It looks like I will be heading down to AUC starting in Fall '08. My wife has a tentative job offer in Phillipsburg slated to start at the same time. In order to minimize the burden of commuting for each of us, I was wondering what part of the island would afford the best compromise considering our situation.

traffic to philipsburg pretty much sucks all the time....i wouldn't want to live anywhere really along that way either.

you're the student, she wouldn't be down here if it weren't for you, so my vote is to live near school =P

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AUC 5th Semester
Undergrad: UC Riverside

There are way too many cars on the road for the size of the roads. Traffic on the Dutch side is often crazy, and on the French side is sometimes little better. There are no real compromises, because the main traffic bottleneck is between Cole Bay and Phillipsburg (it is actually one particular intersection that causes a lot of the problems). Secondary bottlenecks include the parking in Simpson Bay and whenever the bridge closes. There are some students who live in Simpson Bay, but they have to be careful about when they go to and from school, because the traffic is uniformly bad in the afternoons. Most of them stay at school until the traffic has died down (usually between 6 and 7 pm).

I'd say try living in Simpson Bay. Traffic to and from school isn't that bad in the mornings, but it will be backed up easterly from Cole Bay all the way to the airport in the afternoons, and can take an hour to get through.

Traffic to and from Simpson Bay to Phillipsburg is fairly quick, except during normal rush hour times, but waits aren't usually that long, 20-30 min or so.

You'll definately need two cars. Of course, if you get a motorbike/scooter, you can drive past the traffic jams and avoid all this agony.

Thanks for the info tenordoc. My wife, who is an accountant from Canada, will appreciate your very detailed analysis of the traffic situation.

Living near school is much more important. You don't want to waste study time being stuck in traffic. Besides, your wife's co-workers probably wouldn't mind if she was consistently late for work. They would mind however, when your wife makes them look bad by being competent.

If you live by school you may be able to get away with having only 1 car. If you try to split the difference between school and Philipsburg you'll need 2 cars, and trust me, you don't want to deal with that. I used to live in pelican (near simpson bay) I live on campus now and I'm much happier for that. Your wife will most likely beat traffic from school to work in the morning if she leaves at 8 anyway, and coming back from philipsburg is not NEARLY as bad as heading towards it in the afternoon. Live within walking distance to school and buy your wife a car is my advice.

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"Not if I don't see you first, sonny..."

You can expect at LEAST 1 hour travel time when traffic is bad, which is pretty much any evening from 4-7 and weekend evenings about all the time. The traffic situation is really bad... really bad. You will sit in traffic a lot, it seemed to get worse the 20 months I was there. I would actually avoid going out past the airport because of the traffic most times.

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I would live near school and use one car. The commute can take hours and it is less painful if you are not stressed out about exams while being stuck in hours of endless island traffic. Commuting to a regular job, at least you can turn on the radio and relax.

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You may want to take a look at Pelican Key. It's closer to Philipsburg, but it makes more sense if you lived near the school. You wouldn't have to own 2 vehicles if you were in campus village or something. Traffic pretty much sucks going to Philipsburg, but it makes very logical sense to only own 1 car instead of 2. I'd say live by the school because a 5 minute break in traffic for her means a 5-10 minute increase in your travel time as well as having to buy a second vehicle than is already required by your situation. It's very noble to want a place near there, but with your schedule, you want things to be as simple and easy as possible for you while you're in school. Remember if you're not comfortable and don't do well, you won't have to worry about where to live, because you may not be in school anymore. Just a thought.

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http://www.lifeloveandmedicine.com

"The art of medicine is in amusing a patient while nature affects the cure." - Voltaire

I agree that it would be best for you to rent a place close to the school (perhaps close enough to walk) and have your wife drive to work. In my opinion trying to meet her halfway in terms of living vs. school or work is not the most effective option. Its more important for you to not be stuck in traffic because time is precious in med school. Keep in mind also that a lot of apartments will only allow one parking spot
G/L

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Emma124
AUC 2nd Semester!