Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-19-2022, 10:11 AM
 
Location: Providence, RI
12,595 posts, read 21,753,315 times
Reputation: 14052

Advertisements

Marblehead is a great town. I can't speak to how down to earth or family friendly it is, but it certainly checks the rest of those boxes. It's on our list of targets for if/when we decide to move further outside of the city. I love the connectivity to the coast, the historic housing stock (though it's not all old), and the fact that parts are quite walkable. My primary issue with it is the commute to Boston.

With Marblehead the commute time will still depend on where you end up in town and where in Boston/Cambridge you're heading. Kendall Square (commuter rail to EZ Ride Shuttle) or Lechmere (commuter rail to green line) should be around 1:15-1:20. It'll be over 1.5 hours anywhere else in Cambridge. You could probably do much of the Financial District closer to an hour (maybe a little over if you're on the opposite end of the Financial District) door to door via commuter rail. I think the additional issue with Swampscott could be limited parking (though I can't speak to that in the COVID era). Regardless, if you happen to find that parking is a hassle, it's only a few minutes further to the Lynn stop which has ample parking. Either destination would be a pretty miserable drive and I'd plan for 90 minutes and anticipate that some days would be better and others worse. Many people in the area just drive to Wonderland (20-40 minutes from Marblehead depending on location and traffic) and just take the Blue Line (great for Financial District commute, not for Cambridge). There's a ton of parking and trains run every 5 minutes or so at peak hours.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-19-2022, 11:08 AM
 
Location: North of Boston
3,670 posts, read 7,359,721 times
Reputation: 3634
Commuting to Harvard from any suburban coastal or near coastal location is tough. Does your husband know exactly where his new office is located? Harvard has facilities on both sides of the Charles River.

If we assume, for the time being, that his office is somewhere near Harvard Square, then the best public transit option is the Red Line. The only "coastal" option that would make sense is Quincy, south of Boston. Many people commute to downtown Boston and Cambridge locations on the Red Line from Quincy and neighboring Braintree.

The next best option in to Harvard is the Fitchburg line commuter rail, which stops at Porter Square in Cambridge. You can walk to Harvard from there or change to the Red Line and take it one stop to Harvard Square. Towns like Concord, Acton and Littleton are all served by the Fitchburg line; not coastal but also not a terrible commute for either of you.

North of the city, I used to live in Swampscott and I have family in Marblehead. Commuting from either community to any Harvard facility would be a long commute; impossible by public transit and definitely a long drive by car. A town like Wakefield or Lynnfield is further from the coast but would get you a very reasonable commute by subway on the Orange Line to the financial district and then a more reasonable drive in to Harvard.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2022, 11:26 AM
 
24,510 posts, read 17,983,953 times
Reputation: 40204
How awful is Hingham to South Station on commuter rail with a red line transfer to Harvard Square? Google says 65 minutes. You’re at least not driving.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2022, 11:35 AM
Status: "On my way to sunny South Carolina" (set 1 day ago)
 
Location: Massachusetts & Hilton Head, SC
9,914 posts, read 15,482,556 times
Reputation: 8525
Remember The Globe had that artricle about the commuter race from Hingham? One guy drove, another one drove to Braintree and took the Red Line. Another reporter took the commuter rail from Hingham and the last one took the commuter ferry. The ferry won.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-19-2022, 08:04 PM
 
9,784 posts, read 7,044,450 times
Reputation: 11378
Quote:
Originally Posted by bricka View Post
if you are used to a 90 min commute then maybe commuting in from the south shore to cambridge is not that big of a deal. everybody has a different tolerance for these things.

i only go into the office once a week and i still couldn't stomach more than 60 min door-to-door.
I'm guessing that 90 minute commute down south was by car. Doing that same 90 minutes by car to train to subway and walk is an entirely different animal. Miss one connection and your commute may jump by 50%. Stand on a cold platform waiting for a train that suddenly gets delayed is a bear. Hot subway station in the summer is brutal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-20-2022, 11:46 AM
 
1,683 posts, read 2,880,615 times
Reputation: 2151
Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox View Post
Marblehead is a great town. I can't speak to how down to earth or family friendly it is, but it certainly checks the rest of those boxes. It's on our list of targets for if/when we decide to move further outside of the city. I love the connectivity to the coast, the historic housing stock (though it's not all old), and the fact that parts are quite walkable. My primary issue with it is the commute to Boston.

With Marblehead the commute time will still depend on where you end up in town and where in Boston/Cambridge you're heading. Kendall Square (commuter rail to EZ Ride Shuttle) or Lechmere (commuter rail to green line) should be around 1:15-1:20. It'll be over 1.5 hours anywhere else in Cambridge. You could probably do much of the Financial District closer to an hour (maybe a little over if you're on the opposite end of the Financial District) door to door via commuter rail. I think the additional issue with Swampscott could be limited parking (though I can't speak to that in the COVID era). Regardless, if you happen to find that parking is a hassle, it's only a few minutes further to the Lynn stop which has ample parking. Either destination would be a pretty miserable drive and I'd plan for 90 minutes and anticipate that some days would be better and others worse. Many people in the area just drive to Wonderland (20-40 minutes from Marblehead depending on location and traffic) and just take the Blue Line (great for Financial District commute, not for Cambridge). There's a ton of parking and trains run every 5 minutes or so at peak hours.
Marblehead is great plus there is not real added congestion during the summer but you get the beaches. And it is one of the few possible suburb places to live with one car which in alot of ways makes it cheaper than other places that require 2 cars.

Commute can be tough. I did it a bunch of different ways though we only had one car. Before work paid for my commuting pass, I took the 449/448 express bus to the seaport. One seat door to door was great but I think that is discontinued. Or if I didnt get an express bus I would get off at Wonderland, take it to Aquarium and jump on a blue bike to the Seaport.

When work started paying for my pass and I moved jobs to Kendall I would bike to Salem, take the express train (Salem-Boston, no stops) then blue bike from N. Station to Kendall.

But the most popular from people I met seemed to be people driving to Wonderland, paying to park, and taking the Blue line. Blue to red connection sucks so most people would get off at Bowdoin and walk to MGH and get back on.

Great place to commute if you work in a line from Aquarium to MGH or N Station. Kendall, back bay, or Seaport can be rough unless you are willing to do some walking/biking. Anything back bay, longwood, . or other parts of Cambridge is very tough.

Last edited by Boston_Burbs; 07-20-2022 at 11:57 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-02-2022, 12:49 PM
 
28 posts, read 19,792 times
Reputation: 25
Thanks everyone for your input - I have an update.

So husband is currently in the last phases for some roles (so all options are currently hypothetical at this point) - I am now going to be 100% remote for my job, so no more traveling to South Station.

Job 1: Near NBCU in Needham (looks like they have a shuttle bus from Needham station)
Job 2: Near Brigham Circle

Marblehead checks off all the boxes but for option 1 - this looks almost impossible from Marblehead. Is this a fair assessment? Google maps on business hours literally says at 8am 40 min drive to an hour and 40 minutes - oof.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-02-2022, 01:51 PM
 
1,503 posts, read 1,089,842 times
Reputation: 717
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcalloway4 View Post
Thanks everyone for your input - I have an update.

So husband is currently in the last phases for some roles (so all options are currently hypothetical at this point) - I am now going to be 100% remote for my job, so no more traveling to South Station.

Job 1: Near NBCU in Needham (looks like they have a shuttle bus from Needham station)
Job 2: Near Brigham Circle

Marblehead checks off all the boxes but for option 1 - this looks almost impossible from Marblehead. Is this a fair assessment? Google maps on business hours literally says at 8am 40 min drive to an hour and 40 minutes - oof.
Yes...soul crushing. The nicer towns on the water are not commuter friendly.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-02-2022, 02:24 PM
 
779 posts, read 868,847 times
Reputation: 919
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcalloway4 View Post
Thanks everyone for your input - I have an update.

So husband is currently in the last phases for some roles (so all options are currently hypothetical at this point) - I am now going to be 100% remote for my job, so no more traveling to South Station.

Job 1: Near NBCU in Needham (looks like they have a shuttle bus from Needham station)
Job 2: Near Brigham Circle

Marblehead checks off all the boxes but for option 1 - this looks almost impossible from Marblehead. Is this a fair assessment? Google maps on business hours literally says at 8am 40 min drive to an hour and 40 minutes - oof.
Is the South Shore off the list? If a daily commute to Cambridge is still a requirement, I would focus on North Shore

I've never commuted to Cambridge, but my husband and I did commute daily to the Back Bay while living in Hingham and Scituate and those commutes were soul crushing. We now live in Norwell and my husband's office is still in the Back Bay, but he rarely commutes in. If a commute to Cambridge was once or twice a week, the south shore could be do-able, but daily? It's too much.

For the record I also think Hingham gets a bad rap (as a person who lived there for years). While we did decide to buy in Norwell because I like how residents tend to keep to themselves, I think you befriend the people you relate to reagardless of where you live. Some of my closest friends are still in Hingham and they are down-to-earth and kind. Snobby people are in every suburb, you just have to find your people.

Good luck with the house hunt, OP!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-02-2022, 02:53 PM
 
28 posts, read 19,792 times
Reputation: 25
South Shore is now definitely back on the list! I was wrong at first to mention Cambridge as apparently the positions with Harvard he is up for are located near Brigham Circle; I just assumed Cambridge! I did not realize the school has campuses throughout the Boston metro - I am learning something new everyday! lol

I totally agree, snobby people are everywhere, unfortunately! I *really hope* due to MA and the Boston area in general, there is so much more to explore and I can manage my introverted self to go out and about to find those people As long as the schools are great and the town/city offers fun activities for the kids - that is what is important!

Thank you so much, I have a feeling I will need it!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top