Daily commute to Dayton? Neighborhoods where kids walk to school? (Columbus: living in, prices)

[Krak]

Snowey,

I know this thread is a couple years old, so I'm not sure if any of this panned out for you. BUT... if it did, I'm about to find myself in the same situation. I'll be working in Dayton and plan to live in Columbus (for many of the same reasons you mention above). I'm looking for any and all information about that commute along I-70 that I can get. Thanks!

[other1]

I was commuting once a week to Oxford, OH (Miami U) for almost two years. Leaving downtown C-Bus or Grandview, it usually took me about an hour to hit Dayton / 675. I know someone who lives in Bexley and makes the drive to Springfield everyday and he loves it. The majority of Columbus rush hour traffic is heading into downtown on your way out, and heading out on your way in. Commute time really might depend where in Dayton you were working. Grandview has that "walk to school" community mentioned earlier so it might be worth looking at. Grandview ave. heads right out to 670 (East / West).

I do have a good friend that works at Wright Patterson and lives in Kettering. They really like Kettering, however, as their kids get older, I know they have discussed looking into areas like Hilliard and Grandview. They feel their might be more opportunities for their children here.

Good Luck.

[Spac3d]

People in Columbus are not used to commuting 50+ miles to anywhere, so it sounds nutty to a lot of people. It is a simple drive and there is no rush hour to contend with. If you want to live in Columbus, then I would do it.

[wrightflyer]

Commuting to Dayton isn't all that bad. The biggest problem is truck traffic on the stretch of I70 near Springfield where the interstate drops to two lanes.

Columbus offers more in terms of progressive communities and cultural activities. Dayton's suburbs offer quiet places to raise a family. Though if you are going to only go out and "play" only on the weekends and commute to work every day, it might make more sense to live in Dayton. That way you have Cincinnati and Columbus only 1+ hours away to "play".

I drive back and forth between OSU and Beavercreek and sometimes take I-70 to US42 through Xenia to US35 into Beavercreek/Dayton. That takes me about 1hr 20mins depending on who you get stuck behind on US42, but on that road it is easy to pass someone. There's also less traffic and it is a scenic drive compared to the interstate with three small farm towns.

[MissingIndiana]

I head out that way a lot on my way to Indy and other points that direction. It's roughly 75 miles from Columbus to Dayton so I think it would be a doable, but I can imagine it might get rough in the winter time. Also, it seems like there has been construction on I-70 for the last 10 years which can slow things down a bit in places. I would definitely live on the west end of Columbus (Grandview, Hilliard, maybe Dublin) if you were going to do this.

[JefferyT]

The traffic problems would be more closer to Columbus, on the beltway around town, which is quite congested on the north side, or the stop & go surface street traffic. The I-75 to-from would be OK, but its the suburban traffic in Cols that would be the pain (unless you live in the city itself...say in the older neighborhoods around downtown...then its a reverse commute and yr not dealing with traffic so much).

Or the western suburbs, as has been said.

Personally, I found the Dayton-Cols drive to be a bit over an hour..say 1 hr, 15 minutes, 1 hr, 30 minutes, or so (I live south of Dayton). With congestion only due to road work.

The idea of actually doing this commute seems sort of pointless though as its more gas and time that you could save if you lived closer to work.

[Krak]

All – appreciate the insight! Thankfully, it’s confirming what I was hoping to hear: the drive from the western half of Columbus to Dayton is a pretty simple 1 hour drive. And especially since I’ll be going to Wright-Pat, it should mainly be the stretch of I-70 that will occupy my commute. But having those other routes (Rt-40, or Rt-42 35) as backup options also looks good.

I did look up current road construction plans and didn’t see much for I-70. Has most of that been completed between Columbus & Dayton, or do you know if any major plans are in the works? I suppose public transportation would be the other option, but from what I saw that doesn't exist yet. There is no commuter rail, right?

[JefferyT]

It seems they are always doing road-work around Springfield, but I think the six-laning to the west of Cols has been completed.

[wrightflyer]

There's a 5-mile stretch of I-70 that is being widened to six lanes, near Springfield. Then there is about 10-15 miles of four lane highway in front of Springfield that I guess will eventually be six lanes. Other than that, it is really not that hard, espeically from say Hilliard to WPAFB.

[prfcttimeofday]

I have to admit, the drive from West Columbus/Hilliard/Grandview etc. to Wright-Patt will get old very quickly, especially in the winter months. To those thinking of doing it, I suggest you look for housing options in both Dayton and Columbus before moving to one or the other.

Dayton has a lot of GREAT neighborhoods. .Oakwood (everything is walkable in Oakwood, kids all walk to school), Centerville, Beavercreek, Bellbrook, Yellow Springs. . all within 20 minutes of Wright-Patt.

Columbus is a wonderful area. . .but the commute will be a killer.

If you want a place kinda in between that is very diverse, check out yellow springs.