Relocating from NYC to Bos, commuting daily by car, combined annual income of approx. $250K (Boston: homes, neighborhood)

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by donewithpretty

Why? Boston Magazine is known as a pay-to-play publication.

School rankings in general are fairly arbitrary. In contrast to the Boston Magazine rankings, School Digger ranks Winchester (as a district) at #6, Newton at #48, and Needham at #58 in Massachusetts:

Massachusetts State Cities - MA City School Rankings

I'm very aware of Boston Magazine's reputation for being a pay-to-play publication. Just eat at one or two of the restaurants they give raving reviews to and it becomes immediately apparent. The reason Winchester's #17 ranking surprised me is that this is exactly the type of community this periodical targets. I would have expected them to rank their school system higher to appeal to Winchester residents.

I don't love School Digger. They take test scores which are averaged across a single school and then take the averages for each school and average them across the entire town. Averaging averages doesn't really tell you much. Plus, they look solely at test scores and ignore everything else. Even on the site's FAQ page they say the information is useful but not ideal. Kind of how I feel about Boston Magazine's rankings but at least in the BM rankings they break out all the data rather than showing an averaged average so that you can use the data to make your own decision.

In the end, there's really no great way to rank school systems. Really, every kid is different and some school systems are better fits for some kids.

[mdc12]

All of these comments are very helpful, so thank you guys so much.

We would want easy access to south station. My office is a few blocks from south station, and my wife will be taking amtrak frequently. Based on the advice we've seen here, it seems like Wellesley, Needham and parts of Newton would be best for us (as they each have relatively easy driving commute and a commuter rail that goes into south station).

Are there any other areas with good commuter rail access? From what I've heard, the commuter rail is pretty consistent, you can always get a seat, there's wifi and it's pretty clean. The T seems to be a much worse option.

Also, if you live in a town with a commuter rail stop, is it easy to park at the commuter rail station? For example, in Wellesley? Is there always parking available? Do you need a permit? Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated.

We'd be OK getting a smaller house in one of these towns rather than a larger house in another town with significantly worse commuting options.

Thanks so much for the advice everyone, it's very helpful.

[TAM88]

Originally Posted by mdc12

All of these comments are very helpful, so thank you guys so much.

We would want easy access to south station. My office is a few blocks from south station, and my wife will be taking amtrak frequently. Based on the advice we've seen here, it seems like Wellesley, Needham and parts of Newton would be best for us (as they each have relatively easy driving commute and a commuter rail that goes into south station).

Are there any other areas with good commuter rail access? From what I've heard, the commuter rail is pretty consistent, you can always get a seat, there's wifi and it's pretty clean. The T seems to be a much worse option.

Also, if you live in a town with a commuter rail stop, is it easy to park at the commuter rail station? For example, in Wellesley? Is there always parking available? Do you need a permit? Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated.

We'd be OK getting a smaller house in one of these towns rather than a larger house in another town with significantly worse commuting options.

Thanks so much for the advice everyone, it's very helpful.

You can catch the Amtrak train at the 128/Dedham station. So you won't need to be at South Station to catch the Amtrak to NYC.

[TAM88]

Here's my spiel on the T as I have taken it to/from work 5 days a week for over 6 years now. In general, it provides good service. Yes there are some rough patches where a train may break down, or a signal problem may persist. But by in large, the T is a solid transit system. I would say only NYC and Chicago have clear cut better systems in this country.

The nice thing about the T is that you aren't tied down to a schedule. During rush hour, trains come every 7 or so minutes.

Living in a town like Newton gives you the option of either taking the commuter rail, or the green line. The D branch, the branch of the green line that runs through Newton, is pretty solid. It runs a lot faster than the B, C and D branches.

You do not need a permit to park at any of the commuter rail stops. You do need to pay the daily parking rate though. Depending on the stop, some may have limited parking based on the size of the lot. Much like the Metro Rail North, some stations have huge lots, some have small ones.

[mdc12]

Originally Posted by TAM88

You can catch the Amtrak train at the 128/Dedham station. So you won't need to be at South Station to catch the Amtrak to NYC.

that is very good to know, thank you.

[mdc12]

Originally Posted by TAM88

You do not need a permit to park at any of the commuter rail stops. You do need to pay the daily parking rate though. Depending on the stop, some may have limited parking based on the size of the lot. Much like the Metro Rail North, some stations have huge lots, some have small ones.

Any idea when the Wellesley lots typically fill up, and which are the biggest/best?

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by TAM88

Here's my spiel on the T as I have taken it to/from work 5 days a week for over 6 years now. In general, it provides good service. Yes there are some rough patches where a train may break down, or a signal problem may persist. But by in large, the T is a solid transit system. I would say only NYC and Chicago have clear cut better systems in this country.

The nice thing about the T is that you aren't tied down to a schedule. During rush hour, trains come every 7 or so minutes.

Living in a town like Newton gives you the option of either taking the commuter rail, or the green line. The D branch, the branch of the green line that runs through Newton, is pretty solid. It runs a lot faster than the B, C and D branches.

I rode the "D" branch of the Green line from Newton Center for 6 years. It was crowded and there were often delays. Most days, I couldn't even find a seat. It's nice to have the option of the Green line, but honestly if I was still a commuter I would rather take the Commuter Rail. Being on someone else's schedule can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but the trains leave more frequently during rush hour and being able to sit down after a long day is a huge plus.

Originally Posted by mdc12

Any idea when the Wellesley lots typically fill up, and which are the biggest/best?

If you go to the MBTA website here . . .

MBTA.com > Commuter Rail Maps and Schedules

Click on the line you're interested in (purple boxes in the upper right) and then on the following page click on each station to see the parking information for that station. In Wellesley, the Wellesley Hills stop has very little parking. Wellesley Farms and Wellesley Square each have large lots with 200 or so spaces.

Parking passes are not needed you typically pay each day.

[TAM88]

Originally Posted by mdc12

Any idea when the Wellesley lots typically fill up, and which are the biggest/best?

I have never taken the commuter rail from there, so I cannot speak as to how fast or if the lots fill up. I am sure there is someone else who can give you an idea of the situation.

[ogre]

You've asked about Wellesley in a couple of posts. Keep in mind that Wellesley will offer fewer options for properties in your price range than some other towns you've asked about, Needham for example. Lincoln and Weston also will likely offer slim pickin's in your price range, though for now you seem to have more or less eliminated them for other reasons.

Originally Posted by TAM88

Living in a town like Newton gives you the option of either taking the commuter rail, or the green line. The D branch, the branch of the green line that runs through Newton, is pretty solid. It runs a lot faster than the B, C and D branches.

It is true that Newton has both the T and commuter rail, but take a look at the MBTA link in MikePru's post below. The commuter rail line serving Newton is the Framingham/Worcester line. Check it out and you'll see that Newton has very limited afternoon and evening service inbound toward Boston on that line. Fine to have commuter rail as an option in Newton if you would always be going to work in the morning, but if you need the flexibility to commute to Boston in the afternoon at times, you might want to focus any search in Newton more on areas close to the T's green line stops.

Since you asked at first about driving, it's worth keeping in mind that Newton has the best location for a driving commute out of any town you listed in your opening post.

Originally Posted by MikePRU

If you go to the MBTA website here . . .

MBTA.com > Commuter Rail Maps and Schedules

Click on the line you're interested in (purple boxes in the upper right) and then on the following page click on each station to see the parking information for that station. In Wellesley, the Wellesley Hills stop has very little parking. Wellesley Farms and Wellesley Square each have large lots with 200 or so spaces.

Parking passes are not needed you typically pay each day.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by mdc12

All of these comments are very helpful, so thank you guys so much.

We would want easy access to south station. My office is a few blocks from south station, and my wife will be taking amtrak frequently. Based on the advice we've seen here, it seems like Wellesley, Needham and parts of Newton would be best for us (as they each have relatively easy driving commute and a commuter rail that goes into south station).

Are there any other areas with good commuter rail access? From what I've heard, the commuter rail is pretty consistent, you can always get a seat, there's wifi and it's pretty clean. The T seems to be a much worse option.

Also, if you live in a town with a commuter rail stop, is it easy to park at the commuter rail station? For example, in Wellesley? Is there always parking available? Do you need a permit? Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated.

We'd be OK getting a smaller house in one of these towns rather than a larger house in another town with significantly worse commuting options.

Thanks so much for the advice everyone, it's very helpful.

If you're considering the commuter rail, Westwood would be a good possibility. Good to great schools, easy access to two commuter rail lines (if you're driving, 128 station has a gigantic garage and faster, more frequent service; Islington station is close enough for many to walk to) and it's within your budget.

I'm writing this from the commuter rail now. If you work near Back Bay or South Stations the commuter rail is extremely convenient from towns to the south of Boston. 20-30 minute ride, not too crowded, free wi-fi, all quite pleasant. It's a bit expensive, but you can pay for some of the cost before tax. Depending on your parking situation it could be cheaper than driving to Boston.

Originally Posted by TAM88

You can catch the Amtrak train at the 128/Dedham station. So you won't need to be at South Station to catch the Amtrak to NYC.

The 128 station is in Westwood (just this side of the Canton line), not Dedham. Dedham (corporate) station is on the Franklin Line.