Reverse Commute DC to Reston? (Arlington, McLean: lease, how much, lawyers)

[newcollegegrad]

Considering a job right out of college in Reston but would prefer to live in DC for the social life. I know Northern Virginia traffic is bad, but how long would the reverse commute to Reston from DC be? Would car be faster than Metro and the bus? Are there areas of DC that would be more convenient in terms of the route I'd be taking to Reston? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Tone509]

If minimizing what could be a long commute is important, then live in Georgetown. The map site I used says that it's a 20-mile, 30 minute trip from Georgetown to Reston. You can probably add 15-30 minutes to that. It also says that the most direct route involves the Dulles Toll Road which can be $$$. More experienced drivers here may be able to tell you alternate routes.

Consider living in the Clarendon-Ballston corridor in Arlington. It's popular with 20-somethings and an easy connection to DC via Metro which closes at 3:00am on weekends. A commute from DC could wear you down and leave you relatively little social time during the week.

[claremarie]

It can easily take more than 20 minutes to get from parts of DC, such as Adams Morgan or Dupont Circle, across the bridge and into Virginia during the morning rush hour. You will need to factor that into your decision.
Also, given your work hours, budget and other factors, consider how many weeknights you'll actually be free to socialize in DC. You might try a short-term lease in DC to see whether the commute is doable before making a more expensive commitment.
I would second the Ballston suggestion, which gives you the best of both worlds -- easy access to DC on evenings and weekends, and no bridge to cross during your commute.

[saganista]

If you are in DC, there are two basic non-toll road options to Reston...

Get out of DC as best you can (heed <claremarie>'s words on that), then get on the GW Parkway northbound, exit to 123-South to a right onto Lewinsville Road to a right onto Route-7 West to a left onto Route-606 West and there you are.

Get out of DC as best you can, then take I-66 West to Route-243 (Nutley Street) North, then a right on Courthouse Road, cross Route-123 onto Route-673 (Lawyers Road), then right on Route-674 (Hunter Mill Road), then left on Route-606 West, and there you are again.

Either way will take you an hour or more with about a 20% penalty for bad weather. Getting back into the city can be even worse. Best to avoid 66-East in the PM on account of the three-miles-per-hour stretch from before the toll road merge to the far side of Falls Church.

In sum, a DC-to-Reston commute would be a bad idea in my view. Figuring that the social life in the Ballston Corridor is quite active itself, and it's a 10-15 minute Metro ride from there to DC, <Tone509>'s idea would have my endorsement as well. You could do Ballston to Reston in 45 minutes or so most days and the same coming back. Might even want to think about something near the Dunn Loring or Vienna Metros. 15 minutes on the train to Ballston, 30 minutes to DC, but you could likely get to and from most of Reston in a half hour or so...

[canolajetta]

You should seriously consider Ballston so that you don't have to deal with the bridges. Your choices into Reston, non-toll, probably aren't worth the lost fuel and time, most of us just shell out and have an ez-pass. Rte 7 is a known disaster, and the other "back ways" would tack on significant mileage, which with gas hovering near $4 is probably not worth it.

I can't imagine the commute to Reston would be bad at all, but it could sometimes take you awhile to get home -I live in Reston and used to volunteer in Falls Church, and the back up as 495 and 267 fall into 66 can be ugly almost anytime of day. You can avoid that to some extent by taking GW pkwy from McLean into Arlington/dc.

You could consider living in Herndon or Fairfax. If you are into clubs, you should stick to dc, but Herndon has some pretty decent local music and bars for the younger set, and with George Mason in Fairfax there must be something resembling a social life over in that neck of the woods. It seems like you could save so much cash living in herndon that you could splurge more on socializing : ) On the other hand, if I was young and single, I'd want to be downtown too.

[pgwiz1]

I have done the Arlington (Courthouse) to Herndon (a little further up than Reston -- about 5 minutes extra) for the last 4 years. I have taken the toll road, because it is the fastest way out there, even tho it does cost more $$. The way I figure, the back roads makes me travel slower using up more gas...and with how much gas is these days, it's worth the toll. The drive to Herndon takes about 35 minutes, which isn't so bad. The worst stretch is getting from the arlington exit on I-66 (exit 71) up to where Washington Blvd merges (exit 69). The 3 miles stretch can take 10 minutes if you leave close to 8am.

Coming home is a whole different story --- unless you have merged into I-66 from the toll road by 4:30-5:00pm, you are looking at a 2-3 mile backup that could take you about 20 minutes to get thru. There is a back way tho --- you can take Rt 123 (chain bridge) towards Mclean and then take Old Dominion into Arlington.

I wouldn't recommend living in DC, since there are PLENTY of bars in Arlington and has the perfect blend of young professionals and nice, clean, safe places to live, but I know people that do the commute from DC and it takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by pgwiz1

There is a back way tho --- you can take Rt 123 (chain bridge) towards Mclean and then take Old Dominion into Arlington.

Could also exit to 123-N, then at the top of the first hill, right onto Great Falls Street, then over into Falls Church and a left onto Fairfax Drive, which will turn into Washington Boulevard as you cross Lee Highway, and poof, your back in Ballston. Nice drive, and usually not so much traffic there either...

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by pgwiz1

I have done the Arlington (Courthouse) to Herndon (a little further up than Reston -- about 5 minutes extra) for the last 4 years. I have taken the toll road, because it is the fastest way out there, even tho it does cost more $$. The way I figure, the back roads makes me travel slower using up more gas...and with how much gas is these days, it's worth the toll. The drive to Herndon takes about 35 minutes, which isn't so bad. The worst stretch is getting from the arlington exit on I-66 (exit 71) up to where Washington Blvd merges (exit 69). The 3 miles stretch can take 10 minutes if you leave close to 8am.

Coming home is a whole different story --- unless you have merged into I-66 from the toll road by 4:30-5:00pm, you are looking at a 2-3 mile backup that could take you about 20 minutes to get thru. There is a back way tho --- you can take Rt 123 (chain bridge) towards Mclean and then take Old Dominion into Arlington.

I wouldn't recommend living in DC, since there are PLENTY of bars in Arlington and has the perfect blend of young professionals and nice, clean, safe places to live, but I know people that do the commute from DC and it takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Not trying to steal away the thunder of the OP but I have NEVER understood why traffic is so much worse on 66 inbound, namely at the 267 merge in the evenings than it is outbound in the mornings. My office is in Tysons but I regularly work on consulting gigs out along the Dulles Toll Road and at best it usually takes me 10-15 minutes longer during the evening commute.

Just a random thought...I've been here four going on five years and have yet to figure it out.

I also agree with the other posters, if working in Reston there is no way I would live in DC. I live in Arlington (Court House area) so if I'm headed out that way it is usually 35-40 minutes for me in the morning and evenings are closer to an hour but I leave later than most people. Living in DC will add at least 20 minutes onto that. There are plenty of bars and nightlife options in Arlington, especially in the Clarendon area.