Moving From Boston to Chicago :Best Route?

Hi all,

I currently live in Boston and just graduated college. I have decided to pack up my car and move to Chicago. I plan to leave the last week of July, but need some advice.

I have driven out to Chicago from Boston before with friends and remember it being a tiresome trip even when we took turns driving. This time I will be taking the trip alone, in an old subaru. Would anyone recommend I-90 over 80? I was planning on stopping in either Errie Pa or Buffalo for a night seeing as how its half way. Would anyone recommend traveling at a certain time of the week to avoid traffic? I know that the Mass Pike is terrible during the week and don't know how it would be around other cities.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

thanks! Steve

I don't know if there really is a worse day of the week, although if I took a guess, I'd say Friday seems to be about the worst, especially if you are hitting a city during the afternoon rush. Really, your best bet will be to try to avoid driving through the major cities right during Rush Hour, although really other than Boston and Chicago themselves, I really wouldn't expect it to be a major issue.

One big advantage of taking I-84 to I-80 is that you avoid the rather expensive tolls through Mass and New York, I've also always enjoyed taking I-80 through PA as I think it has rather nice scenery and is a bit more interesting than going through New York.

According to my mapping software, I-84/I-81/I-80 only adds about 30 minutes to the trip and will cut out a whole bunch of tolls. Your halfway point would be around Brookville PA which has a few reasonably priced hotels.