GB:
I don't want to discourage you but commuting from Chadds to U of P
West Philly campus ain't a treat. I would put it at REALISTICALLY 1 hour door to door during rush hour. I don't know if any classes are at any of Penn's hospitals like New Boulton or Weidner; if so that is not too bad a drive.
Just getting to I-95 via Route 202 is traffic signal city and could take you close to 40 minutes with traffic. Traveling via Route 1, although ONLY 22 miles is a slow ride with LOTS of traffic lights, 35 MPH speed limits in places and LOTS of cars. Getting to the Penn campus via either route you still have to wangle your way into West Philly ether via the miserable Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) or local streets.
Obviously timing is everything but be prepared for inconsistency. I travel a lot locally in my job and have done various drives from everywhere including Wilmington, West Chester, Chadds Ford, and points north to and from Philly and at best it is a total crap shoot. I have driven 50 percent of the distance from Chadds to West Philly during rush hour on Route 1 MANY times at it NEVER takes less than 30 minutes, usually more like 40 and I am the national poster boy for speeding and aggressive driving.
🙂
Long distance commuters like to fool themselves into believing that an actual 1.5-2hr door to door commute is only an hour. Trust me I know; I've been fooling myself for years.
As far as the train goes; you will need to drive to a train station and there aren't any exactly close by. There USED to be but I won't get into that. If you factor in the time to get to the train station with time to spare so you can find a parking spot and also so you don't miss the train; PLUS the running time of the train into Philadelphia, figure an hour EASY door to door.
If your reality is a daily rush hour commute into Philly every day, consider looking for residence in Delaware County where there is less open space but a much more manageable commute. Check out
this map of the transit system called SEPTA. Look for a home close to public transportation, you may pay more for the convenience but you’ll have more hair to pull out when the fishing gets tough.
BTW, there are lots of large electrical contractors in the area as well as local distribution for national companies like Graybar. The
IBEW may be a good place to contact since if you choose to be an electrician; the unions are VERY strong up here.
Good luck!
