Thoughts on Franklin? Worth the longer commute to Boston? (Norwood: day care, houses)

[TownShopping]

We're a family with young children trying to decide on a town in which to buy a home in the next year or so. I work in Norwood and my husband takes the train into South Station for work. Our budget is limited to about $350,000 Franklin has come up as a possible good fit. I don't know much about the town and have only been there once to a playground. I'm looking for pros/cons about living there from people who know Franklin. Particularly, whether it's worth a lengthier commute into Boston. Thanks.

[Dm84]

It's a really long commute to South Station and you could find houses closer to Boston and Norwood with that budget. Your husband has to decide if he's really willing to tough it out every day. Understand that if the train schedule says an hour each way, it's really going to be at least 90 minutes door to door unless you live and work right next to the train station. On days when problems happen (often) you could be looking at 2+ hours each way.

[CaseyB]

There would have to be something wrong with the train for it to be a 2 hour commute. That's not normal at all.

Depending on where the house was, you can drive to the train station in Norfolk (plenty of parking).

OP - there are many previous threads discussing Franklin, do a search.

Here's an example.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

There would have to be something wrong with the train for it to be a 2 hour commute. That's not normal at all.

Depending on where the house was, you can drive to the train station in Norfolk (plenty of parking).

OP - there are many previous threads discussing Franklin, do a search.

Here's an example.

Again, the scheduled trip is 1 hour from Franklin to South Station. You can't just stroll up to the train station 1 minute before the scheduled departure time, so let's say you live a 5-10 minute drive from the train station, you need to leave 15 minutes before departure so you can park, pay for parking etc. After you get off the train, let's say you have a 5 minute walk to your office. You are now at 1 hour, 20 minutes each way assuming absolutely nothing goes wrong.

FYI - commuter rail rarely runs on time and 10-15 minute delays are considered so routine that they consider those delays to be normal and count the train as on time. When you're looking at 90 minutes each way, a 10 minute delay feels like eternity. Even after the trains returned to normal service I still experience at least one 20 min+ delay a week, usually several and that's on the Providence line. The Franklin line is especially notorious for severe delays.

[jayrandom]

I take the Franklin Line and I'm not quite as pessimistic about travel time as Dm84. If the schedule says it will be an hour each way, it's pretty reasonable to expect to spend an hour on the train. Add ten minutes in the parking lot or at South Station waiting for the train (or less if you like to live dangerously) and the walking time to and from South Station, and that will likely be your husband's commute. When things going wrong, though, expect that time to increase. My wife takes the Franklin to Back Bay and her trip is usually pretty fast. Red Line transfers are where the commuter rail experience starts to get long on a daily basis.

That being said, only you and your husband can decide if it's worth it. I'd guess it is worth it for some people and isn't worth it for many people. Studies on happiness generally find that shorter commutes generally make a bigger difference than nicer houses. Those studies are done on the aggregate, though, and you know yourself better than anyone.

You've got small children so schools are probably important, but if they aren't you could consider Norwood. Most of Norwood is nice, has a pretty walkable town center with relatively good access to public transportation (for a suburb), and is within your budget. If schools are important, Walplole is a possible option. Much closer to Norwood and that much closer to Boston. I think you could find something within your budget there but it would be small.

[Dm84]

I understand jayrandom being less pessimistic since he lives in Westwood which is a train ride that is half as long. Less potential for things to go wrong and you can always hop on the Providence line to Route 128. Someone in Franklin doesn't have those options so my pessimism is more justified and my travel time estimates when **** hits the fan are more realistic (and you know it happens far more often than it should).

For instance, while I experience lots of problems on the Providence line (get on and off at Sharon) my train home often experiences more delays the farther from Boston it gets, so I often find myself avoiding delays that someone further down the line experiences. The longer the distance you travel the more delays you will experience.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by Dm84

Again, the scheduled trip is 1 hour from Franklin to South Station. You can't just stroll up to the train station 1 minute before the scheduled departure time, so let's say you live a 5-10 minute drive from the train station, you need to leave 15 minutes before departure so you can park, pay for parking etc. After you get off the train, let's say you have a 5 minute walk to your office. You are now at 1 hour, 20 minutes each way assuming absolutely nothing goes wrong.

FYI - commuter rail rarely runs on time and 10-15 minute delays are considered so routine that they consider those delays to be normal and count the train as on time. When you're looking at 90 minutes each way, a 10 minute delay feels like eternity. Even after the trains returned to normal service I still experience at least one 20 min+ delay a week, usually several and that's on the Providence line. The Franklin line is especially notorious for severe delays.

No way do you need 15 minutes before departure to park and pay for parking. Day care opens 15 minutes before departure, so I can drop my daughter at her daycare, make sure she's happy enough for me to leave, and drive to the station in that amount of time. Even then I still usually end up sitting in my car and listening to the radio for a few minutes.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

No way do you need 15 minutes before departure to park and pay for parking. Day care opens 15 minutes before departure, so I can drop my daughter at her daycare, make sure she's happy enough for me to leave, and drive to the station in that amount of time. Even then I still usually end up sitting in my car and listening to the radio for a few minutes.

Depends on the parking lot. Some fill faster than others. I drop my son off at daycare and park 10 minutes before.

If you live 10 minutes from the train station you need to allow at least 15 minutes of lead time. Again, individual circumstances vary.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by Dm84

I understand jayrandom being less pessimistic since he lives in Westwood which is a train ride that is half as long. Less potential for things to go wrong and you can always hop on the Providence line to Route 128. Someone in Franklin doesn't have those options so my pessimism is more justified and my travel time estimates when **** hits the fan are more realistic (and you know it happens far more often than it should).

For instance, while I experience lots of problems on the Providence line (get on and off at Sharon) my train home often experiences more delays the farther from Boston it gets, so I often find myself avoiding delays that someone further down the line experiences. The longer the distance you travel the more delays you will experience.

I understand what you're saying. I monitor the Providence alerts as well and it seems like it's WAY worse than the Franklin line in terms of delays. Not quite sure why (I suspect it's Amtrak). And while that long of rail commute isn't great, given her budget I'm not sure that I can think of overwhelmingly better choice. It's not enough for Westwood or Sharon and looking at Zillow can only get really tiny and probably marginal properties in Dedham or Canton.

The other thing to keep in mind is that delays, especially in the morning, build up with time. When I could take the earliest train in the morning I almost never had a delay--now that I'm doing drop-off I have to take a later train and see a lot more delays. If that's an option for your husband I'd suggest it--go in early.

Also, while it's just barely doable (with the right daycare) to work reasonable hours and have kids in daycare coming in from Westwood or Dedham, it would be quite tough from Franklin. That's something to keep in mind.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by Dm84

Depends on the parking lot. Some fill faster than others. I drop my son off at daycare and park 10 minutes before.

If you live 10 minutes from the train station you need to allow at least 15 minutes of lead time. Again, individual circumstances vary.

I misunderstood what you were saying. You may need even >15 minutes to get to the station, depending on traffic and where you live, but you don't need to be there 15 minutes early.