San diego traffic and driving I5?

Question

I am a travel nurse and was recently offered a job in escondido ca at palomar medical center. I was really looking forward to living in san diego near mission beach or the beach in general. I would be working night shift so I would be leaving during rush hour. How terrible of a drive would it be? Or would I be better off finding another beach town? and any suggestions would be helpful.

Answer 1

That is one of the worst commutes in San Diego (maybe the worst).

One of the North County beaches "Might" be better.

The 78 is just as congested, but is not as many miles long

Answer 2

I-15 from San Diego to Escondido?

Answer 3

It really depends on the day.  They have opened up most of the area that they were widening and improving so the flow is a lot better than it has been during construction.  But, they are going to be moving on to the next phase which I guarantee will jack up the traffic particularly near the mall.  The good news is that you can hit the roads after Lake Hodges and still get to PPH on alternate routes if it gets too slow on the freeway.  The window of time that the 15 is nasty keeps getting earlier and lasting longer, but the widening is relieving some of that.