Commute from Santa Clara to Santa Cruz (Watsonville, Scotts Valley: house, employment)

[sush08]

All,
I might be joining a job in Santa Cruz. How is the commute from Santa Clara to Santa Cruz on Hwy 17? Which is the best mode of commute? Any help is appreciated.

Sush

[krudmonk]

There's a bus that goes over 17 and ends up in DTSJ. I assume it's more for people commuting the other way, but it may be of some use.

[treedonkey]

Airplane would be best. That commute SOOKS! Even in reverse. Why don't you just move to Santa Cruz. You can live in a treehouse or something.
http://www.corbinstreehouse.com/imag...reehouse27.jpg

[SouthBayTodd]

best thing you can do is live on the same side of "the hill" you are working in...so if you work on the santa cruz side, live on the santa cruz side. the commute can be 1.5 hours or more (by car) each way at commute time.

[sanjose]

it's not as bad as others have said... definately not 1.5 hrs each wa. i commuted from almaden to capitola for two years. it was 45 mins each way. the drive isn't bad because it's reverse commute. and it's kinda nice driving on 17 rather than sitting on 101 or 85 in stop and go traffic. the only negatives are highway 1 can get backed up and you definately have to focus while on 17... that can be draining for some people, but it didn't bother me too much. if you don't have to get on highway 1, that would be a huge bonus... even with the fishook upgrade, it still sucks. it also sucked when there was a bad accident, that can back things up since there's really no alternate routes. but those accidents are typically on the commute side (you would be on the reverse commute side). I think in two years I got stuck in two bad back-ups that lasted around 1-2 hrs. also, sports car is a nice luxury if you have one. not that you have to drive really fast, but you get much better handling in the turns.

[MichaelinWA]

I wouldn't want to do it on an everyday basis. But it's better than commuting from Santa Cruz to Santa Clara, I guess.

Originally Posted by sush08

All,
I might be joining a job in Santa Cruz. How is the commute from Santa Clara to Santa Cruz on Hwy 17? Which is the best mode of commute? Any help is appreciated.

Sush

[AA702]

The only bad thing I can think of is when there is a accident, you will be stuck! People tend to drive 17 very fast and there are a few areas where the road doesn't have a solid barrier. Otherwise, it is a very nice drive to the coast.

[al_roethlisberger]

I worked with many people that made the commute daily, and it was do-able, but they had plenty of war stories and often opted to tele-commute as much as possible if the job allowed.

17 is a beautiful drive to be sure and isn't an impossibly long drive(although too long for my tastes daily), but as pointed out it also is a mixed bag being the only major artery over the hill. But that being said, it is not the "only" way over the hill if you know the roads. However, once on 17, the opportunity to get off is limited.

Unless you have some deep seated reason to avoid living on the Santa Cruz side of the hill, you have a lot options other than Santa Cruz itself such as Scotts Valley, Watsonville, Boulder Creek, etc...

If I had a job in SC, I'd probably look for a house up in the mountains

Good luck!
Al

[sush08]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. My partner works in Santa Clara, so I cannot move to Santa Cruz. Either way, one of us should commute over the hill, that means it's better in the reverse direction. For the moment, I am looking for jobs in Santa Clara.

Thanks,
Sush

[Petrala]

Originally Posted by sush08

All,
I might be joining a job in Santa Cruz. How is the commute from Santa Clara to Santa Cruz on Hwy 17? Which is the best mode of commute? Any help is appreciated.

Sush

just be sure your car is good on gas. it's not a tremendously long commute but it is a commute on a hill and so mileage and gas costs can end up being a factor and eat up a certain amount of your employment pay.