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What’s the appeal of living in ATL?

ce36ei

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Sep 14, 2019
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It’s a commuter nightmare. I can’t fathom the appeal. I timed my drive south to hit it between 11-1 in the morning but still took forever. Timed my drive back for after 7PM, same thing. Gridlock 20 miles before downtown, downtown, and 20 miles south.
In general my drive back from south of Tampa was 18 hours with 4 kids and a wife. Left at 10AM, pulled into the house just after 4AM. An odyssey for sure.
 
It’s a commuter nightmare. I can’t fathom the appeal. I timed my drive south to hit it between 11-1 in the morning but still took forever. Timed my drive back for after 7PM, same thing. Gridlock 20 miles before downtown, downtown, and 20 miles south.
In general my drive back from south of Tampa was 18 hours with 4 kids and a wife. Left at 10AM, pulled into the house just after 4AM. An odyssey for sure.
They do have, "The Varsity" restaurant. I have a standing dinner with a couple of missionaries who work at Georgia State if I ever get there. It seems like the Interstate going around there has always been rough. I remember having trouble back in the 80's when my folks and my first cousin went to Florida.
 
It’s a commuter nightmare. I can’t fathom the appeal. I timed my drive south to hit it between 11-1 in the morning but still took forever. Timed my drive back for after 7PM, same thing. Gridlock 20 miles before downtown, downtown, and 20 miles south.
In general my drive back from south of Tampa was 18 hours with 4 kids and a wife. Left at 10AM, pulled into the house just after 4AM. An odyssey for sure.
I just spent 18 driving hours over 2 days from Hilton head to Fort Wayne. South Carolina coming back was soul crushing.
 
It’s a commuter nightmare. I can’t fathom the appeal. I timed my drive south to hit it between 11-1 in the morning but still took forever. Timed my drive back for after 7PM, same thing. Gridlock 20 miles before downtown, downtown, and 20 miles south.
In general my drive back from south of Tampa was 18 hours with 4 kids and a wife. Left at 10AM, pulled into the house just after 4AM. An odyssey for sure.
ATL has only gotten worse, while I've been driving it in the last 25 years. If you're rolling through betweem 6am and 9pm, it's probably going to suck.
 
huh, we do Ft Wayne to HHI in 12.5 - 13 hrs, depending on cincy
How?

You know a short cut?

Do you go to HH in the off season?

Do you not drive I-95 and I-26 through South Carolina?

What's you're secret?

Do you leave HH on a weekday or Sunday evening?

What's the secret here?
 
Google says it's a 12.50 hour dive.

So, when you go, you never have to get gas, no one goes to the bathroom. You never encounter traffic. ?

Again, what's the secret here?
 
The route is: 30 to 17 to 33 to 75 to 640 so on
We used to drive it in 2 days (stopping in Spartanburg) on way down, but now just leave in middle of night. The 2 days is honestly just as exhausting.
We leave around 5am coming home.
Bring snacks and movies for the everyone, so i stop to fill up once every 4-5 hrs. Kids no not to ask me to stop for stupid shit.
I drive 10 mph over speed limit, enough to where i won't get pulled over....i like road trips too.
Cincy is always the question mark, never know how long your wait is....all other traffic is fairly predictable.
 
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huh, we do Ft Wayne to HHI in 12.5 - 13 hrs, depending on cincy

No kidding. HHI to FTW is a one day shot in 14 hours MAX even with stops. I just did it in June. Left Hilton Head at 7 AM on Saturday and we were home by 9 pm easily. Came via West Virginia on the trip home.
 
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It’s a commuter nightmare. I can’t fathom the appeal. I timed my drive south to hit it between 11-1 in the morning but still took forever. Timed my drive back for after 7PM, same thing. Gridlock 20 miles before downtown, downtown, and 20 miles south.
In general my drive back from south of Tampa was 18 hours with 4 kids and a wife. Left at 10AM, pulled into the house just after 4AM. An odyssey for sure.
None. You should try another route, and leave the interstates to those who live there.
 
Travel.
10 hours the first day.
Hotel in Knoxville
8 hours the next.
Finally home.
Enhhh . . . I-75 through Tennessee and Kentucky is driving hell with all the curves, hills and hollers.

When we go to Michigan we prefer going I-24/I-65/I-69 . . . or I-24/I-69 . . . if they'd ever finish I-69. Chattanooga can be a question mark, but it's not that big . . . Louisville is a question mark too . . . Nashville is easy . . . just take the Briley Parkway to avoid downtown.
 
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Ummm... wish I had asked these questions a week ago ...
I'm not sure you'd have had a much different experience. My guess is that these guys are speaking "historically" and haven't made the drive in the last year. SC interstates have really been hosed up with construction over the last 12-24 months and "normal" drives are taking longer and it sounds like that's where your backups were. Others are talking about Cincy, KY and TN as the problem areas. I don't know anyone who's driven 95/26 or 85 and not had it take a lot longer... of course know I'm seeing Hank's reply and says it was about normal in June, so go figure.
 
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We left HH around 10:30am on Saturday. (Now realizing this was a huge mistake).
It took us 5 hours to get to Columbia. Which is a 2:30 hour drive.
It was a mental torture that I can't explain.
 
We left HH around 10:30am on Saturday. (Now realizing this was a huge mistake).
It took us 5 hours to get to Columbia. Which is a 2:30 hour drive.
It was a mental torture that I can't explain.
Part of that torture had to be leaving HH and arriving in Columbia, no matter how long it took.

And leaving at 10:30 in the morning (presumably) is late. Gotta be in the car by 6 am to make any time at all.
 
I'm not sure you'd have had a much different experience. My guess is that these guys are speaking "historically" and haven't made the drive in the last year. SC interstates have really been hosed up with construction over the last 12-24 months and "normal" drives are taking longer and it sounds like that's where your backups were. Others are talking about Cincy, KY and TN as the problem areas. I don't know anyone who's driven 95/26 or 85 and not had it take a lot longer... of course know I'm seeing Hank's reply and says it was about normal in June, so go figure.

We drove down through TN/KY and ran into a lot of road construction, so that's why we drove back through WV. Either way, it doesn't take 18 hours. We always drive two days down, leave Friday morning and stop overnight in Charlotte or Greenville or somewhere like that and have a nice dinner. This works for just about any destination on the SC coast. Then you sleep in and have a mere 4 hour drive Saturday to your destination. We're doing this without kids so there isn't much fuss involved.

Then the drive back the next Saturday is 13-14 hours tops.
 
We left HH around 10:30am on Saturday. (Now realizing this was a huge mistake).
It took us 5 hours to get to Columbia. Which is a 2:30 hour drive.
It was a mental torture that I can't explain.
Yeah, and even beyond the drive time benefits of leaving early, leaving at 10:30 also exposes you to the hottest part of the day, so in addition to traffic, you feel like you're the ant underneath God's giant magnifying glass this time of year and it can F up your mood (or at least mine). You can control the temp in the car with AC, but I hate being hot in the car and that blast furnace every time you open the door or crack a window sucks.
 
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Getting through ATL is a pain in the arse. It always seems to me that Nashville TN is even worse.
 
Thanks Sope...I don't do the drive to Indiana as often as I used to, since my parents passed away, but getting on I65 from I24 in Nashville always seems to be a major problem and a backup at any time of the day or night. Next time I will look into the Briley Parkway.
 
Thanks Sope...I don't do the drive to Indiana as often as I used to, since my parents passed away, but getting on I65 from I24 in Nashville always seems to be a major problem and a backup at any time of the day or night. Next time I will look into the Briley Parkway.
My pops - GRHS - told me about it about 25 years ago. Been using it ever since on the ways to Michigan, Indiana and Missouri. It's not great . . . but far, far better than sitting on I-24 in downtown Nashville while a wreck clears.
 
Getting through ATL is a pain in the arse. It always seems to me that Nashville TN is even worse.
I had no problems in Nashville. Getting to Florida is a nightmare right now. Between I24 being a horrendous dump of an interstate, Chattanooga, and Atlanta being the pains they are, it seriously sucks! I threw around the thought of taking 65 all the way to the panhandle and going over on 10 but the app was telling me it was a horrible idea…I’m thinking maybe not next time.
 
I had no problems in Nashville. Getting to Florida is a nightmare right now. Between I24 being a horrendous dump of an interstate, Chattanooga, and Atlanta being the pains they are, it seriously sucks! I threw around the thought of taking 65 all the way to the panhandle and going over on 10 but the app was telling me it was a horrible idea…I’m thinking maybe not next time.
You musta been asleep duing the drive through the Sequatchie Valley - from Monteagle to Nickajack Lake. And the area around Winchester, TN - before Monteagle, especially Tims Ford State Park - is sublime too.
 
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You musta been asleep duing the drive through the Sequatchie Valley - from Monteagle to Nickajack Lake. And the area around Winchester, TN - before Monteagle, especially Tims Ford State Park - is sublime too.
It’s a nice area for sure. But 2 lanes, bumper to bumper going 70-80, tons of semi’s, extremely curvy….it wasn’t fun.
 
It’s a nice area for sure. But 2 lanes, bumper to bumper going 70-80, tons of semi’s, extremely curvy….it wasn’t fun.
I hear ya . . . it's a scary drive when there's traffic. And there's traffic most of the time . . .

. . . BTW, for southwestern Indiana - and I have no idea where you live, just providing data - I-24 to I-69 is pretty good, only there aren't many gas stations along I-69 in southwestern Indiana yet.
 
I hear ya . . . it's a scary drive when there's traffic. And there's traffic most of the time . . .

. . . BTW, for southwestern Indiana - and I have no idea where you live, just providing data - I-24 to I-69 is pretty good, only there aren't many gas stations along I-69 in southwestern Indiana yet.
I’m in this weird perfect spot where I65, 231/I165, and 69/Parkway all get me to Nashville within 5 minutes of each other.
 
The route is: 30 to 17 to 33 to 75 to 640 so on
We used to drive it in 2 days (stopping in Spartanburg) on way down, but now just leave in middle of night. The 2 days is honestly just as exhausting.
We leave around 5am coming home.
Bring snacks and movies for the everyone, so i stop to fill up once every 4-5 hrs. Kids no not to ask me to stop for stupid shit.
I drive 10 mph over speed limit, enough to where i won't get pulled over....i like road trips too.
Cincy is always the question mark, never know how long your wait is....all other traffic is fairly predictable.
You sound like my dad on long trips. We weren’t allowed to have anything to drink until close to stopping time. We coined our infamous Let Us Pee ( tune of Let It Be) during one of our many Florida trips. He kept logs of our travels times and has and had us on a timer when we stopped. He was efficient though. And now I find myself impatient for anyone who wants a longer stop.
 
You sound like my dad on long trips. We weren’t allowed to have anything to drink until close to stopping time. We coined our infamous Let Us Pee ( tune of Let It Be) during one of our many Florida trips. He kept logs of our travels times and has and had us on a timer when we stopped. He was efficient though. And now I find myself impatient for anyone who wants a longer stop.
your dad sounds like a brilliant genius.
 
You sound like my dad on long trips. We weren’t allowed to have anything to drink until close to stopping time. We coined our infamous Let Us Pee ( tune of Let It Be) during one of our many Florida trips. He kept logs of our travels times and has and had us on a timer when we stopped. He was efficient though. And now I find myself impatient for anyone who wants a longer stop.
This is the most awesome dad thing I’ve ever heard of.
 
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