Commute from San Jose to Belmont (San Mateo, Redwood City: apartments, school, live)

[cazattack]

I'm looking into apartments in San Jose West, particularly the one in considering is near an entrance to 880. I'm be commuting to Belmont at 8am or 2pm on a weekday... would that be a horrific commute?
Thanks!

[BayAreaHillbilly]

8AM one will be a bit of a slog on 85 and parts of 101. The earlier you leave for that one the better. The 2PM one should be no problem.

[humboldtrat]

I-280 would be faster but maybe the long way around.

[Utahooligan]

Originally Posted by cazattack

I'm looking into apartments in San Jose West, particularly the one in considering is near an entrance to 880. I'm be commuting to Belmont at 8am or 2pm on a weekday... would that be a horrific commute?
Thanks!

Would you be able to take Caltrain?? Your commute wouldn't be very pleasant. Mileage-wise it's not too horrible, but time-wise it would be, unless you car-pool or have a hybrid vehicle like a Prius, and can use the car-pool lane.

Even though housing in the Belmont area would be more expensive than W San Jose, you might want to consider it, or at least try the drive between W San Jose & Belmont on a weekday during your expected commute times & see how long it takes -- both the 880/280 route as well as the 101 route.

I used to do the daily commute between San Mateo/Redwood City to Mountain View on 101. Heavy traffic usually between 7:45 - 10AM & 3:30 - 7:30PM, and if there was just one little crash or whatever, it could double your commute time.


The only good news: The Bay Area has pretty good near real-time traffic intel available via calling 511 or going to 511.org that can help you plan which of the two major routes you'd be better-off taking.

[sonarrat]

It wouldn't be worse than the freeways in New York City, but 101 is a pretty tedious commute during rush hour, and during the peak months for school traffic, 280 can be almost as bad. I go from my place near Almaden/85 and Belmont frequently during off hours, and it takes around 40 minutes with no traffic.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Utahooligan

Would you be able to take Caltrain?? Your commute wouldn't be very pleasant. Mileage-wise it's not too horrible, but time-wise it would be, unless you car-pool or have a hybrid vehicle like a Prius, and can use the car-pool lane.

Even though housing in the Belmont area would be more expensive than W San Jose, you might want to consider it, or at least try the drive between W San Jose & Belmont on a weekday during your expected commute times & see how long it takes -- both the 880/280 route as well as the 101 route.

I used to do the daily commute between San Mateo/Redwood City to Mountain View on 101. Heavy traffic usually between 7:45 - 10AM & 3:30 - 7:30PM, and if there was just one little crash or whatever, it could double your commute time.


The only good news: The Bay Area has pretty good near real-time traffic intel available via calling 511 or going to 511.org that can help you plan which of the two major routes you'd be better-off taking.

I'm also going to concur that it's going to be pretty rough. You're in the "wrong" direction in terms of flow -in the mornings on 101 northbound, you're going to experience really heavy slowdowns in/around Mt. View, particularly around the 85-101 interchange and around Shoreline Blvd, not to mention other areas. I-280 might be a bit better though others can tell you better.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

I-280 would be faster but maybe the long way around.

Assuming the work place is near 101 getting from 280 down there may be pretty difficult and overall there would be no time savings. Sad to say, 85 remains the best overall way to get from 280 to 101 with 84 being a distant second.

[cazattack]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm going to have to try to find an apartment closer to Belmont! I'm used to a 1+ hour commute ( i currently live 20 miles outside of nyc) but am trying to simplify my life when i move!

[Doctor Blues]

Sorry I got late to the party, but you should consider taking CalTrain, it's a small commuter train that has frequent trips from SJ to Belmont (and other points up the Peninusula and on to SF).