Va To Dc ~ Commuting Nightmare? (Arlington, Manassas: appointed, big house, salaries)

[dreamfollower]

Since I am in the process of considering a move to areas in VA which give the option of commuting to DC for employment, can anyone describe what is the reality of commuting from VA to DC from towns about 30 miles out? I cannot imagine it being anymore hectic than my present commute to NYC.

Is the option of driving as opposed to using mass transit a viable option or too impracticle in terms of parking and cost? {I would prefer to drive.}

Thanks for your comments.

[MarkB]

To give you some perspective, last year Washington D.C. metro area was rated as having the third worst traffic congestion in the United States for the fifth year in a row. The traffic study was found in the Washington Post.

I think the residents of Virginia should really be dissappointed in their officials. They have had YEARS to anticipate for the exponential growth in the Metro area and have done very little. We had a new governer take over a couple of months ago. He wanted to immediately start budgeting for widening a portion of I66 and was blocked by pundits immediately. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but the traffic headaches hear outweigh any advantage of more jobs in my opinion.

The metro system here is adequate. The downside is that if you live West of the city the subway only goes as far as Vienna. Vienna is about 8-10 miles from D.C. A large number of people have to drive 15-20 miles just so they can park their car and catch the train there. You also have the VRE which was planned out a little better. The line goes as far South as Fredericksburg and as far West as Manassas airport.

[dreamfollower]

Well, that's a sobering thought. Sounds to be supremely inconvenient unless I hear otherwise.

My NYC commute door to door takes between and hour to an hour and a half, traffic depending. Using mass transit is not much less in time.

You are probably right in that more of a job choice may not be a good enough trade off since I am looking to replace the NYC rat race.

Thanks for the wake up.

[dullnboring]

I think anything further than a 15 mile commute in the DC area is unbearable. Thirty miles out from the city, traffic is a nightmare and there is little public transportation unless you happen to live right by a commuter rail station (VRE in Virginia, MARC in Maryland). There is bus service too and while that may save money in terms of gas and parking, you're still stuck in an insane commute time-wise. Metro is terrific...in DC and Arlington. When you go further out, outside of the Beltway, Metro isn't particularly convenient (particularly on the weekdays) unless you happen to live right by the station. For many people, myself included, by the time you drive to the station, you may have already been in the car for some 20 minutes, have to find parking, then wait for a train, etc. and you just figure "hell, I've driven this far already, I might as well drive all the way in".

Traffic in the DC area is far worse than the New York area, ranking somewhere between the second and fourth worst in the nation (LA is always the worst and then San Francisco, DC and Atlanta jockey for spots two through four every year).

[MaryBB]

As others have said.

I commuted to NYC from LI in the eighties. I don't work in DC but have been stuck in preposterous traffic jams on I-95 worse than any that I experienced in NY. It is a little better now with the new bridge but I don't think you'd be much better off traffic-wise moving there.

[VT Hokie 2007]

I've got no sympathy for people stuck in traffic. They live further out and have larger, cheaper homes. That's the trade off. You can choose to live in a small, nice house 2 minutes from the metro line and have a lovely commute either driving or taking the metro or you can choose the big house very far from work. No sympathy at all for those stuck in traffic.

[winnie]

Maybe you should consider finding a job further upstate??

I am from Orange County and some jobs here are only like a 15% pay cut from NYC salaries. Depends on your career - but when you factor in the costs of commuting and the extra time away from home it may be worth it..And this area is growing nicely but is not as snarled as downstate. Just a thought!

[winnie]

Originally Posted by VT Hokie 2007

I've got no sympathy for people stuck in traffic. They live further out and have larger, cheaper homes. That's the trade off. You can choose to live in a small, nice house 2 minutes from the metro line and have a lovely commute either driving or taking the metro or you can choose the big house very far from home. No sympathy at all for those stuck in traffic.

Not in the NYC metro...sorry but I can tell from your post you have no clue what you are talking about. NYC is not Brattleboro dear.

[MaryBB]

In NYC a small, nice house close to subway?? not in this lifetime.

[VT Hokie 2007]

hey, Winnie, genius, I was talking about living 30 minutes from DC and commuting. Learn to read.