Does anyone here live in College Station and commute to Houston for work? In the near future, I may be transferred to Houston. The office location is right around Beltway 8 & 290. So, the dreams of actually living in College Station started to dance in my head. However, is this really feasable? I guess it would be about 60 miles one way. Does anyone know what the traffic is like? I'm not too familiar with the Houston area, but I may be willing to sacrifice a longer commute in order to raise my family in Aggieland. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

My commute to my office in Copperfield is shorter than it was when I lived in Houston.

Possum,

Your drive would be 70 minutes (give or take) ea way. I live less than 10 minutes from that intersection. The traffic would not be very bad most days. 290 is heavy outbound at rush hour but if you flex your hours a little bit, then it should not be an issue.

The biggest issue I would have is the wear and tear on the car and high gas prices over the long term. The drive is not bad. I'm not sure I would want to make it every day, but its not unusual to make an hour drive to and from work.

I commute from Bryan to Huntsville, which is shorter than your potential commute, and it does get pretty tiring after a while.

I wouldn't go back and change it because there's no way in hell I'd want to live in Huntsville, but the long drives everyday do indeed suck.

It's also expensive, even with an economical car.

I live in Pebble Creek so I get begin south of some others and then exit 290 at Telge so I never get into any traffic. I actually enjoy the drive, but then I'm from west Texas and got plenty of that growing up. Like FPM the benefits of living in CS outweigh the negatives.

I would much rather have a 60 mile commute of open road from CS to Houston as opposed to a possible 15-30 mile commute within Houston and having to deal with its traffic problems. I live in Sugar Land (SW Houston) and am blessed with a 15 minute commute. I know people that work in the Galleria and Downtown and the drive can take anywhere from 30-90 minutes depending on traffic. If you throw in the ocassional wreck or heavy rainstorm your commute time will increase dramatically.

Since you mentioned that you would be working in the Beltway 8 and 290 area, there are housing options in the area that you could have a somewhat reasonable commute. The choice for you will be your drive from CS to Houston and being able to raise your family in CS as opposed to a closer commute time possibly in Houston but the negatives of raising a family in Houston. There are pros and cons both ways but if I felt it was feasible and within your financial constraints I would certainly look at CS as a strong option.

[This message has been edited by Ag2Max (edited 1/26/2006 12:49p).]

I don't have the same commute, but I live in South CS and commute to the Woodlands everyday. 65 miles that takes about an hour in the morning and about an hour and 15 to 30 minutes on the way back. It does get old at times, but I work with people that live in Houston that drive longer time-wise. If you like a little quiet time to clear your head, it's really not that bad.

Possum-
I live in Navasota and made the commute from there to De Soto (exit 290 @ W Little York) for two years. It wasn't too bad, but it was 60 minutes from Nav. Add 20 on to that if you're coming from CS.

I'd leave the house by 5:15 every morning to miss traffic and would be at my desk by 6:30. If I left at 6, I wouldn't be at my desk until 8. Traffic starts to back up at Cy-Fair High School around 6:45 and will be stop and go all the way in.

Coming home, however, was another story. Unless you have a job where you can leave early, you'll get on the road with all the other folks out there. Traffic was usually stop and go until 1960 and then pretty heavy until you got out towards Fairfield.

I will tell you that you won't be alone. We'd get on HWY 6 at the 105 W entrance/exit and could set our watches by the cars around us. We'd usually wind up traveling in a pack of people coming from College Station.

As I recall, My GPS says it is 77 miles from Post Oak Mall to the Beltway @ 290.

There are good neighborhoods down in that area of Houston, as an alternative.

Or, hook up with some folks here that work in Houston and start a carpool. My dad does it within Houston and loves it. Some companies offer benefits for carpooling.

One of our family friends drives from Houston to College Station everyday for work.

I'd give it a try. What do you have to lose? My old commute in Houston was a solid hour each way and like it's been mentioned before, I'd much rather drive an hour on the open road than an hour sitting in a mess in Houston. Get yourself a VW Jetta TDI diesel that gets 45 mpg and you'll be ok.

[This message has been edited by ReloadAg (edited 1/26/2006 8:05p).]

[This message has been edited by Budder99 (edited 1/27/2006 12:44p).]

[This message has been edited by Budder99 (edited 1/27/2006 12:44p).]

My girlfriend does it from the Munson Ave area to 249/Beltway. Takes her about an hour and 15 and she loves it. Does not bother her at all.

You are just extending your workday by 3 hours! (if it takes 1 1/2 hours one way)

To me, that would suck. I hate the fact that I live 20 minutes away from work.

It'll get old.

I spend my morning hour listening to sports radio then my hour on the way home either returning my phone calls or learning Spanish. Cruise control on 72 and no traffic. Beats the old hour commute in Houston traffic.

You''l know in the first few months whether you like the long drive or not.

If you are going to try it, I'd suggest renting a place first. That way, if you really don't like the long commute, you can just move rather than having to try to sell a house after a short period of time.

Are you married or single (I think you are married, but maybe you were just projecting the future)? If you are single, then give it a shot. You might like it. Plus, I think living in B/CS would be superior to living in Houston. I am trying to get a job in B/CS now.

If you are married, make sure your wife/husband is keen with the idea of you not getting home until 6:30 or 7:00 each night (depending on your work hours).

Also remember that a commute of that time will make it difficult to participate in other activities in B/CS because you will get in so late (ie. softball, church, kids activities, happy hours, Aggie sports, etc.). You will also miss any kids shows, plays, etc. that are in the middle of the day.

If you have flexible work hours, then I think I would do it. Leave the house around 5:30, work from 6:30-7:00 to 3:30-4:00, be home by 5:00-5:30.

I also agree with the preference of driving for an hour with the cruise on 72 vs. driving at 25 in stop and go traffic. Of course, if you are working at the Beltway and 290, you can find plenty of nice neighborhoods within 20 minutes of that location.

[This message has been edited by 12th Man Ag (edited 1/27/2006 1:26p).]

Thanks for all the advice. It sounds feasible so I think I may have to give it a shot. I have a 45 minute commute now in traffic, so I think I could handle the longer commute but with no traffic.

So what are some of the nicer places in College Station these days? When I was in school, Pebble Creek was the place to be. Can anyone shed any light on nice subdivisions?

Here are some threads on the topic:

http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=535087&forum_id=35

http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=557455&page=2&forum_id=35

http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?forum_id=35&topic_id=537386

http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?forum_id=35&topic_id=507665

[This message has been edited by 12th Man Ag (edited 1/27/2006 2:46p).]

I commute to Houston daily (work at the Beltway and 290) from South CS. It takes me 1:05 with no speeding and no traffic slowdowns (significant ones, anyway), but we're actually moving to Houston for at least a few years.

I'd suggest Castlegate, Pebble Creek, or one of the farther south College Station neighborhoods simply because it will shave 5-10 minutes off of the drive.

Hey will you still be commuting to hunstville in the fall?

Used to commute from cs to woodway/610. Was always about an hour and 20. It's def do-able, but you have to get your routine and mind right.

Interesting thread bump

Oops...wow...way old thread. Never mind.