Commute from West Roxbury to Framingham (Boston, Worcester: transfer, neighborhoods, living in)

[gamsauer]

Does anyone know what the commute is like from West Roxbury to Framingham? I am looking at a job in Framingham and was interested in living in West Roxbury/Roslindale. I really wanted to take public transportation. However, when I look on MBTA it seem like that isn't possible unless I go from WR to BackBay to Framingham. Seems a little insane.

[scarletfire]

Is your new job walking distance from the Framingham train station? There's only one station in Framingham and it's right downtown (not an area I'd recommend walking around after dark BTW). Even so, this would be a difficult commute by train. The Framingham/Worcester line runs out of South Station and Back Back. It's only about 30 minutes on the "express" train from Back Bay to Framingham but getting to Back Bay could take awhile and there aren't a ton of trains outbound from Boston to Framingham in the morning so if you miss the 7:30, for example, you're stuck waiting til 9am. I have a friend who was commuting from Newbury St to Framingham but she always drove. Do you mind if I ask, why are you looking to live in Roslindale/W Roxbury? If you prefer a more urban setting there are certainly areas you could live with an easier commute than that.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by scarletfire

Is your new job walking distance from the Framingham train station? There's only one station in Framingham and it's right downtown (not an area I'd recommend walking around after dark BTW). Even so, this would be a difficult commute by train. The Framingham/Worcester line runs out of South Station and Back Back. It's only about 30 minutes on the "express" train from Back Bay to Framingham but getting to Back Bay could take awhile and there aren't a ton of trains outbound from Boston to Framingham in the morning so if you miss the 7:30, for example, you're stuck waiting til 9am. I have a friend who was commuting from Newbury St to Framingham but she always drove. Do you mind if I ask, why are you looking to live in Roslindale/W Roxbury? If you prefer a more urban setting there are certainly areas you could live with an easier commute than that.

The trains (including subway and trolley as well as commuter rail) do mostly run on lines that are like spokes of a wheel, with the central part of Boston as the hub, so, unfortunately it's true that your only train route between West Rox. and Framingham involves going into downtown and then back out in another direction. One suggestion I have is to check the bus routes between West Rox. and Newton. From Newton you can take the train to Framingham, and sometimes the busses follow a more direct route between suburban areas, without doing the into-town-and-then-back-out thing. A disadvantage there is that changing between busses, subways, commuter trains, etc., can make for a long commute, becuase of the time you might need to wait at transfer points. Taking the bus to a train station in Newton is at least a possibility worth checking into, though.

I agree with ScarletF that the tricky part of getting to work in Framingham by commuter rail is that the station in Framingham is not very close to the town's real economic center. I'm not sure I agree that the area around the train station is dangerous at night. That depends on you, and how comfortable you are about making your way through seedy neighborhoods. As for how practical a commute this would be, it depends on the location of your job in Framingham. To many locations along route 9, where a lot of the jobs in Framingham are located, it could easily be a walk of an hour or more from the train station. There is a local transit system in Framingham, the LIFT bus, but their busses stop running very early in the evening. The LIFT also does not run as often as the T busses in the areas closer to the city, and my experience has been that the LIFT does not always coordinate very well with the times the commuter trains arrive in Framingham. This will depend on what time you arrive in Framingham, though, so if your job is in the daytime, when the LIFT runs, and won't be located near the train station, you should definitely check the LIFT schedule.

LIFT Bus Info - Framingham, MA

[gamsauer]

Thank you for your responses. Doesn't look like Framingham is doable. I would rather work in downtown Boston anyway. I don't want to drive anymore. I am so sick of driving. I live in Raleigh, NC and we have to drive everywhere. I want to walk and take busses and Ts.

[gamsauer]

Originally Posted by scarletfire

If you prefer a more urban setting there are certainly areas you could live with an easier commute than that.

I meant to ask you which areas you would suggest. I am looking for a urban setting.

[bingo08]

I wouldn't do it. Train or driving would be a nightmare. Maybe you should consider a town or city a lil closer to Framingham to live in.

[gamsauer]

Well, I kind of wanted to be close enough to Boston to be able to use public transportation. Honestly, I am so sick of driving. I guess I will keep looking.