Living in Elkton and working in DC (Havre de Grace, Garrison: house, rent)

[joddy]

My family and I are considering moving further away from the DC area in order to accommodate our expanding family. I live in a 3 bedroom townhouse in Fairfax, VA and work at Bowling Air force Base in SW D.C. I intend to stay with my current employer so I will be commuting to DC. My wife is a nurse so she can pretty find work wherever we go.
We considered DE for a while but found Elkton by mistake a couple of weeks ago. Now we are seriously considering that area. We really would like a water front view. I was told I can make it into DC on the MARC train in an hour and half. My employer will pay for my monthly MARC train cost so my is the only concern. I figured I can leave my house at 4 am (I can shower and change at work) and be back home by 6pm to help with homework everyday.

Is there anyone on this forum insane enough to be doing something like this?

Currently I live only about 20 miles from work but spend roughly 30-45 mins driving each way. I consider commute by train a less stressful personal time for activities such as leisure reading, something I haven’t done in years; even if the ride is an hour and half long.

Also, I see that some of the vehicles parked across Union Station in DC in the direction of the capital have some sort of stickers like that of apartment complexes. Are these overnight parking stickers? I would love to have a car that I can use to get back and forth between Union Station and work.

All inputs are welcome

[jessy0780]

Where is your office in regards to Union Station? A lot of people take the Marc to Union Station and then metro to other parts of the city.

[joddy]

I don't think using metro from Union Station is an option. It is doable but not very practical. It will significantly increase the 2 or so hours it will take me to get to work. My office is located right after the Wilson bridge; off 495 in S.W.(first exit from VA or last exit from MD).

[sobo16]

Joddy, I personally would think twice before making such a move. Here is a link to the MARC schedule:

https://www.mtamaryland.com/services...N_HTML_New.cfm

The first train leaves Perryville (which is on the other side of Cecil County from Elkton) at 4:47am, and doesn't arrive at Union Station until 6:30am. There is a train that departs Union Station at 4:24pm, but it does not arrive in Perryville until 6:02.

So in addition to the approximately hour and 45 minute train ride, you'd have to add at least 20 minutes each way getting to and from Perryville, and also the time it would take to get from Union Station to your job. Realistically, you would be commuting at least 4 and a half hours per day.

Have you looked into Calvert County, MD? Or St. Mary's or Charles County? You'd have to drive if you lived in these areas, and while I am very pro-public transportation, at least you would be living closer to work and still be able to be on/near the water.

[joddy]

Sobo16,
I am aware of the departure time for the train but I didn't think it took that long to get to the station. My calculation assumed a 10 minutes drive to the station and a twenty minutes drive to and from work. I was going to look into car pools between Perriville and Elkton. Also there is a 2015 proposal to extend MARC to Elkton.

You have a very valid point in that 4.5 hours is a whale of time to spend commuting.
How long do you think Calvert County commute will be? I suspect it may be something like 3+ hours of commuting per day, and 100% driving. I just received a call from my wife while typing. She has scheduled us to visite some homes in Stafford VA this evening, talking about scarry commute time.

[sobo16]

You're right, Calvert County would be quite a commute. Probably up to 3 hours per day depending on what part of the county. I had to look at a map to get a feel for how far from DC it was.

If you move to Stafford County, is the Virginia Railway Express an option for you?

[joddy]

I am not sure if VRE is an option from Stafford to DC but it may. Somehow I am not too excited about Stafford as I am with MD or DE. Also my wife and I both have families in NY/NJ so it will be nice to be somewhat close to them.

[joddy]

Okay so I found out that VRE don't get to Stafford. It begins in Fredricksburg and it takes an hour and fifteen minutes to get to DC.

[clorenzo17]

The vRe has several stops in Stafford County, I believe in Garrisonville and Stafford (Proper)

[rubytue]

Have you been to Elkton and tried to drive to the Perryville MARC station? Its a lot more than 10 minutes. It would take me 10 minutes to get to to the Perryville station, and I live in Havre de Grace.