Feeling Hopeless (Richmond, Fredericksburg: best neighborhoods, crime, house)

[KYCFED]

Is it ridiculous to try to move to Fredericksburg, if I have to commute to DC every day for work? Is the a reasonable consideration from Fredericksburg to DC? Any idea how long it takes the on the VRE to get to Union Station?

[mlv311]

The VRE schedule shows that it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes for the ride from Fredericksburg to Union Station: Virginia Railway Express Home Page . That's not counting your metro ride if you work elsewhere in the city. I've seen people do it, but it's a long commute to do daily, particularly if you have children.

[msjack]

If you're driving to work, I would NOT move to F'burg. Just for your sanity alone.

[TCJohnson]

Originally Posted by KYCFED

Is it ridiculous to try to move to Fredericksburg, if I have to commute to DC every day for work? Is the a reasonable consideration from Fredericksburg to DC? Any idea how long it takes the on the VRE to get to Union Station?

Most people in Fredericksburg commutes to DC. Most are unhappy about it, but it is done.

I have people in my work who commute in from Richmond and West Virginia.

[5stones]

when looking at the VRE times also take into account the time it takes you to get to the F'burg Station. that added along with the metro transfer (if you need one) and walk to the actual office. So that 1 hour 20minute train ride could easily be a 2 hour total commute.

Personally I think that owuld be very draining. As others have posted, esp if you have kids...your spouse will esstentailly be a single parent during the week.

BUT...people do it every day.

[fjennell]

I used to live in Fredericksburg and I work right next to Union Station. The commute is the reason I moved. I have a co-worker that is living in Stafford, VA (just north of Fredericksburg) and it takes him about 2 hours total time - driving to train station and riding VRE. I only took VRE about 5 times and realized that it took a lot longer than driving if you get on the HOV lanes. To do this you would need 3 people in your car. There is "slugging" at every commuter lot where people going to DC hitch rides for free in order to get 3 people in the car so you could consider doing this (either riding for free or driving and picking people up) This type of commute would still take an hour and 15 minutes but on Fridays in the summer it could easily take 3 hours because 95 south is grid-locked due to everyone heading south to beaches all summer long on Fridays. This was the main reason I moved. I now live in Charles County, MD which is only about 25 miles south of DC but pretty much just like Fredericksburg. Still can find somewhat affordable housing (300k may be hard to find, but could get something pretty nice for 400) Plenty of shopping centers, all chain restaurants, etc. BUT the area is starting to show more and more signs of crime. VA is nicer as far as the people, better schools, lower crime, but the commute is terrible. My commute from Charles is about 45 minutes and I drive to Union Station everyday. Never have more than an hour commute getting home either. If you want any more info on the area, I will share more - best neighborhoods to be in, school districts, etc.

[Hester Eastman]

I know some people at my job in DC who commute from Stafford and Fredericksburg. It sounds awful to me--too many hours in the commute, exhausting and stressful. A lot of people commute from further away places than that. Sometimes it sounds like their housing is not all that much cheaper.

[vanyali]

Why do you want to move to Fredericksburg anyway?

[5stones]

Why do you want to move to Fredericksburg anyway

Housing prices probably...from the OP username I'd guess he works for the govt.

When we first found out we were transferring to the area THE only place that had affordable housing was woodbridge. Then I reaserched schools/ crime etc..and decided that wasn't for us. F'burg pops up and looking at on the map it doesn't look too bad (commute wise) Until you start asking questions and realise that traffic is a nightmare.
It's hard when you are leaving an area with a nice 4 bedroom house etc... then comming into this area and all you can afford is a 2 bedroom TH.

[ersatz]

KFED -

If you look at the VRE homepage schedule (Virginia Railway Express Home Page) you will see that trains are scheduled to go from Fred to Union Station in approximately 1 hr 33 minutes.

From what I remember of my own brief commuting experience on VRE, this is a tad optimistic. However, you can get some work done on the train. Several years ago, they had a special program where they featured some educational classes on the train, taught during the commute, that you could apply towards a management degree. I thought that was a really cool idea, but it doesn't seem to be offered any more.

The VRE website offers an interactive tool where you can track the trains in real time. Why not give it a try and check out actual elapsed times for yourself?