driving from columbus to dayton (Cincinnati, Springfield: apartment, rent, buying a house)

[qmc970284]

does that sound crazy if driving from columbus to dayton for work every day? my husband just relocated to columbus, and my job is in dayton. we intend to buy a house in columbus, so i have to drive... or rent another temporary apartment in dayton. how do you think? any suggestions?

[aquila]

Originally Posted by qmc970284

does that sound crazy if driving from columbus to dayton for work every day? my husband just relocated to columbus, and my job is in dayton. we intend to buy a house in columbus, so i have to drive... or rent another temporary apartment in dayton. how do you think? any suggestions?

Well, I guess it depends on whether you like long commutes. Personally, I wouldn't deal with it well. It was hard enough for me to drive back and forth from Fairfield to Xenia every day for 4 weeks when I was training for a job. I couldn't imagine doing it on a regular basis.

Why not just buy a house somewhere in between?

[firefightermom]

Where in Dayton and where in Columbus? I used to drive from Vandalia to Hilliard and that was an hour during non rush hour. If you are south of Dayton there's the 75 construction to think about, then how far into Columbus.
I would agree with Aquila and think about buying a house somewhere in between and save yourself the hassle. If you've never done a long distance drive to work daily before, it will surprise you how quickly you REALLY get sick of it...

[qmc970284]

thanks. we may consider a house in hilliard, and my company is in the east side of dayton, so roughly 70 miles in total, and ~65 miles of it is on I-70.

i thought about the idea of buying a house in between. but where? springfield? I never heard anyone lived there.

[aquila]

How about London?

[Crew Chief]

I commuted from Boise, ID to Mountain Home, ID (about the same distance) and BOY did it get old! I soon found a carpool and that actaully made life bearable, so that might be an option. I drive I-70 often and it's gradually being three-laned all the way. Unfortunately, the work won't be finished for several more years. (In case of a bad backup, U.S. 40 is a good alternate)

Springfield may be an option but it has the reputation as an old has-been industrial city to some.

[wrightflyer]

Yeah, my neighbor back in Beavercreek (east side of Dayton) commutes every other day in a carpool to Columbus and he's slowly tired of it. I've had to go back and forth a couple times and I wouldn't want to do it on a daily basis. I'd recommend buying a house in between the two cities.

London and Springfield are the only decent size towns between the two cities and the first is more a farm community and the second an old industrial town. Also, the former is closer to Columbus while the latter is closer to Dayton.

To be right inbetween Columbus and Dayton, South Vienna would work. It's a small hamlet located on Rt 40 (Old National Road) just off I-70.

Also, when you say you are working on the east side of Dayton, I'm assuming you will be working off of I-675 or somewhere near that and the air force base. Am I correct, or is it further south towards Kettering/Centerville?

[Daytonnatian]

I assume you want the suburbs because you mention that you want to buy a house in Columbus.

Honestly, if you want the suburban lifestyle, you are going to have to choose between Columbus and Dayton. Personally, I would go with Hillard for Columbus or Fairborn/Beavercreek for Dayton. However, if you really want to live between the two, there are some nice houses north of the Springfield city limits near Rt. 68, and maybe London has some nice suburban-like areas, as well.

The drive between Columbus and Dayton is really pretty nice now, but as Crew Chief mentioned, they will continue widening I-70 between Columbus and Dayton. They only have to widen around Springfield up to Exit 66 now, so that should only take about another 3-4 years until they are done.

Still, there is little traffic for the Columbus-Dayton commute, and it only takes a little over an hour from Downtown Columbus to 70/75. It is not hell like the Dayton-Cincinnati commute.

[Crew Chief]

A big ol' AMEN! on the Dayton-Cincy commute, Daytonnatian! If I had a choice; Columbus-Dayton would be the better of the two (understanding that the latter is being discussed by the OP.)

TIP: Your best opportunity for "revenue enhancement" is from Exit 79 (US 42) to Exit 91 (Rome-Hilliard Rd.) but they can be anywhere along I-70 from Dayton to Columbus...

[NewToCA]

I commuted between Hilliard and Wright Patterson twice a week for a little over two years, and I have to tell you that the drive gets real difficult after the first few months of commuting.

I wouldn't recommend living east of London, Ohio myself.