Commute Questions - Clayton to RTP (Raleigh, Garner: renting, new home, neighborhoods)

[3littlerascals]

Anyone know what new home developments are closest to where you pick up 40 to commute to RTP? Is 40 the only or best route to RTP from the Clayton area? Site unseen - we think we will end up settling in the Clayton area. Doesn't necessarily have to be Clayton - as we saw a few homes on line that were Willow Spring(s) or Garner but still had JC schools.
I'm having some difficulty with mapping the new home developments to see exactly where they are in relation to commute/shopping. Some developments we have seen homes in that we liked are Summerset,Hunter's Mill, Winston Pointe, Adam's Point, Lee Forest, Lee Trace.
Also - my husband generally will be arriving at his office by 7 a.m. What time would he have to leave (allowing time to stop for coffee)? I wasn't sure what time the traffic starts. Is there a general window of time that the a.m and p.m. rush hour lasts?
Thanks for your help!

[tluv00]

Originally Posted by 3littlerascals

Anyone know what new home developments are closest to where you pick up 40 to commute to RTP? Is 40 the only or best route to RTP from the Clayton area? Site unseen - we think we will end up settling in the Clayton area. Doesn't necessarily have to be Clayton - as we saw a few homes on line that were Willow Spring(s) or Garner but still had JC schools.
I'm having some difficulty with mapping the new home developments to see exactly where they are in relation to commute/shopping. Some developments we have seen homes in that we liked are Summerset,Hunter's Mill, Winston Pointe, Adam's Point, Lee Forest, Lee Trace.
Also - my husband generally will be arriving at his office by 7 a.m. What time would he have to leave (allowing time to stop for coffee)? I wasn't sure what time the traffic starts. Is there a general window of time that the a.m and p.m. rush hour lasts?
Thanks for your help!

All of the new neighborhoods will be deeper into Clayton or further down 40 from the first exit to Clayton (I think 5-6 miles). Winston might be the closet depending on how far back on Guy Rd you have to travel to get to the neighborhood (miles). I live in a community 5 min from 70 and 40 but the new homes are all gone or the empty lots are now purchased up. To be there at 7 depending on where in RTP I would leave no later than 6:15 but 6 to be safe as all it has to do is drizzle and people freak out.

[playnice]

He will no doubt find that if he leaves at 6:02 instead of 6:07 he will make better time. Ya gotta leave earlier or later than everyone else so a flexible schedule helps.

[ferrickhead28]

I live in Clayton, work in RTP.

I was renting a house off of Guy Road, at the corner of 42. I HATED driving down Guy Road. Its two lanes, full of cars and it always backs up. I used to take the back way and hit shotwell to 70, then take 40. Sure, it put me back a mile but to me, it was worth it.

I now live in Cobblestone off of hwy 70. I leave my house at exactly 7:00 am and can make it to my job in RTP (actually, its on the outskirts) by 7:45 am. There is a Starbucks on 70, right on the way.
With coffee, I would leave by 6:45 am.

Its really not that bad.

[ReformedYankee]

Hello, I'm new to this forum but wanted to share my experience.

I don't work in RTP, but I live in Winston Pointe ( LOVE it!) and take Guy Road to 70 W every morning. It seems the most traffic on Guy Road is between 6:45 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. I used to leave for my job in downtown Raleigh between those times and always got stuck on Guy Road. I started leaving later, and now I set out from my house at about 7:30 a.m. I almost never have to wait more than one stop light cycle at Guy Road and 70. I make it to work in about 20 minutes.

By the way, for anyone looking at Winston Pointe, they removed those horrid speed bumps leading into the neighborhood from the Sun Valley subdivision. The Sun Valley residents had put those in illegally, and were forced to take them out. Just an FYI!

[Grass Is Greener]

Gosh do you really want to commute that far??? I suggest you look at other options. Remember, there are thousands and thousands of people moving to the triangle. Your commute will be extended (timewise) exponentially over the time.

[nynraleigh]

I commute from Knightdale, its not a bad commute at all...mine is all I-540 though...not sure if 40 would take more time. I live closer to 540, about 2.5-3 miles away from the exit off the 64/264 bypass...

As the other posters have said, leaving earlier is better:

If I leave at:
6:30 am I arrive in RTP 7:00 am
7:00 am I arrive in RTP 7:45/7:50 am

Originally Posted by ferrickhead28

I live in Clayton, work in RTP.

I was renting a house off of Guy Road, at the corner of 42. I HATED driving down Guy Road. Its two lanes, full of cars and it always backs up. I used to take the back way and hit shotwell to 70, then take 40. Sure, it put me back a mile but to me, it was worth it.

I now live in Cobblestone off of hwy 70. I leave my house at exactly 7:00 am and can make it to my job in RTP (actually, its on the outskirts) by 7:45 am. There is a Starbucks on 70, right on the way.
With coffee, I would leave by 6:45 am.

Its really not that bad.

[ferrickhead28]

Originally Posted by Grass Is Greener

Gosh do you really want to commute that far??? I suggest you look at other options. Remember, there are thousands and thousands of people moving to the triangle. Your commute will be extended (timewise) exponentially over the time.

I posted this on another thread. When I first decided to move out of Raleigh, I looked at the majority of the surrounding cities before making my commitment to Clayton. See below:

"I actually live in Clayton and work in RTP. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on the commute, however, I moved to Clayton from Raleigh and I look at it this way:

1.) From Raleigh to my job in RTP, it took me 20-25 minutes. My house was about 1100 sq feet and worth about 200k.

2.) From Clayton to my job in RTP (same job, mind you) it takes me about 45 minutes. That's an additional 20 minutes tacked on to my commute. My house now is 2800 sq feet and worth...200k.

Its all how you look at it! Do I mind the commute? Not at all. Its only an additional 20 minutes for me and to come home from driving that after a long day to my beautiful home, is totally worth it. "


When looking to relocate, I took into consideration the amount of house I could get for the right price. What I could buy in Raleigh for that price was pretty much what I was already living in. I had the opportunity to buy a bigger house, more land, beautiful neighborhood, friendly town and an excellent school system.

It came down to this:
An additional 20 minutes to my commute?????

To me, it was a no-brainer.

But again, to each it's own!

Happy house-hunting!!!!

[3littlerascals]

Grass is Greener: We have really been doing our homework (well as much as we can from up here in PA). Our feeling is that the Clayton area will be the best fit for our family for many reasons. The commute will be a con but there are many pros that will outweigh that. We haven't developed road rage from driving around Philly yet so I think we will fare o.k. with some traffic in NC. Also - my understanding is that 540 will eventually go through Clayton and I would imagine that may eventually help with commute times also. Maybe not.
Not saying it is impossible but perhaps next to impossible for anyone to find "THE" perfect house. I think it's just a matter of weighing the pros and cons of each property and finding the one with the most pros and some cons you can live/deal with. That will be different for everyone.
Of course this is all without us having visited yet so our perspective very well may change once we get down there and see things for ourselves. In the meantime - the members of this forum have been so helpful. Once we are down there and settled I plan to continue visitng the site so that I may be able help out some others moving to the area.

[saturnfan]

For me, I live 5 minutes from my job in North Raleigh.

While others commute, I use the fitness center or the pool at our apts.

It's only 1100 sf 2BR flat, but I'd take it over a commute any day.

Different strokes for different folks.

In fact, I turned down several job opportunities because they were in RTP. Less money in gov't but a lot more freedom from a messy trip twice a day.