Live in Upper Marlboro and work in D.C.? (Rockville: house, neighborhoods)

[Crewotter]

Is it possible to commute (by car) from the Upper Marlboro area (or closer, near Westphalia) to downtown D.C.? Is the traffic just as bad from this area to D.C. as it is coming from MoCo or NoVa? Would it take as long to get to the city from here as it would from Rockville?

There look to be some nice deals in this area...is there something wrong that is lowering the prices?

[cool rob]

You would probably take Pennsylvania Ave, which depending on what time you left in the morning/evening would determine your commute. It can be horrendous on some days, and fair/good on others (one bad accident and you are sitting, however you may have a lot of back roads/short cuts at your disposal).

That area is cool with me, a lot of new developments and nice older homes. I have always dug the area, nice mix of country/urban living.

Once again, as I imagine others may have stated, there is trouble surrounidng you in EVERY area you live/work in, and you must always keep your guard up. That area in particualr has some areas within about 5-10 miles, further along Penn. Ave (Neighborhoods within the Forestville/Suitland/Capitol Heights area, specifically Walters Lane, Brooks Drive, Marlboro Pike, Swann Rd, and a few others) that can be a bit rough.

[PenguinSix]

We live farther out on Route 4 and take it in most mornings, but have a slightly 'off hour' commute (we don't leave until 9 and get to work until 10. We rarely have problems in our commute. However, on mornings when we have to be at say Dulles at 8 we can encounter problems at 'the bridges' which seem to be a backup (the Bridges over the Anacostia)

As another poster mentioned, you have options. Switch from PA Avenue to the Suitland, and if Suitland backs up flip up backstreets to the 11th Street Bridge. But a serious wreck on the SE/SW freeway will jam most of of the commuters coming in from this area and Southern Maryland (i.e. Waldorf).

There are commuter buses from Upper Marlboro about every 15 minutes to downtown DC. The last one leaves at 8:00 am or so. The last one back leaves downtown about 6 pm. Great if you have a government job, rough if you want to go to happy hour.

Some folks drive to Largo and take the metro from there, but really it is quicker to drive the whole way

[Crewotter]

It can be horrendous on some days, and fair/good on others

So, how long would horrendous be, an hour? more? What would a fair/good or normal commute time be? How close in-on this side of D.C.-would I have to live to make it into the city in 30 minutes?

[cool rob]

Originally Posted by Crewotter

So, how long would horrendous be, an hour? more? What would a fair/good or normal commute time be? How close in-on this side of D.C.-would I have to live to make it into the city in 30 minutes?

Pretty much depending on which route you took, what time you left and what was going on. My mother in Law works at DC Superior Court, and she gets to work from Clinton in about 20 minutes. The catch is she leaves the house at about 5:00 AM, and doesn't have to be to work until 8:30! That same commute if she left @ 7:30 may take about an hour or longer.

But just to make a educated guess, I will say you can be downtown from Upper Marlboro on a good day in about 30-45 minutes, and an off day 45-an hour plus (this is in the case of a bad accident, bad weather, or something going on in the city). Also remember this: Parking is very scarce downtown, so that is also tied into what time of the morning you leave.

On a side note: If you do decide to take the train instead of driving, it is much easier and less stressful. However most of the lots (Garrett Morgan, Cap Center BLVD, Suitland, Branch Ave, Addison RD, etc) in the area fill up very fast.