Comparing Commutes from Manassas, Lorton and Baltimore to DC (Reston: rentals, low crime)

[momof2peanutz]

Our family will be relocating in July, as my husband will be starting a position in DC. (L'Enfant Plaza)
I've figured out one thing we want, in terms of housing, that is difficult to find without paying out the nose, is space. However, we're looking to rent a home and our budget is $2500/mo or less, so we've been looking further out of DC.
We would like a rather large home because we have two boys (4 and 2) and might have more kids.
Between Manassas Park, Baltimore and Lorton area, which is the worst in terms of a commute to DC? Which is best?
We are considering trading the commute for more square footage. I know my boys would go crazy in a home under 2000 sf. Plus, I am looking to homeschool, hence another reason for extra space. So schools really aren't much of a concern, but farmers' markets and shopping areas are of some need and concern.

I've heard some areas of Lorton are better than others. Rent seems much lower there. Is this also because the commute is longer from 95?
Is the commute from Baltimore to DC around 70-80 min? Is there an area in Manassas where the commute is a solid hour, as opposed to longer than that? I read here that pretty much outside of Oakton, you're going to be travelling over an hr to DC. Is this the gen'l rule of thumb?
My husband used to commute, years ago, from Annapolis, MD to L'Enfant Plaza and it was a solid 70 min., one way. That lasted a couple years and so we are now just weighing our options.

I'm thinking if we want something over 2000 sf for $2500 or under, there is no way around an 'over an hour' commute one way to DC. True?

I'm just trying to figure out what towns would be a 60 min or less commute to DC, traffic included.
Also, trying to figure what the minimum rent would be for a lg, 4br home that is under 1 hr away from L'Enfant Plaza, although I know it would vary.
Town/city suggestions?

TIA

[ChristineVA]

Overall, best commute to DC of those places is Lorton. Your next bet would be Manassas which is "just okay". I would not do Baltimore to DC. Just wouldn't do it.

Have you tried looking in Howard County just past the PG County line. I have several coworkers who live there and speak highly of the school sytem and value for the money. That would give you a similar commute that Lorton would.

[vermonter16]

You can use the Manassas VRE and I think it goes right L'enfant plaza. We have several people in our neighborhood (Blooms Mill) including two of my neighbors that commute into DC every day. They take the VRE and can either walk to it or park for free.

[HokieFan]

Have you looked at Lake Ridge? (zip 22192)

If he's planning to drive himself in, then it would take longer than hour to get from/to Lake Ridge but
if your husband is willing to look at other commuting options - carpooling or slugging, it might be doable. When my husband occassionally picks up slugs bound for L'Enfant Plaza, he can drop them off 45 minutes later. The same if your husband is lucky enough to find a regular carpool to join.

Lake Ridge is a nice, family friendly community that is near shopping and you can get more house for your money. Just doing a quick search on realtor.com, there are several nice, single family homes that could be had for $2500 a month.

[RamblingMan]

Given your parameters, I'd look at PG County, including places like Accokeek and Fort Washington. You can probably get 3,000 square feet with a good-sized yard in a safe neighborhood for $2,500. What you generally won't get is good schools, but if you're planning to homeschool, that won't be an issue. My commute to my office in NW runs about 35 minutes at 7 am.

Shopping isn't particularly good, but there are some other positive factors like great parks. If you look at crime maps, you'll notice that most crime is pretty focused within the inside-the-beltway neighborhoods adjacent to DC. You'll also find that there are areas with low crime, such as west of Indian Head Highway, which would be one area I would recommend considering.

[snowdenscold]

As RamblingMan mentioned above me, your options are actually not bad since you plan to homeschool. School districts drive a lot of the prices around here crazy, but there are decent pockets in every single school district, including the not as good ones - so if you look for some of those, you can get a 'deal'.

[momof2peanutz]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

Overall, best commute to DC of those places is Lorton. Your next bet would be Manassas which is "just okay". I would not do Baltimore to DC. Just wouldn't do it.

Have you tried looking in Howard County just past the PG County line. I have several coworkers who live there and speak highly of the school sytem and value for the money. That would give you a similar commute that Lorton would.

That's interesting about Baltimore.
I will have to check out Howard County. That's good intel. And thanks for the commute info.

[momof2peanutz]

Thanks for the Manassas info, Vermonter. If we lived there, he would probably just take the VRE in.. The free parking is a good thing, too. That saves a bundle.

HokieFan - I will have to look at Lake Ridge. Thanks for the tip. That sounds about what we're looking for. I've been looking @ houses on a number of sites, but I'll have to check out that one.

RamblingMan - Thanks.. We'll have to check out those spots.. Much appreciated..

snowdenscold - Very interesting about the schools. I hadn't thought of that. Excellent idea..

Thanks a bunch for the responses. Extremely helpful!

[JfromReston]

I don't think you need to be looking that far away from DC. Rents for single family detached homes in my neighborhood of South Reston are in the $2500 range and the two houses on my street that are rentals are both in the 2300 square foot plus finished basement range. Neither are for rent right now and most houses in Reston get rented rather quickly when they do go up for rent. Commute to L'Enfant Plaza would be in the just over an hour range via the Fairfax Connector Bus to Metro.

Also you might want to consider areas that have active homeschool communities - I know Leesburg is one such area and has a commuter bus to DC. Though Leesburg's commute would be substantially over an hour to DC.

[VRE332]

Originally Posted by momof2peanutz

Our family will be relocating in July, as my husband will be starting a position in DC. (L'Enfant Plaza)
I've figured out one thing we want, in terms of housing, that is difficult to find without paying out the nose, is space. However, we're looking to rent a home and our budget is $2500/mo or less, so we've been looking further out of DC.
We would like a rather large home because we have two boys (4 and 2) and might have more kids.
Between Manassas Park, Baltimore and Lorton area, which is the worst in terms of a commute to DC? Which is best?
We are considering trading the commute for more square footage. I know my boys would go crazy in a home under 2000 sf. Plus, I am looking to homeschool, hence another reason for extra space. So schools really aren't much of a concern, but farmers' markets and shopping areas are of some need and concern.

I've heard some areas of Lorton are better than others. Rent seems much lower there. Is this also because the commute is longer from 95?
Is the commute from Baltimore to DC around 70-80 min? Is there an area in Manassas where the commute is a solid hour, as opposed to longer than that? I read here that pretty much outside of Oakton, you're going to be travelling over an hr to DC. Is this the gen'l rule of thumb?
My husband used to commute, years ago, from Annapolis, MD to L'Enfant Plaza and it was a solid 70 min., one way. That lasted a couple years and so we are now just weighing our options.

I'm thinking if we want something over 2000 sf for $2500 or under, there is no way around an 'over an hour' commute one way to DC. True?

I'm just trying to figure out what towns would be a 60 min or less commute to DC, traffic included.
Also, trying to figure what the minimum rent would be for a lg, 4br home that is under 1 hr away from L'Enfant Plaza, although I know it would vary.
Town/city suggestions?

TIA

If you're budget is around 2500 then consider the Gainesville/Haymarket/Warrenton area because of the schools, suburban family life, more classier, and low crime rates. The drive to the Broad Run- Airport VRE station is about 15-20 minutes. You will really enjoy life out in those areas because the proximity to nice grocery stores like Wegmans, DSW, shopping and generally nice areas to live, did I mention again the schools are much better. What they said above about Lorton is you will have a nightmare living next to I-95 and the traffic is really bad. It's also bad on 66, but only during rush hour.