Conroe (Commute) (Houston, Austin, The Woodlands: apartments, to live, price)

[MichWolverines1983]

Me and my fiance plan on moving to the Houston area from Nashville in a few years. We have already decided on an apartment for when we first move. It is minutes from I-45 off Exit 81 (Magnolia/Hempstead). If we leave before 5:00a to go to work Downtown (Austin & Lamar), what is our realistic drive time? If our return trip is durring rush hour, is the Hardy Toll or HOT lanes worth the price? Thanks.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by MichWolverines1983

Me and my fiance plan on moving to the Houston area from Nashville in a few years. We have already decided on an apartment for when we first move. It is minutes from I-45 off Exit 81 (Magnolia/Hempstead). If we leave before 5:00a to go to work Downtown (Austin & Lamar), what is our realistic drive time? If our return trip is durring rush hour, is the Hardy Toll or HOT lanes worth the price? Thanks.

Right now(8.30pm Monday night) Google says 35 minutes for that drive, using the Seagrove Apartments on FM1488 and the 5 Houston Center parking garage as the destination.

In the afternoon, check Google Maps or Waze before you leave to find out what the traffic is like. The good news is that with 2 of you, you can take the HOV lane both ways, which will help. I would still count on 60-90 minutes in the afternoon.

Of course, if you move here in a couple of years, that might change. Unless there is a compelling reason to live near Conroe or The Woodlands, you might want to look closer to Downtown. If you live IN Downtown, you can avoid almost all of your car expenses, which will offset the higher cost of rent.

[hindsight2020]

Car ownership is a sunk cost in most of America. Even my dumb--s sister in NYC ended up re-acquiring a car after she dumped it when first moving into the city and virtue signaled about it for years (in reality, it was the crippling cost of storage that was the inflection point, but she'd never admit to that being the reason).

Walkability only goes so far with the horrid intra-state public transportation infrastructure in most US states.

For sure, time and convenience is still a reason to move close in at a higher housing burden, but savings? Specious argument in the US.

[Dopo]

I used to commute in I-45 and I can tell you that I-45 by the Woodlands is a constant mess
I hated driving that section of highway

[a_guerrajr]

A few years... whatever we say now is probably going to be irrelevant.
More and more people are spreading outwards and Conroe area is currently where a lot of new housing is being built.
It has already altered the traffic patterns and once a few MPC's are done it will probably get worse.

If you head out at 5am from your apartment in Conroe you'll be fine on a regular day. I know a few people that live near Lake Conroe and commute to Katy or downtown and indeed they leave early as heck, mainly to avoid the drama.

[MichWolverines1983]

Originally Posted by a_guerrajr

A few years... whatever we say now is probably going to be irrelevant.
More and more people are spreading outwards and Conroe area is currently where a lot of new housing is being built.
It has already altered the traffic patterns and once a few MPC's are done it will probably get worse.

If you head out at 5am from your apartment in Conroe you'll be fine on a regular day. I know a few people that live near Lake Conroe and commute to Katy or downtown and indeed they leave early as heck, mainly to avoid the drama.

Thank you. We will decide on a more permanent location after we have been there for a while. Thanks again.

[detachable arm]

45 to the north from downtown makes for a LONG drive- much longer than to the south. Some people's perception is way off from reality on this, for whatever reason.

Originally Posted by Dopo

I used to commute in I-45 and I can tell you that I-45 by the Woodlands is a constant mess
I hated driving that section of highway

It's been awhile since I used to work all around town, but I never had much of an issue from Spring to The Woodlands to Conroe. The issue was the constant jam between downtown and the beltway. That is one long bottleneck until you get outside the beltway.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by detachable arm

45 to the north from downtown makes for a LONG drive- much longer than to the south. Some people's perception is way off from reality on this, for whatever reason.



It's been awhile since I used to work all around town, but I never had much of an issue from Spring to The Woodlands to Conroe. The issue was the constant jam between downtown and the beltway. That is one long bottleneck until you get outside the beltway.

Actually, I've run into some pretty horrendous jams around the Harris - Montgomery County line in the last couple years when I've had to go there in the mid to late afternoon.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Actually, I've run into some pretty horrendous jams around the Harris - Montgomery County line in the last couple years when I've had to go there in the mid to late afternoon.

I-45 backs up horribly in the afternoon at the Hardy Toll Road exit headed Southbound.

[utche96]

Pretty much all of Houston is a giant traffic mess now. I610 heading north between the Galleria to I45 is a complete disaster. Its pretty freaking unsafe to drive.