Oxford, NJ to RT 80 Commute Questions (Morristown, Hackettstown: how much, houses, buy)
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So, after touring 20 something houses over the course of the past month, I think my fiancee and myself found a house in the lower end of our price range (which is my goal) that we both like and that suits our current and longterm needs. We toured it yesterday, and I did a dry run of a typical commute today. I made it to my work in about 35 minutes, but at unrealistic rates of speed and unrealistic (somewhat low) populations of traffic. I hooked up to I-80 at Mount Olive/Budd Lake via US46. So it begs me to ask, does anyone know how long it takes to get from the Oxford area to RT 80 along US46 in the morning? Is there school bus traffic? What are some alternative routes aside from 46 to get to 80, and are they lightly traveled in the morning?
PS, the commute time is perfect for my fiancee, since she will be working in the Hacketstown area. I also used to live in the Mount Olive area, so I know all about the 80 traffic going eastward into NYC.
You do not say where you will be commuting to from Oxford, so I can't really give you an estimate of how long it will take. I commute from Oxford to Morristown and it takes about an hour. I travel Route 31 to Route 78 to Route 287. This route is better than Route 46 to Route 80 to Route 287. Route 80 tends to be a parking lot, Route 78 is much better. Of course, everything depends on what time you are commuting as far as school buses and what not. I leave my house by 6:15 (I need to be in Morristown by 7:30). Coming home, the reverse commute takes less that an hour since I leave Morristown at 3:30.
I would be commuting to the Rockaway area (the mall area). Hooking up to RT15 would also be an alternative, since thats my current route now from Sparta.
Also, I leave at 6:30am, but could possibly leave earlier since it would finally just be the two of us, permitting me to promptly get out of bed and ready for the day. I don't feel like going into specifics of our living situation.... Lets just say there are mornings that I am pumped to get out of bed immediately, and cannot because the 1 bathroom is continuously occupied.
Are there any decent Gyms in the Oxford area? This is part of my lifestyle now, and I don't to break for more than a few weeks during a move...
I have a friend in Oxford and when I go to visit, reverse to head home - I typically take 31 north to 46 west...yes west - to the first traffic light and turn right onto Rt. 519 north thru hope to Rt. 80. The alternate would be Rt. 46 east into Hackettstown, left onto High Street - Rt. 517 North past M&M's to Rt. 80. Traffic shouldn't be bad going those routes as the traffic doesn't start until the Mt. Olive area. There's a back way into Hackettstown as well but I don't know the exact names of the roads... it takes you to behind Walmart area onto Rt. 46 - Rockport Road? turns into Grand avenue - takes you to the traffic light on Rt. 46 - straight shot across Rt. 46 - Main street onto High Street to Rt. 80. The closest Gym..and probably the best one would be Gold's Gym in Mansfield next to the Home Depot. By any chance, did you check out the washington areas as well? I know someone selling a bargain! 4 bdrm, 2.5 bath colonial - fenced in yard only 4 years old - finished basement for under 380.
You should probably give yourself at least an hour at that time of the morning to get to Rockaway from Oxford. The bad thing about Rt. 80 at that time of the morning, is the sun glare. It can take 20 min. to go a couple miles on a sunny morning. Wiley is correct in saying that you can pick up Rt. 80 further west at 519 to avoid 46, but there really isn't much traffic on 46 at that hour going from Oxford to Hackettstown. So you can just as easily take 46 to 517 in Hackettstown and head up to 80 in Allamuchy from there. Or better yet take 46 to Ketcham and out through Ridge Rd. to 517. This avoids the more congested area of 46 through Hackettstown and Mt. Olive. There are no gyms in Oxford, we have limited businesses here, but I have heard the Gibson's gym in Washington is very good and only about 10 minutes or so from Oxford (depending where). Gold's Gym in Mansfield is good but will take you 20-25 minutes to get to. But you could also hit it on your way home.
Like I said, I am well aware that Budd Lake/Mount Olive are the high congestion points of I80 at least at 6:40am and for some reason after the 'bend' around Howard Blvd, the traffic would then begin flowing down the hill to the Sparta and Rockaway exits. I guess some folks don't understand what sunglasses are for.
Basically, the commute is all that is preventing me from proceeding with an offer on the house, which I want to do on a Tuesday or Wednesday anyway. I've heard that the schools in the Oxford area are descent (something I won't need to worry about for about 8 years and that could change). Looking back on my grade/highschool experience, Yes I wish I would have had a better schooling to make me better prepared for college while I was there. I eventually adjusted, but not until the end of my college career. I now take grad classes in my spare time, and do very well, so I can only imagine how much better I could have done while I was in college.
I'm wondering if I should do a mock run from that area in the morning to get to work. My boss said to do this...
Find something closer to Route 80 specaily in Budd Lake, We live in Country Oaks development on Connelly Ave, Budd Lake and it is just 1 mile away from Route 80.
Find something closer to Route 80 specaily in Budd Lake, We live in Country Oaks development on Connelly Ave, Budd Lake and it is just 1 mile away from Route 80.
That would be nice, but the OP stated that he was concerned with price, there is a big difference in home prices and taxes between Oxford to Budd Lake.
What about Mansfield? The prices are comparable to Oxford and their are back roads to take to 519 to Rt 80.
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