Happy medium between PA-NJ? (Ardmore, Franklin: to buy, school, place to live)

[smallverysmall]

I am looking at a possible job opening in Franklin Lakes, NJ. My wife is currently working in Ardmore, PA. Is it any way possible for us to find a place to live somewhere half-way between the two cities where the commute would simply just not drive us crazy?

Google maps tells me that there could be a few places (eg Bridgewater, NJ) which would make this a 1-hour drive for both of us. Thats about the absolute max that we'd be willing to drive to work. I can't tell if traffic makes this commute far longer than that though. We'd be looking to buy a house, and have a kid who starts school soon.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[FrankInPhilly]

Originally Posted by smallverysmall

I am looking at a possible job opening in Franklin Lakes, NJ. My wife is currently working in Ardmore, PA. Is it any way possible for us to find a place to live somewhere half-way between the two cities where the commute would simply just not drive us crazy?

Google maps tells me that there could be a few places (eg Bridgewater, NJ) which would make this a 1-hour drive for both of us. Thats about the absolute max that we'd be willing to drive to work. I can't tell if traffic makes this commute far longer than that though. We'd be looking to buy a house, and have a kid who starts school soon.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Summary: don't do it!!

I live in Mt Airy, and my parents used to live in Franklin Lakes. Over the years I've driven there many times. I'm not the type of person who likes repetition, so over time I'm certain I've taken every conceivable (and some inconceivable) routes to FLks. Whenever I made the return trip to Philly during rush hour the traffic was awful - on I287, US206, US202, the GSPkwy and the NJ Tpk. What could be done in 1:45 in early morning weekend traffic became 2:30 or more. Yes, Google Maps can tell you 1 hr from Bridgewater, but I guarantee you that during rush hour (which is a wide swath of time in that area) it's rarely going to be an hour, esp'ly going from Ardmore. Ask yourselves whether [a] you want to spend a minimum of 2 hours every day in traffic and [b] whether you can handle the variation in driving time (i.e., 2 hours some days, 3 hours other days).