lofts, apartments there too around the courthouse neighborhood

Winthrop Might be another option as well, they have a nice Winthrop Bus town system, and you can live right near the ocean.
Winthrop Busses go to Orient Heights
There's a winthrop taxi too that costs $4.00 to Orient Heights station from anywhere in town or $2.00 anywhere in the town other than the "T" Station
It might have gone up but it was that price a couple yrs ago.

Brookline/Brookline Village might be good too has "D" Line Green line service into town and fairly close to the city.

Quincy is another good option. Try the Wollaston Beach neihborhood or Squantum neighborhood. for apartments. Avoid the downtown area unless its a high rise.

[DreamworksSKG]

I'd say Winchester since I live there but its quite expensive . If you can afford it get a condo in Winchester Its a beautiful town with a lot to do in the area, and commuter rail (20 min commute) right into North Station