I was in a similar boat a few months ago. Old job had a nice quiet commute on a mostly residential street all across town with very little traffic. Not so with New job. I tried to cut through the neighborhoods to stay away from cars but pace was slow and there was a lot of zig zag. In the end I travel the bike lines on the major city streets. Even though there is a crap ton of cars I still feel safer with a bike lane. I also found a route that is completely controlled by signals. I try to avoid stop signs because drivers are horrible about "who should go next" and are very indecisive. Oh, and "against traffic" is crazy talk! LOL. I'll do it for short distances if a left turn is coming up and I happen to be on the left side of the road but otherwise no way!