How feasible is it to commute between Avondale and Tucson, AZ?

March 17, 2006 12:28 PM

How feasible is it to commute between Avondale and Tucson, AZ?

We are both heading to AZ for separate reasons, would it be feasible to live together and get to our respective schools without a great deal of trouble/travel?

posted by seeminglyshy to travel & transportation (12 comments total)

Not without a LOT of driving.

Avondale is in the Phoenix metro area, about 130 miles from Tucson.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:49 PM on March 17, 2006

Avondale is in north Phoenix (as far from Tucson as you can get, really), and while the freeway system there is pretty smooth, you're still going to be screwed come commute time.

You might do better commuting to Phoenix and Tucson from a home base of Casa Grande or Maricopa. The cost of living in those areas is lower, too.
posted by padraigin at 1:04 PM on March 17, 2006

oh man, that would suck... I-10 south every morning, I-10 north every night... gotta be the favorite candidate for grossest commute of all time.
posted by RockyChrysler at 1:04 PM on March 17, 2006

Don't do it. getting through Phoenix at rush hour is a nightmare, then once you do that you gotta drive the 100 miles to Tucson.

Different schools, same couple, eh? Friends don't let friends become Sun Devils. :-)
posted by pdb at 1:13 PM on March 17, 2006

Friends don't let friends become Sun Devils. :-)
posted by pdb at 1:13 PM PST on March 17

I resemble that remark.
posted by padraigin at 1:22 PM on March 17, 2006

That stretch of I-10 is a favorite of truckers. The speed limit is also 70mph. Visualize this.

Friends have warned me in the past to stay away from Casa Grande. Seems to have more than its share of crazy peoples.
posted by user92371 at 2:19 PM on March 17, 2006

That's the old Casa Grande.

The new Casa Grande is... pretty much the same as all those other exurb communities, from what I've heard. Probably not an exciting place to live.

Anyway, I sure wouldn't want to do that drive both ways every day.

It seems like outta the people I know who have been split up like that -- and really, it isn't much of a sample -- one of them has lived in Tucson with roommates while the "main" residence (or whatever) is up in Phoenix.
posted by ph00dz at 3:00 PM on March 17, 2006

What school is in Avondale? ASU is in Tempe, ASU West and Thunderbird are in Glendale and further north. And Avondale isn't in north Phoenix, it's right on the 10 on the west side. But you'd still have to fight through the traffic between the 17 and the 60.

The commute to Tucson would be much better from something further south along the 10 - like Awhatukee or Chandler. It will also be better if you schedule classes so that your commute occurs during off-hours for traffic.
posted by mullacc at 3:23 PM on March 17, 2006

And, no, this is not feasible. You will hate life.
posted by mullacc at 3:28 PM on March 17, 2006

100% unfeasible, at least as a daily "commute." I tried the girlfriend-lives-at-UA-in-Tucson-I'm-in-East-Valley thing. Twice.

It sucked immeasurably, both times.

And Avondale is even worse. For me, it's only 100 miles and a straight shot down the 10. For you... *shudder*.

DON'T attempt it with any semblance of normalcy. Make no mistake. This will be a medium-distance relationship. A daily commute will likely kill you, if not in sanity, in gas.
posted by disillusioned at 7:36 PM on March 17, 2006

No. Don't do this to yourself. I had a co-worker who commuted to the Scottsdale Airpark from Prescott every day. He hated it and doesn't work here anymore.
posted by bbrown at 8:13 PM on March 17, 2006

It would be a goddamn nightmare.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:00 AM on March 18, 2006