Quote :

"LOL, ahuh...ya know emissions from automobiles isn't even one of top sources of manmade CO2?"

What?

From the EPA:

Quote :

"The largest source of CO2 emissions globally is the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas in power plants, automobiles, industrial facilities and other sources... The transportation sector is the second largest source of CO2 emissions in the U.S. ..."

obviously that includes multiple forms of transportation, but still.

Anywho, my commute right now is about 10 minutes in the morning and 15-20 in the afternoon.



[Edited on July 7, 2010 at 9:08 AM. Reason : ]

7/7/2010 9:04:53 AM

I think that it depends on the type of driving that it is.

I *hated* my 45 minute drive from Garner to Durham. The commute was unpredictable because of freakin' I-40.

I loved my 30-40 minute drive from Ayden to Washington, NC every day. It was rural scenic driving and the traffic was light. I just listened to the radio on my drive and relaxed.

7/7/2010 11:04:35 AM

I did a 1 hour commute from Burlington to Raleigh for a year. Traffic wasn't bad for me because it backed up on I-40 the opposite ways in the morning and evening. But it still sucked. I got used to it after a few months.

Now I live and work in Winston and have a 10-15 minute commute. It's so much nicer. I feel like I'm getting more sleep!

7/7/2010 2:17:35 PM

2.2 miles from home to work.
~12 min. on bike
~10 min. by car
~25 min. by bus

Before Denver, I lived in DC and it was:
4.5 miles from apt. to work
~ 25 min. on bike
~ 15 min. by car, depending on traffic
~ 25 min. by metro rail

Before DC, I lived in Charlotte and it SUUUCCCCKKKEED!:
15.7 miles from apt. to work
~ 45 min by car, in rush hour
~ 1:20 by bus

7/7/2010 2:35:24 PM

they recently closed our wilmington office so ive been having to drive that way from raleigh every day until the jobs are finished. its nice to have 4+ billable driving hours a day, but it would be even better to have a nice hotel room

7/7/2010 6:51:34 PM

23.5 miles from my house to work. Takes 25-30 min depending on traffic. I barely notice the drive but maybe that's because I grew up in the middle of nowhere and it took 20 minutes to get to anywhere worth going.

7/7/2010 7:30:37 PM

I currently live in East Charlotte, and work in Statesville. My drive is 1:10 with no traffic an minimal red lights. I drive 60 miles each direction every day.
I get up between 4:30 and 5:30 depending on when work starts. I get to leave at 3:30 most days though, which puts me home right before 5pm and lets me avoid most of the traffic.

I don't mind it, but it does get tiring, and expensive if your car doesn't get great gas mileage. I just listen to morning talk radio shows and the drive just flies by.



I used to live in raleigh and commute to durham for work, every day, both directions in rush hour. It was only 20 miles, but took 1-2 hours each way. That only lasted for 2 months before I quit.



In the end, if you are getting paid for it, and don't mind having to go to bed early so you can get up early it isn't so bad. You need to like, or at least not mind, being in the car though for you to no lose your sanity.

7/7/2010 7:51:58 PM

ive gotten used to my long ass commute, i just wish i got reimbursed for it

[Edited on July 7, 2010 at 10:08 PM. Reason : but at least I moved out of the 'who is still unemployed' thread]

7/7/2010 10:05:03 PM

I just have to step out of my door

7/8/2010 12:24:45 AM

Quote :

"2.2 miles from home to work. ~12 min. on bike ~10 min. by car ~25 min. by bus"

That's almost my exact scenario as well. Hell, I walk to work about half the time. I'm seriously considering getting rid of the truck and getting a scooter instead (wife has the other car) as I MIGHT put 150-200 miles/month on it.

For that matter, I've been out of 3 mile radius of our apartment exactly thrice in the last 2 weeks . All my bars, Harris Teeter, downtown area, NCSU, and work are all nearby.

7/8/2010 10:40:33 AM

How is I-40W traffic from RTP to Chapel Hill during rush hour? I'd imagine most people are heading the opposite direction in the morning.

7/8/2010 10:58:50 AM

I have a 25 min. commute and I can't stand it. It's about to change to 15 min which will be bearable. I'm spoiled.

7/8/2010 11:03:55 AM

i'm about 25 miles to the office and from there i may have to commute 100 miles (not in my car though)

7/8/2010 11:04:04 AM

When I worked for a newspaper, my commute was a five minute walk. Now it's a 12-minute drive, which seems intolerably long after getting used to living a couple of streets down from my downtown office.

7/8/2010 11:06:35 AM

depends on they day. Half the time it is a 15 step carpeted commute to my home office. Other times its a drive into RTP or flight to Kansas or Miami.

My last job I was a genetic and esoteric testign specialist and travels all of eastern NC, I drove 120,000 miles the last year but usually about 90K a year with that job.

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 11:47 AM. Reason : 4edfc]

7/8/2010 11:46:17 AM

I live 13 miles from my office. If i drive straight to the office in the mornings, it is a 35-40 minute commute. However, I have a company truck and rarely go directly to the office. I drive somewhere in the neighborhood of 800-900 miles a week.

7/8/2010 12:02:19 PM

I used to drive an hour and fifteen minutes each way to school. It sucks really bad, and only starts to suck more with time, not get more bearable.

I'd never live somewhere long term now where I'd have a commute longer than about 30 minutes.

7/8/2010 12:24:40 PM

I have driven from Scotland Neck to Roanoke Rapids and previously from Scotland Neck to Ahoskiefor over 5 years. Both were about 30 miles & almost exactly 30 minutes. Not a bad commute because it was so remote.

Of course my mileage gets nuts on my truck. Was at 274+k today when something in my drivetrain let go. Thankfully I was able to park it at an old job location and getting it towed in for a check out tomorrow morning.

[Edited on July 8, 2010 at 9:59 PM. Reason : ]

7/8/2010 9:58:50 PM

my commute just got waaaaaaay longer

but I love my job so it's not too bad

7/9/2010 1:29:56 AM

Quote :

"How is I-40W traffic from RTP to Chapel Hill during rush hour? I'd imagine most people are heading the opposite direction in the morning."

7/9/2010 1:45:37 AM

I drive into RTP from Raleigh and it usually takes about 30 minutes in the morning and about 45 minutes - hour in the afternoon depending on traffic.

It isn't really that bad. In the morning it gives me time to drink some coffee, listen to the radio, and prep mentally for work. KILLS on gas, tho, but there is no way in hell I'm moving back into Morrisville or Durham again. I'd rather commute and stay in Raleigh.

7/9/2010 8:07:25 AM

what do you mean "from RTP?"

that's kind of an arbitrary starting point.

If you mean I-40 from west of the durham freeway towards chapel hill, the traffic thins out in the a.m. rush hour, but, it's still pretty bad heading from chapel hill heading east during the p.m. rush hour.

7/9/2010 8:08:27 AM

I used to have about 30 minutes during rush hour from the NCSU area to Cisco in RTP/Morrisville.

Now, its only 5-7 minutes (4 miles) ... definitely will never go back ... my time is too valuable to me.

7/9/2010 8:11:19 AM

Quote :

"I drive into RTP from Raleigh and it usually takes about 30 minutes in the morning and about 45 minutes - hour in the afternoon depending on traffic. It isn't really that bad. In the morning it gives me time to drink some coffee, listen to the radio, and prep mentally for work. KILLS on gas, tho, but there is no way in hell I'm moving back into Morrisville or Durham again. I'd rather commute and stay in Raleigh."

I just accepted a position in RTP and will be commuting from Five Points area in Raleigh. Will be a big change from my 12 minute door to door commute. What times do you leave in the morning and afternoon? Has anyone left at different times and seen a big time difference?

7/9/2010 10:22:49 AM

Quote :

"what do you mean "from RTP?" "

I guess I mean from the Alexander Drive area. Basically starting from within RTP rather than east of RTP.

7/9/2010 11:23:52 AM

^^Where in RTP is the position. If its on the east side you can make it in 30 minutes in the morning.

7/9/2010 2:33:26 PM

this week i have driven a little over 1,300 miles

7/9/2010 7:59:01 PM

I commute from Burlington to Clemmons. It is about 55 miles and takes about an hour each way. The gf commutes Burlington to Durham, and that takes about 45 mins. I suppose buying a car that uses premium and gets 26mpg wasn't the wisest design, but it makes the drive more tolerable.

[Edited on July 10, 2010 at 8:36 PM. Reason : added]

7/10/2010 8:33:57 PM

Quote :

"Before DC, I lived in Charlotte and it SUUUCCCCKKKEED!:"

I live in Charlotte and work uptown. Bus goes by my house every 8 minutes in the AM and it takes about 14 minutes to get to work. Buses leave the transit center about every 5 minutes to my house in the PM and it takes about the same amount of time depending on which route i catch back.

I love working downtown and having such great access to public transit. I'd have to pay $130/month to park where I work or half that for a monthly bus pass.

A bunch of my co-workers live on the Lynx line in South end and it takes them minutes to get to work. No wonder it has 25,000+ riders per day.

7/12/2010 4:51:27 PM

^Lynx wasn't running yet when I lived there, and if one happens to live in South Charlotte, yes the commute is 45min-1:20 at minimum even if you take public transportation. My guess is Charlotte prices for homes around the light rail have skyrocketed.

i on the other hand can live 2.2 miles from downtown and own my own single-family home with a yard <$240k... something you can't get in Charlotte because of the dreaded noose around downtown called I-277 and the outrageous neighborhoods like Dilworth, Queens and Plaza Midwood, and if you can't afford those neighborhoods than it's the ghetto.

[Edited on July 12, 2010 at 6:45 PM. Reason : .]

7/12/2010 6:42:09 PM

Quote :

"i on the other hand can live 2.2 miles from downtown and own my own single-family home with a yard <$240k... something you can't get in Charlotte because of the dreaded noose around downtown called I-277 and the outrageous neighborhoods like Dilworth, Queens and Plaza Midwood, and if you can't afford those neighborhoods than it's the ghetto. "

I live about 3.5 miles from town on the edge of Plaza Midwood and the prices aren't as outrageous as you make them out to be. The center of plaza central (plaza and central) is exactly 2.2 miles from uptown and there's plenty of neighborhoods in that area that offer houses in that price range. Chantilly is great and it's between Plaza Midwood and Elizabeth and I have plenty of friends in that area that are paying $700-1000 rent for 2-3 bedroom houses. Mortgages aren't that bad.

277 does kind of choke off the city and everything within that loop is $$$ but that's what, less than a mile from the center of the city? Trade and Tryon to the 277 loop at the longest point is like .8 miles.

7/13/2010 8:44:49 AM

Quote :

"^^Where in RTP is the position. If its on the east side you can make it in 30 minutes in the morning."

Off Davis drive near Cisco campus. (3 miles from I-40)

I think the consensus has been 35 minutes in morning and 45-1hr evenings. i would likely be leaving around 6 would that make a difference as opposed to leaving at 5?

7/13/2010 11:36:43 AM

^from what I can tell leaving at 6 would be better for your commute. I get off work at 5 but usually leave the gym (just a few buildings over from my office) at 6:30 - 7 and its usually smooth sailing on I-40 at that point all the way.

7/13/2010 11:42:57 AM

15 minute walk, door-to-door.

7/13/2010 12:40:53 PM

^^, ^^^: Leaving at 5 would be WAY better than leaving at 6. Leaving at 6 is the worst possible time to be on I-40 in that area.

7/13/2010 12:49:43 PM

Quote :

" live about 3.5 miles from town on the edge of Plaza Midwood and the prices aren't as outrageous as you make them out to be. The center of plaza central (plaza and central) is exactly 2.2 miles from uptown and there's plenty of neighborhoods in that area that offer houses in that price range. Chantilly is great and it's between Plaza Midwood and Elizabeth and I have plenty of friends in that area that are paying $700-1000 rent for 2-3 bedroom houses. Mortgages aren't that bad. 277 does kind of choke off the city and everything within that loop is $$$ but that's what, less than a mile from the center of the city? Trade and Tryon to the 277 loop at the longest point is like .8 mile"

prices must have come down in that hood then, when i moved out 3-4 years ago, houses were about $350k for a 1000sf house in Chantilly

still i could live <1 mile from downtown Denver and still get a house and a yard for $200k or less... it's just different here... Charlotte IS expensive and not that accessible except by vehicle.

7/13/2010 12:57:35 PM

I guess it's all relative. A bunch of my friends have moved to NYC/DC/LA etc and always complain about how expensive things are and praise Charlotte for being so dirt cheap. I guess there's always cheaper places. Didn't think Denver would be cheaper though.

I mean define accessible. If you're anywhere out South Blvd you can take the light rail. That makes up a big portion of South Charlotte (even if you park and ride). Also if you're on any major road (Central/Monroe/Providence/Park/etc) buses go by every 8-15 minutes to downtown.

I guess i've always lived a few miles from the center city and never had to deal with rush hour traffic or 485/77/85 so i've always been able to get anywhere around Charlotte in under 15 minutes.

I've actually started going to a trainer in Pineville around 5:30pm and it rarely takes me more than 20 minutes to get from downtown Charlotte to 485/77 at rush hour. I guess North 77 is worse. Charlotte isn't among the best cities for public transit and travel but it's no where near cities like LA or Atlanda for commute/traffic issues.

7/13/2010 1:21:01 PM

neodata, no offense but I just don't think your scenario encompasses the majority of people that live in Charlotte. If I moved back to Charlotte, I'd probably look at where you live because it sounds great. But that said, Charlotte is still the epitome of suburbia. It's land area is twice Denver's and they are close to equal in population. A majority of people use South Blvd., Providence Rd., Independence Blvd., 277/77/485 for getting around and traffic is a nightmare. It takes about 15-25 minutes to cross town even on the beltway.

first of all, ONE light rail corridor is not anywhere close to what i'd call "accessible", Denver has 5 corridors working on a 6th. 1 hour plus bus rides to go 12 miles is not what i call "accessible" even when i took the express buses it was an hour from South Charlotte. Denver has Bcycle a bicycle sharing program for downtown area that has over 40+ different stations in which to rent bikes, it has been WIDELY used in part because you can get around Denver on a bike REALLY easily with 2-3 major bike trails intersecting downtown. Charlotte has bike lanes on busy roads at best. Most of the bike trails are in "greenways"... although getting better.

now with that said, Denver has suburbs & traffic too, it's a big city like Charlotte, and I know a lot of people that live in the suburbs that have 30-45 minute commutes. RTD Denver's bus system has won national awards for the best public transit and it's widely used as well. it's just the density is greater here though so the distances are about half what they are in Charlotte.

anyhow, imho Denver >>> Charlotte in terms of commuting.

7/13/2010 1:54:58 PM

I'm not disagreeing with you. I've been to Denver and it's far ahead of Charlotte in terms of public transit, bicycle friendly commuting, and overall traffic structure. I guess i'm just trying to be optimistic and say that Charlotte has come a long ways in the last 10 years and is not among the worst in the country.

7/13/2010 2:20:16 PM

Haha was searching for commute threads and found this.

After moving to Denver and living here for almost 2 years:

Quote :

"still i could live <1 mile from downtown Denver and still get a house and a yard for $200k or less... it's just different here... Charlotte IS expensive and not that accessible except by vehicle."

Not anymore. Denver's housing and rental market are far more competitive and pricey than Charlotte. All the 2 bedroom ~1000-1200 sqft houses we're looking at are in the $350-450k range. We're currently looking near South Broadway (near Pearl and Louisiana) all the way down to Dartmouth Ave (technically in Englewood).

The market here is ridiculous. Houses rarely stay on the market more than a few days and there's cash offers everywhere.

--Also re: work commutes I live at Mississippi and Broadway (which is awesome being 1 mile from Wash park, short walk to South Pearl street, et) and work at 25 and Colorado. My commute is either a 12-15 minute bike ride or a short walk to the Broadway or Pearl light-rail stations then a 2-3 stop train ride. Living and working on the i25 lightrail corridor is awesome. I only drive on the weekends now when I'm headed to the mountains.

[Edited on April 26, 2015 at 7:06 PM. Reason : s]

4/26/2015 6:59:21 PM

I commute roughly 65 miles each way to work...from east of Pensacola, FL to Mobile, AL. It takes about an hour and requires refueling every 2-3 days. It sucks. Then, once I get to work, it's about 0.75-0.8 miles from the parking lot to my office. Sometimes I walk it; usually I ride the collapsible bicycle that I keep in the back of my car.

4/26/2015 8:54:07 PM

So 2 hours a day? That's 1/8th of your waking life spent in a car.

4/26/2015 8:55:53 PM

Yep...but I can't really move. I'm pretty much tied to this town until my daughter is off to college. I got 50/50 custody of her; if I left, I'd give that up. (same deal for her mom, but she likes it here and can get shitty work here as well as anywhere else, haha). I'm kinda screwed on that one...there aren't many engineering jobs that pay well unless you commute to Mobile or maybe Eglin AFB.

4/26/2015 9:01:28 PM

We're about to move within Richmond; my commute will go from 10 miles to 13, and from ~17 minutes to ~25. Not that bad a deal. The highway portion is actually identical, I'll just have to travel down from Northside through the Fan/Museum District to get on the highway at the exact same place. Traffic is miserable on the part of I-95 nearest my new place so it will actually be a lot shorter to go through the city and stay off the highway until I reach a much less crowded part of it.

4/26/2015 9:20:08 PM

man, i haven't had a commute less than a half hour since...early 2008?

4/26/2015 9:30:49 PM

My light rail ride is 7 minutes. Biking is the longest and it's 13 minutes.

^^^You have a very valid reason for your commute though.

4/26/2015 10:52:23 PM

Love my commute. I'm 3.6 miles from the office. Have 3 completely different routes to take depending on traffic.

Route 1 - 6 minute drive
Route 2 - 8 minute drive
Route 3 - 10 minute drive (but only 15 minute bike)

I've been driving to work on mondays, bringing clothes for the week. Then riding my bike tuesday-thursday, and driving on friday to take laundry home. Loving it.

4/27/2015 9:19:33 AM

<10 min walk to work for me. Can suck on rainy and/or cold, windy days, but I've managed. Now that we've bought a house, that walk will turn into a 7 min drive/18 min. bike ride/~45-50 min walk

4/27/2015 9:52:15 AM

2007-2008: 42 miles both ways, 2 hours total, car
2008-2009: 8 miles both ways, 50 total minutes, city train
2009-2010: 1.2 miles, 26 total minutes, 5 blocks away so I walked
2010-2011: 8.4 miles both ways, 58 total minutes, city train
2011-2013: 34.2 miles both ways, 1 hour and 35 minutes total, car
2013: 44 miles both ways, 1 hour and 55 minutes total, car
2014: 19.6 miles both ways, 1 hour and 50 minutes total, car + regional rail
2014+: 26 miles both ways, 2 hours and 10 minutes total, walk + regional rail

2011-2013 was absolutely soul crushing.

4/27/2015 10:16:25 AM

25-35 min depending on traffic for me.

That's archer's lodge to downtown raleigh.

Kinda sucks but i have 3600sft and 2 acres... in town i would have had 2200 and a postage stamp for the same money.

4/27/2015 10:29:55 AM