Arlington to Rockville commute? (McLean: house, school, living in)

[daaaaave]

Does anyone know how bad of a commute this is? I am starting a new job and unfortunately I got placed in Rockville. How bad is it both ways?

[claremarie]

I live in McLean, and our kids go to school in Potomac, right near Montgomery Mall. I can get on the GW Parkway in 5 minutes, then it's 15 minutes on the Beltway to the first exit off 270. The trip takes about 20 minutes door to door. We leave the house around 7:30 am, but we've left earlier and later and it doesn't seem to affect the travel time, unless there is an accident or bad weather. This is essentially a reverse commute; most traffic on that end of the Beltway is heading towards Tysons.
Evenings are not quite so easy, but most of the traffic is still heading in the opposite direction. There are always LOTS of cars lined up on the Parkway headed for the 495 north exit, while we sail by heading toward Arlington and DC. If you live near the GW Parkway, and your workplace is near 270, this should not be bad, so long as you can avoid the dreaded Humpback Bridge project slated to begin this week.
Hope this helps.

[daaaaave]

I was just looking at a map and it seems the distance is just barely longer if I go 66-W to 267 to 495-N rather than taking the GW parkway to 495-N. I'm living in the Ballston area. Would this be a quicker route on most days since I'm going 66-W in the AM instead of the GW parkway?