Traffic and commute patterns are worth considering when choosing a home in Charleston, but how important they are depends largely on your own priorities and what you're accustomed to. 

When someone relocating to Charleston tells me where they will be working, I immediately start thinking about the possible routes between work and the areas they are considering. 

But before I make too much of the commute, I ask questions. 

How important is commute time to you? What are you accustomed to now? If you're relocating from a much larger metropolitan area, Charleston traffic may not feel particularly significant to you. Someone accustomed to a long commute may evaluate a particular location very differently than someone who considers 20 minutes in the car a long time. 

My job isn't to decide what an acceptable commute looks like for you. 

It's to help you understand how Charleston's transportation system works so you can decide for yourself. 

Charleston Traffic Isn't Just About Traffic 

When I moved to Charleston from Albuquerque, New Mexico, one of the biggest differences I noticed wasn't necessarily the amount of traffic. 

It was the roads themselves. 

Albuquerque is largely built around a grid system. If one road becomes congested, there are often several other ways to get where you're going. 

Charleston doesn't work that way. 

Rivers, creeks, marshes, bridges and waterways shape our road network. Roads don't always run in straight lines, and depending on where you live and where you're going, you may have only one or two practical routes. 

That means an accident, bridge opening or heavy traffic along one important corridor can affect your trip in a way that isn't obvious when you're simply looking at mileage on a map. 

I experience this myself. 

I live in Belle Hall in Mount Pleasant. If I'm heading toward Costco or the soccer fields in the northern part of Mount Pleasant, my most logical route takes me from Long Point Road to Highway 17. If traffic backs up along that route, I can try a longer way around to reach Highway 17, but ultimately Highway 17 is still where I need to go. 

That's an important distinction for someone moving here to understand. 

The question isn't only, “How far away is it?” 

It's also: "How many practical ways do I have to get there?” 

A 20-Minute Drive Isn't Always a 20-Minute Drive 

This may be one of the hardest things about Charleston transportation to explain to someone who doesn't live here yet. 

A route that normally takes 15 or 20 minutes can sometimes take considerably longer. 

From my home in Belle Hall, for example, I can get to Sullivan's Island in approximately 15 minutes under favorable conditions. Depending on traffic or a bridge opening along my route, that trip can take 25 minutes or longer. 

I encounter the same thing traveling from Mount Pleasant toward Hanahan. I may normally allow around 20 minutes, but congestion can quickly make the trip considerably longer. 

That doesn't mean I consider either destination “too far.” 

It means I've learned to build flexibility into my expectations. 

So when someone tells me they're comfortable with a 20-minute commute, my advice is generally to consider what happens when that 20-minute trip isn't 20 minutes. 

If being somewhere at a particular time really matters, give yourself some padding.

Give Yourself Margin 

Your commute to work is only one piece of your Charleston map. 

Depending on your own circumstances and priorities, you may also want to consider Charleston International Airport, Downtown Charleston, beaches you expect to visit, medical facilities or providers, schools you have independently selected, extracurricular activities, golf or recreational destinations, family members or friends you expect to visit regularly, and other places that will routinely be part of your life. 

There is no universal answer about how close you should live to any of these places. 

Instead, identify your frequent destinations and investigate what traveling between them and the properties you're considering actually looks like. 

And when you're visiting Charleston before a move, drive some of those routes yourself. 

Buying Smart: Think Beyond Your Workplace 

Even after living here, I still check my preferred mapping app before I leave for somewhere important. And if I'm heading to the airport or an important meeting, I give myself plenty of extra time. 

I've learned this one from experience. I've both arrived late and nearly missed a plane because I didn't leave enough margin for the unexpected. 

I'd much rather arrive early and have time to grab a coffee. 

The goal isn't to find a Charleston location where you'll never encounter traffic. It's simply to understand your routes well enough that you can choose a location that works for your life, with a little margin for the  unexpected. 

And once you know that, you can get back to the much more enjoyable part: exploring Charleston and finding the places you love.