Relocating to Boston, working WAY south of the city, where to live?? (Cambridge: for rent, roughest)

[inavideo]

Hey everyone, I am relocating to the Boston area this summer and need some help figuring out where to live. The main catch is that I am working about an hour south of the city. I definitely want to live in an urban environment where a lot of young people live.

The challenge is to find a place that meets that need while balancing commute time and cost. This is especially challenging because I am unfamiliar with the traffic patterns in the Boston area; while I can see on Google Maps what the general travel time is, I have no idea how long the drive will actually take with traffic. For example, the drive from Brookline to my office says ~1 hour but I'm guessing that it would take much more than that in the morning since it doesn't look super close to a highway. I'm fine with about an hour commute but I think everyone can agree that a long drive is much more pleasant when the cars are actually moving for most of the drive.

Aside from the commute, here is a little bit more about what I'm looking for:

• $1,500 or less for rent and utilities (not including internet and no roommates)
• Urban environment (I'm in my mid-20s, single and hardly know anyone in Boston)
• Near public transportation (If I'm driving 2 hours a day, I don't want to drive too much on the weekends)
• Young vibe (for example, I love the Village and Brooklyn in NYC; parts of Jersey City are OK, too)
• Reasonably safe for a female to walk around
• Parking
• Not a crazy loud student ghetto (I need to be able to sleep at night and get up for work in the morning)

Are there any areas of Boston that meet most, if not all, of these criteria? FYI, a friend of mine is really pushing Cambridge but I am concerned about hitting crazy traffic in the morning.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!!

[Verseau]

Yeah, the "four squares" on the western side of Cambridge and Somerville along the Red Line is really the best match for your criteria - Central, Harvard, Porter, Davis. But the commute might be tough. You didn't mention what town you'll be commuting to, so it's hard to say for sure - it also depends on how early you'll be leaving in the morning.

Coolidge Corner in Brookline would be a good match too, and the commute might be a bit better than Cambridge, but I'm not sure by how much...

Options south of downtown (in prime commuting location) for the criteria you described are limited, but I would definitely suggest looking into the South End. You'll probably get less for your money here, there's less of a "young" vibe than Cambridge/Somerville or Coolidge Corner, and parking is probably a lot harder to come by, but I think it's still a strong contender.

[inavideo]

Thank you so much for your input! I'm commuting to Woonsocket, Rhode Island. I suppose I would leave around 7:45 or 8 in the morning to get to work around 9? I hadn't considered the South End- I definitely need to check that out.

I'm OK with a long commute, I've done an hour each way before, but I have found that I am much more OK with it if I'm not spending a lot of time in gridlock. That is when it starts to feel pretty rough.

If I'm in Brookline, do you (or anyone else reading this) happen to know if I would end up spending a lot of time stuck in gridlock/super slow traffic on Boylston Street or if it be OK since I'd be heading out of the city? Or maybe there is a better way to the highway so I don't have to worry about it? Also, for Cambridge, does traffic move on the highway in the morning? Looking at the map makes me wonder if going right through or next to Boston in the morning would present crazy gridlocked traffic.

Once again, thanks for your help!

[charolastra00]

You're looking upwards of an hour and a half - 2 hours for a rush hour commute to Woonsocket from Boston. Would you consider Providence? That's a much more reasonable distance, within commuter rail distance of Boston, and still very young and hip.

[brightdoglover]

Concur with Providence. As much as I love Cambridge and Brookline, it's a no-go for getting out of town to the highway, especially south. Does Amtrak run to Woonsocket? OP could live on the redline and get to South Station for Amtrak.
It does sound like an absurd drive, both in traffic and in time.
Why not rent near the job, like Woonsocket to get acclimated to the job and explore other living options at leisure?

[CaseyB]

No train to Woonsocket and I don't think the OP would want to live there, anyway. Providence has some nicer, vibrant areas.

[beth98]

I agree on Providence. Would you rather drive 2-3 hours round trip 5 days a week for work or 2 hours round trip on a Saturday if you want to go out in Boston. I live in Providence now and usually end up in Boston one of the weekend days, though not always as there really is plenty in Providence. Unless your lifestyle involves a lot of partying and drinking (and not driving) on the weekends, Providence would be a nice fit. If you really want to stay close to Boston maybe consider Quincy. At least that way you would start your day south of the city and it's on the red line.

[charolastra00]

The problem with Woonsocket is that there's not a really great way to get there as a straight shot from the Boston area. The Boston metro is very dense - I drive about 12 miles for my commute from Somerville/Medford to Waltham and it takes between 45 minutes to an hour - and that's using all the back roads with minimal highway time. If the highways are backed up, it's snowing/foggy/a drop of rain, and accident, etc then forget about it.

I had the same idea - live where my social life is (my friends all live within a mile or so of my house) and commute to work, but that's miserable. Go the other way around. Plus Providence is cheaper.

[AnonChick]

If you absolutely positively MUST live nearer to Boston, than to Providence, I would suggest Newton/Wellesley, and taking the long way around on I-90 (Mass Pike) to route 146 heading south toward Woonsocket. OR - somewhere near Canton, and taking I-95, then I-295 at Atwood, then turning back up again at 146 coming from the other direction into the Woonsocket area.

The reason I suggest this, is because you want to be on the OUTSIDE of the I-95/93 beltway, for your daily commute. If you're inside it, then you need to assume another 1/2 hour commute time in each direction during rush hour. Just by being outside that beltway, you can cut off a half hour commute time. Plus, it's still around a half hour into Boston, during the off hours.

It's the whole rush hour thing that's the roughest. That, and Saturdays at noon. You want to avoid that beltway, during those hours, if at all possible.

Other than that, I'd join with the rest of the crowd and recommend Providence. But even that comes with a caveat: Providence highways during rush hour aren't merely congested, but the highways have winding turns in them and it can be pretty scary when you're trying to dodge traffic to get on or off an exit/entrance ramp.

[Frances6]

That is when it starts to feel pretty rough.