Driving time from Gainesville to Springfield (Burke, Woodbridge: to rent, crime, house)

[Jazzygrl]

My husband and I are moving to NOVA the first week in January. We have spent the last 6 mos. researching different areas and I really like the Gainesville area. Not only are the prices lower but it reminds me of where I live now. My husband is concerned about the driving time to work. We both will be working in Springfield but we will probably not car pool. Does anyone think this a reasonable distance to drive to work? I would like to keep drive time at a max of 45 minutes. Any information would be great. We are getting ready to buy a home and don't want to make any mistakes...

[goldenmom7500]

Hi,

mapquest gave a time of 39 minutes (32 miles) from Gainesville to Springfield which can be presumed to be quite low. But ... it's not an unreasonable commute. A lot of people who live in Northern Virginia would think it was a perfectly reasonable commute. I've done worse!

mapquest also gives a basic route of 66 to 495, but I'd look for alternatives to cut out the last part of 66 and [all of] 495. Someone else might know a good route.

[HEATHER72]

I can't give you any information on the time you requested as I do not know. But I can say I like living in Gainesville. What part of town are you interested in?

Speaking of working in Springfield and living elsewhere - We have a friend who just got a new job in Springfield, yet just closed on a house in Winchester ... 75 mile commute one way! We don't quite understand his logic on that.

[El General]

the back way in would be PW Parkway to Yates Ford RD. through Clifton to the Springfield Bypass. But seriously, you would be an idiot to buy in Gainesville, when your jobs are in Springfield. Many parts of Springfield are still very nice. You will get a bigger yard, better architecture, and you will live in FC. Look at the area around the Springfield CC. The commute you are talking about will take over an hour in Rush Hour(s). It could take you an hour to get to 495 on a Sunday morning. And the Mixing Bowl? Yikes.

[Jazzygrl]

Originally Posted by El General

the back way in would be PW Parkway to Yates Ford RD. through Clifton to the Springfield Bypass. But seriously, you would be an idiot to buy in Gainesville, when your jobs are in Springfield. Many parts of Springfield are still very nice. You will get a bigger yard, better architecture, and you will live in FC. Look at the area around the Springfield CC. The commute you are talking about will take over an hour in Rush Hour(s). It could take you an hour to get to 495 on a Sunday morning. And the Mixing Bowl? Yikes.

I was hoping to avoid 495 and take back roads to Springfield. Springfield seems more expensive and I would like a newer home.

[goldenmom7500]

Yes, I figured you had already looked at all of the other options - like Springfield, Burke, etc. Gainesville is terrific and people with families really love living there. I would guess the commute would be more than 45 minutes but possibly less than an hour, if timed correctly. (The route down Yates Ford that El General mentioned is lovely). Like I said, I don't think the commute is crazy or unreasonable. For the area, it's somewhat "typical". Still, ... you know ... it's not right around the corner, but I get the sense you've done your research and want to live in Gainesville.

[lqda4]

Highly doubt that you can make it to Springfield from Gainesville in 45 minutes during rush hour traffic, even if you used the back road. Keep in mind the traffic will get much worse in 3 years when the Belvoir BRAC move completed, which will bring some 15,000+ (IIRC) people to Belvoir (!!!), notably the Belvoir Proving Ground which sits on the North side of 95. I'd say look at other nearby places if you want 45 minutes commute. Good luck.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by Jazzygrl

My husband and I are moving to NOVA the first week in January. We have spent the last 6 mos. researching different areas and I really like the Gainesville area. Not only are the prices lower but it reminds me of where I live now. My husband is concerned about the driving time to work. We both will be working in Springfield but we will probably not car pool. Does anyone think this a reasonable distance to drive to work? I would like to keep drive time at a max of 45 minutes. Any information would be great. We are getting ready to buy a home and don't want to make any mistakes...

It depends on when you go into work...I-66 to Route 7100/Fairfax County Parkway can back up to some degree, but not to the degree of Route 7100/Fairfax County Parkway to I-495/Beltway. This can be greatly reduced further if you do decide to carpool - there's an HOV lane on I-66 that moves *much* faster than general traffic between Gainesville and Route 7100, plus you can take the Franconia Springfield Parkway off Route 7100. Is the Franconia Springfield Parkway HOV only during rush hours? I'd heard it was but don't commute to Springfield.

So yeah, if you can carpool either with your spouse or with someone else, you can probably get there in 45 minutes. If you can't or won't carpool, add another half hour to that number. (Yeah, it's that signficant.)

I would normally add something about public transportation options, but I don't think there's anything convenient to take to get from Gainesville to Springfield.

Oh, and Gainesville is quite nice; you'll like it there if you can tolerate the commute. Springfield is nice too - however if you want a new(er) home with 2500+ square feet, you'll spend twice as much in Springfield as you will in Gainesville. The school quality is the same, in this case; what you're paying for is the better commuting.

Welcome to Northern Virginia!

[Jazzygrl]

I don't know what to do. We don't want the long commute. I guess I am back to renting for a year so I can figure out what area will work best for us

We were considering Woodbridge but I don't care for that area. School test scores were lower than other areas and crime is higher than Gainesville.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by Jazzygrl

I don't know what to do. We don't want the long commute. I guess I am back to renting for a year so I can figure out what area will work best for us

We were considering Woodbridge but I don't care for that area. School test scores were lower than other areas and crime is higher than Gainesville.

Have you tried Lake Ridge, zip code 22192? You might find that area to be much more to your liking than Woodbridge 22191 and 22193. The schools for Lake Ridge are considered to be quite good.

Honestly, if I were working in Springfield, that's one area that would be on my short list.