Submitted by BirthdayPlayful t3_z2c3p1 in boston
I recently got offered a position in downtown boston, the rents near downtown are crazy expensive. So, I was wondering if I should stay in a suburb and commute via car? The catch is I have an old car 160k mile toyota which has lived its entire life in California. Car would go for 5k, but shipping it to and fro between boston would cost me 2k.
Need advice as I’ve heard stories about boston’s traffic.
Places that are closer to the rail stations also tend to be expensive. The housing situation seems to be pretty tight.
And yet you want to pay for downtown parking?
My office has free parking, should have included that in the post sorry.
Not sure what planet you live on. We did just have a huge shut down of multiple lines and people jumping off of bridges because or trains derailed or caught on fire. It seems we will be having similar shutdowns for years to come. I personally wouldn’t ever commute again on the T. If offered a position in downtown and it required me in the office I’d required a parking stipend.
Fine, stay out in the country and get a job repairing wheat threshers if that's how you want to live. We'll see who has the most limbs still attached in the long run. (It's probably a coin toss.)
Not sure about you but I’d take losing a limb to commuting on the T every day. I gave that up after our friendly mbta operators left us at community college after waiting in north station for hours. They knew what was up and that they’d have to dump all of us there. No buses nothing just too many people. Couldn’t even Uber. That was one of the more notable. I also remember the many times the train broke down in Porter and waiting for busses. It really hasn’t stopped just look at the posts on this Reddit every other day about how bad it is. It’ll take many years of frustration and tons of money to get it close to anything bearable for the commuter. You can have fun with the frustration but just don’t post it here.
Oh boy do I love reminiscing about how great cars are relative to public transit. Soooo many good times.
I remember this one time where my car got rear ended by an SUV going 50 mph. Boy was that fun!
Oh, and there was this other time where my battery died in the middle of no where. Haha good times!
There was this other time where I got a flat tire and didn't have a spare. lol!
Oh I forgot, there was another time where my wife and I got t-boned. What a fun ride!
And there was another time where it took 4 hours to get home when it usually takes 30 minutes. Silly traffic!
There was another time where I almost went into the ditch because my car lights randomly turned off. Surprise!
And who can forget about all of the parking tickets! There's too many to count! Haha such great parking police!
Winter is the best. It's such a blast trying to find parking on the street after some snow. My favorite winter activity!
My favorite day of the week is street cleaning day. It's the best because I get these fun little notes left on my windshield for parking on the wrong side of the wrong between 8am-12pm. Clean streets woooo!
Ahhhh such fond memories.
I'm personally just a maintenance cost and insurance stan. It's the little things in life.
Find somewhere on the commuter rail. Depending on where the job is, either going to North or South Station/Back Bay.
Really depends on a few things.
Where the job is: if it’s legit downtown, unless they have an employee lot, expect to pay and arm and leg for parking. Even places with employee lots can charge a stupid amount and tend to having waitlists for more veteran employees.
Where you end up living: Some places in the burbs are pretty accessible via rapid transit (all things considered). However buses and far flung places on the T can be pretty dicey, especially in inclement weather. If you end up in the city, parking that car (and finding parking for that car when you get home from your shift) can be equally dicey.
In my opinion though, if you end up in a place with decent street parking AND accessible via rapid transit- a car is a great luxury to have. Despite what those /r/fuckcars acolytes may say, it’s good to have the freedom to bang up to NH for some camping or drive outside the city for a day and not worry about trying to find a ride or rent a car.
To be honest, I strongly disagree.
Having a car may be a luxury for the car's owner (at times), but adding more vehicles to Boston traffic slows everyone else's commute. It is pollutant, dangerous (to yourself and pedestrians/cyclists with whom you share roadways), and often extremely inconvenient for the reasons many others have shared above.
For the times that you need a car --- which, as a /r/fuckcars acolyte, I must admit are a reality --- services like ZipCar are pretty affordable and very accessible. There are four different ZipCar pickup/drop-off locations within a 7 minute walk of my building. Sure the marginal cost on a car-share service seems high, but also consider that with these you are not paying for gas, insurance, maintenance, or the up-front cost of the vehicle itself (and, in OP's case, shipping the vehicle cross-country). It's like $50 to take one of those bad boys for a whole day, which imo is a pretty reasonable rate to jog up to NH for a day.
OP, if it weren't obvious from the rest of my comment, I would ditch the car and consider a multi-modal commute. Places near rail stops too expensive? No problem -- ride a bicycle to the rail stop, then take the train into downtown, and reverse the process in the evening. A truly Euro-style commute ;)
I would love it if I didn't disagree with this comment. The world would be a better place.
I don't know where you're getting Zipcar for a day for 50 bucks. Has it gotten cheaper? Before I finally gave in and bought a car, it at least 80 if not more per day. If you live in an actual suburb, they are few and far between (my nearest one now is a 30 minute walk). If you have 7 around you, maybe you live in places like Somerville, JP, etc., in which case you have non-commuter rail public transport already.
Multi-modal commute in Boston? Biking to the commuter rail on presumably semi-suburban roads in the winter? Then, waiting for your too-late commuter rail in the cold?
OP likely won't last long doing this because we don't have the infrastructure, respect for biking, weather, and public transit infrastructure of the European cities you're probably thinking about.
I used to this as a reverse commute - a bus to a train to the commuter rail. I didn't work 9 - 5 hours so I'd have to get there an hour early, because if my on-time train was late I'd be late. How late was unpredictable until the disastrous winter that would make traveling by commuter rail impossible. I honestly gave up and started taking ubers (I didn't work every day, and it was expensive, but it was more reliable than zipcar).
OP, if you are on a subway line, even if you're far out, you're probably okay (though you'd likely appreciate having a car). If you live on the commuter rail, think carefully about your schedule, shut downs, access to groceries, costs, etc. And above all, don't plan to drive to the middle of downtown Boston for work every day - that's honestly the worst option. The car is for the rest of life and weekend trips here.
Zipcar rates depend on the vehicle. If you get say, a Honda Fit, then you can get a pretty reasonable day rate.
And yes, I'm in Camberville so I have a ton of Zipcars near me and little experience with commuter rail. My comment was predicated on the idea that OP would live near a red/orange line stop, not a commuter rail stop.
Camberville is definitely not the suburbs in the way that OP seems to mean it, and a red/orange stop here to me is the subway (rail to me means commuter rail). Camberville also isn't a place to save on rent in the greater Boston area. It's basically the best of all worlds - tons of public transit, lots of options, universities and zipcars and buses and walkable. To me, it's preferable to live there than downtown. And I would say you definitely don't need a car there. But it comes at a premium.
I did check on zipcar prices - they start at 83 from what I can tell, for a day. In Camberville, I'd totally still use one and ditch the car. But I think OP would be living further out since that area is not really cheaper.
The transit system here is not reliable enough to not need a car at times. Stop pretending it is. There is no grid here.
If you read my comment, you would see that I... said the same thing?
Lol no. I live in Boston and will never get rid of my car. Why be uncomfortable and ride a bike in the cold or wait for the delayed trains. Car trumps pubic transportation infinitely. I can go where I want when I want on my own schedule.
Where do you think you're parking in downtown Boston?
Please search this sub before posting. Every week we get this exact question. Every week it's the same answer.
Forget shipping your car to Boston. Drive it here. Your only costs are lodging, food, and gas. That's much less than $2000.
Also if your not in a rush it seems super fun.
You really do need to take advantage of the few chances you get to see that much of the country.
This isn't California. People mostly use public transportation here. Unless you have guaranteed downtown parking, driving to/from downtown for work will be more expensive than the increased cost of having an apartment near the T.
As well, driving here is not easy. Between the traffic, the aggressive drivers, the confusing navigation, the awful road maintenance and general batfuckery and the winter - you'll spend more time boiling blood in traffic than on a train. For your own mental health, I don't recommend it.
Look into one of the farther, cheaper suburbs like Braintree for T access. Or if you want to be further out along Commuter Rail, places like Lowell are affordable and walkable.
No. Take the T
Take the train/commuter rail…
Nope traffic is bad enough don’t need more people who don’t know how to drive around town
i got rid of my car when i moved here from the west coast which i think was one of the best decisions i’ve made.
having a car in the greater boston area costs more than you might think when you realize there are tolls to get in/out of the city and paying for parking is insane.
You won't want the car to work downtown. Parking and traffic suck and it's expensive.
You won't want the car if you live in or near downtown for the same reasons.
You may want the car if you live a little bit further. About halfway to the ends of the T lines, it might be worth having the car for getting away from the city. Use the T for work and use the car once every week or two to go hiking, skiing, etc.
Once you are off the T, you'll probably need a car for daily life, but you may want to take the commuter rail to get to work. This means driving to the stop, switching to the commuter rail, then switching to the T and doing the whole thing in reverse in the evening. You could also drive the whole way, but like I said in the beginning, traffic sucks and parking is expensive.
The choice to bring the car depends on your lifestyle, budget, and personal preference. If you're big into outdoor life, then living further away and having a car would serve you well. If you're looking for city life and are happier walking through museums and parks then living closer to the core and skipping the car would be better.
You are only bringing one car? Seems crazy. I’d consider bringing a second one.
For when the exhaust pipe rusts out the first winter
Live ½-¾ mile from a T stop & take the T to work. Not near a commuter rail, but near a Red, Blue, Green, or Orange line T stop.
That's far enough from the T to find a rental with available street parking, but near enough to ride the T to work, rather than driving to work.
That should open up your rental search to less expensive places than downtown Boston.
It depends a lot on where you live. I've never owned a car, but I have always lived a short walk from a T stop. It was my primary criteria when apartment and later house hunting. For things like groceries - delivery is pretty common here and I have never felt it to be an obstacle that required a car. You can always rent one for occasional use for a lot less than you might pay to gas, maintain, insure and park it.
When it snows, and it will, you’re screwed. Sell the car. Use the T.
Lived in Brookline a bit further out, but on the Green line. Had a spot in the building that rented a parking spot separately for a not terrible amount. I'd avoid parking downtown like the plague unless as mentioned earlier you get a spot in your company's lot.
uhmmmm yes bring it for daily life. and live in braintree weymouth or quincy. but take the subway to work. parking is expensive af in the city
This is not NYC. Transit is okay, but a Car is a huge bonus and yours is already paid for. Bring it
It will still effectively cost than $7000 upfront compared to selling it before moving (a trade off of the $5000 they could get from selling it, plus the $2000 they'll spend to ship it).
Very similar story here: got a job downtown, moved from TN (okay maybe not as far as CA but still). We ended up renting in Revere and choosing it specifically for proximity to the blue line: public transportation here honestly rocks! Our building doesn't have parking, so we ended up not bringing the car (although fortunately most rentals, especially further away, will include some sort of parking). Commuting has been easy peasy, we can get pretty much anywhere we want using mbta. We're missing the car though: when you do groceries or shop for stuff to furnish the apartment, hauling it on bike/public transport is a LOT, and getting an Uber each time is pricey. Plus, if you want to go to the farther away beaches, events here and there, the cape, hiking: yeah, we're missing the car.... Our is also old though, so we might sell/give it to someone in the family and buy a car here. Lots of dealerships here. Maybe that would be a way to go? Find someone who could use your car, try it here without one, and buy if you decide you need one... Anyway, good luck with moving, this is exciting, and don't get too discouraged finding rent: it's tough and expensive, but works out at the end of the day!
Get yourself a T map then a Metro Boston map then you can judge just how far things are from down town I have on a commuter train watching the expressway going at a standstill many times thanking the gods I’m not driving. If you consider most of your responders the majority would not drive Con cider the cost of a flight coast to coast vs driving or selling the car (they do have car dealers and car max here) Each of the three choices north shore south shore or metro west have commuter service and each have a mixed d bag of incomes Good Luck
Public transit is great and I take the t to work every day. I do still have a car but mostly to get out of the city and hike, camp, go to the beach ext. I don’t know if I could get by without one. You would also save a lot of money not owning a car especially here just in parking tickets alone. 😵💫
I work downtown and don't have a car, and while I sometimes wish I did for weekends, I prefer not having one. Getting to work is pretty easy on the Green Line, and I don't have to worry about parking.
At least for the building I work in, most offices only get 1-2 parking spaces in the building's garage and those get saved for the CEO/COO's. Everybody else usually parks at the other garages, which tend to cost somewhere around $28-$45 a day.
Commuter rail. Its totally normal here for functional people to take public transit
Drive to the train station and park
Take the car!!!!! Boston public transit sucks, the train breaks down like every other day and full of weirdos
Either way if it becomes too inconvenient sell it later. But for now get a feel for the city first then you can make a better life changing decision
Plus the transit here runs on inconvenient schedules.
Also anywhere immediately outside Boston requires a car. And you don’t want to walk or take transit in this cold thAt lasts 6 months out of the year
If you change your mind you’ll still make 3grand but losing the car isn’t worth it. Especially if you have regret selling it. Who wants to have car payments again?
INFO: What neighborhood is your job in?
“Downtown Boston” is an actual neighborhood. It includes sub-neighborhoods such as the Financial District, the Theatre District, Government Center, Downtown Crossing, etc. Given that you don’t live here, it’s possible that you are using the term “downtown Boston” loosely/incorrectly, and are referring to a different neighborhood, such as the West End, Back Bay, Longwood Medical Area, Cambridge (not technically in the city limits of Boston), etc. So, to give you advice, we’d first need to know if your job is in Downtown Boston or “downtown” “Boston.”
Hey, it’s near kpmg on essex street, im assuming that’s the financial district?
Right across from South Station (red line, commuter rail, Amtrak). Driving and parking around there is going to be an absolute nightmare.
If you really want to live in the suburbs, consider one with a commuter rail that terminates at South Station (Needham, Natick, etc). You can still bring your car if you live out a bit.
Personally I'd live in Cambridge near a red line station and take that to South Station. Most areas are very walkable and you could always use car share if you need to drive somewhere.
Yes absolutely. Having a car increases quality of life here greatly
ch1ck3npotpi3 t1_ixfo8ug wrote
Any reason why you can't take the subway or commuter rail? Public transit here is way more reliable, comprehensive, and safer than in LA. Driving in Boston is way more stressful, and in my opinion, not worth it.