Marblehead/Swampscott commute to Kendall Sq. Cambridge (Boston, Lynn: apartment, buying)

[New Englander]

I have been tossing around the possibility of buying and moving to the North Shore. Love Marblehead/Swampscott, and well aware of the housing prices. My question is about the commute. I work in the Kendall Square area and presently living in Beacon Hill. Commute via the Red Line is easy as it can get. In the summer I would almost prefer walking to work. However, the place that I am living in (a rental) is a typical Beacon Hill shoebox apartment. Would love to have more space, be closer to the water in a charming town. Marblehead would of course be he the top choice, however willing to consider Swampscott for the closer commute.

Anyone doing the daily commute from either town to Boston/Cambridge? How bad is it?

[Cliff Clavin]

I lived in Marblehead for a couple years, and commuted to Downtown Crossing daily for work. On a good day it was 1:00-1:15 each way. If it was snowing or pouring rain, it was 2hrs easy. It's a great town, and I loved living there. It's just a pain in the a** to get in and out of. Which, of course, is what's allowed the town to maintain it's charm.


I eventually moved to South Boston.

[such sweet thunder]

I lived in Marblehead for a year and it was 1:15-1:25 on a good day to the financial district. I couldn’t take it and moved to Fort Hill Roxbury. Marblehead is a tough commute from anywhere. My wife worked in Peabody at the time, and the commute from Marblehead which is only a few miles away was the same as our prior commute from Somerville. I miss the town though. Rents are reasonable; the views are breathtaking. It’s like your on vacation all summer; it just doesn’t make any dofference when you spend all of your free time commuting. Maybe Winthrop will get you what you’re looking for?

[gf2020]

It's possible and I know several people in Lynn, Swampscott & Marblehead who do it...

• Drive to Lynn commuter rail station
• Train from Lynn to North Station
• EZRide shuttle from North Station to Kendall Square

You'll have to decide if a 75-90 minute commute is worth it. As mentioned above, any kind of bad weather and that commute time could double.

One of the problems with Marblehead is that depending on where you live in Marblehead it can add another 10-25 minutes just getting out of the town. The Clifton section, near the Swampscott line, would be better in this regard.

[Boston_Burbs]

Marblehead to Kendall is tough, mainly because they blue/red do not connect.

Quickest I have found to get to Kendall is to bike to Salem Commuter Rail (express train) then bike from North Station to Kendal on the blue bikes. That is 1 hour door to door in the morning and 1:15 in the afternoon if I take the 4:15 train (not express).

You could also take the 441/442 to Wonderland, then Blue line to Bowdoin, then walk to Charles MGH and take the T again to Kendall. BUT the bus drivers are hit or miss. We have two terrible ones right now that add 10+ minutes.

Or you could just drive to Wonderland. It will save you 15mins vs. the bus.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by Cliff Clavin

I lived in Marblehead for a couple years, and commuted to Downtown Crossing daily for work. On a good day it was 1:00-1:15 each way. If it was snowing or pouring rain, it was 2hrs easy. It's a great town, and I loved living there. It's just a pain in the a** to get in and out of. Which, of course, is what's allowed the town to maintain it's charm.


I eventually moved to South Boston.

That's rough especially on rainy/snowy days. I think you're absolutely right about the charm being maintained due to to it's relative isolation.

I can understand why you moved to Southie.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by such sweet thunder

I lived in Marblehead for a year and it was 1:15-1:25 on a good day to the financial district. I couldn’t take it and moved to Fort Hill Roxbury. Marblehead is a tough commute from anywhere. My wife worked in Peabody at the time, and the commute from Marblehead which is only a few miles away was the same as our prior commute from Somerville. I miss the town though. Rents are reasonable; the views are breathtaking. It’s like your on vacation all summer; it just doesn’t make any dofference when you spend all of your free time commuting. Maybe Winthrop will get you what you’re looking for?

Ouch. I'm sorry to hear about the commutes, particularly your wife's commute to Peabody. I would have expected it to much shorter.

I have definitely started to consider Winthrop, especially in light of the responses to this thread. The big negative is the airplane noise/environmental concerns being so close to Logan.

You're absolutely right about feeling like you're on vacation all summer. It's too bad that I still need to trudge into the office, if I had my own practice (CPA), I would have greater flexibility in that regard.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by gf2020

It's possible and I know several people in Lynn, Swampscott & Marblehead who do it...

• Drive to Lynn commuter rail station
• Train from Lynn to North Station
• EZRide shuttle from North Station to Kendall Square

You'll have to decide if a 75-90 minute commute is worth it. As mentioned above, any kind of bad weather and that commute time could double.

One of the problems with Marblehead is that depending on where you live in Marblehead it can add another 10-25 minutes just getting out of the town. The Clifton section, near the Swampscott line, would be better in this regard.

Thank you for the advice regarding Clifton. The commute is definitely long and everyone is confirming my concerns regarding the long commute.

How about Swampscott itself? There is a commuter rail station in town, geographically the town is closer to Cambridge/Boston. I wonder if the commute is a bit better?

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by Boston_Burbs

Marblehead to Kendall is tough, mainly because they blue/red do not connect.

Quickest I have found to get to Kendall is to bike to Salem Commuter Rail (express train) then bike from North Station to Kendal on the blue bikes. That is 1 hour door to door in the morning and 1:15 in the afternoon if I take the 4:15 train (not express).

You could also take the 441/442 to Wonderland, then Blue line to Bowdoin, then walk to Charles MGH and take the T again to Kendall. BUT the bus drivers are hit or miss. We have two terrible ones right now that add 10+ minutes.

Or you could just drive to Wonderland. It will save you 15mins vs. the bus.

Thank you for laying out all the public transit options. The lack of Blue/Red line connection is a huge impediment in making the commute reasonable.

Relying on the bus is tough especially in inclement weather/traffic delays.

[bohemka]

A good North Station-to-Cambridge connection is long overdue. If that were in place, the commute wouldn't be bad. As it is, that missing link makes it tough. That said, I know many who do it from both Swampscott and Marblehead.