Commuting to Hopkinton (Boston, Newton, Brookline: rentals, home, neighborhoods)

[VT2MA]

I am considering a job offer in Hopkinton, and am trying to figure out how close to Boston I could live and still have a reasonable commute. I'm interested in living close enough to downtown Boston that I could easily take MBTA into the city. Are there any fairly hip places to live close enough to Boston to make it easily accessible while still being within reasonable commuting distance to Hopkinton? I would be moving from a small town in Vermont, and wouldn't be interested in taking this job if it forces me to live in an isolated town that's so far away from Boston that I never end up going there. I'm a single guy in his 40s who wants to be around some nightlife rather than stuck in suburbia. Thanks for any advice.

[495neighbor]

Providence RI?

[CaseyB]

The T only runs out as far as Newton. You could commute from there if you take the turnpike.

[MikePRU]

If you lived in West Newton you could hop right on the MA Pike in the morning quite easily. It's no Brookline or downtown Boston but has a lot more going on than Hopkinton.

[ogre]

Depending on what length a commute you're okay with, I wouldn't rule out Brookline. The Coolidge Corner neighborhood, and Brookline Village to some extent, would put you among a population of young professionals, with small eateries and coffee shops and such in the neighborhood, and ready access to nightlife in Boston. The down side would be that you might be looking at a commute of 45 minutes or something like that. You'd want to check that closely before deciding to live in Brookline, because the commute could get quite a bit longer depending on the neighborhoods within Brookline and Hopkinton where your home and work were located.

Also keep in mind that if you plan to rent, in Brookline you'd be best off looking for rentals with on-site parking. Brookline prohibits overnight parking on the street, so without on-site parking you'd have to rent a parking space.

[Bob Lanata]

You are also going against traffic which will be a boon. I would live as close to Hopkington as I can

[kmann-sherborn]

You could easily live in Boston itself and commute by car to Hopkinton and get there in about 45 minutes. However, taking the commuter rail to/from work wouldn't be convenient because there are far fewer trains going that direction during rush hour.

If you can share a bit what you're looking for in terms of budget that would also help folks on the forum to suggest towns/cities/neighborhoods that might work.