What commute is worse? (Houston, Dallas: rental, how much, construction)

[gocubs418]

Little Elm (423 and Eldorado) to Park and 75 - 1.5 drive each way. (I take Coit the entire way)

OR

Little Elm (423 and Eldorado) to Las Colinas - ?


Potential job at Las Colinas, pay is significantly more, will not move, just wondering if it will be as bad or slightly better?


Thoughts... Thanks!

[Aceraceae]

Would you skip the tolls to Las Colinas too?

[gocubs418]

Originally Posted by Aceraceae

Would you skip the tolls to Las Colinas too?

Potentially, for the potential salary increase (+$25k), I may bite the bullet. If possible, I would love not too.

Very early. Just weighing options.

[TeamLynn]

I'm thinking that is about the same.

[Pagusas]

I drive Little Elm to Las Colinas. I changed my hours to 7-4 because 8-5 is crazy traffic. My commute time taking 423 - 121 - 35 - George Bush is about 37 minutes ussualy (about 55-65 minutes if you leave at 8am/5pm). It can be cut down to 30 minutes by taking the DNT to Bush but that adds a lot of Toll. As it is now I spend about $120 a month in tolls. Taking non-toll roads is NOT an option unless you want to be driving for over an hour.

Once the construction on 423 is done it will help shave off 5-6 minutes, as the Colony is a huge bottleneck right now. I think they are still looking at Q1 2017 for it to be done.

Lastly use Waze, it's helped me many times see if there is a wreck on either 121 or DNT and make the appropriate choice when leaving to avoid stand still traffic.

[gocubs418]

Well, I would fork the toll money or negotiate it in my salary.

Thanks for the insight everybody!

[FJB327]

Google the route during your commute times to see time and distance. Compare times to see how much will be spent on commutes.

Next, compare distance per week. Divide the mileage of both by your vehicle's avg mpg. Multiply it by current gas cost.

Now considering cost of commute (tolls, gas, maintenance) and time spent commuting, which one is better? If time and gas isn't that much of a difference the $120 per month in tolls pales in comparison to the $25k extra ($2k a month) offer in Las Colinas.

As far as time, that's subjective. Only you can put a price on your own time. I currently consider any thing less than $50/hr not worth my time. Example. If taking a flight to Houston and renting a car from there cost $650 but a rental from Dallas to drive to Houston would cost me $400, flying there is a better deal to me. It's a $250 difference. Driving there would cost me an additional 7 hours which calculates to $35/hr (less than $50/hr and not worth my time). I will fly there every time with that scenario. If the difference in cost is $400, Ill drive.

[gocubs418]

It's a very similar route to one another. Only difference is one is East in Dallas and one is West in Las Colinas. My guess is Dallas will be more congested.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Occasionally Waze leads me on 635 to 75 to I-45. It not too bad between 9-10 a.m. Occasionally it leads me to 121 and I-35 which I hate! The road surface is awful and there are a lot of 18-wheelers. I normally take the DNT from Eldorado to I-35. I would rather take 75 than I-35.