Newton commute to Brighton (Boston, Cambridge: apartment, rent, transfer)

[ahughes8491]

Hello all....Relatively new to the forum, so please go easy, haha. Anyways, I am starting a position in Newton in a couple of weeks, right near the Riverside T station. I'm going to be commuting in from central mass for a couple months until I find an apartment somewhere closer to Boston. I've been looking at Allston/Brighton, but Riverside doesn't go that way. I would have to take Riverside all the way to Kenmore, then from Kenmore to Allston, right? This seems like a giant pain, because I'm obviously looking for an easier ride than dealing with traffic in my car. What would you suggest?

I'm not married to Allston/Brighton, but I also want a good nightlife where I can be within walking distance of some cool bars, or at least a T stop that gets me there quick. Same for getting to and from work. I'm a 27-year old single guy. Thanks!

[Northern-Mike]

You can take the Green Line to Reservoir and then switch to the 86 bus from there. You can also walk to the B line from there as well.Also you can go to Brookline Village and switch to the 66 bus, which goes through Brighton too.

[beth98]

Keep in mind the B, C and D lines while they don't connect are within two blocks of each other at Chestnut Hill Ave/Cleveland Circle/Reservoir so you could always walk the difference. I'm not sure what this would be like on an every day basis though, I've only used switch trains this way a few times. Depending on where you end up living driving through Newton on Comm could be quicker. There are a good amount of transportation options, I would worry about finding an apartment you like first.

[lovelife11]

I live near riverside station. When i go into brighton, i drive. Take commonwealth ave all the way, to me its easier that way.

[lovelife11]

Plus parking in newton is a lot easier too. One day you should try that drive, just go straight down commonwealth ave.

[vfrex]

You could try Central Square too. Night life is good, plenty of bars and restaurants, great proximity to the other squares in Cambridge and to downtown Boston. If 90 isn't a parking lot it should be a 15-20 minute driving commute to and from Riverside, similar distance as Brighton. Plus the red line from Central Square will get you to downtown Boston way faster than the Green Line from Brighton.

[UMassMike]

You could also live anywhere that the D line serves, including Brookline Hills, Brookline Village, or somewhere in town (Arlington, Boylston, etc.) on the other side, commuting out to Riverside.

[evergrn]

If you think you want to commute mostly by T, just live along the D line. Newton Centre, Reservoir (which is essentially Cleveland Circle) and Brookline Village are cool places for young professionals (as well as for families). You won't find a huge bar scene at any of those 3 places like you will along Comm Ave and Brighton Ave in Allston. But using D line, you can easily trek into the bar scene at Lansdowne or Back Bay, which would probably be geared more towards a guy in his late 20's than Allston. Coolidge Corner is a really cool, happening place for people in your age group (although it's more of a restaurant/cafe area than bars), and it's easily walkable from Brookline Village or just a short C line ride down from the Reservoir / Cleveland Circle.

The whole bar scene in Allston is geared more towards the college crowd and early 20's. At least that's my perception, although everyone's different. Anyways, I think the most ideal thing is to try to live along D line, so that you can get to Riverside with one train ride without having to transfer. It would especially be a real pain having to first take B, walk over to Reservoir (would be a long 10 minute walk in the snow or rain) and then catch D.

[ahughes8491]

Originally Posted by evergrn

If you think you want to commute mostly by T, just live along the D line. Newton Centre, Reservoir (which is essentially Cleveland Circle) and Brookline Village are cool places for young professionals (as well as for families). You won't find a huge bar scene at any of those 3 places like you will along Comm Ave and Brighton Ave in Allston. But using D line, you can easily trek into the bar scene at Lansdowne or Back Bay, which would probably be geared more towards a guy in his late 20's than Allston. Coolidge Corner is a really cool, happening place for people in your age group (although it's more of a restaurant/cafe area than bars), and it's easily walkable from Brookline Village or just a short C line ride down from the Reservoir / Cleveland Circle.

The whole bar scene in Allston is geared more towards the college crowd and early 20's. At least that's my perception, although everyone's different. Anyways, I think the most ideal thing is to try to live along D line, so that you can get to Riverside with one train ride without having to transfer. It would especially be a real pain having to first take B, walk over to Reservoir (would be a long 10 minute walk in the snow or rain) and then catch D.

Thanks so much for your response - I looked into Coolidge Corner, and I absolutely love it! I think I found a great place too, rent is going to be a little under $1000 including everything. I can take the T to Cleveland Circle, walk over to the D and take that to Riverside. Plus just Coolidge in itself seems awesome. Thanks again.