Commute to downton Miami from Boca or Cooper City (Plantation: mover, home)

[BrooklynMike]

All,

I am thinking about taking a relocation to my Miami office (Bricekll/downtown). My question is what is the commute like from Boca to downtown Miami? I could take the Tri-Rail and transfer to the local train, which stops within a block or so of my potential office. I am also looking at Cooper City as it appears to be a much better commute. I am looking at these two cities because the school districts appear to be some of the better ones in South Florida. Any thoughts?

[doghead]

I used to take Tri-Rail from Deerfield Beach to Miami, back in 2004. Like you mentioned, I hooked up with the local train and then a "people mover" to my job on Brickell. It was very tiring. At that time, trains did not run frequently. I really hated it. I left at around 6:45 a.m. every day and returned home at about 7:30 p.m. Very long day. It's nothing like Metro North. Maybe they've improved things since I left in 06. In retrospect, I should have moved closer to the job instead of quitting the job. Cooper city sounds much more reasonable. Anything south of Ft. L would be better. Good luck.

[ladyalicemore]

Brooklyn Mike, It is a tedious commute from Boca that I do when I go down to Miami (where I don't like to drive). Several hours back to Boca when I have done it--once because someone had died under the train. Fellow commuters not always copacetic, and I commuted on NYC subways for years, but S Florida is something else. Not the same as Jersey Transit or NYC transit or Boston transit. People are not "pros" at commuting down here and they are less considerate (not that they are esp. good in the above-named venues, but the S FL people are even worse). Think about carpooling if you do this. I don't think there is any bus service for commuters between Boca and Miami, though there should be.

The trains are scheduled fairly often, but there are a lot of disruptions compared to other commuter light rail I have used. It is inexpensive to travel this way, but one kind of gets what one pays for.

I don't know about the Cooper City schools. Boca Raton has good schools but that commute would kill your soul.

Others I hope will post if I am wrong. There used to be Greyhound bus service daily, more for tourists than commuters (irregular hours) but I think the bus no longer stops in Boca.

[CJD1812]

Don't do it! My husband did the train for 9 months from Boca, and then drove for 3 years. It was awful. The train took long and there would always be delays. He then started driving and would leave around 6am and he would get there in 45 minutes when there were no accidents, but coming back home always took about 1.5 hours on a good day. It is a very stressful commute.

[BrooklynMike]

Thanks for the info. I am thinking that Cooper City is the way to go. I love Boca but I wouldn't want that crazy commute everyday. I hate driving but it's something I would have to get used to.

[john-staten island]

Great,accurate comments. I drive the BQE daily from Staten Island to Queens. That commute is a picnic compared to a Boca-Miami nightmare. 95 is speedway that turns into a parking lot at rush hour. Tri-Rail is a tedious trip, did it a couple times,could not imagine doing it daily. When I drive from Boca to a Marlins game in Lil Havana in Miami it's always an adventure Mon-Fri, weekends not that bad. Really a shame S.Florida doesn't have a good mass transit system, Even X-press Busses would be nice.

[gemini23nj]

I agree with the previous posters. I travel from West Palm Beach to Plantation daily via the turnpike, it takes me about an hour, coming home anywhere from an hour, to an hour and a half. The further south you drive, the worse the congestion on the road gets, Miami is crazy!

[jwfla422]

If you choose Boca you would be living on the highway more than you would be actually living in Boca;-) You're better off with Cooper City so you can actually live at home some of the time;-) Good luck