Working in Duluth but want to live closer to city. Bad idea? (Atlanta: suburb)

[Prog277]

My workplace will be in Duluth but I'm looking to live closer to the city. Is the traffic bad in the mornings in this direction?
I've found a place on Shallowford Rd Atl I like which is only a 12 mile distance but may be considering other places slightly further into the city. Is this a bad idea?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Prog277

My workplace will be in Duluth but I'm looking to live closer to the city. Is the traffic bad in the mornings in this direction?
I've found a place on Shallowford Rd Atl I like which is only a 12 mile distance but may be considering other places slightly further into the city. Is this a bad idea?

It is not really a bad idea at all.

That is because a morning commute from a residence in the city/ITP (ITP = inside the I-285 Perimeter) out to a job in Duluth would be a 'reverse-commute' where the heaviest traffic will be headed in the opposite direction towards the city on major northeast-southwest radial roadways like I-85, Buford Highway, PIB (Peachtree Industrial Boulevard), etc.

Likewise, during an afternoon/evening commute from a job in the Duluth area to a residence in the city/ITP, the heaviest traffic will be headed in the opposite direction away from the city/ITP on major northeast-southwest radial roadways like I-85, Buford Highway, PIB, etc.

[citidata18]

While the reverse traffic from Atlanta to Duluth isn't as bad as the traffic coming from Duluth to Atlanta, that part of Metro Atlanta has some of the worst bottlenecks in the region. So you're still going to have to deal with a significant amount of traffic regardless (I wouldn't expect anything less than a 30 minute commute).

That being said, a reverse commute from Atlanta to Duluth certainly isn't the worst I've seen/heard of

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by citidata18

While the reverse traffic from Atlanta to Duluth isn't as bad as the traffic coming from Duluth to Atlanta, that part of Metro Atlanta has some of the worst bottlenecks in the region. So you're still going to have to deal with a significant amount of traffic regardless (I wouldn't expect anything less than a 30 minute commute).

That being said, a reverse commute from Atlanta to Duluth certainly isn't the worst I've seen/heard of

The commute from an area like Shallowford Road (which is in North DeKalb County only about a couple of miles or so from the I-85/I-285 NE Spaghetti Junction interchange landmark) out to the Duluth area should not really be that bad on most days.

On most days, that commute should be able to be completed in as little as 20 minutes each way with the main flow of rush hour traffic headed in the opposite direction that the OP will be traveling to and from work.

(The main flow of traffic will be headed southbound on roads like I-85, Buford Highway and PIB in the morning, and northbound on those roads in the afternoon/evening, while the OP heads northbound in the morning and southbound in the afternoon/evening in the opposite direction of the heaviest/worst traffic.)

Sounds like an excellent setup for someone who has a job in an OTP suburb like Duluth but wants to live closer to the action in the city.

I say go for it!

[Prog277]

Thank you both for the detailed answers! Very helpful! Glad I don't have to look too much further in my search

[ATLTJL]

It won't be bad. Just stay out of midtown. Once you get to the 400/85 merge, but even more, the 75/85 merge to the connector, heading into the city from 85 at 5:30pm is torture. To Shallowford, not bad at all.