Why does it take so long..going against traffic? (Boston: living, suburban)

[09Relo]

I have received a tremendous amount of great advice from this forum, and have been skipping back and forth on where to look for a home. Unfortunately, the drive times people tell me about, seem much longer than I expect.

SO.....if I want a maximum of say around 45 minutes drive time.....
Working close to Hwy 24 in Easton

Which areas would fit this bill, being that I would prefer to be closer to Boston/water? For instance, Hingham location is great, but I have been told the drive time from this area would be at least 1 hour due to direction of traffic initially on my commute.

Would Milton, Quincy, Dedham, Braintree potentially work? I would like a more urban feel than less. Also, I would like opinions on any of these areas, if they fit the parameters.

Thanks to all of you....this is a wonderful way to get ideas on areas to search.

[lrfox]

Hingham and Braintree (most parts, anyway) are tough because to get to Easton you have to Commute WITH the Boston traffic on Route 3 until you get to the 93N/S split where you'll direction will magically change from "North" to "South" and thus the opposite direction of traffic. However, for that first chunk of the drive, you'll be heading in the same direction as people commuting to Boston. Just take a look at THIS map.... You'd be commuting on Route 3 North (technically going West... right to left on the map) for a while which is Inbound to Boston for the entire South Shore. Once you get to the split in the center of the map, you stay heading the same Direction (technically West, but now labeled "South") which is where you start heading AGAINST inbound traffic... Everybody coming to Boston from the South and West will be heading in the opposite direction as you now.

In addition, that section of 93 tends to get backed up even in the opposite direction of the rush hour traffic. It's really not a matter of distance, but of traffic patterns.

The same goes for Dedham. You'll have to commute with the flow of traffic (which will be slow) for a ways until you get to route 24. I still think you may be able to pull Dedham off, but it will be right about at your time limit. Quincy and Milton may work as you'll have to spend the least amount of time commuting WITH Boston traffic. Milton is less urban than Quincy, but for the most part, the communities listed are more lower density suburban. They are still established and generally transit oriented and walkable, but I wouldn't call them "Urban."

As others have mentioned, I wouldn't rule out Easton either. Nice, suburban community and not too far from the ocean for recreational purposes. I vaguely remember you mentioning something about boating?

Now, just to put something else on the table for you as if you don't have enough to consider. I'd consider looking at Massachusett's Southcoast. Towns like South Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Westport, Mattapoisett, etc will give you coastal living (on Buzzard's Bay... a quick sail to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket as well as Newport RI) in an environment that is less prone to traffic congestion. You can get from Dartmouth or Westport to Easton in 40-45 minutes straight up 140 or 24. It's not as close to Boston, but it's less than 1/2 hour from Providence RI and there are enough urban Amenities in a place like New Bedford to fill the void. It's worth looking into if the other areas don't have what you're looking for.