U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
 
Old 10-31-2009, 10:25 AM
 
3 posts, read 16,371 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hi All. Newbie here.

Possibly relocating to the Bay Area and are trying to determine the best place to live to maximze home value without creating a massive commute issue. One area we're looking at is Novato.

Can anyone advise the morning commute times to San Rafael from the Novato area and reverse at night?

Any additional insights are appreciated.

Thanks!

Tony
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-31-2009, 11:24 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,786 posts, read 99,010,171 times
Reputation: 49147
Quote:
Originally Posted by tony P6361 View Post
Hi All. Newbie here.

Possibly relocating to the Bay Area and are trying to determine the best place to live to maximze home value without creating a massive commute issue. One area we're looking at is Novato.

Can anyone advise the morning commute times to San Rafael from the Novato area and reverse at night?

Any additional insights are appreciated.

Thanks!

Tony
Are you thinking the southern most part of Novato like Loma Verde or further north? Actually neither one would be that bad, but it is hard to judge unless we know what you consider not a bad commute. To some that is less than an hour, to others it means 15 minutes.

Nita
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2009, 11:31 AM
 
3 posts, read 16,371 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita View Post
Are you thinking the southern most part of Novato like Loma Verde or further north? Actually neither one would be that bad, but it is hard to judge unless we know what you consider not a bad commute. To some that is less than an hour, to others it means 15 minutes.

Nita
Thanks for the response.

Not sure yet which part of Novato but the destination is Central San Rafael. As for a "bad" commute, I'd like to keep around 30 minutes (leaving Novato around 7:00am). This may be a pipe dream .

Tony.
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2009, 11:54 AM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 28,156,870 times
Reputation: 3617
The Redwood Highway is a major pain and flows at less than 20 mph during rush hour in that stretch.. sometimes stop and go. This will seem counterintuitive, but have you considered looking at the El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond Hills kind of area? It might not look like it, but the commute will be much better and you'll get more for the money.
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2009, 12:07 PM
 
3 posts, read 16,371 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonarrat View Post
The Redwood Highway is a major pain and flows at less than 20 mph during rush hour in that stretch.. sometimes stop and go. This will seem counterintuitive, but have you considered looking at the El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond Hills kind of area? It might not look like it, but the commute will be much better and you'll get more for the money.
Thanks!

Those look like East Bay which we frankly know nothing about. But it also looks like it would be against the main traffic flow, probably both morning and evening.

Anyone have ideas about those commutes and/or communities?

T.
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2009, 01:13 PM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,786 posts, read 99,010,171 times
Reputation: 49147
Quote:
Originally Posted by tony P6361 View Post
Thanks!

Those look like East Bay which we frankly know nothing about. But it also looks like it would be against the main traffic flow, probably both morning and evening.

Anyone have ideas about those commutes and/or communities?

T.
I think I would take that last suggestion with a grain of salt or let's say it this way, check it out with more people...BTW, Novato is a good family community.

Nita
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2009, 10:36 PM
 
Location: Sacramento, Ca
2,039 posts, read 3,151,887 times
Reputation: 1659
I have lived in Novato, and in the East Bay, commuting to Larkspur. The commute from Novato wasn't TOO bad but very slow in the morning, from the East Bay, traffic was less, but the ride was a lot longer because of distance, unless you are looking at point Richmond, there is always backup at the bridge and there is a toll. Neither is a great commute. Have you considered San Rafael itself, Marinwood, San Anselmo or Fairfax?
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-01-2009, 12:32 AM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
7,688 posts, read 28,156,870 times
Reputation: 3617
Quote:
Originally Posted by ecvMatt View Post
I have lived in Novato, and in the East Bay, commuting to Larkspur. The commute from Novato wasn't TOO bad but very slow in the morning, from the East Bay, traffic was less, but the ride was a lot longer because of distance, unless you are looking at point Richmond, there is always backup at the bridge and there is a toll. Neither is a great commute. Have you considered San Rafael itself, Marinwood, San Anselmo or Fairfax?
I think there's probably a good chance s/he has checked those cities out, but was turned off by the very high prices. For someone who is just moving to the Bay Area, most of Marin County is not going to be affordable unless they just sold their house in Martha's Vineyard.

10 miles of stop and go is annoying, but that's life here. I live on the south side of San Jose and commute to the north side, which is 10 miles. It takes me 15-20 to get onto 101 (because of the timing lights - fortunately not an issue in Marin County) and an additional 15-25 to get to my exit. Do I like it? No.. but if I wanted to live closer to work, in Santa Clara or Sunnyvale, I would have to sacrifice a lot more of my hard-earned dollars to cut down on the commute.
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-01-2009, 10:36 AM
 
Location: 38°14′45″N 122°37′53″W
4,151 posts, read 10,683,078 times
Reputation: 3434
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonarrat View Post
The Redwood Highway is a major pain and flows at less than 20 mph during rush hour in that stretch.. sometimes stop and go. This will seem counterintuitive, but have you considered looking at the El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond Hills kind of area? It might not look like it, but the commute will be much better and you'll get more for the money.

No, sorry sonarrat, you are totally wrong now.
Ever since they added lanes in Central San Rafael that is simply not the case at all.
I now sail through Central San Rafael from Petaluma...the slowing in Novato is now at about 45 mph. not 20 which means that you could easily get from Novato to Central San Rafael in under 30 minutes easy.
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-01-2009, 10:38 AM
 
Location: 38°14′45″N 122°37′53″W
4,151 posts, read 10,683,078 times
Reputation: 3434
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonarrat View Post
I think there's probably a good chance s/he has checked those cities out, but was turned off by the very high prices. For someone who is just moving to the Bay Area, most of Marin County is not going to be affordable unless they just sold their house in Martha's Vineyard.

10 miles of stop and go is annoying, but that's life here. I live on the south side of San Jose and commute to the north side, which is 10 miles. It takes me 15-20 to get onto 101 (because of the timing lights - fortunately not an issue in Marin County) and an additional 15-25 to get to my exit. Do I like it? No.. but if I wanted to live closer to work, in Santa Clara or Sunnyvale, I would have to sacrifice a lot more of my hard-earned dollars to cut down on the commute.

It is not 10 miles of stop and go in Marin between Novato and San Rafael anymore .
When was the last time you drove up around here San Jose's own Sonarrat?
Rate this post positively Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


 
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2023, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top