Commute from Buffalo to Rochester, possible? (Syracuse, Amherst: mover, house, employment)

[minusach]

Hello,
We recently moved from Detroit, MI to Buffalo, NY as my husband found a job here in Clarence. I may be accepting a position in Rochester at the Uni. of Rochester. I would like to know whether people usually commute from Buffalo to Rochester? I saw that by Amtrak trains its an hour commute, is it advisable to commute via trains or drive?
I am just thinking of whether I should live in Rochester and spend time with my husband in Buffalo, only over the weekends? I would appreciate other people's point of views, who are in a similar situation.

[I'minformed2]

It's about an hour and a half drive from Buffalo to Rochester...give or take depending on the weather. If you haven't already bought or rented a house in Buffalo, I would suggest looking into moving to Genesee County, right between the 2 metros.

[minusach]

Thanks for your suggestion. But I have already moved and have been living in williamsville area for the past 2 months. That's why I was considering to commute

[twingirls2boys]

That kind of commute is not unheard of in large moetro areas... if you can stand it, go for it! Sure would beat only seeing HD on the weekends!!

[Dr Funky]

I thought it was 2 hours back and forth?

[Upstate Dave]

You'll be spending a lot of time on the Thruway (I-90) going back and forth, I would guess close to 2 hours one way from your driveway to the U of R. Expect longer times in the winter during storms, and keep in mind that the Thruway can be shut down somedays for storm related accidents and such. There isn't any other faster path between the two cities, Getting an EZ Pass for the car makes entering and exiting easier also.

The Thruway takes you through the mostly rural areas between the cities and is very open in most spots. I prefer not to travel on interstates much because they are boring IMO, but they are a great path for quickly getting from A to B.

I work with someone that lives in Rochester and attends classes at UB twice a week. He takes off from work every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon to get to early evening class, then drives home in the dark.

Your driving commute would require you to be on the road in the dark both in the morning and evening during the winter months.

Taking the train would not seem realistic to me. Besides the cost (which I do not have a clue), you would need to take a bus from the Rochester train station to the U of R. That would really add to your commute time. It's not like there is a fantastic mass transit system in place here. The bus system isn't bad, I'd say more like adequate. We do not have an efficient subway or people mover system here.

Can you do it? Sure! Do you want to? Only you can answer that question.

[gandalf222]

There is always a trade off between driving and commuting via train and other forms of public transportation. Assuming finding the type of employment in Buffalo area isn't currently in the cards then you might want to weigh the pros and cons of driving versus public transportation. I used to commute between Syracuse and Utica. I drove, it was 90 miles one way. Driving, aside from the time it takes, can be fatiguing. Saftey with the variying weather conditions can also be a major factor to think about. With public transportation one can "relax" better, arrive at end destination a bit more refreshed (relatively speaking as commuting itself is a extra life stress). You can use the time study, read, relax and might be well worth utilizing your time with something more constructive then having to watch the raod and traffic if you drive.

[devoneri]

I personally wouldn't depend on driving it in the winter simply because the weather can get so bad that it's conceivable you could miss an entire day (or more) of work. Never a good idea with a new job. Nothing like having an hour drive turn into 3.5 hours of white knuckled gripping the steering wheel trying to keep alive just to get home stress to round out your day. And then of course sometimes they close the 90...

[lpnny]

it is possible to commute from rochester to buffalo approx 1hr 30 min--via thruway --my daughter did so will going to college in buffalo--not great in the winter months --not something that you want to do permanently..

[aka_mouse]

I dont see why not. Ive known a few people who have done that. Its about 60 miles from Williamsville to UofR. Theres plenty of people who drive from Dunkirk and those towns to Buffalo everyday for work and thats like 50 miles. Traffics never really a big deal in these cities .. I can get from Hamburg to where I start seeing Rochester exit signs in 45 minutes. [Some of the estimates times people are giving here sound way too large... 90 minutes from Syracuse to Utica?! 2 hours from Buffalo to Rochester?]

People are talking about the snow.. Id really only be worried about the fuel costs doing that everyday.. Id also keep in mind the tolls - that can really add up. But if its a good job, go for it. If you dont like the commute after a while just quit the job. That or if the train can do it, that wouldnt be a bad decision.

As far as the thruway is concerned .. thats cleared constantly and heavily salted so its usually bone dry even in the snow. The only times its gets bad is surprise storms when just too much snow is falling at once or high winds causing white-outs. It seems maybe once a year to once every other year we'll get hit hard, the thruway will shutdown and people get stuck in thier cars overnight or for a couple hours. And in those cases it wouldn't matter if you were driving from Rochester to Williamsville or from Amherst to Orchard Park. No big deal, it happens.

Just get actual snow tires for the winter (not all seasonals) and you'll be fine. You can get them studded for like $20 a tire. Then you just take them off come springtime and use them again next winter. 4 wheel drive helps, but its not necessary unless youre out in the sticks. The main thing is , if it gets bad.... just slow down. You'd be suprised how many people don't do that. Or they get way overconfident cause they have 4wheel drive and antilock brakes and blah blah and then wind up in a ditch anyway.