Ft. Lauderdale commutes (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood: crime, house, to live in)

[nponi]

I get the idea that I-95 is miserable... I am moving to eastern Fort Lauderdale (from Michigan) and will be working often in Sunrise, but also the Miami area on occasion. Will this commute be doable? I can handle 45m to an hour on occasion. Is it any better if I leave at 6:30am? Does 95 get any better as you head north of Ft. Lauderdale? (as I will be doing this on occasion as well).

Thanks in advance. I was looking forward to moving here before I heard of the horrific traffic...

[vvolin]

Your Sunrise commute would not be too bad, as you commute against traffic. I would say probably 20-25 minutes depending how deep into Sunrise you are going. I'll let the Miami commute to others because I don't know it.

[jhlcomp]

Of course the commute is doable. You don't say where you are specifically going. Rush hour is rush hour no matter what metro area you are going to live in. Accidents on I-95 will certainly slow things down to a crawl.

Sometimes going from our office in Plantation (west of downtown Ft Lauderdale) to Delray Beach can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours -- it just depends conditions on 95.

You might consider taking the turnpike - just depends on where you are going.

[BigPecs8]

Don't forget the Tri-Rail. People that ride it, love it!

[sk071077]

It will be better at 6:30. I go from hollywood (south of ft. lauderdale) to key biscane (south miami) quite often. This ride can be ok on the way down 45 min average. But on the way home its usually longer, depending on traffic it sometimes take me almost 1 1/2 hours. Beside the time it takes , just sitting in the traffic is no fun. But theres no way around it. You dont say where in lauderdale or miami. Miami is huge, from north lauderdale to south miami would be about 4 times further than going from south lauderdal to north miami.

Either way if your making enough money for your trip it's doable

[nponi]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I didnt mention specifics because I haven't decided on a house yet and I will need to commute to various areas in the Miami area depending on the day. I am trying to gauge if I will be ok getting a house in Ft. Laud/ Wilton Mannor within 1.5 miles of the beach. To me, an hour and a half sounds like too much, but perhaps this tri-rail idea might be something to look at...Or perhaps I should consider Hollywood since it might be easier to commute to both Sunrise and Miami while still being close to the beach - but I heard Hollywood is not as safe or nice as Ft. Laud...

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by nponi

but I heard Hollywood is not as safe or nice as Ft. Laud...

Where did you hear that from? Just curious, because Hollywood is a good deal safer than Ft. Lauderdale. Also, if "safe and nice" are your top priorities, you are better off looking out west, like Sunrise proper. Anything around the Sawgrass Mills Mall is not a bad area to live in at all, and it's very convenient to shopping/etc, and you are still within 30 minutes of the coast (Ft. Lauderdale).

A good halfway point would be central/west Miramar, where you have access close access to the Turnpike extension as well as I-75 for your Miami commute, which doesn't have a lot of congestion due to it's limited access. Be very selective when looking in Miramar however, and look for housing west of Red Rd (because there is too much spillover crime from Miami Gardens east of Red Road, and also stay away from Monarch Lakes, looks nicer then it is), but stay east of I-75 (nice enough area, but too much of a drag to get on the turnpike extension). This area could be a good compromise between commute, price and cleanliness. From this point, to get to downtown Miami, you would head east on the Turnpike extension, then exit southbound for the mainline Turnpike, and meet with I-95 at the Golden Glades interchange. Although I-95 will still be killer between the Golden Glades interchange and downtown Miami, it would be much easier traveling east/west than other points in west Broward. 35-45 minutes would be about right from that point. Your northbound commute would be around 15-20 minutes on I-75 and also relatively stress free. Also, the beach would be about 15-20 minutes away (Hallandale or Hollywood), which is still reasonable.

Hollywood is another option as well, but stay east of US1. There are also a lot of nice (or at least decent) parts west of I-95, but they tend to be very expensive and too close to iffier areas. On the bright side, you are closer to the beach.

But if your job requires you to be in "various" parts of Miami, I think that section of Miramar may be your most convenient option. From that area, you can hit most points of Miami-Dade within 45 minutes at any time of the day.

[vvolin]

Originally Posted by nponi

I heard Hollywood is not as safe or nice as Ft. Laud...

I couldn't disagree more. East Hollywod is as safe as East Fort Lauderdale. West Hollywood is as safe/unsafe or safer than West FTL.

[Nolefan34]

nponi>

The commute to Sunrise won't be bad at all. You don't have to take I-95 either. Traffic in Fort Lauderdale is not bad at all before 7:00 A.M. After 7A.M. I-95 can be a problem, but once you get onto 595 you are going against the flow of traffic, so smooth sailing out to Sunrise.

Now, Miami is a whole different story. As someone else pointed out, Miami is a big place and it depends on where in Miami you are going. If downtown, you will be sitting in a parking lot of traffic every morning on I-95, no exceptions. The stretch of I-95 between Fort Lauderdale and downtown Miami is brutal every morning heading south, and every afternoon heading north away from downtown Miami. The best alternative I have found (I used to have to do this commute) is 441. Although in order to take 441, you have to use other roads to cut over so you'll need to know your directions.

Now if you have to commute to Miami International Airport, it is much better to take a western route such as the Palmetto Expressway. The traffic on the Palmetto gets really bad too, but if you leave early enough it probably isn't so bad. If you have to commute to Miami Lakes, Kendall, or Southwest Miami-Dade, you can take the Turnpike Extension which isn't bad at all during rush hours. But only use the extension if you're traveling to the western or extreme southern portions of Miami or else you'll have to deviate back east. Avoid the Dolphin Expressway (SR-836) eastbound in the mornings at all costs. That is by far the worst traffic in all of South Florida during rush hours.

[nponi]

Thanks again to everyone. I do want to be within a bike ride away from the ocean, so hearing that Hollywood east is as nice as FLaud is good to know. I will look for homes in this area and expect a reasonable commute to Sunrise with the commute to Miami on the long side... At least I won't have to battle snow and ice on the roads!