Looking for commute info for my house hunt.

[chuzie]

I am starting to scope out houses around Charleston and need to narrow down an area. I used to live in Ladson and the commute to Charleston AFB was about 15-20.

We are pretty much open to living anywhere reasonable but the commute time is a concern.

Does anyone have any info on how long it takes to get from Moncks Corner to say... the Ashley Phosphate exit off I-26? What about from of the islands and surrounding areas?

I was going to look in Mt. Pleasant but right now that whole town is too rich for my blood even in a housing slump. I would prefer to live comfortably if you know what I mean.

Any input is appreciated.

Thx,
Mike

[cuz1]

Mike, I am not that familiar with Charleston but if you decide to build a house I can fix you up with house plans. I have been designing houses for the last 20 years and have sold plans all over the country. Currently I have one of my large customers building in Charleston. His company name is Ashley Turner Homes. Good luck with the house hunt and let me know if I can be of any help.

carl w

[chuzie]

We were planning on building a home up until January when we couldn't get home to Charleston during the holidays to scope out the builders and models, etc as we had planned. Our timeline, with the baby coming in June, would have allowed us to build but is now forcing us to purchase pre-existing. We will build in the future though as we both have so many desires for the "perfect home" that a lot of the cookie cutters do not offer. Thanks for the heads up. I will keep you in mind when the time comes.

Now I get to come home to Charleston and go searching for a house with a full term wife who can go into labor anytime. She will either pop on the way to Charleston from Altus, while we are house hunting, or as we are moving into the new house. Fun Fun Fun.

[69bronco]

Mike we live in Summerville next to the Lumbermill on 78 and it takes me about 45 min on 26.

[chuzie]

is most of that traffic time accumulated on the interstate or getting through summerville?

[69bronco]

Most of it is on 26. From about 630 to 830 9ish and then from about 330 to 6 the traffic is really bad. If I am working a later shift I will go down Old Trolley and Dorchester and that takes about 30 min on off times.

[chuzie]

Sounds like things have changed a bit in the last 2 years when I was last living there. With all the people flocking to S'ville I can't say I am surprised there is more traffic clogging up I26.

Thanks for the info. It will help me narrow my search. In the end I will have to do a trial run early in the morning no matter what house I am thinking about. I made the mistake of assuming the commute would be ok once before and ended up with a 1 hour drive each way. Needless to say I sold the house 3 months later and moved back into the city.

[chuzie]

Anyone have any info the commute on dorchester rd from summerville? Last time I lived there is was a freaking nightmare. If it is still bad are there any good routes to take to get around it?

[blazinchuck]

yeah, move to Johns Is....neighbor

[chuzie]

I would love to come out there but the market on the island appreciated too much in the past few years and, though it has simmered down, it is still maintaining value. We decided to spend less on a house this time around so we can put more into our retirement while also having the space we require. We can spend $200K in Summerville and get 2,300 sqft. The commute is my only concern. I get pretty pissed off when I have to sit in traffic.