Live @ Marlbrough, Work @ Boston (Cambridge, Marlborough: apartment complexes, rent, how much)

[Matt_Kia]

Recently got a position at Boston Children's and got a good deal from Stone Gate APT at Marlbrough.
How much of a headache wood the commute be ?
I am not familiar with the area but based on my search I am planning to drive my car to Woodland station and then take the Green T which is going to take ~ 1:15 mins each way. How bad would it be ?

Any other suggestions ? Does it even make sense to live here and work there ?

[scorpio516]

I'd rather drive to the Southborough or Ashland purple station and ride that in. That's only 5 miles driving. Actually, I'd bike to the station, but that's just me. Google says that would take ~90 minutes

If you want to ride the green, Riverside has more parking and is marginally closer to Marlborough. Cost wise, that's probably cheaper, unless the hospital will cover a commuter rail pass.

[495neighbor]

Commute from Marlborough will be more like 1.5 to 2.0 to Children's. I would take the commuter rail from Westborough or Southborough instead.

[Parsec]

Also depends on your schedule. If you're required to work night shifts then you might have no choice but to drive in. Keep in mind with the commuter rail you can take it to Yawkey and walk from there. That will be your least stressful option because driving from Marlborough to Riverside is already a long commute as it is (1 hr with traffic). Take a look at the schedules on mbta's website to see what works best for you.

[J.M.M]

If you have to make the commute during rush hours it is going to suck. It really isn't that far, but traffic will be bumper to bumper almost the entire drive. I used to have to go to Cambridge (when I lived in mboro) a few days every quarter and I thought the quickest way was to take the southboro train into south station which might work for you. It is pretty expensive if work does not reimburse you though. 5 bucks for parking and 6.75 each way on the train (last time I took it anyway)

[Matt_Kia]

Thanks for the reply,

My main concern is does it even make sense to live there for me ? Is this commute going to be crazy and ridiculous ? The reason I'm asking is that I am currently in a small town in OH and never had such an experience. Also I have been searching for places for almost 2 month and couldn't find a better deal than this.
Do you think this a good move or I should still keep looking for places closer to Boston ?

[mmyk72]

I'd say keep looking and plan on spending a little more on rent as prices go up the closer it is to Boston. No reason to choose an apt that takes that long to get to work, unless you are REALLY saving some $ and you're scraping bottom.

Natick would be closer and you can probably find apartments walkable to the W. Natick train station.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

I'd say keep looking and plan on spending a little more on rent as prices go up the closer it is to Boston. No reason to choose an apt that takes that long to get to work, unless you are REALLY saving some $ and you're scraping bottom.

Natick would be closer and you can probably find apartments walkable to the W. Natick train station.

I agree with this advice. The huge complexes across from West Natick station are typically full of young professionals working in the financial district. West Natick to Yawkey then walking or a transfer bus or shuttle to Children's or West Natick to BayBack to Green line back to Longwood would be much better than Marlborough. I wouldn't be surprised if Children's ran their own shuttle from Yawkey.

Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain are full of 20s professionals working in Longwood, if you change your mind about the roommate situation.

[Parsec]

Since you haven't even moved here yet, I would keep looking if I were you. No sense in purposely giving yourself a massive commute time. I think you need to first decide if you want to live in the suburbs or experience the city life since you haven't lived in a city before. If you choose the suburbs, then look to apartments that are located within walking distance to a commuter rail stop as 495 neighbor suggests.

Coming from another state, you'll find there are not that many apartment complexes which seems to be the norm in the rest of the country. The few complexes that we have are generally overpriced too. You will have better luck on craigslist or using a broker.