Who here, not originally from Houston, cannot stand the commute times? (River Oaks: home, live in)

[houstonlibrarian]

Lived here 36 years and never found a commute that takes a half hour for 5 miles, so it is definitely not the nature of the city. I guess you happened to get the bad luck of getting the exact mix of ingredients to make your commute the worst in Houston, and I'm sorry to hear that.

[cla]

I came from a smaller town and a 10 mile drive took 35 to 45 mins. My commute in Houston is 20 miles and it takes me 25 to 35 mins. But lately if I am running late and don't leave till after 6:30am, I have noticed that the traffic on Westpark has gotten much worse (it didn't use to back up till before hwy 6 - now it backs up around Mason) . But that is to be expected when so many people are moving to the Katy/Fulshear/N Richmond area.

Fortunately, I don't work downtown, but I still wouldn't consider a commute of an hour bad in a town this size.

[wheretogo]

Yes, traffic is bad.

But, why you did not do your research on commute when you moved ? You were living 10 miles far and had 60 minutes commute. You decided to move due to traffic. But you moved to another place where 5 miles take 30 minutes.

I wish you had done more research and chosen another area where your 5 miles commute is 10-15 minutes.

Originally Posted by SCD23x

I grew up in a smaller town in Florida. When I first moved here, I figured a 10 mile drive to work wouldn't be that bad.

I was incorrect, consistently took 1 hr.+ to get to work.

I moved close to work, less than 5 miles.

Still takes 30 minutes to get to work, sometimes up to 45 to get home.

In my opinion, it really affects one's quality of life, however, ask someone who has lived here forever, and it's just another fact of life.

[modster]

But if you listen to some of the posters here, you can make it from Kingwood to downtown or Fulshear to the medical center in 15 minutes.

[houstonlibrarian]

I don't know about all that, but I make it from way out by Sienna Plantation to downtown in about 30 minutes, which I don't think is bad considering it is over 25 miles.

[houstonfan]

Originally Posted by SCD23x

That's something I should look into. Sometimes, even leaving 20 minutes earlier makes all the difference in the world.

This is the best solution. I find that even 15min change of time make a huge difference. I used to take that road and it was tough in the evening rush, but I don't think it took me 4 light changes, maybe 2, unless you're making a left/right turn. You will find that some lanes are better, I forgot which one. Is the westpark tollway an option for you? I do believe long commutes affect quality of life so i always live close to work and near highways, I also believe a few dollar on the tollways is worth my sanity.

[HoustonRonnie]

Just wait'll we get George Jetson cars.

Ronnie

[MIBS98]

I have the best commute in Houston - from the bedroom upstairs to my office downstairs. Takes about 15 seconds.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by texas7

I have a 20 miles drive coming in on Gulf Freeway to downtown and it takes me about 35 minutes from garage to garage but that is leaving home at around 6.30 a.m. May be a bit early for some, but I adjusted my hours that way to shorten my commute.

That's the key. I have about 26 mile drive from Clear Lake area to the Galleria and it takes 35-40 mins in the morning and 45-50 minutes in the evening on a usual day. Work hours are 6:45-4:30, 9/80 schedule. Being as far north in Clear Lake as possible and being 5 minutes from I-45 helps as well. I keep the gas bill down with a 30mpg Toyota. Most people I work with live in the bowels of Sugar Land, Katy or Missouri City spend about 5 minutes less per day in their car than I do, so moving to the W-SW for reasons of commute times is nearly pointless for me. It's nice living away from that mess, and there's something to be said for leaving your work at work at the end of the day.

[tropicsboy2000]

I moved here from the Miami area about two and a half months ago. In Miami I lived 27 miles away from work. It used to take me 40 minutes to get to work. I did not encounter much traffic because I worked the night shift in a hospital and I was traveling against the flow of traffic. Traffic in Miami is bad...

Here in Houston I live in the Medical Center one mile away from the hospital where I work. It takes me 5 minutes to get to work. I am hoping that if I do buy a house out in the suburbs, it won't take me long to get to work. I work the night shift and hope to be moving in the opposite direction of most traffic. Of course I will do very, very careful research of commute times prior to buying out in the suburbs.