My oldest works in downtown Boston and his wife works in Watertown. After almost a year of getting outbid on any house the put an offer on they went and bought in Wilbraham. It’s a long drive every day but he has flexibility to go in early and leave early. His wife goes into work for 6:45 and out around 2:30 so she rarely deals with traffic. Luckily they have my sister in town to help out with getting the kids on and off the school bus. And stay with them till their mom gets home.

Is it the ideal location for a downtown commute, absolutely not. But he makes it work, and he can WFH if the weather is bad. They were able to buy a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom house on 3/4 of acre in a town with good schools. The neighborhood is great and their kids have tons of friends and never lack for things to do.

I don’t think this would work for everyone, but I do think it’s something to consider. Maybe even a little closer to Worcester would work. Maybe Sturbridge, Auburn, Charlton could work. Like I said it’s not ideal, but could be an option.