Live in Maynard/Marlborough and commute? (Boston, Newton: apartment, rent, crime)

[Wants2MoveNOW]

Does anyone live in Maynard/Marlborough and commute into Boston? Is that a do-able thing?

(Sorry for the odd question, I'm from Los Angeles and looking to move to Boston with my husband. I want to live in a safe neighborhood with affordable housing and good schools. I'm starting to get incredibly discouraged because where I'm finding affordable housing, are in high-crime areas with terrible public schools. Right now the most we can afford is about 310K.)

[Parsec]

I'm in North Sudbury and downtown Maynard is 5-10 minutes NW of my house. I work in the financial district. When I take the commuter rail in Lincoln it takes me 1h20 min if I catch the express or 1.5 hours on a regular train. This morning I missed the train due to worse-than-usual high school traffic and drove to Alewife to South Station and it took 1h50m.

If I were in your situation I would definitely rent closer to Boston (perhaps a 2 bedroom in Newton or Brookline). Your budget puts you in a town along 495 and if you want your sanity, you'll have to work somewhere along 128 to keep your commute under an hour.

[495neighbor]

Framingham, Ashland, Westborough and Walpole all have above average schools, homes in your range, and all have trains going into South Station Boston. Occasionally, Natick has fixer-uppers in your range that will require some sweat equity.

I doubt you'll find anything bigger than a small 1 BR below $310 in Brookline.

[Parsec]

I meant the OP should rent a 2BR apartment for around $1600/mo rather than buy a 3BR house for $300k. Based on what the OP wants I don't think it's worth "settling" for a town that he/she may not enjoy living in.

[wheelz]

I have commuted from both of those towns to Boston and it was horrible! i was not able to take the train due to the job I was doing at the time. I had a company vehicle that I needed when I got there. I had many days of close to two hours one way. The mornings were terrible and going home was even worse because, well, I just wanted to get home. 3-4 hours a day to go back and forth to work is a miserable existence. I felt trapped like a rat with no other option but to try to relax and not beat the snot out of other commuters. :-)

[Parsec]

I should note the horrible commute is only during peak rush hour. I have 2 neighbors who also work in Boston (actually every house on my street has 1 person who works in Boston). One leaves the house by 5AM and it takes her 1 hour by driving to Alewife and taking the red line. The other one leaves the house by 6AM and drives into Back Bay in 50 min. As long as you're out of the house by 6AM or leave after 9:30AM you should be fine.

[Wants2MoveNOW]

I'm looking to move to Boston with my husband, but in affordable/safe areas with good schools.

Does anyone live in Marlborough/Maynard and commute in to the city every day? Would that be too much?

I'm having a hard time finding affordable houses in good school districts. Sigh.

[Parsec]

I don't think she liked our answers so she's asking again.

Wants2MoveNOW: Are you hoping someone will tell you those 2 towns have good schools and are an easy commute into Boston? The fact is, the school districts in both of those towns are terrible (slightly below-average at best) and the commute is terrible - close to 2 hours each way to Boston.

I think 495neighbor gave the best advice to look in other towns such as Framingham or Ashland. You may be able to find a smaller house (a 1950's ranch) in your price range there. The schools are above average in Framingham and quite good in Ashland. The commute to Boston from either town will be faster than from Marlborough/Maynard. It's about 1 hour 15 minutes door to door from Framingham and 5-10 min longer from Ashland by train.

[CaseyB]

First of all, she needs to let us know WHERE in Boston she needs to commute TO. Or if it's even in the city at all.

It makes a difference whether to look north, west, or south of the city.

[Happy in Maynard]

I have to disagree with Parsec on a few points. Her comments are a bit off the mark. Often posters to this message board promote their own town over other communities. Be wary of some of these comments friends.

First, the Maynard Schools are middle of the road to a click above average. New superintendent, brand new state-of the-art High School, effective teachers and committed parents are moving the dial in a very positive direction. I am not intimately familiar with Framingham nor Ashland Schools. Based on conversations with co-workers and friends who actually live there, these schools are certainly no better than Maynard Schools. Framingham, is a huge district. Maynard is quarter the size.

Check the Massachusetts DESE for details on schools remembering these statisitcs lag a year or two behind reality.

Ashland has an extremely toxic superfund site in town. This has been widely reported on WGBH, Boston Globe and most newspapers in the region. It's quite problematic. The Ashland Police Department has been plaqued with internal scandal and intrigue for years impacting public safety. Maynard is one of the safest communities in the State. Close-knit neighborhoods. Easy to get around town. I avoid Framingham to shop. It's simply too congested most of the time to be worth the trip. Friends who live there like the bustle, lots to do - but didn't move there for the school system.

In terms of the commute, yes. Maynard to Boston can be challenging if you drive 117 or 27 to 128 but still do-able depending upon when you begin your drive and where you work in Boston. Traffic is a fact of life for all gainfully employed individuals in Massachusetts.