Driving from B-more to Washington weekday a.m.

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by diamondeye

I should add that I am doing a MARC train/Metro commute from Charles Village Baltimore to Old Town Alexandria Virginia all this week, and so far it hasn't been too bad. It is two hours each way, but sleeping on the way down, and playing with the Iphone on the way back, it has been sailing by. Do yourself a favor, leave the driving to the conductor, pop in the headphones and zone out... you'll be refreshed and ready for the day by the time you hit the office.

AMEN... I do the same commute.. catch the 7:00am or the 7:15am MARC train out of Penn Station. If I get the 7:00am I usually get off in New Carrollton and hit the Orange Line into Nova.. otherwise I do the Red Line to the Orange from Union Station. Occasionally for a change of scenery.. I catch the Circulator out of Union Station and ride it over to Farragut West then get on the Orange Line to Nova.. On a nice day it is a pleasant above ground ride... if you want to get out from underground and avoid the occasional bottleneck at Metro Center. If you are in the Rossyln Ballston Corridor.. you can take the Metrobus 38B to/from Farragut Square after existing the Red Line at Farragut North.. If you got a MARC Monthly TLC then all is well no additional fare on any of these options. The bus options may take a little longer but they provide alternatives if there are problems with Metro...

[kiranatwo]

agree about the MARC train, do it daily, nice ride and easy Metro access once in DC

[Streetchie]

I'm just curious, why in the world would anyone spend 4 hours a day commuting?!?

[dojinick]

Originally Posted by Streetchie

I'm just curious, why in the world would anyone spend 4 hours a day commuting?!?

amen.

[trickymost]

Originally Posted by Streetchie

I'm just curious, why in the world would anyone spend 4 hours a day commuting?!?

As someone who does a Towson - NoVA commute, the reason is simple.

For what I do the same jobs in Baltimore pays 1/2 what it does in DC. Not to mention there are far less opportunities in Baltimore.

This commute is the worst on earth. If you're on the road at 5:45 AM, you should be anywhere in Arlington by 7-7:15. As others say, it's a crapshoot as to what the PM commute is like day to day. Some days you'll leave at 3 and it will take 2+ hours, other days you can leave at 4:30 and be home by 5:45-6.

Not sure what the poster does, but I'd recommend seeing if telecommuting part time is an option. I don't know anyone who's been able to do this commute Monday - Friday for a year for longer than a year before throwing in the towel.

[Woodlands]

I agree with trickymost.. in my line of work my salary is double in NOVA compared with Baltimore. Additionally, my employer provides a transit subsidy... for metrochecks which leaves me coming out of pocket for about $90 per month...I NEVER drive down to NOVA. It amazing how many people leave Bal-Penn bound for DC and other points south. I imagine at the height of the housing boom.. many renters..like myself moved to Baltimore in search cheaper housing and homeownership opportunities... of course if I were in the market now given the drop in housing prices... I would consider Laurel and other points near Greenbelt or New Carrollton. I do enjoy living in Baltimore City which provides some compensation for the longer commute. Do I plan to do it for 30 years and retire????Hell no.. but I will continue for another couple of years at least until the labor market or the housing market improves

[Streetchie]

I think I'd live and work in Baltimore and get a part time job with that extra 20 hours a week that I'm not commuting to make up the $$ difference. Or work in NoVA and live there. That commute really sucks.

[Bong477]

Leaving by 6am should be okay in the morning and even 6:30 won't be bad most of the time. For the afternoon its much worse and much less reliable. You really have to leave by like 2:30pm to reliably avoid traffic.