The T has been a problem for many, many years - long before any of the current administration was involved. If you are measuring time versus driving as your sole measure of transit, you will have to consider where exactly your workplace is before you decide on how your are going to get to work. If you factor in convenience and headache levels then ... yeah you are probably still going to have to consider where exactly. They have just removed the toll booths from the pike, so traffic flow has been completely upended in both good and bad ways. Are you working downtown financial district of back bay? If you live right near a pike ramp, and your place of work is right near the exit, and there is a parking garage you are willing to pay it might be faster.

I think your big factor here is finding a community you like more than anything, though. Are you looking for a conservative small town feel, or something more liberal and academic, or perhaps a diverse neighborhood? And will you be visiting the city with the family often, or is it for work only?

The challenge with the Boston area is that it varies so much from one town to the next.