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I have been commuting from Newburyport to Kendall Square, Cambridge for 15+years. I normally drive in at off-peak hours, leaving home either really early (5:30-6:00am departure), or later (8:30-9:30am departure).
- On the "lucky days" where there's just no traffic, I can get in in 50 minutes, these days are rare though - once or twice a month maybe
- Typically, it take me 1hr - 1hr 15mins to get in, that's my normal
- On bad days (accident, unusual weather or unusual construction), or if I try to leave from home between say 6:45am to 8:15am, it takes me about 1hr 30 mins to get in
- For whatever reason, returning from Cambridge usually takes me about 15 mins longer than the drive in
It's a difficult commute, but I love the outdoors, and the parks flanking Newburyport - Maudslay State Park and Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, are just outstanding - no equal, and of course the tidy historic neighborhoods, the quaint Market Square area and the pretty harbor boardwalk are all very nice too.
It's all subjective, but to me Newburyport or Rockport are about the outer limit of civilized commuting. There are people who drive in from Portsmouth, but that's only going to add another 20 more minutes each way, I couldn't do that.
How long would it take to Kendall if you took the commuter rail?
We have considered buying a vacation property in Newburyport where we would commute to Boston during some weeks in Summer and not just a weekend get away, but I don't think we could deal with the drive.
I have been commuting from Newburyport to Kendall Square, Cambridge for 15+years. I normally drive in at off-peak hours, leaving home either really early (5:30-6:00am departure), or later (8:30-9:30am departure).
- On the "lucky days" where there's just no traffic, I can get in in 50 minutes, these days are rare though - once or twice a month maybe
- Typically, it take me 1hr - 1hr 15mins to get in, that's my normal
- On bad days (accident, unusual weather or unusual construction), or if I try to leave from home between say 6:45am to 8:15am, it takes me about 1hr 30 mins to get in
- For whatever reason, returning from Cambridge usually takes me about 15 mins longer than the drive in
It's a difficult commute, but I love the outdoors, and the parks flanking Newburyport - Maudslay State Park and Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, are just outstanding - no equal, and of course the tidy historic neighborhoods, the quaint Market Square area and the pretty harbor boardwalk are all very nice too.
It's all subjective, but to me Newburyport or Rockport are about the outer limit of civilized commuting. There are people who drive in from Portsmouth, but that's only going to add another 20 more minutes each way, I couldn't do that.
Your dream town really all depends on the kinds of things you and your family enjoy doing. If you are looking for a more aesthetically appealing place than Natick, with an active sense of community, I might suggest Concord. It would be quite a haul to Longwood though.
To the OP, any coastal town that seems "your speed" is going to be a long ways away from Longwood. I'd stick to suburbs north and west.
If you don't like the aesthetic in Natick, which partially deterred us from moving there too, there are other options. Looks like you want a bit more charm, good schools, sizeable yards.
Lets start with the route 2/3 belt: I'd say Carlisle, Westford, Acton, Bedford meet your criteria most effectively. Concord and Lexington will be out of budget. Carlisle means a drive to the Concord train --> North Station --> Green Line. Acton has a train in town, but adds another ~10 minutes to the Concord stop. Westford would mean a drive to Lowell, and then the train -->North Station -->Green line. In the case of Bedford, you're either driving via 95/90, or driving to Alewife/Red Line --> Green Line. Non are optimal for commuting (AT ALL), but I'm pretty confident that based on your description, the towns will be more your taste. Assume 90+ minutes both ways from almost any option.
Due North/93 belt: Andover is the town that comes to mind immediately. Considerably nicer and more charming to the eye than Natick. Nicer core, nicer housing stock, well kept throughout. Again, though, train into North Station-->Green Line. 90 minutes. Lynnfield may be an option, though with the exception of the Marketplace, there's no commercial activity. Nice enough town. You could make the drive to the orange line in southern Melrose/northern Malden, which would mean no transfer at all (instead, a short walk to Longwood from the Orange Line). You might be able to do this, door to door, in 75 minutes during peak traffic? But, not my personal favorite town.. Maybe my least favorite of the bunch. Reading, which we chose over Natick years ago, is a bit nicer to me. Most anywhere west of downtown Reading is full of nice, old, well kept neighborhoods. I always throw Reading into the mix, as it was probably the most convenient town we've lived in- Commuter to Orange Line, right on 95, dead in the middle of a large % of jobs along 95 and all of the conveniences in Burlington/Woburn. Just looked, Reading would be ~80 minutes door to door on the train.
If you look south/southwest of Boston, you're looking at train to South Station --> Red Line --> Green Line. Probably worse off than looking for towns that feed into North Station/Alewife/Orange Line.
North of Boston, in that price range, Hamilton and Manchester-by-the-Sea are pretty ideal with the commuter rail to North Station. Lynnfield is pretty sleepy, but has great schools and a good location for driving.
To the OP, any coastal town that seems "your speed" is going to be a long ways away from Longwood. I'd stick to suburbs north and west.
If you don't like the aesthetic in Natick, which partially deterred us from moving there too, there are other options. Looks like you want a bit more charm, good schools, sizeable yards.
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If you look south/southwest of Boston, you're looking at train to South Station --> Red Line --> Green Line. Probably worse off than looking for towns that feed into North Station/Alewife/Orange Line.
The OP is already aware that there's a shuttle from Ruggles to the LMA. It makes southwest a BETTER choice than north and northwest of Boston. Commuter rail to Yawkey (Framingham/Worcester line) is the best bet though.
From Ruggles it's not that bad a walk, either. I walk to Kendall and LMA is closer.
How long would it take to Kendall if you took the commuter rail?
We have considered buying a vacation property in Newburyport where we would commute to Boston during some weeks in Summer and not just a weekend get away, but I don't think we could deal with the drive.
The commuter rail ride *alone* is pretty competitive, especially when you compare it to rush hour traffic scenarios as the alternative. Newburyport to North Station takes about 1 hour.
But, I have flex time and I normally avoid rush hour driving as I mentioned earlier. And the entire trip via train for me looks like:
- Drive to train station and arrive 5 mins early so as not to miss train (10-15 mins)
- Train ride 1hr
- Walk out of North Station to the EZ-Ride Shuttle (5 mins)
- Wait for EZ-Ride Shuttle to leave (5-10 mins)
- EZ-Ride to office stop (10 mins)
- Walk final leg to office (5 mins)
So all in all, the train alternative for me to OKS takes 1hr 35 min to 1hr 45 min. Plus I have less flexibility about departure times. Certainly the commuter rail leg itself is very relaxing, but the whole journey is more than that. That's the primary reason commuter rail to OKS is a backup option for me, not the routine path.
For the OP, going to Longwood, you can take the Green Line from North Station without a subway line transfer (unlike to OKS), . Not sure what the transit time looks like there.
Groton or Harvard was my first thought from OP's description.
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