Commuting from Pell City (Birmingham, Hoover: lease, month to, house)

[Dru02]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to be moving to Alabama very soon. My new job is in Birmingham, however, the house I'm looking at renting is in Pell City. Could anyone tell me how the commute is, as far as time, traffic etc from Pell City to Birmingham? I would be making the drive back and forth 5 days a week. I was told that with city traffic, it would only save me round 10-15 mins if I lived in Birmingham .

Thanks so much for your help!

Dru02

[Threestep]

What time of the day and from where in Pell City to Birmingham?

[hlsess]

also depends on where your job is located-

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by Dru02

Hi everyone,

I'm going to be moving to Alabama very soon. My new job is in Birmingham, however, the house I'm looking at renting is in Pell City. Could anyone tell me how the commute is, as far as time, traffic etc from Pell City to Birmingham? I would be making the drive back and forth 5 days a week. I was told that with city traffic, it would only save me round 10-15 mins if I lived in Birmingham .

Thanks so much for your help!

Dru02

a quick look at google maps shows a lot longer than 10 minutes

[Dru02]

The house is located at zip code 35128 and the office is on Morris Avenue, zip code 35203. Reg the 10 mins, I meant that I was told that living in Birmingham would only take me about 10-15 mins less because of traffice. I looked on mapquest and its approx 40 miles to the office, I'm just worried about the traffice. My normal hours would be 8am to 5pm, and occasionally 9am -6pm. Thanks for your help!

Dru02

[Threestep]

Depending on where in Pell City the house is - I would guess around 30 miles. Before signing a lease - drive your commute during your normal hours. I used to commute Inverness-Oxmoor Road which took at least an hour one way without traffic issues such as wrecks for not quite 20 miles.

[jakabedy]

I-20 from the east into B'ham is probably one of the last remaining tolerable commutes into town. But it will still take you a while. I had a former coworker who drove from Moody to the Galleria every day at 6:30am and it took him 25 minutes if there was no accident. But he was probably 15-20 or more miles closer than you would be in Pell City, and his drive was 100% interstate, and he started earlier than you did. Leaving home at 6:30 gets you somewhere quicker than leaving home at 7:30. You may want to see if you canshift your hours a bit.

If you're comparing the commute from Pell City to a commute up 280 or I-65 into town, it will compare favorably as to time. (It can take my husband an hour to get from the Shelby Co. Airport exit on 65 to southside, and that is leaving at 6:30am). But if you compare it to a commute from a closer suburb (Homewood, Vestavia, Mtn. Brook, close-in Hoover) then Pell City doesn't compare so well.

Also, if you live out that far, be prepared to become one of those country folks who never do anything "in town." We moved out near Calera two years ago and that is exactly what happened to me. And now that I work from home, there are days that go by and I don't even leave the house. It's just too much hassle to "drive all the way in" to do something.

[julilg]

Don't forget to factor in why you're even considering Pell City. If it's to enroll children in a particular school, the only house that has some feature you need for a hobby or some such then for you it may be worth the commute. But, if it's to save a few rent dollars you may end up spending more on gas and surely your time and potential driving induced stress level is valuable to you.

As another poster mentioned, don't forget about your free time. If most events, your favorite restaurants, etc are in B'ham, you'll either rarely be home effectively renting a place just to store stuff and sleep or you'll end up sacraficing some leisure activities. As a new resident, I think you'll make more friends living and hanging out in B'ham than you will commuting. Co-workers aren't as likely to accept an invitation for dinner or what have you unles they also happen to live in Pell City.

My suggestion would be to start with a month to month near the office until you become more familiar with the over all area, your peers, where you can participate in what interests you, ...