Opinion from folks living near Cypress, The Woodlands, or Kingwood (Houston: apartment, rent)

[kyle450rider]

I think that I'm close to taking a job near Four Oaks Place on Post Oak BLVD. Wife and I are looking for a home but in all reality we will probably rent an apartment or house and then buy a home later after we have had time to see where we like. My question for anyone living in the area's in my title is how long does it take to get to this location? My hours for work would be something like 6-6, be there at 6am and leave after 6pm. Would I be able to avoid massive traffic jams at these hours? My other shift would be 6pm to 6am. This one I wouldn't be worried because I'd be leaving the area where most were headed. Wife really likes Kingwood and from the houses we have searched online I really like it too but we could be swayed to The Woodlands too. Thanks for the help.

[vicket]

Cypress here. It takes me approx 40 minutes with no traffic.
Before 6 you should be fine...but coming home around six is still kinda congested.

[Cbink]

I'm in Cypress too (Barker @ West) and commute to 610/San Felipe.
At 5.30am it's normally 25 mins for me. You'll still hit traffic at 6pm though. Probably 45-50 mins on average. I try not to commute at that time to be honest though. I normally get in early so I can leave by 4 or go in late and leave after 7.

[kyle450rider]

Thanks for the replies so far. Leaving late would work for me because I could always stick around and hit the gym before coming home. That would push me to 7 or later which traffic should be less by then.

[kyle450rider]

I flew in Tuesday for an interview and they set me up with a driver. Actually 2 different drivers. 1 from the airport and 1 from the office back to the airport. I asked both about hours of the day what times would be best to drive in and they said at 6am or before it shouldn't be a problem getting to this office location from almost any part of Houston. Now they both told me from 4:30PM to about 8PM it will be an hour or later getting to any suburb north of Houston depending on traffic. Whats strange is both of them said that just 5 minutes leaving early can make up a lot of ground if you can just find that sweet spot. The office I was at has a huge flatscreen tv on the wall just exiting the parking garage with live traffic map of Houston's HWY's. I think that I will get an offer soon from one of the places that I interviewed at. I hope that if I accept its the right decision. Houston seems like a great opportunity for someone in my business area.

[analogkid84]

FWIW, 59 into and out of Kingwood, is probably one of the best commutes around. Does it back up in places? Certainly. Overall traffic flow is very good and there is a walled-off HOV lane as well, though with your sched, that probably wouldn't matter unless you took a bus. I live in the Kings River part of Kingwood/Atascocita, get to the Townsen P&R around 5:50 a.m. for a vanpool and am at the Med Center by 6:25. When I occasionally drive, I can leave my house at 5:20 and be to work by 6:00 easily. Can't help you much in the p.m. as I leave work at 4:00. Now, this will adjust a bit if you are coming from Kingwood proper, especially if you live at the "back" of Kingwood and use either Kingwood Drive or Northpark to get to the freeway. That said, I was willing to sac a bit of commute issues for the comfort and wooded nature of that area. Fortunately, the commute hasn't been an issue for me. Good luck with things.

[Cbink]

The sweet spot comment is true. A lot will depend on precisely where you are as it's the area between hwy59 & 290 on 610 that's really bad in the evenings and your route to get onto 610 (assuming that is what you will do - you can also take back roads but that will depend again on precisely where you are and where you're going to).

[chris_ut]

I would not recommend living in Kingwood if you get a job at Four Oaks Place that would be a miserable commute.

[trbstang]

I agree with vicket and Cbink. I live right behind Jersey Village which is at the beltway 8 toll road and Hwy 290 in "southeast Cypress". My neighbor works at Williams Energy in the tower, and he leaves usually about 6 and is at work by 6:30. He leaves for home about 3:00, arriving at about 3:30. As long as you hit that right time, there is minimal traffic both ways.

I on the other hand leave at 8:30 or later for work, and it takes me 30-40 min, sometimes less. This morning it was 25 min. I leave work about 6:30-7:00 and again it takes about 30-40 min, but I work right outside of downtown. I did try and leave earlier, about 7:30 after dropping my kids off at school, and it takes me a good hour to get to work. So I just go back home and finish getting ready to stay out of the major traffic.

Good luck on the job offer and your move.

[kyle450rider]

trbstang , thank you very much. Cypress is another area we both like.