Question for the DC/MD/VA crowd

[kemosabe]

Originally posted by N_Jay
I don't do motorcycles!!!

But, for those who warned against a MD commute, would having access to the HOV lanes change that suggestion?

No, it doesn't change that suggestion...

...let's spoze you live in Kemotown and had to commute to McLean. Most likely route would be I-270 to I-495 (DC Beltway) to whatever VA exit you needed (say, Route 7 (Leesburg Pike)).

The HOV lanes on I-270 will gain you some time, but once you hit the Beltway, there are NO MORE HOV lanes to take advantage of, so at that point, it's every car, SUV, truck, and motorcycle for themselves crossing the Potomac on the American Legion Bridge!!!

I-270 is the only highway in MD (near where you interviewed) that supports HOV lanes.

You'd have better luck in the HOV lanes living in VA and being a SLUG... (someone else can splain to you what a SLUG is...)

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by kemosabe
No, it doesn't change that suggestion...

. . . .

You'd have better luck in the HOV lanes living in VA and being a SLUG... (someone else can splain to you what a SLUG is...)

OK, OK, I Give Up!

Now, the question is if I want easy access to MD in the "non-rush hour" (There is at least one, right?), could some name a few towns that would be worth looking into?

[ramirami]

Originally posted by kemosabe
My wife and I had the same conversation... I get the 1-hour commute (leave the house at 4:30 am) and she gets the 10-minute commute.

your wife has a long commute....I have a 1hour commute and my wife has a 2 minute commute

[jay]

Originally posted by N_Jay
OK, OK, I Give Up!

Now, the question is if I want easy access to MD in the "non-rush hour" (There is at least one, right?), could some name a few towns that would be worth looking into?

Where in MD do you need access to? Leesburg, VA is 45 minutes to an hour from Tysons during rush hour using Route 7, and is very close to Point of Rocks, MD using Route 15. No HOV lanes to worry about either.

Leesburg is a good choice for access to I-70 in MD and towns like Frederick and further out.

If it's the Columbia/Burtonsville/Laurel MD corridor you need access to, it's probably not a good choice. Anything along I-66 west to Manassas would give you better access to those areas, and Rockville/Bethesda.

[N_Jay]

Well our friends are in Finksburg, so I guess that there just is no good place

[PaulV7]

wow Finksburg to Tysons Corner. 1 beltway is bad enough let alone having to use both. There are some good stops just have to look around. Plus it depends on what type of house/setting you want to live in City/suburb/country. You could head west from Tysons corner into Sterling or Chantilly.

If you want something part way between Finksburg and Tysons, Ellicott City, Jessup, Columbia, Laurel area has some nice spots. Columbia is nice but you pay more cause it's "Columbia" and they have the "Columbia Association" that does jack **** and the residents have to pay an extra tax for. Look around the outer edges of Columbia, houses/Apts. are about 1/3 the price for the same house + w/o the CA tax.

[kemosabe]

Originally posted by N_Jay
OK, OK, I Give Up!

Now, the question is if I want easy access to MD in the "non-rush hour" (There is at least one, right?), could some name a few towns that would be worth looking into?

Easy access in non-rush hour?

If you have access to broadband, point your browser to www.wtopnews.com and stream their traffic reports during "rush hour" with a DC metro map in front of you -- the traffic reports come on 24/7 every 10 minutes on the 8's (9:08, 9:18, 9:28, etc...) to get an idea of why this area has one of the worse congestion in the nation...

How early are you willing to get up? I leave the house at 4:30 a.m. (no later than 5:00 a.m.) and the traffic is light... Afternoon rush could start as early as 2:30pm and with construction tying up a lane or two, well...

Why are you leaning towards living in MD?

[kemosabe]

Originally posted by ramirami
your wife has a long commute....I have a 1hour commute and my wife has a 2 minute commute

2-minute commute? Where does your wife work, in the kitchen...???

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by PaulV7
wow Finksburg to Tysons Corner. 1 beltway is bad enough let alone having to use both. There are some good stops just have to look around. Plus it depends on what type of house/setting you want to live in City/suburb/country. You could head west from Tysons corner into Sterling or Chantilly.

If you want something part way between Finksburg and Tysons, Ellicott City, Jessup, Columbia, Laurel area has some nice spots. Columbia is nice but you pay more cause it's "Columbia" and they have the "Columbia Association" that does jack **** and the residents have to pay an extra tax for. Look around the outer edges of Columbia, houses/Apts. are about 1/3 the price for the same house + w/o the CA tax.

When we lived in MD, we did live just outside Columbia.
All the services, non of the hassle!!

Our Columbia friends moved out to Finksburg, so we would be visiting there a lot.

I looks like there is no good way to live in MD and commute to Tysons Corner, so if we choose Northern VA we still want to get up that way without killing ourselves on weekends and such.

Sterling looks reasonable (are the houses less there for some reason I should know about?)

[Mkell]

Njay,

I have always lived in MD and I use to commute to VA. After years of painful communting from Silver Spring to Annandale, I moved to Bethesda close the Potomac river to be closer to VA. You do not get the huge suburban house in that area unless you go to Potomac MD, but you get fantastic neighborhoods in Bethesda and a pretty acceptable commute to VA and MD spots. Going from my place to Tysons is about 20 minutes at rush hour. Bascially, if you go from Tysons and get off the beltway at the MD line (at the end of the Legion Bridge over the Potomac) you can find neighborhoods in MD that are great - pricey but great. BTW, right now my commute is 23 minutes on a bike to Georgetown. I pass a few miles of backed up cars. The Pilot is back home with low miles waiting for the weekend adventures.

Originally posted by N_Jay
When we lived in MD, we did live just outside Columbia.
All the services, non of the hassle!!

Our Columbia friends moved out to Finksburg, so we would be visiting there a lot.

I looks like there is no good way to live in MD and commute to Tysons Corner, so if we choose Northern VA we still want to get up that way without killing ourselves on weekends and such.

Sterling looks reasonable (are the houses less there for some reason I should know about?)

[Ziploc]

Originally posted by N_Jay
When we lived in MD, we did live just outside Columbia.
All the services, non of the hassle!!

Our Columbia friends moved out to Finksburg, so we would be visiting there a lot.

I looks like there is no good way to live in MD and commute to Tysons Corner, so if we choose Northern VA we still want to get up that way without killing ourselves on weekends and such.

Sterling looks reasonable (are the houses less there for some reason I should know about?)

So, you already have lived in MD and wouldn't be a total newbie!

One more suggestion about the best location you could live in MD relative to getting to Tysons Corner....yet within a reasonable drive to Finksburg:

What about the Darnestown, MD, area? According to a map website I checked out, it would put you about:

* 48 miles (1 hour drive) from Finksburg

* 19.4 miles (26-minute drive) from Tysons Corner. Of course, the 26-minute drive DOES NOT reflect rush hour realities. Depending on when you'd hit the road, I'd guess you could safely plan on doubling this drive time to 52 minutes (on average). You'd likely reduce this time by leaving home by 5:30 a.m. and returning correspondingly earlier in the afternoon. (Does the prospective employer offer flextime?)

While you'd still have to get on 495 (Washington Beltway) and cross the American Legion Bridge into VA, coming from Darnestown would allow you to take SR 190 (River Rd) for about 8.5 miles to 495 (avoiding I270 completely). From the River Rd ramp onto 495, you'd soon cross the Potomac into VA. Your distance on 495 would be limited to about 6 miles, since you'd take the exit onto Rt 123, leaving only a couple of miles to your destination.

I'm very familiar with the Darnestown area. Nice, convenient area with rolling hills and new/relatively recent larger homes on generally larger lots. Very accessible to Kemotown, Gaithersburg, and Rockville. Darnestown is not as expensive as Bethesda and certainly Potomac, but is generally more expensive than the Sterling, VA, area. You ask why Sterling is (relatively) less expensive? It (and Chantilly) are located near Dulles Airport, so I'm guessing that jet noise may be an issue. Also, my impression is that--on average--the housing/lots are not quite on a par with what--on average--is available in, say, areas like Darnestown; Bethesda; parts of Leesburg, Manassas, and Centerville; and some other outer suburbs of VA.

[jay]

A co-worker of mine lives in Darnestown, and works here in Tysons. I don't see him in his cube today, so I left him a voicemail to let me know more about his commute. More as I get it.

EDIT: He reported that it's a 22 mile commute for him. He leaves the house at 6 am and is here by 6:30. In the evening, it takes him 45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic over the American Legion Bridge.