Winchester, Lexington, Weston, Arlington, Newton (Boston, Cambridge: home, school, live in)

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by FlurryCat

Also, from that end of town you're only 5 minutes from Lexington Center, and 15 minutes from the big Market Basket in Woburn, which is way better (and cheaper) than Arlington's rinky-dink Stop & Shop, and another few minutes up to Burlington Mall and its surrounding stores/restaurants.

Nitpicking here, but I'm pretty sure you're talking about the Market Basket in Burlington (on Middlesex Turnpike), not the one in Woburn which is near Washington St & 128. But yes, I fully agree it's the best one for miles around, especially if you're into the ethnic produce.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I feel like I read once that New Englanders consume more ice cream per capita than any other region of the country. I tried to find confirmation of that on Google and didn't come up with anything quickly but I did find this fun article that you'd probably enjoy reading:

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2010/10/...uch-ice-cream/



It's interesting to chat with people and to hear what their tolerance for commuting is. Some people if it's more than 15 minutes then that commute is HELLISH. Others would be happy if their commute was 45 minutes. Many, many years ago when I worked at Fidelity Investments they moved my business group to Smithfield, RI. For the first year we were down there, I worked with a guy who was commuting from New Hampshire (either Nashua or Manchester I can't recall). His tolerance for commuting always amazed me. After enduring that multi-hour commute for a year he was finally able to find a job back in Boston so that he would have a more "reasonable" commute.

I think on rare incredibly awful days my wife's drive to Cambridge was a little over an hour.

Interesting article, but I don't think the explanation is that the ice cream is actually better than everywhere else. (Even though there is a lot that is good.)

Yeah, I feel like an hour commute is acceptable but the maximum commute I want, and really I want less. I once read that the ideal commute is 30 minutes because that was enough time to decompress and change mindsets between work and home.

I once lived in NC, and someone was telling me about how her husband had a job offer that he was going to reject because it would have been a 15 minute commute. I was certain I must have misunderstood and asked if she meant he had a 15 minute commute now and didn't want to give it up? Nope. His current commute was 5 minutes and he didn't want to increase it to 15. Having recently moved there from Chicago, this just didn't compute at all for me.

I've come to the conclusion at this point that about a 10-15 minute commute would be my ideal.

[mwj119]

DT Needham to Harvard Sq. is 27 minutes via 95/90, totaling 15 miles.

DT Winchester to Harvard Sq. is 23 minutes via Mystic Valley Pkwy, totaling 7 miles.

During rush house and bad weather, Mystic Valley Pkwy will be considerably more convenient. I'd expect 35 minutes from DT Winchester. For Needham, 45-50 minutes sounds fair.

So as far as proximity and access to Cambridge, Winchester is obviously more ideal, but neither are "bad" by large MSA terms.

[fabfan84]

Originally Posted by mwj119

DT Needham to Harvard Sq. is 27 minutes via 95/90, totaling 15 miles.

DT Winchester to Harvard Sq. is 23 minutes via Mystic Valley Pkwy, totaling 7 miles.

During rush house and bad weather, Mystic Valley Pkwy will be considerably more convenient. I'd expect 35 minutes from DT Winchester. For Needham, 45-50 minutes sounds fair.

So as far as proximity and access to Cambridge, Winchester is obviously more ideal, but neither are "bad" by large MSA terms.

This is about right. And most of Newton will be somewhere in-between, though there can be a 5-10 minute spread depending on which part you're in. If you're in Newton Corner you're probably closer than most of Winchester. Oak Hill, meanwhile, will be closer to Needham. Those are the extremes though and most of Newton will fall somewhere in the middle.

[sawyer2]

FWIW I used to work with people commuting from Needham and Winchester to Kendall SQ - commute times during rush hour on a typical day were 45 mins from Winchester and closer to an hour from Needham. I don't know what part of the respective towns they lived in.

[mwj119]

For resale, I'm sure Arlington and Needham lead the growth in value post-recession as a %. I'd think both (most of) Newton and Winchester were probably more expensive pre-recession, and likely saw a more modest (for Greater Boston) growth in home values.

As for future outlook, they're all similarly positioned.

Winchester and Arlington are closest to Burlington and Cambridge, which has advantages. But Newton and Needham are closer to Waltham and the western reaches of the city, which also has it's advantages. The train from Winchester center to Boston is 19 or 21 minutes, depending on time. The Green Line from Newton Center to downtown is 47 minutes, however the commuter is only 30 minutes from Newtonville. It looks like the Needham commuter is 40 minutes. Might be another consideration.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by mwj119

For resale, I'm sure Arlington and Needham lead the growth in value post-recession as a %. I'd think both (most of) Newton and Winchester were probably more expensive pre-recession, and likely saw a more modest (for Greater Boston) growth in home values.

As for future outlook, they're all similarly positioned.

Winchester and Arlington are closest to Burlington and Cambridge, which has advantages. But Newton and Needham are closer to Waltham and the western reaches of the city, which also has it's advantages. The train from Winchester center to Boston is 19 or 21 minutes, depending on time. The Green Line from Newton Center to downtown is 47 minutes, however the commuter is only 30 minutes from Newtonville. It looks like the Needham commuter is 40 minutes. Might be another consideration.

Also note that Newton has access to both the T and the commuter rail, and that Needham has 4 commuter rail stops. I think (although I may be mis-remembering?) that Winchester has 2 commuter rail stops. That means that there is more opportunity to live a walkable distance to a commuter rail station, which can be a big plus.

[CaseyB]

Yes, Needham does have 4 stops.

[bugelrex]

Newton also has express buses to downtown in the northern sections of Newton. If they ever make bus only lanes the commute would be 20 mins

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

Also note that Newton has access to both the T and the commuter rail, and that Needham has 4 commuter rail stops. I think (although I may be mis-remembering?) that Winchester has 2 commuter rail stops. That means that there is more opportunity to live a walkable distance to a commuter rail station, which can be a big plus.

Good point.

And yes, Winchester has the center stop and the Wedgemere stop.

Wedgemere area/Southern Winchester is great with the Lake/Beach, tennis club, etc. Those neighborhoods are stunning, and you have the convenience of being <.5 miles to the train.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4459...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4410...7i16384!8i8192

But my preference would be to live north of Church, east of Rt 3. Walking distance to DT Winchester, and the grid neighborhoods with Salisbury/Wedgemere/Yale/Oxford/Cabot/Foxcroft/Dartmouth are really homey.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4499...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4547...7i13312!8i6656