Arlington to Bethesda commute (Cana: live in, move to, relocation)

[Jrbe]

I will be starting a new job in Bethesda in a few months, but I currently live in Clarendon (taking the Metro in to DC). If I get a car, is Arlington to Bethesda commutable or is the traffic so bad that I will have to move to Maryland?

Thanks.

[bmwguydc]

Not a terrible commute at all. You can take the GW Parkway to the Beltway, and then exit at River, Democracy, etc. -- depending upon where in Bethesda you need to go. You will encounter some traffic in Maryland, on River, Democracy, etc., but it should not be too awful where you would need to investigate relocation. You would take side streets to get from River to Bradley (Wilson or Goldsboro) if you needed Downtown Bethesda.

You could also go through town, but you would need to take Key Bridge to MacArthur to Loughboro to Dalecarlia to Western to Wisconsin, which has lower speed limits, traffic lights, and speed cameras along the route. Still, the traffic is not horrible, save for Key Bridge and getting on MacArthur in the morning because Canal is one way inbound.

[Jrbe]

I appreciate the response!

I would be driving to NIH. Any idea how long it might take me if I drove the first way you suggested?

[bmwguydc]

I would think NIH should take about 40-45 minutes from Clarendon. You can stay on the Beltway to Old Georgetown Road, though it can be slow from 270 to Old Georgetown. From River, you would take Wilson to Glenbrook or Del Ray (both lefts) to a left on Old Georgetown. You could stay on Wilson, veer to the left, which turns into St. Elmo, cross over Old Georgetown and follow St. Elmo to a left on Wisconsin, too, depending upon which side of NIH you want to enter.