Dont move to Southern California. We're full

"LJ909" (lj909)
10/03/2017 at 11:58 • Filed to: None

Seriously.It took me 45 mins to go 15 miles this morning.

DISCUSSION (77)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:01

We drive from the Bay Area to San Diego once or twice a year and it’s exhausting.

LJ909 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/03/2017 at 12:03

The Bay has pretty bad traffic too doesnt it?

Chariotoflove > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:03

Interviewed for a job there once. Just too hard to find a comfortable commute from anything to anywhere.

LJ909 > Chariotoflove
10/03/2017 at 12:05

Its gotten worse over the years. Places that arent far are far because of the traffic. The only time you get a break is Sunday’s and late nights, and even then its still traffic in some areas.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:06

Too late. Moving to Palm Desert second week of November.

OPPOsaurus WRX > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:09

45 minute to to 15 miles, that sounds pretty average for the Boston area

LJ909 > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ
10/03/2017 at 12:10

You’ll be far enough away where you wont really have to deal with this on a daily basis, unless you plan to drive the 120 miles or so that it takes to get from Palm Desert to the LA basin.

CaptDale - is secretly British > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:10

Ugg, very big part of why I don’t want to move home

LJ909 > OPPOsaurus WRX
10/03/2017 at 12:11

Is the traffic centralized in Boston though? Like bad in a main area?

vicali > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:11

Sing it Woody;

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:12

No way. Having driven through LA traffic a few times when I was just visiting, there’s no way I would subject myself to that on a regular basis.

ttyymmnn > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:14

That’s my wife’s drive every day. She hasn’t been on time for work in years.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove
10/03/2017 at 12:14

And where you live is better?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:17

It’s bad, but no comparison to LA or San Diego.

OPPOsaurus WRX > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:18

yea, the highways and the secondary roads mostly

LJ909 > ttyymmnn
10/03/2017 at 12:23

Where does she drive to?

Rico > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:24

Basically NYC

LJ909 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/03/2017 at 12:24

Yea Ive read its pretty bad. But I dont think anywhere in this country is as bad as it is here.

ttyymmnn > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:25

We’re in Austin. She drives from the Pflugerville are (north) to the UT campus down IH-35.

fintail > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:29

Visit Seattle. I use a 15mph rule of thumb for morning commutes (if you live 15 miles from work, budget an hour). More if raining.

Decay buys too many beaters > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:34

Buy a bike!

Kanaric > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:35

I was in the California Air Guard but lived in Las Vegas, I can’t imagine driving downtown LA like that because Riverside area’s traffic was already as bad as Chicago’s (my home town).

If you want LA weather and lifestyle just move to Las Vegas, lol. No state taxes too.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:37

There are some bad places back east around New York City and, I think, Boston, to name a couple.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/03/2017 at 12:39

DC traffic is awful too.

Tareim - V8 powered > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:44

I can beat that, when there is an accident on the motorway right by my town it takes me 1 hr 15ish to go 3 miles

crowmolly > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:57

Kinja'd!!!

Officer Jim Lahey is not a real cop > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 12:58

Friends don’t let friends LA.

Not even once.

...I kid, but I have been in traffic in LA at like 5am on a Saturday. It’s madness.

San Diego traffic is getting worse, even in the short time I’ve lived here (4.5 years). But the housing prices are now going up so quickly, I wonder if it’ll impact the rate of population growth.

LJ909 > fintail
10/03/2017 at 12:59

My sis used to live in Seattle and one thing I can say is that they drive with sense when it starts raining up there. Down here when we get rain, the freeways turn into the Nurburgring.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > interstate366, now In The Industry
10/03/2017 at 12:59

Yes. Gross omission on my part. The worst. And back east, the roads are older, aren’t they?

LJ909 > Decay buys too many beaters
10/03/2017 at 12:59

If I worked closer I would.

Milky > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:00

Everyday from downtown I get on the highway and do 80mph. Granted thats in Detroit. We’re empty.

LJ909 > Kanaric
10/03/2017 at 13:01

Yea its the whole area. It doesnt help that GPS services have given away all the shortcuts over the years, so even the most hidden short cuts have traffic. And Vegas, outside of the cheap housing, is boring lol. Not a good place to live with kids either and I have a 6 year old. Some of the worst schools in the country.

LJ909 > Tareim - V8 powered
10/03/2017 at 13:01

Yea Ive been in that. Traffic so bad you can actually turn your car off.

Decay buys too many beaters > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:02

I mean motorcycle

You live in the only state with a year round riding season and legal lane splitting (it’s a lot less scary than it seems) If I lived there motos would be my sole transportation.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:02

My commute is from the ‘g’ to the ‘L’ in ‘Los Angeles’ in your picture - 12 miles - and on bad days the drive takes 80 minutes. One way.

LJ909 > Officer Jim Lahey is not a real cop
10/03/2017 at 13:03

Yea even at 4 and 5 am its hell. Its crazy because everyone is thinking the same thing, if I leave early enough I can beat everyone.

San Diego is getting bad. Its tolerable, but I think that could change soon, especially on the 805

LJ909 > Milky
10/03/2017 at 13:04

Must be nice. I can only do that on short bursts going on after 7 pm.

LJ909 > Decay buys too many beaters
10/03/2017 at 13:04

Ive thought about it for years. But the way people drive here, its dangerous for a lot of bike riders.

LJ909 > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
10/03/2017 at 13:05

What is that, downtown to Hollywood?

Officer Jim Lahey is not a real cop > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:06

Yep 805 is the worst. I work longer hours than I should, just to avoid the traffic.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:16

Highland Park to La Brea. What’s worse is they’re tearing up Wilshire Blvd for construction of the Metro so often only half the lanes are open and the road quality is utter shite.

Decay buys too many beaters > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:23

There’s a lot you can do to mitigate risk, most riders develop what can only be called a “spidey sense” for shitty drivers. But yes, it is and will always be more dangerous than driving a car.

LJ909 > Officer Jim Lahey is not a real cop
10/03/2017 at 13:23

That really sucks you have to do that.

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:24

People need to stop cranking out tons of kids. There’s no where left for all the peoples!

LJ909 > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
10/03/2017 at 13:26

Yea Wilshire is bad. Especially at Wilshire and Fairfax. Its annoying because it seems like some people dont pay attention to the fact that the street is being literally ripped up.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
10/03/2017 at 13:31

Some are. I-95 and its offshoots I-395 and 495 (the Capital Beltway) have been heavily reworked over the past 15-20 years, but there are a lot of people in that area.

Milky > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:33

It is, 40 minutes to go 30 miles for my personal commute. But then there is the whole currently house shopping, need a garage thing. And snow. LA cant be all bad, everywhere has its pros and cons.

fhrblig > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:43

People can stop coming to Colorado too, please.

I hear Wyoming and the Dakotas are empty though.

LJ909 > Milky
10/03/2017 at 13:44

Oh no I love it here. I would never move. Its just the traffic is annoying because its everywhere on a daily basis and hasnt gotten better.

LJ909 > fhrblig
10/03/2017 at 13:45

I honestly didnt know that was a thing.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:45

It’s not much better in the Bay Area. It takes me 40 mins to go 13 miles on my commute.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:46

Yeah, weed + decent job opportunities. I know 2 people who have moved out there in the past 3 years. For the jobs, not the weed.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn
10/03/2017 at 13:47

Actually yes! Much better now that I don’t have to drive the mix-master through town. I live 5.5 miles from my university. It’s an easy drive past the Lakewood Country Club, and, unlike anywhere in SoCal, my cost of living is low. God bless Texas.

To live anywhere in the SD-LA axis, once you get where you’re going, you better have lots of $$ to stay there or be willing to settle for much more modest accommodations.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
10/03/2017 at 13:48

That sounds outright depressing. I would seriously consider a rideshare so that I don’t have to crawl with my own car.

Shane MacGowan's Teeth > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:48

Alternative: stay there, stop coming to Austin.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Rico
10/03/2017 at 13:50

LA doesn’t have the subway coverage.

Dave the car guy , still here > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:51

It could be worse. I’ve lived in Houston in the 80s and had a 35 mile commute that took 45 minutes up to 1.5 hours each way.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/28/worst-traffic-spot-in-us-found-on-95-in-northern-virginia.html

I’ve been caught in the Virginia mess more than once. Its been insane for 10-15 yrs. My small town Ohio commute of 4 miles hits traffic circles and train tracks. On a good day (most mornings) 10-15 minutes, bad days( multiple trains) 30-45 minutes.

On days I need a mental break I take this small (2 mile ?) park detour that adds a little time to the trip but its good for my attitude.

https://a3dave.kinja.com/country-road-detour-to-work-1786824450

victor > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:52

That’s like Seattle or bay area normal times. Mountain View takes 45 minutes to go 4 miles.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove
10/03/2017 at 13:53

my cost of living is low

So much this. It’s one of the few reasons I like living here. I’m not sure my wife and I could have made it through the years I was in grad school if our apartment, in a decent part of town, didn’t coast $275/month (25 years ago). Now, if all of those other people would stop coming to live in Austin, we’d be much better off.

Kanaric > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 13:54

The public schools are among the worst in the country, the private schools are not. The amount of money you save with the lower (or non existant) taxes easily allows for you to send your kid to a private school. Most people I know do this. And ya the housing was cheap, I bought a house for $114k a few years ago in a great neighborhood.

IDK how Vegas can be considered boring, lol. I don’t go to casinos ever and there is plenty to do outdoors and indoors. It’s no different than Chicago at least in this regard aside Chicago having some interesting museums.

Like I know places to go gokarting, paint balling, you have the Mt Charleston area to ski at, lake meade, and all the tourist stuff that is even not casino related, all the esports stuff and special events that come here, there is local culture stuff like the greek festival and first friday for example, etc. You even have a few race tracks within driving distance that have regular track days and an active autocross community with great venues to autocross at. I also play tabletop games like DND and Warhammer 40k and you have a games workshop and many game stores throughout the city.

Now we have a Hockey team and the Raiders will be coming here soon too so I have sports events to attend. On top of that every band large and small comes here. There is this great venue called the Brooklyn Bowl that has bowling and live concerts often. That place that got shot up recently at the Mandalay Bay is another great venue, they have a beer fest there yearly too where you can have free beer from local and outside of the region breweries. They even had a “rock in rio” here a year ago which was an awesome concert.

Really boring is the last criticism I would think people say about vegas. There is must more than casinos here.

I would never go back to Chicago and Chicago is very much like the LA area in terms of activity saturation. The only thing this city is really missing is a decent rail system but the traffic isn’t bad enough to where it hinders me and unlike Chicago all the parking here is free.

Rico > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
10/03/2017 at 13:55

Nah I meant the traffic I’m about 10 miles from work and if I drive it takes about 45 mins to an hour.

LJ909 > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
10/03/2017 at 13:56

Didnt know about the jobs. I cant deal with the weather.

LJ909 > Shane MacGowan's Teeth
10/03/2017 at 13:57

Austin is up and coming. Becoming hipster as hell. I know a lot of people that are doing the Texas to California move, but thats because a clash of their conservative values with California’s liberalism. I dont think they are going to Austin from here though.

LJ909 > Dave the car guy , still here
10/03/2017 at 13:58

That sucks but that sounds like its in pockets. Here its literally everywhere. When you think you got a break and your’re making good time, BAM, 10mph and all because CHP is on the side of the road helping someone with a flat.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn
10/03/2017 at 13:59

There is one place I’d rather live where the cost of living is even a bit lower, and that’s my home town of Indianapolis. Fantastic city to live and raise a family, and the orchestra is really good.

fhrblig > fhrblig
10/03/2017 at 14:00

Yeah, too many people now. Traffic is really bad, especially in the evening rush hour. All the people in California who got tired of the overcrowding moved here and brought it with them.

LJ909 > Kanaric
10/03/2017 at 14:02

I didnt know the private schools were good. But I dont know, I dont think I could ever bring myself to actually move and take up roots there. My gf has been wanting to move there and we are always out there visiting her family. When Im there I think yea its a good weekend hang out, but I cant bring myself to do it. And most of the people that are there are SoCal transplants who went for the cheap housing. Thats the only thing thats appealing as hell. A 600k house here will be 250 there with the same square footage.

I say its boring though because outside of the Strip, from what Ive seen, there isnt much, at least for me.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
10/03/2017 at 14:10

I take public transportation 3 days a week but that’s iffy*. Central LA is in that bad place where it’s too dense for cars but isn’t dense enough for public transportation to reach critical mass.

*iffy = half-mile hike to nearest bus stop, 45 minutes between buses, bus has been up to 25 minutes late.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
10/03/2017 at 14:12

Ugh. Yeah, practically all of California is too dense for cars and not dense enough for trains.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 14:26

Austin is literally 90% California transplants at this point.

Dave the car guy , still here > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 14:31

I’ve seen that but its been 30 years since I was in Southern California. My favorite funny story is being in a traffic jam in El Cajon pass. We finally got to what the problem was and saw a food truck rolled over down a hillside. The back up was from all the people running around gathering free food.

I think one of the longest waits for a given mile I had was coming back from surfing in Baja at US Customs in 1980s. Must have taken an hour to get through and we could see where we were headed. I can’t imagine what its like now. I can recall a few traffic situations in Orange County and San Diego back then that took quite a while to get anywhere.

I know it has had to worsen in California but the Northern Virginia mess is really insane. There was a time many years back that I sat still for over 30 minutes, when I finally got to where I could get off I-95 I went due west to Culpeper on Rte 3 just to hop on Rte 522 all the way to Berkley Springs WV. Its now become our official family shortcut to avoid interstate traffic and we often make better time on a trip from the Outer Banks to Akron than if we take major roads. Its 522 all the way from I-64 until just below Breezewood and getting on I-76. Looks like a two lane curvy country drive but its become faster than being on the interstate system and if it has any back up you can stop for food or a bathroom break without any issues.

LJ909 > Dave the car guy , still here
10/03/2017 at 14:41

Yea if you came back and seen how it was, you would think the world has gone mad. The Cajon Pass is crazy at times because of how much the high desert cities have grown the past 15-20 years. It doesnt help that not enough people take public transit, mostly because of the inefficiency of the system itself.

I had no idea Virgina could get that bad though.

Dave the car guy , still here > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 14:53

Virginia is on many surveys the worst in the US now. I’ve driven in California, Atlanta, Houston, NYC and Chicago traffic and will take any of those over DC/Northern Va.

Kanaric > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 15:04

The stuff outside of the strip isn’t really advertised but you find out about them being a local. All the things I pretty much mentioned other than the brooklyn bowl and that other place are outside of the strip.

There is a ton of stuff outside the strip on the south of the city aside outdoor activities. The north side is kind of under development so it’s not as much yet but my area went from being basically open desert to densely populated in only a couple of years and they are building an entertainment area right now.

There is this great area south of the city called Town Square that is an entertainment area for locals. It’s like a massive outdoor mall kind of place that has a ton of local entertainment, bars, events, there’s a gameworks there and theatre, and all kinds of stuff.

In the north you really just have Chinatown and Fremont areas. Fremont is where first friday is around, they really built that area up heavily.

Myself I don’t feel the need to travel south a lot, there is plenty of regular stuff to do in the north that keeps me occupied even if it isn’t as developed as the south. The north has the best outdoor stuff IMO aside the red rock area which is in the south west. I am not the type to go to bars and things like that very often.

shop-teacher > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 15:27

Don’t worry. I won’t.

fintail > LJ909
10/03/2017 at 15:59

Yep, they slow down, that can be said. People treat light rain here like ice - and sometimes treat ice like rain.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Dave the car guy , still here
10/06/2017 at 12:22

The place in the first link? That’s where I live now. I’ve driven in Virginia/DC, San Francisco, Sacramento, and LA. The traffic in SF and LA are the most pervasive and widespread by far, yet not stressful. The people in those areas have grown to the point that they accept it, it’s a way of life. There’s no point in fighting it or driving aggressively because all eight lanes are going the same damned speed. So it’s actually quite relaxed. Here, everyone is fighting everyone all the time. Even in times of light traffic it’s tense at best. Everyone is trying to get ahead and keep everyone behind.

I place it as co-op vs PVP mentality. In places, even here, where the co-op mentality takes over, you end up with quite beautiful places of traffic working together to get as many cars through a signal as possible in a short term. Where even a few miles away everyone is considering just themselves. Block an intersection and prevent 20 cars from going through? Let’s do it!