Commute From West Chester to Horsham (Norristown, King of Prussia: rentals, employment, neighborhood) - Philadelphia - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

janny · 03-17-2011, 08:54 PM

My husband has a job interview in Horsham. If he gets the job we will be relocating to the area from out of state. We are planning on renting in the West Chester area to be near family and for the affordability.

How bad would the commute from West Chester to Horsham be?

Thanks in advance!

PhillyViaBoston · 03-17-2011, 09:27 PM

This might help: Google can show you traffic conditions at any specified time and day...

1. Go to maps.google.com
2. Enter "West Chester, PA to Horsham, PA" in the search area (for example)
3. On the upper right within the map click on 'traffic'. This will give you a color-coded view of the current traffic conditions.
4. A button should appear on the lower left within the map saying 'Live traffic' next to a link for 'change'. Click on 'change' then the button next to 'Traffic at day and time' to specify a time period of interest (Monday at 8am, for example). Click 'done' and watch the color coding change!

I took a quick look and 202 east after the Exton Bypass looks pretty rough in the mornings (coded red by google), as does the exchange from 202 onto 76 (yellow).

janny · 03-18-2011, 06:23 AM

Thanks for that info!

I did look it up on Google Maps before I posted. It projects the commute to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 minutes, which is do-able. I'm wondering from people who actually live there and do it every day---is that accurate, or would it be more like an hour (still do-able) or, say, an hour and 15?

Edited to add: are there good back-road routes that he could take in the event of a back-up on the major highways?

bryson662001 · 03-19-2011, 07:39 PM

I can't imagine a worse commute but I guess the PA turnpike (an over burdened and trouble prone toll road) would have to play a big part in it. That is after your done with Rt 202, the most congested freeway in eastern PA and after you get through King of Prussia, the 2nd biggest employment center in the whole metro. (Horsham may very well be the 3rd largest it is also a headache during rush hour). I would seriously reconsider West Chester. My 1st reaction was just to tell you that you can't get there from there.

kidphilly · 03-19-2011, 07:47 PM

Route 202 is bad from rt 30 to about 29 in the morning, then the Turnpike 276 mostly moves that direction fairly well though the tuenpike exit and 611 in Horsham are bad, I think 55-60 minutes would be typical but when the turnpike goes bad it really goes bad.

There are worse commutes but this one has its issues as well; overall it is doable. If you are renting, understanding the family close, there would be much close comparable rentals without the longer commute

sullivjo · 03-20-2011, 12:22 PM

I'm going to guesstimate that it would take you at least an 60 minutes each way during rush hour. West Chester and Horsham are not close to each other at all. The traffic in phila metro region is horrible. I would choose something half way in between if you really want to be accessible to both locations.

LibraGirl123 · 03-20-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sullivjo

I'm going to guesstimate that it would take you at least an 60 minutes each way during rush hour. West Chester and Horsham are not close to each other at all. The traffic in phila metro region is horrible. I would choose something half way in between if you really want to be accessible to both locations.

I agree with this post. I wouldn't envy anyone who would have to make a commute like this.

themixtape · 03-20-2011, 05:23 PM

Yeah, it's bad alright...

Definitely pick something in the middle... other than most of Norristown.

Conshohocken, King of Prussia, hell even as far north as Collegeville. Most of Blue Bell is ridiculously expensive (thanks to the country club) but... it isn't terribly far from Horsham and you can hop on 202 and catch the turnpike to West Chester eventually...

I lived on Horsham Road for 5 years and HATED the rush-hour commute to my old job in Ambler. It was hell, and I was only 7 miles away.

re: back roads... yeah, a lot of us prefer to take back roads instead of the turnpike (more relaxing drive, in my opinion)... but, the way the back roads are designed west of Philly (in between where you want to live and his job).... it would take you FOREVER--- take a look at google maps... they ALL run in a diagonal grid except for the turnpike.

janny · 03-21-2011, 07:16 AM

Ok, guys. Thanks so much for the feedback! I suspected it was going to take longer than the 45 minutes projected on Google maps and Mapquest. We'll see how the job interview goes and then re-think things from there.

bryson662001 · 03-21-2011, 04:00 PM

Probably the biggest problem is having to rely so much on the Turnpike. Being a toll road means you can't get off if there is trouble except at one of the few exits. You are trapped. A crash could have you stuck for hours. It is heavily traveled with lots of huge tractor tralors going too fast. Also since every one who exits has to stop and pay the few exits become bottlenecks, especially during rush hour.