Looking at this Lake Ridge home (Reston, Manassas: apartment, school district, live)

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by kcarpenter

Lol, nope 5 day work weeks. He is used to the early mornings. He doesn't sleep well. So, even if he gets on a bus at 6:30 it would still take a long time because the HOV lanes are now up to all? What's a normal time on the bus he could expect if he got on at 6:30? I know he would then haven to drive from the commuter lot so that would add time too. He can ask the guys he's replacing about the normal end of day times? Do most jobs let out before 6 for that very reason?

I definitely would recommend the commuter bus option for him given those hours he will work. Not having to drive in that traffic after a hard day of work would be helpful. Despite the generally horrible commute during the week, the one thing I can honestly say I enjoy is when it comes to shopping, activities, events, etc. everything is pretty close. There are a lot of options for things to do for families, so the trade off is definitely living in a great, safe, quiet area. Being in Lake Ridge, we are close to the Potomac Mills area, but we are also still not far from Manassas and even parts off of 95. On weekends, I rarely find myself having to leave the county to have activities for my family, but it also depends on your interest too.

[Karrina Taylor Brown]

Originally Posted by kcarpenter

I found this home in Lake Ridge and was wondering how long would it take to commute to the pentagon from the home?

4609 Ryecliff Ct, Woodbridge, VA 22192 is For Rent - Zillow

It's my urnderstanding that this area is nice for families with kids. Not sure why this home has been on the market for soooooo long (over 140 days). I called and its still available. It feeds into schools with good ratings. Is it a safe area?

It says its 27 miles to the Pentagon but not sure what that equates to in VA traffic? Thanks

Lake Ridge to the Pentagon will be at least 90 minutes during rush hour unless you join with others and use the HOV lanes or take public transportation. With either of those modes, or non rush hour, the commute from Lake Ridge will be 40 minutes - add 15 minutes if you are on the far side of Lake Ridge.

[airjay75]

I just want to add one more thought about commute times because it seems like OP is getting a somewhat wide range of estimates. There can be a big difference between door to door commute times and transit times. For example, when taking a commuter bus, you generally have to build in at least 5-10 minutes of buffer time to in case you have an unexpected delay getting to the bus stop or in case the bus is running early or late. The bus may have other stops it makes after yours and before getting on the HOV lanes. Then, when you get to a place like the Pentagon, which is a very large building, you will have additional time just to get to your office. Don't they even have shuttles at the Pentagon that people take to get from one side to the other? Some people like to get to the bus depot early at the Pentagon in the evenings in order to secure an earlier place in line and a better seat on the bus - the lines for some buses stretch for pretty long distances. At any rate, you'll want to try to be there at least a few minutes early because there is nothing worse than having just missed the bus and having to wait another 30 or 40 minutes for the next bus. Then, at times, there can be quite the jam just getting out of the Pentagon to the HOV lanes. Sometimes it's very smooth and quick and other days it might add another 5 minutes.

I guess I just don't want OP to get an overly rosy view of commuting from Lake Ridge or even somewhere closer like Springfield for that matter. Although I do not have the specific experience of commuting from Woodbridge, some of the times given by previous posters strike me as overly optimistic or, possibly, simply giving you the time you will actually spend on the bus moving. But, spending 30 minutes on a bus or train, for example, can easily becomes an hour door to door commute. Spending 50-60 minutes on a bus can quickly become a 1.5 hour door to door commute.

[Vectorhead]

Originally Posted by airjay75

I just want to add one more thought about commute times because it seems like OP is getting a somewhat wide range of estimates. There can be a big difference between door to door commute times and transit times. For example, when taking a commuter bus, you generally have to build in at least 5-10 minutes of buffer time to in case you have an unexpected delay getting to the bus stop or in case the bus is running early or late. The bus may have other stops it makes after yours and before getting on the HOV lanes. Then, when you get to a place like the Pentagon, which is a very large building, you will have additional time just to get to your office. Don't they even have shuttles at the Pentagon that people take to get from one side to the other? Some people like to get to the bus depot early at the Pentagon in the evenings in order to secure an earlier place in line and a better seat on the bus - the lines for some buses stretch for pretty long distances. At any rate, you'll want to try to be there at least a few minutes early because there is nothing worse than having just missed the bus and having to wait another 30 or 40 minutes for the next bus. Then, at times, there can be quite the jam just getting out of the Pentagon to the HOV lanes. Sometimes it's very smooth and quick and other days it might add another 5 minutes.

I guess I just don't want OP to get an overly rosy view of commuting from Lake Ridge or even somewhere closer like Springfield for that matter. Although I do not have the specific experience of commuting from Woodbridge, some of the times given by previous posters strike me as overly optimistic or, possibly, simply giving you the time you will actually spend on the bus moving. But, spending 30 minutes on a bus or train, for example, can easily becomes an hour door to door commute. Spending 50-60 minutes on a bus can quickly become a 1.5 hour door to door commute.

This is a very good point. In our case (living in West Springfield with three very close express bus routes), this extra time was greatly minimized by the fact that:

1. He could walk to the bus stop, so no worries about finding a parking place. It was only a few blocks so the walk was quick.
2. Because there were three different bus routes, he would walk out in the evening and just catch the next one. If he missed one, it was usually only about 10 minutes until the next one came along. And again, this flexibility hinged on the fact that he walked to the bus stop so he could catch a different bus home. You can't do this if you've driven to the bus stop and parked.

[Forehead]

I don't live in River Falls but I run through the neighborhood on occasion, and I think it's very beautiful. I've passed the turn for Ryecliff many times and it seems like a pretty nice street to live on. For the amount of rent they're asking, you could probably get a smaller home closer to I-95 and buy rather than rent, but I don't know your timeframes or house size requirements.

[ChristineVA]

There are a lot of variances on the times given. It really depends on so many things.

Given that the OP states her husband will get on the road at 5AM. The commute is not going to be an hour and a half if he's driving. Yet, we know he can't drive because there's no parking (most likely). If he drove, he could be there from the River Falls neighborhood by 5:40. Leaving the Pentagon at 6PM--yep, it's safe to say it's a 90 minute drive because the of slog all the way up Old Bridge. It's far. I live further down I95 but I'm very close to 95 and it's never taken me that long to get home at that time unless there's been a crazy accident.

But public commuting does take some time. Realistically, if the husband decides to slug, the slugs don't really get started that early. There's no advantage to the drivers. You can't realistically expect to get a ride until about 5:45-5:50 AM. He'd be at the Pentagon by 6:30 if he got a car at 5:50AM. Could he slug home after 6PM--doubtful--no advantage so he'd be taking the bus.

The bus into the Pentagon in the AM picks up at 5:52AM from the 123/95 commuter lot and arrives at the Pentagon at 6:18. That's pretty sweet at 26 minutes. I'd add 15 minutes to that drive at 5AM from River Falls to the commuter lot. That particular busline also picks up at 5:20AM at Dillingham Square and makes a few stops before the commuter lot so it takes the bus 30 minutes to get down to the commuter lot. No thanks!! I'd drive myself down there.

Coming home, the OP's hubby could take the 6:29 bus from the Pentagon which would get him back to the same commuter lot by 7:06 and he'd probably have a 15-20 minute ride to River Falls.

So, I'm thinking if the bus was the form of transportation, the average ride from door to door would be 1 hour. Of course I don't know how long the walk is from the bus to his office at the Pentagon. Maybe that's another 10 minutes. Hard to tell with such a huge building.

[airjay75]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

Coming home, the OP's hubby could take the 6:29 bus from the Pentagon which would get him back to the same commuter lot by 7:06 and he'd probably have a 15-20 minute ride to River Falls.

This is the part of the commute that would make me nervous. I am usually on a 5:40 bus from the Pentagon to Springfield. On the few occasions I have caught a 6:20 bus, it seemed like the trip took much longer because of all the people that pour into the HOV lanes after 6 (as an aside, I personally think HOV hours should not end until 7). But, do the timetables for the bus reflect this? In my experience with Fairfax Connector, no - they list the same travel time for every bus at every time. I also think of all the times I have crossed 95 on the Franconia-Springfield Parkway after 6 and seen the lines of people waiting to get into the HOV lanes which are just totally gridlocked as far as you can see. Because of that, a 40 minute trip from the Pentagon to Woodbridge seems like it could be on the optimistic side. Heck, I think 40 minutes to Springfield would be optimistic. But, I could also be overly spooked from my somewhat limited vantage point. Maybe that estimated time is accurate the vast majority of the time.

[johnsonkk]

Living closer to 95 along old Bridge in Lake Ridge, I routinely make the trip into crystal city in 45 min. The time one travels, the method, and weather make a big difference. I drive (free parking at work), pick up slugs, and travel during the usual rush hours. Every month there is at least one day where HOV hasa wreck. Otherwise travel is good.

[kww]

Originally Posted by johnsonkk

Living closer to 95 along old Bridge in Lake Ridge, I routinely make the trip into crystal city in 45 min. The time one travels, the method, and weather make a big difference. I drive (free parking at work), pick up slugs, and travel during the usual rush hours. Every month there is at least one day where HOV hasa wreck. Otherwise travel is good.

and for this month, that was last night.. took just under 1.3 hour to go from the FFX pkwy HOV onramp South to the Backlick Rd exit, due to an accident...

[Oldhag1]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

So, I'm thinking if the bus was the form of transportation, the average ride from door to door would be 1 hour. Of course I don't know how long the walk is from the bus to his office at the Pentagon. Maybe that's another 10 minutes. Hard to tell with such a huge building.

We live right near where she is thinking about moving and my husband does the pentagon thing 3 days a week. He has ridden the OMNI bus and the hour is about right - you are right about the 30 minutes from Dillingham Square and Touchstone is about the same. When he has driven on his pentagon days, he leaves early enough in the morning that the commute is fairly quick but in the evenings he will sometimes pick up a few slugs. Another option is that we have a neighbor that takes PW Parkway to the Manassas VRE. He swears it is easier but not according to my hubby, although both agree that from here the Manassas VRE is actually quicker to get to than the Woodbridge one when traffic is heavy.