AZ to MA! (Boston, Worcester, Springfield: rent, townhouse, transfer)

[spacemonkey701]

Hi all,
Yet another moving to MA post here. We're east coast urban dwellers who were banished to the bowels of Arizona for for work. After a year of strip malls, suburbs, SUVs and triple digit heat, it looks like I may be granted a transfer back to the east coast. Here's my question: Although we're dying to get back to city life (did I mention that Arizona sucks?) and we're a multi-cultural family that appreciates diversity (non-existent in AZ) my new office will be in Westborough. Ideally, I would like to be someplace like JP or Cambridge, but I've got a baby on the way and commute and rent will be a factor. Can anyone offer advice on areas to look at renting a 2 or 3 bedroom townhouse or apt in the $1400 to $1800 range where it at least has somewhat of a city feel with about a 20 minute commute to Westborough?

I've been thinking Hopkinton? I heard there was some kind of tech corridor around there that is up and coming, but I haven't been able to find anything on it. Thanks!

[xS☺B☺s]

Westborough is closer to Worcester than Boston. Worcester is an ugly city but considered to be rather safe and potentially the next Providence. Newton is 27 miles away, the closest thing to WB that I would consider even remotely "city & diverse". Considering you are going the opposite way of traffic for the commute it might not be so bad as the usual thing is traffic flows into to BOS in the AM and out @ PM. You'd be going the other way. Cambridge is 29 miles away and much more "city and diverse" than Newton.

[scarletfire]

I have a friend who does the reverse commute from Boston to Framingham and said it isn't bad at all. I'd recommend sticking with Cambridge. If you're sick of the burbs, I can't imagine you'd be happy in Hopkinton or Westboro, etc. And Worcester, while it does have some nice areas (and some awful ones), is certainly not as appealing a city as Cambridge by far. The only this is that it would be more practical to drive from Cambridge to Westboro than take the train. Getting there by public transport would mean taking the Red Line (subway) to Boston, and then taking the one outbound train in the morning into Westboro. Just the train ride itself would take an hour, and unless you're working at Astra Zeneca it's unlikely you could walk from the Westboro train station to work, as the train isn't located near most of the businesses in town. (Or perhaps your company has a shuttle from the train? Some in the area do offer this service.)

[HowGoesIt]

The commute from Cambridge to Westboro would be tough. But, if you really want to live in Boston/Cambridge you can definitely do it. I would look for a part of Boston that is convenient to the Mass Pike, like Cambridgeport. I lived there as an undergrad and loved the area. I'm guessing the commute would be roughly 45 mins to 1 hour (depending on traffic). Don't rely on the commuter rail for the reverse commute, driving would be MUCH easier and faster.

[spacemonkey701]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm thinking that although Newton and Cambridge sound like best bets in terms of what I would ideally like, the commute may be a little longer than what I'm looking for (first child is on the way so I'd prefer to be a little closer to work). With that in mind, can anyone think of a good midpoint between cambridge and westborough that would offer at least some of what I'm looking for in terms of the urban feel? Seems like the drive against traffic from Cambridge might not be too bad, but if I could find a way to shave 15 mins off it that would be perfect. Thanks again!

[MovingForward]

There really isn't. MA is like that: there's Boston and metro Boston, and then there are small villages and towns, until you get further west (to Worcester, Springfield). I'd recommend Framingham--it's a lively and diverse town, pretty safe, midway between Boston and Westborough, and you'd get more house for your money. It's not really that important that you live in an urban area during the week, right?--since you'll be working, anyway. But on weekends, you're close enough to Boston to easily take advantage of weekend urban life.

[HowGoesIt]

I agree with MovingForward. Framingham is a good recommendation. Yes, it's considered the 'burbs. But, there is a decent town centre and some good restaurants. Also, if you are going after "urban", I would check out Worcester. I would consider it a small city. Then on the weekends, you can shoot into Boston (and avoid the rush hour commute).

In all honesty, I cannot recommend a reverse commute from Boston to Westboro, unless you want to live in your car. If you want to live in the city, there are tons of job opportunities here.

[spacemonkey701]

Thanks all. Framingham sounds like it's worth a look. I had pretty much accepted the fact that I won't be in Boston itself, but really anything back on the east coast is a dream after a year in AZ (seriously. check out the hate AZ forums). The smaller towns outside of Boston will feel like Manhattan after my current situation. Basically dirt and gated communities.

[missionhill]

Boston suburbs are different from newly manufactured suburbs out west; they're all old towns with long histories, houses from many eras, lots of woods, ponds, wetland areas, park lands with trails... and they're all real towns with their own governance and schools and community issues and projects--not just something a developer put up and gave a name to.