Where to live if reverse commuting to Waltham? (Boston, Cambridge: rentals, home)

[what2d369]

I'm considering a relocation to the Boston area and would be reverse commuting to a job in Waltham. I'm wondering if you folks have any recommendations on neighborhoods to consider that would allow for a reasonable commute to Waltham (about 30 minutes by car during peak rush hour) while meeting some of my other criteria. My preference would be to live in a walkable community closer to the city that offers lots of restaurants, pubs, parks, yoga/fitness studios. I'm a single professional in my mid-thirties so I'd like to avoid the undergrad neighborhoods. I'd probably want to keep my rent to $2500/month or less as well. Thanks for any recommendations!

[495neighbor]

Which is higher priority walkable greenspace or cute business district as you won't find both in any of the towns near Waltham? The best fit I can think of for what you are looking for would be Arlington.

[MikePRU]

I would check out West Newton. It has a very cute business district with a number of great restaurants and pubs. Plus, a wonderful independent theater that shows "art" films. Lots of parks/playgrounds in the area and extremely easy access to both Boston and Waltham from that area. I'm not sure what $2500/month gets you there though as I don't generally deal with rentals.

[Bucephalas]

I would look around Fresh Pond and Huron Village. The former will give you green space you crave while the latter will provide the walkable business district. There are some grad students but it's largely devoid of undergraduates. You should consistently be able to do around 30 minutes during rush hour since you won't need any highways.

[Bob Lanata]

Waltham itself may be a great place. I lived there for a while and it was great. After reading your post, I believe that parts of Waltham would fit for you and that would be much less of a commute which means more time doing better things than working.

[gf2020]

I'm not sure Waltham really qualifies as a "reverse commute" from any location. It's proximity to routes 128, 2 and 20 mean that you are pretty convenient to many locations but you also encounter traffic in all directions.

[Bob Lanata]

gf2020, my comments were meant to suggest Waltham itself as a place to live in lieu of a commute as it may fit the requirements of what2d369. Less commute, more personal time. I should have been clearer.

[Verseau]

I would look into Central Square in Cambridge, or Porter Square & Davis Square on the Cambridge/Somerville line. These neighborhoods are more walkable, vibrant, and well-connected to the city than the previous recommendations, although you will also probably get less for your money here. There are some undergraduates living in all of these neighborhoods, but they do not dominate in the same way that they do in, say, Harvard Square or Allston-Brighton. These are very "leafy" parts of the city with lots of small parks scattered about. Central is close to the river, while Davis is bisected by a bike trail that links up with the Minuteman Trail (and Spy Pond etc.). Porter isn't too far from Daheny Park and Fresh Pond.

[semiurbanite]

I used to do a reverse commute from Porter Square to Waltham. It's not too bad, but it can exceed 30 minutes if you are driving home between 4:30-7:30 PM due to a backup of traffic on Rt 2 and Alewife Brook Parkway. On a bad day its takes an hour sometimes, but average is probably 30-40. The drive from Porter to Waltham in the morning is not as bad, under 30 minutes.

[Bucephalas]

Originally Posted by semiurbanite

I used to do a reverse commute from Porter Square to Waltham. It's not too bad, but it can exceed 30 minutes if you are driving home between 4:30-7:30 PM due to a backup of traffic on Rt 2 and Alewife Brook Parkway. On a bad day its takes an hour sometimes, but average is probably 30-40. The drive from Porter to Waltham in the morning is not as bad, under 30 minutes.

This is correct, which is one of the reasons why I recommended Fresh Pond rather than the usual Red Line neighborhoods. It's quite difficult to do a 30 hour commute with these congested neighborhoods. For Fresh Pond, one can easily get off route 2 before the Alewife backup and take the relatively quiet side streets in Belmont (if one even takes route 2 from Waltham which is not a given). Trying to make that left turn onto Alewife Brook Parkway during rush hour and navigating the streets of East Arlington and West Somerville is road rage waiting to happen.