Considering job in Silver Spring MD...seeking some thoughts

[GeorgeSpelvin]

Thanks -- that is helpful. I will check out those school clusters you mentioned. I don't think I saw all of them. For Kensington, I may have only looked at Einstein and the schools that feed into it.

Out of curiosity, how bad is traffic coming down from 270 and around the beltway to Silver Spring? I know someone who lives in the Germantown area, but haven't spoken to him recently. Looking at the map, I'm assuming that would be an unpleasant commute by car... I really don't want to do that. I would rather live very close and "live small" or perhaps take Metro.

I did learn that the work location is about a one minute walk from the Silver Spring Metro (red line).

[CHIP72]

Assuming the schools are okay, I'd also say Kensington is a good choice. The only bad thing about Kensington is there is no Metro service there. However, there is a MARC station in Kensington (and also Garrett Park) and it is only one stop between Kensington and Silver Spring. Also, a couple different bus lines (Ride On routes 5 & 7) run between Kensington and downtown Silver Spring. Ride On Route 7 only runs at rush hours, but Ride On Route 5 runs all day.

FWIW, the Silver Spring Metrobus/Ride On bus station is currently being renovated (and will be under construction until late 2010), so walking patterns between the transit complex (whether you use Metrorail, MARC, or Metrobus/Ride On) and your place of employment could be modified somewhat, though the change wouldn't be too significant.

One other possible location I'll mention is the Columbia area. The commute would be a little far, but there are 2 Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) commuter bus routes between Columbia and downtown Silver Spring, the 915 and 929. Both run extensively at rush hours, especially the 929.