Moving back to Boston

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Kahta

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Just thought I'd like to mention on here that there is a good chance that I will be moving back to Boston at some point in the next few months. I've lived in Arkanas since December and while I love my job, I feel like I am wasting the prime (I am 24) of my life here. Also, I really miss being in a city and feeling alive. Seeing religious people with these signs on a Friday night doesn't count


However, that's beside the point. The chances are that I will not be working for a company that provides a free company car anymore, so if I end up getting a job downtown, I may forgo one entirely. However... then I started calculating how much time I'd waste each day taking public transit versus driving....

Also, I don't do bikes-- so I'm not going to consider that option.

http://goo.gl/maps/3Szz

17 minutes by driving, it's calling it 32 minutes by taking the T, but my place is about a 8 minute walk from beaconsfield and 5 from Dean Rd, so probably closer to 45 minutes. I'd have to spend an hour extra every day taking the T vs driving.


I'll also call the Design Center a possible employment location-- because it's in the Seaport and more places will build there at some point.

http://goo.gl/maps/whIX

18 minutes by car or an hour (with two transfers) under ideal conditions taking public transit. If I gave up the car under this condition, I'd have to spend 80 extra minutes per day commuting.


However, let's consider cost on this equation:

Cost of taking the T to work per month: $4/Day * 20 days = $80

Cost of a car:
$500/month loan payment
$100/month insurance
$150/month parking spot at home
$200/month parking spot at work
$50 on car washes/maintenance (my spot is under a tree, so I need to wash it weekly when sap is flowing)
$200/month on gas
$80/month on tolls.

Total: About $1,300 a month (More than my share of the rent)

However-- I am probably going to have a car anyways. (My mother and her entire side of the family lives in Maine, my dad and stepmom live 35 miles outside of Boston, and most of my friends live outside the city. Not having a car would severely isolate me from the reason that I am wanting to move back. Plus going to the store for any appreciable amount of food would be a real hassle.)

The incremental cost of driving to work would really only be the $200 a month in parking, and since the minimum I'd be spending would be $80/month anyways-- the real incremental cost would be $120 a month. In essence, I'd be paying $120 a month to save 20+ hours a month in commuting, or about $6 an hour. Sounds like a reasonable cost to me.
 
But the traffic times are based on a lack of traffic, which is what... 3AM-4AM only?

Also, I'm not sure, but I don't know how accurate the headways are on Google Maps. For example, I'm not sure if they figure in that headways are different at different times of the day. Could be more or could be less than what it says.
 
Google Maps for Android will actually take current traffic estimations into account when you query a navigation search. I'm not sure if they use this data to average it for the general time-to-destination estimations without traffic enhancements though.
 
No way that route will take 17 minutes in the peak. Travelling from Riverside by car takes 50% longer at peak than when uncongested: and that's all highways, no Harvard Avenue at rush. I will be happy to plug your location into my data gathering script if you like and get you some average travel time numbers. You can compare them to your experience.

Questions: you said you'd use Dean Road/Beaconsfield, but your map origin is close to Cleveland Circle/Reservoir. Which is your starting location? Also, when do you have to be at work in the morning?

Also don't forget the gas costs you'd be saving by not driving to work. That's probably a tank's worth per month, at least.

P.S. The Google maps driving directions alternative using Storrow Drive is showing an illegal turn from Comm Ave onto University Road. That's a mistake in their database. Instead you must turn right onto Mountfort and then make the so-called Jersey left by going around the loop.
 
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I live close enough to the origin there to say with 100% unbiased certainty that the driving time to State Street would be more than 17 minutes. 25 on a good morning, upwards of 40 on a bad one. Depending on when you leave work the evening commute could be even worse.

Also consider: public transport allows for productive time in transit - driving not so much unless you have a chauffeur.

And finally: I enjoy driving generally. But battling Allson/Brighton traffic to the pike out to the CAT day in and day out is worse than Chinese water torture. Meanwhile despite the horror stories I've relied on the GL for three years and in all that time it's performance caused me to be late only twice. I most often get a seat and have enjoyed finishing many more novels than I otherwise would have.
 
Kahta said:
However, let's consider cost on this equation:

Cost of taking the T to work per month: $4/Day * 20 days = $80

Cost of a car:
$500/month loan payment
$100/month insurance
$150/month parking spot at home
$200/month parking spot at work
$50 on car washes/maintenance (my spot is under a tree, so I need to wash it weekly when sap is flowing)
$200/month on gas
$80/month on tolls.

Total: About $1,300 a month (More than my share of the rent)

However-- I am probably going to have a car anyways. (My mother and her entire side of the family lives in Maine, my dad and stepmom live 35 miles outside of Boston, and most of my friends live outside the city. Not having a car would severely isolate me from the reason that I am wanting to move back. Plus going to the store for any appreciable amount of food would be a real hassle.)

The incremental cost of driving to work would really only be the $200 a month in parking, and since the minimum I'd be spending would be $80/month anyways-- the real incremental cost would be $120 a month. In essence, I'd be paying $120 a month to save 20+ hours a month in commuting, or about $6 an hour. Sounds like a reasonable cost to me.
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A few notes:
1. WTF car or loan rate do you have that has a $500/month payment? That seems asinine on a number of levels.
2. Your incremental cost would be more than $120/month. $200 for parking at work (which is being a bit generous - I think it can push $300+/month in that area) + $80 in tolls (assuming you would go around the Pike for other travel) = minimum of $210 incremental cost over the $70 monthly pass, not to mention the increased wear and tear you would be causing by more usage.
3. Like others have mentioned, those commute times are highly unrealistic on both ends of the spectrum. Add a good 10-20 minutes on the car travel times under ideal rush hour conditions and consider the T ride a good 45-60 minutes Government Center-Cleveland Circle.
 
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Don't forget:

-Parking time
-Time to defrost / remove snow in winter
-You can do other stuff while riding the T. Not so much while driving.
 
I'd be willing to bet whoever you work for has a transportation benefit. It's not uncommon. I pay half the monthly, pre-tax. Mine's a little extreme, but you should be able to avoid the full price.

And seriously, you'll make yourself insane trying to drive that route everyday.
 
2nded on Zipcar. If you're already planning on paying $1300 a month to own (and I think that's a little low), guessing you'd average in the $12/hour range with Zipcar, that gets you 108 and 1/3 hours of driving a month. You can even buy monthly plans that'd probably get you a lower rate (sorry, I don't drive enough to need it so I don't know what the costs are). Plus, you don't have to fix the car when it breaks, you don't have to clean it, and you don't have to worry about parking it.
 
Wait, what do you mean you don't have to worry about parking Zipcars?

I was under the impression they were beholden to the same rules as everyone else, parking wasn't covered under what you pay for it, and you still have to drive the thing back to wherever you picked it up from when you're done with it.
 
I don't think Semass and UG were suggesting Zipcar as a commuting option - it isn't. It's useful for errands or daytrips and saves you money if, as UG calculated, you use it (note that's different from driving time because it includes the entire time of the rental) less than 108 hours per month.
 
Agree with the others that it will take far longer than google estimates to make those drives under commute conditions. Something else to keep in mind about parking -- it might not be that close to your office, meaning you have to tack on 10 minutes for the walk from your car to your job.

Here's my own expeirence, which I think is not too far off for anybody living about 5 miles from downtown:

commute by Purple Line: 15 minutes
commute by Orange Line: 25 - 30 minutes
commute by car: 30 - 45 minutes
commute by bike: 25 minutes
 
Sorry, should have clarified that you don't have to worry about parking in your home location. You still have to park legally at your destination. Although the cars do have commercial plates which can make things easier. Zipcar's definitely not a replacement for your commute, but it's definitely a good replacement for running errands and going on day and short weekend trips. It doesn't work so well if you need it for longer, but then the city's littered with traditional agencies that are cheap and easy to use.
 
I don't really have a problem with his decision to use a car over mass transit.
If that works better for you, go for it.

What I will have a problem with is when his 17 minute commute turns into a 30, 40 or 50 minute commute and he starts demanding that roads be widened and new roads be built because the commute time is eating into his personal time.
 
What kind of car do you get for $500 per month? I leased several Hondas over the years and didn't pay more than $239, if I remember correctly.

I guess if you have to have parking on both sides then that's going to really increase your costs. Does gas cost that much if you're just commuting?

I think the true cost of driving is being underestimated. I took the Red Line from Park to Central Square then Back to Park and the Green Line out to Coolidge Corner and back today around 5pm. Although the cars were packed, there was air conditioning and I even had a seat for half of it. (Yes, I had to push an old lady out of the way but that's why they call it "public" transportation - first come, first serve.)

As I stood / sat, I looked out the windows at all those cars stuck in traffic along the way. No savings in the world would convince me to sit in f-ing traffic at 5pm in the afternoon, no matter what. I don't care about broken down trains, stinky people, and hot platforms - it's an easy choice for me.
 
It should be clear by now that moving from Arkansas to Boston is a step down in quality of life and finances. Choose a better state that doesn't hate cars or waste transit funds so badly. Live near a university with social options. Just some possibilities include Austin Texas, Raleigh NC, Florida, Colorado, Arizona etc.. There is far more development and growth in the south than here, with associated growth in transportation instead of contraction.
 
Mark02474 said:
It should be clear by now that moving from Arkansas to Boston is a step down in quality of life and finances. Choose a better state that doesn't hate cars or waste transit funds so badly. Live near a university with social options. Just some possibilities include Austin Texas, Raleigh NC, Florida, Colorado, Arizona etc.. There is far more development and growth in the south than here, with associated growth in transportation instead of contraction.
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Mark -- If you are making lifestyle decisions based primarily on college football teams then I'd agree with you whole heartedly.

If you are talking about actually living in a community there is a lot more to the decision than just the ease of commuting -- puting Arkansas and Massachussets on the same page is a joke of mamouth proportions.

When I was a student in Austin working on my Ph.D. there was something called the Southwest Conference which included a bunch of colleges from Texas and the U. of Arkansas. The joke about Arkansas was what does the Gov. of Arkansas say in his prayers every evening?


Thanks gods for Mississippi -- otherwise Arkansas finishes 50th in most every category of interest.
 
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