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In my opinion, Quincy/Braintree is still not far enough from the city. The streets might be a little quieter, but you still have the same urban atmosphere as the surrounding towns around Boston.
Problem is without a car you are stuck looking at towns with good public transportation networks.
Husband should really learn to drive a car and get a license anyway. Never know if you have an emergency in the future where you aren't home and he needs to drive your car to take , say, a sick child to the doctor.
Commuterwise to boston I think quincy/braintree is far enough away. Commute is still a pain from those areas. And yes it won't be all that easy if someone literally cant drive.
Commuterwise to boston I think quincy/braintree is far enough away. Commute is still a pain from those areas. And yes it won't be all that easy if someone literally cant drive.
Well, yeah...depending on the T's reliability and/or the season, it can be a difficult commute. OTOH it works nearly flawless when it is working: Braintree to Park St. in roughly 20 minutes, give or take a few minutes, depending on the time of day. Park St. to Copley? Maybe 10 minutes at the most, again depending on the time of day and what's going on with the Green Line. I'd set aside an hour minimum for commuting either way just to be on the safe side. Back when I worked in town I could make it to work in 45 minutes, which included a bus ride to the station.
I'm thinking that even condos in Braintree might be a bit our of their price range at the moment. Cheapest condo on the market that I can see right now is 279,000 (although I think there was one in the 249,000 range recently).
OP mentioned in her post that they are at 1750 pretty much all inclusive (heat, hot water etc.) and that electric is only 40 a month. If it's not rolled into the HoA fee (which would then be higher as a result) those utilities could crush them. Add in the fact that they will likely need a second car, and have little savings, it's really not feasible at the moment.
Quincy and Weymouth, however, have a lot more affordable condos available at the moment.
Edit: also what time does hubby need to be into work? Traffic starts really expletive early on the expressway most days.
My thought is you don't really need to be out of the city, just out of the student ghetto. If so, consider Dorchester, which has some good neighborhoods along the red line or the Mattapan extension. Dot makes it easier to remain a one-car couple.
Well, yeah...depending on the T's reliability and/or the season, it can be a difficult commute. OTOH it works nearly flawless when it is working: Braintree to Park St. in roughly 20 minutes, give or take a few minutes, depending on the time of day. Park St. to Copley? Maybe 10 minutes at the most, again depending on the time of day and what's going on with the Green Line. I'd set aside an hour minimum for commuting either way just to be on the safe side. Back when I worked in town I could make it to work in 45 minutes, which included a bus ride to the station.
I take the train occasionally in town for work. I used to take it a lot more frequently than I do now, but I still do a couple times a week. I think your estimates are a quite a bit off.
Braintree to JFK in the morning takes 25-30, and about 25 coming back usually. There is no way you make it to Park Street in anything approaching 20 minutes, even if everything runs smoothly. It's 35-40 to Park, at best. Park to Copley is 10-15 I'd say.
I would say Dorchester as well, but condo prices there are pretty high these days especially if you want to be in a good neighborhood. I'm not sure what rents are like.
Roslindale and Hyde park arent quite as convenient, but the commuter rail is there...not sure what rent prices there are like. Sounds like buying isnt an option for them right now anyways.
What about Norwood? Commuter rail direct to Back Bay around 25 min. 20 min drive to Braintree (more with traffic). Suburban but with a good amount of stores/restaurants/bars and a really cute walkable downtown. Affordable/safe.
I take the train occasionally in town for work. I used to take it a lot more frequently than I do now, but I still do a couple times a week. I think your estimates are a quite a bit off.
Braintree to JFK in the morning takes 25-30, and about 25 coming back usually. There is no way you make it to Park Street in anything approaching 20 minutes, even if everything runs smoothly. It's 35-40 to Park, at best. Park to Copley is 10-15 I'd say.
I probably did overestimate :erk: It's been awhile since I've taken the T anywhere, never mind every day to work. IIRC there were much fewer issues taking it from Ashmont than from Quincy/Braintree.
Wow, thanks everyone for all the advice! I'll try to answer most of the questions-
Quote:
Originally Posted by massnative71
Have you looked to see if you qualify for any first-time buyers programs (little to no down payment)? You can expect anything in Braintree to hold its value well.
Yes. I can get a 3% down mortgage through my union. However, living where we are right now means that we're barely putting anything away into savings so even 3% seems unattainable right now
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonMike7
Husband should really learn to drive a car and get a license anyway. Never know if you have an emergency in the future where you aren't home and he needs to drive your car to take , say, a sick child to the doctor.
Tell me about it! I also HATE driving so the sooner he learns and we can share the non-commuting driving, the better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrLinderman
Edit: also what time does hubby need to be into work? Traffic starts really expletive early on the expressway most days.
6am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ECPCVC
What about Norwood? Commuter rail direct to Back Bay around 25 min. 20 min drive to Braintree (more with traffic). Suburban but with a good amount of stores/restaurants/bars and a really cute walkable downtown. Affordable/safe.
Hadn't thought of Norwood, thanks! I'll look into that.
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