Where to live in between Boston and Amherst, Mass?

June 19, 2012 8:03 PM

Boston/Central Massachusetts Filter: My partner will be starting grad school in Amherst in the fall. I have a job in Boston that I'd like to keep. Where in central Mass should we look for an apartment?

We both know that we're in for a longish commute, and we're trying to find a place to live that maximizes convenience for both of us. I will take the commuter rail, so we need to live close to a commuter line; my partner will drive.

I've been browsing Craiglist listings in Worcester and Fitchburg, which are at the end of two commuter lines. What other locations/neighborhoods should we be looking in? (We'd prefer bucolic and charming, but really convenience is king and we won't be too picky.) Has anyone done this commute, either to Amherst or Boston?

Thanks!

posted by prior to travel & transportation around Massachusetts (17 answers total)

I grew up not quite at the end of the Fitchburg line and I went to college in Amherst. Commuting to Amherst via Route 2/202 is a bitch in the winter and I don't recommend it unless you're sort of hard core New Englanders. Worcester is a pretty lively place with a great public library and access to a lot of other stuff. I'd be tempted to try to work out a schedule situation where you actually live closer to one end or the other [like if you work four tens and stay in Boston a night or two but you guys live in Springfield] so that you actually have a home base that is near where one of you lives/works.
posted by jessamyn at 8:13 PM on June 19, 2012

Grafton? It's on the Worcester line, but more of a small town. Still close to the Pike, though.
posted by Diablevert at 8:40 PM on June 19, 2012

I live at the intersection of the Pike and Rt. 84 (see Sturbridge/Southbridge; that seems about half way between Boston and Amherst, without taking into account traffic. I commute to Woburn most days and occasionally into Cambridge. It's doable but mostly because my employer is fine with me running my own schedule -- I don't have to be in at a certain minute each day and I can arrive before or after the rush period, so that means a one-way trip is 1 - 1.25 hrs. Since most of the commute is the Mass Pike, it is alright in the winter. But I am a pretty hardcore northerner and I have AWD, so I may be biased. I also take liberal advantage of snowdays/working from home. There is plenty of bucolic and charming out here, right next to Old Sturbridge Village. It doesn't meet your requirement of being on a commuter line, and I can't speak to the drive up to Amherst, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents in case you give up on the commuter rail. I would expect the traffic to Amherst would be significantly less (although it may still be quite heavy on summer Fridays and those before holiday weekends...).

If you're absolutely committed to the commuter rail and decide to chance on Worcester, try Grafton instead. It will usually be faster for your gf, taking the Pike for the extra distance rather than traveling on 290 East, and it is more 'bucolic'. Perhaps others can compare the various commuter rail stations, but I'd bet the Grafton one is slightly easier to maneuver with (getting to, parking, etc.) than the one in Worcester.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:43 PM on June 19, 2012

whoops, missed the preview, and realized that I just assumed your 'partner' was 'gf'. My bad.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:44 PM on June 19, 2012

Worcester or a nearby suburb. Travel-wise, it's about as close to the 'middle' of Amherst and Boston as you can get.

I say this as someone who has lived in Amherst for nearly 4 years and traveled to Boston probably 20 times to visit a friend.

The commute will not be fun nor easy -- be warned!
posted by imagineerit at 8:59 PM on June 19, 2012

Worcester is way better than Fitchburg. WAY better. Live around Worcester. Many bucolic towns that meet your needs. Those commutes are going to be realllly rough. Has your partner looked at whether their graduate program is offered by UMass Amherst as an online degree? UMass actually has some graduate classes where there are in-person lectures in Worcester.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 10:52 PM on June 19, 2012

Nthing Worcester. Besides being an interesting town in its own right, it's pretty much right in the middle which minimizes the (incredibly annoying) commutes you'll both be undertaking regularly. I'm a city kid, so for me the idea of returning home from one of those commutes to a sleepy hamlet with nothing to do bugs the hell out of me. But right around Worcester offers you the best of all those things, minus the (incredibly annoying) commutes.
posted by Errant at 11:30 PM on June 19, 2012

Has anyone done this commute, either to Amherst or Boston?

No. But I am one of those people that has always gotten puzzled looks from people asking, at jobs and at schools and what not, "You do that commute every day?" And I'm telling you as one of those people, what you are proposing is LONG and not easy, at all.

Once, I did give serious consideration to doing this commute (Amherst/Boston) with my girlfriend. It was for similar reasons: She had been accepted to a school, and it wasn't realistic for me to completely relocate. However, we never seriously considered doing this as a daily commute. Our plan would have looked more like separate living during the week, with weekend commutes. That, I feel, is a more realistic "commuting" situation for a couple between those cities.

Probably my longest daily commute was to a job in Manchester, NH. It was about four hours of driving daily (round-trip, with traffic). It takes a toll. I got used to it, but (1) I have always made long commutes, so this wasn't completely new to me, and (2) I was paid for the trouble. Even so, it took a toll. And Amherst/Boston is longer.

If you are committed to this, I would suggest trying it out for practice. Try making the commute daily for awhile. If you can spare a week, do it for a week. If not, then do it on Saturday and again on Sunday for a month's worth of weekends. Get a real sense of what you're taking on, before you invest in a living situation. I had driven to Manchester plenty of times before, but commuting daily is different.
posted by cribcage at 12:31 AM on June 20, 2012

Don't put too much faith in the commuter rail, especially the western lines, for being on time or keeping the same schedule going forward. In doing your commute math, if you're taking the train, you'll need to factor in delays and the inevitable reduction of trains in the future.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:32 AM on June 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

My brother and sister-in-law have been doing this for years! First they lived in Worcester, and she took the train to downtown Boston while he could get right on the pike out to Amherst. I'm a fan of Worcester as a city, although bucolic and charming aren't really the words for it - rent's affordable, there are some great restaurants and some local culture, and you don't have to go far for outdoor activities if you're into that. BUT that commuter rail line can be wretched with delays, and once he reached the point of only having to go to Amherst two or three days a week, they moved to Newton, right off the pike. They're within walking distance to a 20-minute express bus downtown. And the drive to Amherst isnt that much longer, especially since it's usually not at rush hour They're closer to their social life, too, and I think they prefer it this way overall.

I'd also look at other towns along the Worcester rail line - still subject to delays, but being a little closer to Boston would help average it out.
posted by songs about trains at 5:36 AM on June 20, 2012

you guys live in Springfield

Just putting it out there that you do *not* want to live in Springfield. The crime rate is horrible and there's nothing going on that really redeems that. (I mean... it's really bad.) And it's not like "Oh, it's dangerous but it's livable." No, it's just flat out dangerous and there are no upsides - culturally/socially there is little to nothing going on.

Worcester is a great suggestion, but absolutely beware the commuter line. Living anywhere right off of I-190 should be fine for driving into Amherst and will work out well if you have to get into Boston by car.
posted by sonika at 5:46 AM on June 20, 2012

I've worked with several people who commuted from Worcester to locations inside Rte 128, both by car and by train. It's certainly doable, and I'd pay higher rent to live in Worcester over Fitchburg. (Also, the Fitchburg<>Amherst drive on 202 is just nasty, IMO, especially in the winter. I far prefer Rte 9, or eating the extra miles to take the Pike.)

Prioritize the driving experience over the commuter rail. Both those lines are notorious for delays; you may end up driving in more than you think you will, depending on where you work and how reliable you are expected to be in your daily schedule.
posted by catlet at 6:11 AM on June 20, 2012

Don't put too much faith in the commuter rail, especially the western lines, for being on time or keeping the same schedule going forward. In doing your commute math, if you're taking the train, you'll need to factor in delays and the inevitable reduction of trains in the future.

I know I'm about to jinx myself but the train (Worcester / Framingham line) has gotten so much better in the past year or so. It was really bad there for a couple of years but something changed and it's now mostly on-time.

There are a couple of expresses that would speed up your commute into and out of town, if those times work for you.

I second the suggestion of living closer to one end of the commute rather than in-between. Anywhere along the Worcester train line will be close enough to the Mass Pike for getting out to Amherst by car.
posted by bondcliff at 6:11 AM on June 20, 2012

Oops, I just noticed that you will be relying on the commuter rail. Sorry for assuming you'd be driving; as far as your partner's experience, I think Worcester is still the better location for a commute to Amherst, especially in the winter.
posted by catlet at 6:13 AM on June 20, 2012

I've done the Fitchburg to Boston commute on the commuter rail, and it's a beast. Take a look at the rail schedule on the MBTA site-- at best it takes an hour and 20 minutes on the express to get to North Station, and then tack on wherever else in the city you're going. AND the trains don't run frequently compared to other commuter lines-- nevermind the trains that only go to South Acton. I'm getting hives just thinking about it.

Choose Worcester.
posted by tenderman kingsaver at 7:09 AM on June 20, 2012

I did the Leominster <> Amherst commute one summer while I was in school and 2/202 wasn't bad, but of course there was no snow or ice. It took about an hour. I would be more inclined to live near the turnpike (not Springfield - lived there for two years and the city is DEAD).

My aunt lives in southern New Hampshire and commutes to Greenfield - there's a reliable bus with Wifi that goes from Nashua to South Station, and I know there are other commuter shuttles and buses from other locations in Mass. You might check them out too.
posted by bendy at 1:03 PM on June 20, 2012

I'm at UMass and one of my professors lives in Worcester. He takes Rte 9, and usually comes to campus four days a week. I also know someone who lived in central CT and commuted. So it's doable, but most of the people I know who have partners in Boston live in or near Amherst during the week and commute on weekends.
posted by apricot at 8:34 AM on June 21, 2012