Pls help: Fredericksburg, va-washington,dc

[str8]

Whats the VRE and how long would the commute to DC take using the VRE?

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by str8

Whats the VRE and how long would the commute to DC take using the VRE?

The VRE is the train going from Fredericksburg into L'efant station in DC. I will put the link on here. Depending on where you wife would stop at decides how long the commute is. If you look at the schedules tab on the website it will tell you how long it takes to get from point A to point B.


General Schedule Information - VRE

[BigPaws12]

Hm. My husband and I and our kids used to live in a nice home not quite midway in a sprawling town called Nokesville on the backside of Quantico MCB. More cows than people even as close as it is to DC as a crow flies. Nice older home, huge yard (lots of yard maintenance!) Because of the length of time it took us to drive to the Manassas VRE station and the commute, it wound up being LESS time for us to move to Fredericksburg and catch the VRE from here. I LOVE LOVE LOVE F'burg. Love it. Home prices are low, quality of life is good, and it's convenient to major routes - 95, 1, 17, 2, 301, etc. It's growing all the time, the schools are good, and there's lots to do here. Great for the kids especially. I used to DRIVE to Arlington and back 2x a day and yes, traffic sucked but the quality of life here makes it worth it. My husband drives to Herndon and back every day (1.5 hrs in traffic each way) but there are ways to save time and ease the budget for commuting, such as slugging, telework, etc. Does your wife's work allow for her to adjust her hours? Many DC area employers are flexible this way and if she could go in LATER (say be there @ 10) and come home later (Leave at @ 6) she'd miss the heavy drive or busy trains. Or to work (4) 10 hr shifts and skip crazy Friday.

Alternately, friends of mine live in Springfield. They bought a large 5 bdrm foreclosure for $425 that required another $10k in immediate repairs in an area called Newington Forest (Near Pohick and Hooes Rds). That area is filled with very typical suburban homes, soccer moms, parks, etc. Homes are a lot closer together there, yards tend to be smaller, and rent? Forget about it! It's high. Homes in my neighborhood that once went for $600k can now be had for under $350k.

I am also fond of SOME areas that fit your description - closer to the halfway point - Lake Ridge, Montclair, and Kingstowne (closer in/more pricey) are a few. I otherwise do not suggest east of 95 until you get south of Dumfries. Dale City? Go to greatschools.com and do your research there too. Some are great in Prince William and Fairfax and some not so much. Sometimes a good deal is not a good deal at all, and I for one wouldn't live in Dale City or Manassas, period. Just my choice.

In Fredericksburg, we are east of 95 by just a hop, near a national Park that we can walk to for hiking, biking, near Old Town which is just awesome. If you venture west of 95 esp along the Rt 3 corridor, Rt 3 gets horribly busy nights and weekends so I'd avoid it. Also, cheaper living in the country? Great, unless you need a doctor, a supermarket, or just to get out of your house in the snow. Stick closer to 95 and you'll do fine. Again, just my experience. I'm between Exit 126 and 130 and we're perfectly happy with our location. One thing here is that you just get used to the commuter lifestyle and MANY many couples consist of one who works here, and one who doesn't. People commute from Richmond and V. VA to DC!! every day!

Also, with the traffic? Because of the direction of traffic flow sometimes SOUTHBOUND traffic from the 495 mixing bowl merge in the mornings is a freaking NIGHTMARE (truck scales are open/big contributing factor). It could take you 2x as long to get from Springfield to F'burg as for your wife from F'burg to DC.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

[str8]

Originally Posted by ajzjmsmom

The VRE is the train going from Fredericksburg into L'efant station in DC. I will put the link on here. Depending on where you wife would stop at decides how long the commute is. If you look at the schedules tab on the website it will tell you how long it takes to get from point A to point B.


General Schedule Information - VRE

I'm trying to follow this schedule, but I'm having a problem finding how long the commute from Fredericksburg to Washington DC is, if you are trying to get the the VA Hospital on Irving Northwest Rd? How would you get your destination after you get off the VRE? Taxi?

Also does the VRE go to Richmond? If so, how long would it take to get to the VA Hospital in Richmond?

Thanks

[zotmeister]

If you go to the VRE site and find the Fredericksburg line going north, Train #306 leaves at 6:35 am and gets into L'enfante (DC) at 8:01am. This is about 1.5 hours. You can hook up to other public transit (metro/subway) and/or bus to get to the VA hospital from the L'enfante train station. metro stop is just across the street. You can do a trip planner at the metro site to determine how long it will take to get to the VA from teh L'enfante metro station. It may be a long haul. I don't think the VRE goes to Richmond, it may also be a long haul.

Metro website is here WMATA - Rider Tools - Trip Planner

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by zotmeister

If you go to the VRE site and find the Fredericksburg line going north, Train #306 leaves at 6:35 am and gets into L'enfante (DC) at 8:01am. This is about 1.5 hours. You can hook up to other public transit (metro/subway) and/or bus to get to the VA hospital from the L'enfante train station. metro stop is just across the street. You can do a trip planner at the metro site to determine how long it will take to get to the VA from teh L'enfante metro station. It may be a long haul. I don't think the VRE goes to Richmond, it may also be a long haul.

Metro website is here WMATA - Rider Tools - Trip Planner

So basically, it would be at least a two-hour commute door-to-door for your wife, str8, accounting for a transfer to an additional subway and/or bus once she would arrive in DC.

And yes, Fredericksburg is currently the southernmost stop on that particular VRE line. Besides some long-distance Amtrak trains not necessarily aligned with rush hour, the Richmond area is not served by commuter rail.

[marie13100]

you are in a good location. I know people in Fredericksburg who commute to further up in DC (S. Md) and it take one hour to l'Enfant metro stop. what is your budget ? house price are a huge difference from East to West of Nova. or Prince william. think also on the VRE line trajectory. Dale city, Woodbrige, Manassas... renting varie between 1500 to 2500 (My rent is far above 1800 in prince william) hubby in DC working.
you can have in manassas rental between 900 and 1500 but because it is harder to sell a home, now, that owner tend to rent more than selling. if you are lucky you may find a good rental around 1800 to 2000 for a 3BR in PWC. it is the good time to buy. price went down last week. but rethink ! Fredericksburg is good to live in and work in the dc area. just enjoy the vre ride... that is it !