Belmont, Watertown or Waltham?

[annitta]

Guys, we found a great apartment in Newton, on the last stop of the subway.
Do you think driving from there to Woburn on the 95Rt would be a hassle?Is it often jammed?

[holden125]

Originally Posted by annitta

Guys, we found a great apartment in Newton, on the last stop of the subway.
Do you think driving from there to Woburn on the 95Rt would be a hassle?Is it often jammed?

Assume you mean by Riverside?

I guess it depends to some extent on where in Woburn you're going? It's a straight ride on 128 but 128 has some pretty heavy traffic. Without traffic, maybe 20-25 mins. With traffic, could take significantly longer.

BTW, around here the part of Interstate 95/Route 128 that loops around Boston is generally called 128 and not 95, because Mass. state highway 128 was built long before the Feds designated part of it as I-95 when the proposal to build I-95 through JP and downtown Boston was abandoned for good in the 1970's. Thus most people call the part where the two overlap 128. Where I-95 splits off north (heading from Peabody up to New Hampshire and Maine) and south (heading from Westwood toward Providence) of the city, that is 95. The part where 95 overlaps with 128 is generally called 128

[annitta]

thanks a lot!

[merwin101]

I saw that you asked about Stearns St & High St in Waltham a few posts back. We used rent right there from 2003 to 2007.

The good:

It's a quick walk up to Moody St, which has a good selection of restaurants and a movie theater. The commuter rail station & bus stop into Cambridge & Boston is about a 10 - 15 min walk. My wife would take the commuter rail into Cambridge daily for work; I think it was a 10 min trip or so into Cambridge's Porter Square. (For going into Boston/Cambridge in the weekend, the commuter rail was too infrequent four our tastes and we would usually end up driving. The bus goes into Central Square, but it takes almost an hour).

Also, about 1.5 to 2 miles the other way is West Newton's center, which is smaller than Moody St, but also has a movie theater and some restaurants.

It was an affordable area and I never felt in danger and we personally never had any problems with crime.


The bad:

In general, the area feels a bit rundown. Our section of Stearns St was nice, but as you walk around the area, you see some properties in disrepair and/or overcrowded with tenants. Trash day could be gross with these overcrowded properties ... just piles of garbage bags with trash spilling out of them and no trash cans. You'll have people going around rooting for recyclable cans. In theory I don't mind this, but if we hadn't yet moved out the recycling bins to the curb, they would come into our backyard to go through the recycling.

You'll see some drunk/filthy/mentally disabled/"down & out" types around the area. My wife would occasionally complain of getting catcalled or stared down by sketchy looking people. We never felt in danger, but everybody has a different threshold. And there were also friendly neighbors.


The bad specific to Stearns St & High St: Some very noisy neighbors, including a guy who owns a landscaping business. His trucks frequently take up a lot of the off street parking, and they love to let those trucks idle and idle. And he would compulsively leaf blow his property until every last speck of dirt was blown onto the street or the neighbor's sidewalk.

[annitta]

thanks for the input!Actually this place has been taken already but after I read your post I don't regret at all.

[angiemcc]

Annitta - The Newton-to-Woburn northbound commute on Rte 128 in the mornings is not that bad. There's definitely traffic, but your husband would be doing a "reverse commute" because the majority that morning traffic is southbound.

Newton's a nice community. Not super diverse and definitely leaning toward upper middle class to wealthy in many of its villages (neighborhoods) but the school system is great and the area is considered pretty safe by most standards.

And finally, there are plenty of CVS and Walgreen stores, as well as hospitals and clinics in the area where you could look for a position.

Good luck!

[annitta]

Guys, we rented th efirst floor of a 2-family brick house in Belmont, at Waverly station.We lik eth eplace, it's expensive though.Is this a nice area?

[holden125]

Originally Posted by annitta

Guys, we rented th efirst floor of a 2-family brick house in Belmont, at Waverly station.We lik eth eplace, it's expensive though.Is this a nice area?

Too late now, no?

It's a nice area though not as wealthy as other parts of Belmont. There are just more two-family houses near there but there's nothing wrong with that. We live in one too, but closer to Cambridge.

From Waverley it's an easy drive to the Winter Street exit on Route 2, and from there you'd go west, against traffic, to the exchange with 128.

[annitta]

I'd rather live in the worst part of Belmont than in the best part of the Bronx in NYC(where we are now) Anyway we are not as rich as moct people in Belmont so we'll probably feel more comfortable there. Otherwise, we wish we could be closer to Cambridge, but right now we can't afford it