Commute from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale (San Jose, Mountain View: live in, moving, commuting to)

[anchorsteam]

Hey All,

I current live in North San Jose and work in Sunnyvale. I take 237 to work and it barely takes me 15 mins irrespective of what time I leave/get back.

I am kinda bored of this place and would like to move to Palo Alto where I could find a younger crowd (people in their 20's).

How bad is the commute from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale ? I will have to take 101 I have a general belief that 101 is worse compared to 237 in terms of traffic.

I am kinda scared of moving away from this comfort zone

[sonarrat]

It won't be 15 minutes, it can sometimes take that long just to get to 101 in Palo Alto, but 101 is counter-commute in that direction so it won't be terrible. If it's snarled up then Alma/Central Expressway can be an option, 50 mph limit and infrequent stoplights.

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by anchorsteam

Hey All,

I current live in North San Jose and work in Sunnyvale. I take 237 to work and it barely takes me 15 mins irrespective of what time I leave/get back.

I am kinda bored of this place and would like to move to Palo Alto where I could find a younger crowd (people in their 20's).

How bad is the commute from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale ? I will have to take 101 I have a general belief that 101 is worse compared to 237 in terms of traffic.

I am kinda scared of moving away from this comfort zone

You're right about the traffic, but you could always take Central Expressway instead of 101.

[anchorsteam]

Thanks for the replies !! I've hardly ever taken Central Expressway. But I thought a lot of people use that as well for commuting to work and I was expecting it to be almost as packed as 101. No ?

[sonarrat]

Central would be an emergency alternative. 101 is not that bad in that stretch. If you get to work by about 7:30 and leave by 4 pm you'll have no issue at all.

[anchorsteam]

I go to work at 9:00 am and get back at around 6 pm. Is central expressway a good option ? :P

[MichaelinWA]

All, I'm guessing that El Camino Real is just as slow and congested as in 2003-04, when I moved away?

To the OP, do you live and work near the CalTrain depots? If so, that would be another possibility for Sunnyvale-Palo Alto.

[rebelcork]

It's like a hop, skip and a jump away. I'd love to have that senario.

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by rebelcork

It's like a hop, skip and a jump away. I'd love to have that senario.

Yeah, I'm not sure where in Sunnyvale you work, but I would reckon that it'll take you anywhere from 5-10 minutes longer on each end of your commute. Are you really that worried about adding a few minutes to your commute?

[treedonkey]

Take the train. Otherwise, forget it.

I lived in Sunnyvale for 10 years, and my commute to downtown SJ was so easy. Then I lived in Mountain View for a few months before I moved away from the area, and the commute from there was much worse than from Sunnyvale. It seems like having to cross that 101x237x85 exchange made all the difference.