Jupiter too far from Boca Raton? (Miramar, Wellington: renting, homes, to buy)

[bredo20]

I currently live in Houston, TX but am considering taking a job in Boca Raton (near the airport). My wife has family in Jupiter and we would like to buy a home there. However, I am concerned with the daily commute to Boca Raton. It looks to be about 38 miles on the google map, but obviously that doesn't factor traffic. Can anyone offer insight as to what I might expect for an average daily commute? Thanks for any help.

[PalmBeachBunny]

Hey! Ahh South Florida is a huge commuter area, which not only means its the norm but also that there a lot of cars on the road. For example, my commute is about 8 miles, which (at quickest) takes 15 minutes. That's with 5 other cars on the road. But, at rush hour, that 8 miles can take close to an hour. That's the funny thing about South Florida, anywhere you're going seems to take 20 minutes. You get used to it pretty quickly.

Are you working directly off 95/turnpike? Do you have a lot of city streets to maneuver? I'd say you're looking at at LEAST an hour commute at peak traffic times. You go through West Palm and Delray to get to Boca, so you're factoring in commuters all the way through Palm Beach County.

On the other hand, I used to work with a girl who commuted from Jupiter all the way down to Miramar, which is just above the Dade county line way out west...so if the job/home fit, then go for it. But, it IS a lot of driving. And time.

Hope that helps! If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask

Jess

[FloridaHawkeye]

It used to be pretty horrid with the 3 lanes and construction but it is much better now with four lanes. If you can schedule like early hours like 7:30 AM you can beat the morning rush and have a consistant morning commute.

I use to live in stuart and commute to boca. I would go to boca at 6:00 and work out and shower there and then go to work. That worked pretty well.

[bredo20]

Thanks for the help. What is typically considered the heavy traffic time? In Houston, if you aren't on the road by 6:00 you will be stuck in the daily jam.

[FloridaHawkeye]

I would say around 7:30 am it starts getting busy..getting worse up to 9:30 am. Afternoon probably starts around 4:00 to 6:30-7:00. It's been a while since I have used 95 in those hours so hard to say. I can't imagine it being anything like Houston. There are also other variables like the season (November to April) where it is more crowded but I didnt notice a huge change on my commutes.

Best advice would be renting a place for 6 months to get to the know the two areas so you don't paint yourself into a corner. Having to travel to Jupiter from Boca to see family isnt that bad of way to go either.

[mayorhaggar]

Traffic in PBC is nowhere near as horrible as it is in a big urban area. It is definitely worse in Broward though. Also you have the choice of I-95 which is free or the Turnpike which charges you a toll and tends to have less traffic but is further west.

I would definitely see what the traffic is like around the time you'd be commuting and see how you feel about it and where you think you'd want to live.

You could pick somewhere in between Jupiter and Boca, like Wellington, which is pretty close to the Turnpike and has the same kind of newer and bigger housing stock that Jupiter and Boca tend to have compared with the area around Lake Worth and WPB which are more central areas but have older and smaller homes as well as more crime.

[ssclulow]

Traffic between Jupiter and Boca is very mild compared to Houston no matter what the time of day. PBC has a very good roads system which offers many alternatives.

[tjarado]

Compared to the LIE THERE IS NO TRAFFIC!
Ok, maybe i am exaggerating a bit, but seriously, why not split the difference and live between Jupiter and Boca?

[SAKIRAV]

So true: compared to the LIE , the SS, the BQE, the HOlland and Lincoln Tunnels? this place is a dream.

[katestar]

LOL, I love the comments from the New Yorkers. When I moved to FLA from CT and saw the traffic that people were saying is HORRIBLE...I laughed. They have never been on I-95 in Fairfield County in rush hour, or at the Hudson River Crossings at ANYTIME.