Commute from NEK to Burlington (Newport, Waterbury: apartment, house, buying) - Burlington, VT - Vermont (VT) - City-Data Forum

IFlip4Carl · 07-05-2011, 05:05 AM

Just wondering if anyone has done this commute or knows of anyone who has. I would be doing it 4 days a week. Opportunity to buy a home in NEK for alot less money then anything in the Burlington area and pay is so much better in Burlington. Trying to decide if its worth it.

Logs and Dogs · 07-05-2011, 05:55 AM

The NEK is an large place, where in the NEK? Commuting from St J or along the RT 2 corridor is a different proposition than saying you are buying in Island Pond or Newport......

Letting us know where in the NEK you would be starting from may help people provide some realistic routes and "watch outs".

square peg · 07-05-2011, 09:34 AM

I considered it once. I didn't do it. I would have been driving no fewer than 3 hours per day just to commute. Consider the calamities that winter driving can throw at you and it would only get worse. Then sandwich in a full day's work - 4 or 5 days per week.

That said, There are some folks who have made the commute to IBM from Troy, North Troy and Newport. After a couple of years they usually find something else to do. There may even be a few career candidates, but I can't prove it.

The one thing I tend to notice about these commuters is... They're never around. They're not usually seen at school events, the local store, ballgames, or just walking down the street. They are conspicuous by their absence.

Logs and Dogs · 07-05-2011, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by square peg

I considered it once. I didn't do it. I would have been driving no fewer than 3 hours per day just to commute. Consider the calamities that winter driving can throw at you and it would only get worse. Then sandwich in a full day's work - 4 or 5 days per week.

That said, There are some folks who have made the commute to IBM from Troy, North Troy and Newport. After a couple of years they usually find something else to do. There may even be a few career candidates, but I can't prove it.

The one thing I tend to notice about these commuters is... They're never around. They're not usually seen at school events, the local store, ballgames, or just walking down the street. They are conspicuous by their absence.

Excellent point. It's all about the quality of life. I used to commute 2.5-3hrs per day, traffic made it more than the 45mins each way it should be. My wife did the same thing. It really takes it's toll. I now commute 9miles in about 20 mins and my wife commutes about 18 feet to her home office.....and yes I am jealous.

I would say you are in for a world of hurt driving from anywhere in the NEK to Burlington each day......I would only consider doing a Monday and Friday thing and staying in a cheap-ass apartment in Burlington during the week.....but that is usually unrealistic.

IFlip4Carl · 07-05-2011, 07:34 PM

Oops sorry you're right the Nek is a large place, I should have specified....Coventry. Thanks for you repsonses.

square peg · 07-05-2011, 09:21 PM

Well, let's say you're right in the center of Coventry by Martha's Diner. You'll take Rte. 5 south to 14 towards Irasburg, then 58 over Lowell Mountain, which has gorgeous views - but can also be a pain at times in the winter. It doesn't have to be snowing. A little wind will produce some sizable drifts and it does get windy up there. That's where VEC is planning a substantial wind farm. Anyway, that'll bring you to Rte. 100 in Lowell. Then you go south on 100 to North Hyde Park to 100C which will take you over to Johnson and Rte. 15 from there will take you to Essex.

If Essex is your destination that's about 62 miles and 90 minutes of driving. (according to Yahoo Maps) Their route is also the same one I would take. I've driven it many times in winter, driving truck. It's not bad, but then I was being paid for my time on the road.

If your destination is Burlington it's going to be a little further and in much heavier traffic, especially if it's during rush hours. Of course it can be done. And maybe it would work for you. I'd suggest doing a trial run and see how it goes.

harry chickpea · 07-05-2011, 09:30 PM

No frikkin way. NOT a sane drive for a commute, even if gas was two cents a gallon.

vermonter16 · 07-08-2011, 03:26 AM

I think it all depends. I hear people talk about the long commutes - my cousin used to commute from Newport to Waterbury and she said it wasn't too bad but the winter made it a bit longer. I would certainly commute from the NE Kingdom to Burlington. I'll be moving up there more than likely within the next year and if I get a job in that area...well, I'll be commuting for sure.

Living here in Northern Virginia I only work about 25 miles away from where I live....my commute times this week: I leave at 3:50am (job starts at 6:30am) to avoid traffic in the morning but hit construction - morning commute times this week each day just about 35 - 40 minutes which is not bad at all. However, if I left at 5am it would easily take me 90 minutes which is cutting it too close. On Tuesday my commute time was just about 3 hours in the afternoon, Wednesday it was 2 hours and 10 minutes, yesterday it was 1 hour 40 minutes but I left work early at 1pm. If I had left at regular time just add an hour. We don't get much weather in this area during the winter which is good...but this winter...thankfully I took off early and got home after a few hours. At 3:30am the next morning (I always bump up the commute times with weather) I got out on the roads which looked like armageddon because people abandoned their cars that had run out of gas....but in certain areas right around the city - people were still stuck in traffic from the previous afternoon....some of them were looking at over 12 hour commute times....now that's crazy.

I've been doing this commute for the last 8 years. Getting up between 2:30am and 3am is a drag and getting home between 4 and 6pm is a drag too. However, I live in a really fast paced area and it takes forever to go anywhere and you just accept it because you really don't have any other choice. I know people that do 2-4 hour commutes each way (those that live in Pennsylvania or West Virginia) and I wonder how they do it day in and day out but they do.

A commute gets old but I think it just boils down to what you need to do and you just do it. If we could all pick 10 minute commute times that would be ideal...but unfortunately - it's rarely the case.

vermonter16 · 07-08-2011, 05:40 AM

I think the bottom line is: is it worth it to you? Everyone puts priorities on different things. A house may be important, land may be important - coming home to a place you love might make the commute entirely worth it. Only you can guage whether or not it's worth it to you. What may sound bad to someone...may not sound bad to someone else. Me, personally - I don't think the commute would be bad but that's because I'm what I'm already used to. For someone else it could be entirely different.

swanstone1 · 07-09-2011, 04:44 AM

I used to drive 1 1/2 hours each way to work in Houston and considered anything less "just down the street". However, now that I live in the NEK I hate to spend more than 20 minutes driving anywhere. It defeats the whole purpose of moving here and getting out of the rat race. Maybe I'm just turning into a local. ;-0