It should come as no surprise to you that I like to travel. I actually don't think of myself as a huge travel enthusiast. You know, the kind of people who as soon as they have a week's vacation time saved up are on an airplane to somewhere far away. Despite being on the road all of last year, I know several people who are more well-traveled than me. Having said that, being able to get from my new home to other places will be important to me. Especially getting to the two cities where I have the most loved ones: Cleveland and DC.
So I researched some basic travel info about getting around between the cities on my list, and Cleveland and DC, figuring those would be the two places I would travel to the most. I also did some research about the airports in each city, like how far from downtown they are and how efficient they are.
In some ways, this block of research was really easy, what with Google Maps telling me how long it takes to drive places. Some of the research is trickier, and isn't really done, and might never be done. Namely, comparing how much average airfares cost between cities. I can get snapshots here and there. And over time, I may be able to spot trends. But airfares are so screwy to begin with, I'm not confident I'll ever have a good grasp on average prices. Well, for now I'll make do with a few snapshots.
So I researched some basic travel info about getting around between the cities on my list, and Cleveland and DC, figuring those would be the two places I would travel to the most. I also did some research about the airports in each city, like how far from downtown they are and how efficient they are.
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| A museum on the west coast. |
Driving miles to Cleveland & Washington, DC, respectively (Google Maps): I won't highlight anything, but I'll note that 600 miles is about the maximum I am comfortable driving in one day. Alone, at least.
LA: 2,400 & 2,700
Chicago: 350 & 710
Philadelphia: 440 & 140
Columbus: 150 & 400
DC: 380 & –
Denver: 1,400 & 1,700
Portland: 2,500 & 2,850
Raleigh: 580 & 270
Cleveland: – & 380
Des Moines: 670 & 1,100
Asheville: 550 & 480
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| A forest on the east coast. |
Driving distance from downtown to the airport(s) (Google Maps): Distance to the airport obviously will vary with location within city. I am skeptical about some of Google's predicted driving times in the bigger cities.
LA: To LAX: 20 miles, 23 minutes. Subway approaches airport, then shuttle.
To LA/Ontario: 40 miles, 47 minutes
To Bob Hope: 15 miles, 23 minutes. Commuter rail goes to airport.
To John Wayne: 39 miles, 45 minutes
To Long Beach: 23 miles, 32 minutes
Chicago: To O'Hare: 20 miles, 30 minutes. Subway goes to airport.
To Midway: 11 miles, 16 minutes. Subway goes to airport.
Philadelphia: 10 miles, 17 minutes. Subway goes to airport.
Columbus: 8 miles, 18 minutes
DC: To National: 4 miles, 11 minutes. Metro goes to airport.
To BWI: 33 miles, 53 minutes.
To Dulles: 27 miles, 35 minutes
Denver: 28 miles, 37 minutes
Portland: 12 miles, 21 minutes. Streetcar goes to airport.
Raleigh: 18 miles, 24 minutes
Cleveland: 12 miles, 18 minutes. RTA goes to airport.
Des Moines: 7 miles, 16 minutes
Asheville: 15 miles, 21 minutes.
Airport ratings by users (Flightstats.com) Out of 5, calculated by averaging many factors about each airport, from number and variety of flights to ease of access, speed of check-in, waiting areas, etc. For comparison, my second-least favorite airport Miami, FL rates 2.2 and one of my favorite Singapore is 4.7.
LA: LAX: 2.5
LA/Ontario: 4
Bob Hope: 4.4
John Wayne: 3.5
Long Beach: 3.7
Chicago: O'Hare: 3
Midway: 3.8
Philadelphia: 2.1 Worse than Miami.
Columbus: 3.9
DC: National: 4
BWI: 3.6
Dulles: 2.9
Denver: 4
Portland: 4.5
Raleigh: 3.8
Cleveland: 3.4
Des Moines: 4
Asheville: 4
Airport departure delays (percentage of flights delayed for all reasons, September 2011 & December 2010, respectively) Avoiddelays.com: If there is no data next to the city, there weren't enough delays to warrant mention. And that is good.
LA: LAX 14% (#22); 29% (#7)
Chicago: O'Hare 17% (#11); 32% (#7)
Midway 26% (#1); 50% (#1) Terrible.
Philadelphia: 21% (#4); 27% (#16)
Columbus:
DC: National 14% (#19) 23% (#24)
BWI 22% (#3); 35% (#5)
Dulles (Dec 2010) 23% (#23) (no 2011 rank)
Denver: 15% (#17) (no 2010 rank)
Portland: 8% (#27) 23% (#21)
Raleigh:
Cleveland:
Des Moines:
Asheville:
Airport arrival delays (same):
LA: LAX: 15% (#18); 30% (#12)
Chicago: O'Hare: 18% (#13); 31% (#11)
Midway: 16% (#16); 33% (#9)
Philadelphia: 27% (#2) (no 2010 rank)
Columbus:
DC: National: 20% (#9); 26% (#16)
BWI: 19% (#10); 26% (#17)
Dulles: 24% (#5); 24% (#22)
Denver: 12% (#23); 22% (#26)
Portland: 11% (#25); 28% (#15)
Raleigh:
Cleveland:
Des Moines:
Asheville:
/Being cynical observation/ Not relevant to my decision-making, but interesting: Note the dramatic reduction in the number of delays across all airports between December 2010 and September 2011. I suspect this is due more creative accounting than actual improvements in flights being on time. Like, I bet pulling away from the gate now means “on time departure,” but then the plane might sit on the runway for 30 minutes. And I bet the airlines increased the stated amount of time the plane will be in the air, making delays in takeoff less likely to make the plane "late" for arrival too. /End cynical observation/
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| The road in between. |
Random day of airfares: Roundtrip to & from Cleveland: Travelocity. Non-stop unless otherwise noted. For a date 3 weeks in the future, one week trip. Cheapest available, ignoring time of day or airline.
LA: $500
Chicago: $200
Philadelphia: $445
Columbus: No non-stops. One-stop = $450.
DC: $200 BWI; $310 National & Dulles. Since when is Dulles as expensive as National?
Denver: $320
Portland: No non-stops. One-stop = $460.
Raleigh: $270
Cleveland: --
Des Moines: No non-stops. One-stop $420.
Asheville: No non-stops. One stop $420.
Random day of airfares: Roundtrip to & from DC: Same as above.
LA: $360 to Dulles; $470 to National.
Chicago: $312 to National; $324 to Dulles. Since when is Dulles more expensive than National?
Philadelphia: $372 to Dulles; $392 to National.
Columbus: $223 to National and Dulles.
DC: --
Denver: $330 to BWI; $420 to National.
Portland: $502 to Dulles.
Raleigh: $175 to BWI; $320 to Dulles; $410 to National.
Cleveland: $200 BWI; $310 National & Dulles.
Des Moines: $500 to National.
Asheville: No non-stops. One stop to BWI: $270.
Amtrak travel times between city & Cleveland: There are very few places in which train travel would actually be a reasonable alternative to flying or driving. But since I looked this all up, I thought I'd post the info for your enjoyment. Travel time doesn't include waiting for the next train.
LA: 50 hours, one train change.
Chicago: 7 hours, direct. Mayyyybe I'd try this train route.
Philadelphia: 11 hours, one train change.
Columbus: No Amtrak.
DC: 11.5 hours, direct.
Denver: 25 hours, one train change.
Portland: 58 hours, one train change.
Raleigh: 18 hours, one train change.
Cleveland: --
Des Moines: No Amtrak.
Asheville: No Amtrak.
Amtrak travel times between city & DC: Same as above.
LA: 67 hours, one train change.
Chicago: 18 hours, direct.
Philadelphia: 2 hours, direct. I've taken this train and it is very easy and quick.
Columbus: No Amtrak.
DC: --
Denver: 41 hours, one train change.
Portland: 69 hours, one train change.
Raleigh: 6 hours, direct. Maybe I would try this.
Cleveland: 11.5 hours, direct.
Des Moines: No Amtrak.
Asheville: No Amtrak.
