Commuting from Manassas to Fair Oak (Centreville, Chantilly: apartment, for rent, school)

[UMW_grad]

Hello,

I have received a job offer to work at a company near Fair Oak mall, but I will not be making enough money to afford an apartment in Fairfax County (I'm unable to pay more than $1000 for rent on my salary).

I was thinking about moving to Manassas because I might be able to get an apartment for cheaper there, but does anyone know how long the commute would be? I would not want to spend forever in traffic.

Thank you for your thoughts!

[Shelborne_22033]

Originally Posted by UMW_grad

Hello,

I have received a job offer to work at a company near Fair Oak mall, but I will not be making enough money to afford an apartment in Fairfax County (I'm unable to pay more than $1000 for rent on my salary).

I was thinking about moving to Manassas because I might be able to get an apartment for cheaper there, but does anyone know how long the commute would be? I would not want to spend forever in traffic.

Thank you for your thoughts!

From Rt 234/66 to the Mall is about 12 miles on 66. In the AM, that is a tough slog, maybe 30-35 mins with no accidents. It's good that Fair Oaks is pretty close to Rt 50/66. There are also many alternate routes you can try depending on where you find a place in Manassas. You can use Rt 29 or 28.

Have you looked at places in Chantilly or Centreville? You may have to settle for a roommate situation.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

[UMW_grad]

Originally Posted by Shelborne_22033

From Rt 234/66 to the Mall is about 12 miles on 66. In the AM, that is a tough slog, maybe 30-35 mins with no accidents. It's good that Fair Oaks is pretty close to Rt 50/66. There are also many alternate routes you can try depending on where you find a place in Manassas. You can use Rt 29 or 28.

Have you looked at places in Chantilly or Centreville? You may have to settle for a roommate situation.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Thanks for the estimate. I've never done an eastbound commute in the DC area, so the information is quite helpful.

I definitely need to look into Chantilly/Centreville as well.

[Bigfoot424]

What are your work hours? Knowing this will help answer.

[homebeyer2013]

Rt 28 is real bad connecting 20110 with I-66., but as far as DC area commutes Manassas to Fair Oaks isn't horrible, and if you aren't an 8-5er, could be ok. Christmas season will not ease the Fair Oak traffic, that;s for sure.

[Middlin]

I live in Bristow and have taken 28.......don't do it. It crawls b/c all the lights. If you live in Manassas as close to 66 as you can get and depending on your hours, it's doable in 35-40, AM commute is worse than PM

[anpanman]

If you are in Wellington, you might consider taking Yates Ford to Henderson to 123 to get to Fair Oaks. I have to a admit that I have never done this during peak morning commute times, so I don't know if a lot of people use that as a work-around.

[vermonter16]

Yates Ford to Henderson is heavily used....it is ok as long as there isn't an accident or you get stuck behind a school bus. Manassas to Fair Oaks is not a bad commuting situation even if you are in the heart of rush hour. A lot of stop and go - but you don't have that far to travel.

[SmartMoney]

I live in south Lorton/Occoquan/LakeRidge (more awkward than Manassas) and commute to an office building right at FO Mall. 38 minutes door to to door with all of the lights on 123. There are far worse commutes than Manassas to FO Mall.

[marie5v]

Originally Posted by UMW_grad

Hello,

I have received a job offer to work at a company near Fair Oak mall, but I will not be making enough money to afford an apartment in Fairfax County (I'm unable to pay more than $1000 for rent on my salary).

I was thinking about moving to Manassas because I might be able to get an apartment for cheaper there, but does anyone know how long the commute would be? I would not want to spend forever in traffic.

Thank you for your thoughts!

The drive is fine outside of rush hour, but if you have to travel during the heaviest traffic then it will probably be unpleasant. However, it depends on your tolerance. As some have pointed out, it's not really that far, so it won't be a 2 hour commute or anything like that. It takes about 35-45 minutes on a normal traffic day. You can help your commute by finding something closer to 66 - your route will likely include 28 and then 66, and in my opinion 28 is worse, so if you can shorten that piece then it will help a lot.