what would you recommend ? (Reston, Laurel: apartment, rent, car)

[5stones]

yes, Arlington seems to be the best of the worst case.
Arlington to Herndon won't be that bad... Arlington to B'more is the longer commute, but he has the public transpo option and maybe his employer will pick up the metro/MARC fees or both.

DC would do and the commute to B'more would be alot less but the Herndon one will be a real bear.

[Whattodo]

Thank you all so much for your replies. It is so hard to judge time involved with commuting until we are actually living there. Websites like ViaMichelian are useless as they estimate the time taken to drive from Central Baltimore to Herndon to be 1hr 30mins !!! From what I have read on here I think we would quite like Arlington (with metro station etc ..) think Husband will not believe how bad traffic can be until we actually move there ... I could not believe it myself ....

[londonette]

Hi
I don't have any advice to give about where to live but I have some thoughts on the public transportation side of things. My husband, daughter and I are in the process of relocating to Arlington and we used to live in London too (I'm from London).

We visited the D.C area earlier this year to scope out areas we thought we'd like and to use/compare the metro/public transportation system. We've chosen Arlington because it seemed clean, safe, had good schools, was walkable, had a metro that could be walked to (for us as we are in a nearby apartment complex of which there are several). I'd compare Arlington to Fulham in London in terms of living standards. From what I understand there are also various metrobuses that will get you from certain residential areas to the station. I will say that I don't think buses are as ubiquitous as they are in London, and I think you'll know what I'm talking about-imagine any High Street in London and the buses you find-it didn't seem like that when we visited.

The areas further out from Arlington, even though they may be served by metro stations are similar to Zones 5-6 on the London underground system, so you have to drive to the station, although I'm certain these too are served by metrobuses. At the moment, my husband who works in downtown D.C., has a commute of about 35 minutes, on the Orange Line(I think this MAY be one of the more efficient lines, kind of like the Victoria Line). When we were visiting, we used the Red Line quite frequently (and I think Silver Spring is on the Red Line), but I found it to be a bit slow-think Northern Line, well maybe not THAT bad . They seem to have a similar Oyster card scheme-a top up card, though I don't know the name of it. Also the metro system is quite straightforward-there's no District/Circle line confusion for example.

I found the actual trains to be comfortable, though I've never travelled during "crush hour". And station staff are friendly! We had no idea about what tickets we needed and a bloke that worked at the station patiently explained it all and helped us out and another guy who worked there walked with us telling us what things we should see (well we were at Crystal City or Pentagon Station so maybe they get a lot of tourists but still...)

Hope this helps a bit, good luck with the move.

[smaug20000]

I work in Reston, and live in Falls Church, but I've had colleagues commute to Reston/Herdon from DC and/or Crystal City, and the commute's not that bad. Arlington is also great for people without kids looking to enjoy the city. I would definintely look into Arlington. I think your morning commute to Herndon would be good, and the pm not as good. Maybe if you work an off schedule it would help the pm.

[LVMYDACH]

Here are a few things additional things to consider: Arlington to Baltimore could be a rather long and timely commute. If your husband uses public transportation to get to Baltimore by taking the Metro to Union Station and the MARC train to Baltimore - your talking time. A MARC train alone leaving Union Station in Wash DC arrives in Baltimore in 1 Hr 11 minutes! Also, it depends on where in Baltimore your husband's office is located - a MARC train stop may not be close to his workplace and he may have to then use bus service to get there from the MARC train stop. Baltimore is a big city! Driving may be his only option depending on those circumstances. It's a bit of a drive to Baltimore and traffic in the downtown area of Baltimore can get heavy in the morning and evenings. Honestly, it's going to be a trade off as to who wants the longer commute as to where you live in either MD or VA! Unfortunately, there isn't an ideal middle location that is going to be easy and the same commute time for both of you! Arlington is a very nice area to live, but your husband may have the more difficult and time-consuming commute. I think you guys need to, if at all possible, do test runs on traffic to and from your places of employment from the areas in MD/VA you are considering on living. You wouldn't want to sign a lease and then find out you have made a huge mistake! If that means staying in a hotel for few days to do this, I think it would be a wise decision.

[Whattodo]

Thanks all for your messages. My Husbands new employer has been in touch and he has advised that my Husband would have to travel by car as he will be visiting various companies every week which will be in Maryland and more likely closer to Baltimore. He has suggested that maybe we could look into living in one of these areas: Bethesda, Rockville, or Gaithersburg. He also suggested Fredrick as he said that I could maybe take White’s Ferry to Virginia to get Dulles approaching from the West and that my Husband could take 70 East to Baltimore. I know that this is still not great but he said it might be better than dealing with the Beltway and toll road traffic.
As he is based in Maryland himself I would like to hear some people from Virginia's opinions or experience with traffic on these routes. Can any of you help ? Am getting really worried at this stage ...

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by Whattodo

Am getting really worried at this stage ...

You should be - or at least preparing yourself to spend lots of time in your car.

Gaithersburg and Frederick are both 45 miles from Herndon via Whites Ferry (Rockville & Bethesda are farther). Google maps says that 45 miles will take between 1:30 and 1:40 - and I find their times pretty accurate. Whites Ferry is an option in that you don't have to deal with the beltway but there are other issues too including slow one lane each way roads and waiting for the ferry.

[5stones]

I used whites ferry alot..but never in commute times. Fridays it gets backed up on rt15 N and you might add 15-120 minutes on to your commute depending on time of day.

The price for everyday commute can be a bit steep...about $4.00 one way or $6.00 for roundtrip. They do sell booklets of tickets and do not know if they are discounted.

Also you need to know that during periods of heavy rains (during and after) the ferry may clsoe or be delayed for debris on the river. (I waited one day an extra 30 minutes for debris to clear) It will close due to high water and flooding as well.
During the winter...it will close depending on weather due to ice. in 2007 (I believe) it was closed for about a week due to ice.

So while it can be a great short cut it's not always reliable. In those times you have to take the point of rocks bridge over (2 lane bridge and road) or go down 270 to 495etc...

In non rush hour traffic a trip from Leesburg to Gaithersburg/Germantown area using whites ferry was 30minutes. Then add another 25 minutes to Herndon. AGAIN that was without traffic.

Bethesdia area might be a better option for both....I really just don't know. Crossing from MD to VA SHOULD be ALOT easier... but MD landowners have been fighting putting a bigger bridge acoss the Potomac. The area really needs one in Fairfax and Loudoun.

[Samara11]

Maybe this info. would help out a bit.

I work in Herndon. I'm not that familiar with MD (I live in Leesburg, VA) but my boss lives in Germantown, MD and he drives to work (Herndon) every day. Takes him 45 minutes (he leaves home around 8:00 and arrives around 8:45/9:00 am) via the toll road (267). He has never used the ferry (Leesburg) route.

I commute from leesburg to Herndon via Greenway ($3.50 toll each way) and its 25 minutes max. The time saved is so worth each penny. However, I wouldn't recommend anyone to commute via the ferry during work hours.

Good luck with your search. IMO, Rockville or Bethesda would be a better option for you. Honestly, a 30-45 minutes is not bad in VA (especially if you dont have kids, I have a toddler and I love my 25 minutes commute).

[NV_Bound]

I have no experience living in VA/Baltimore etc. Infact, we are moving in the area as well with kids and I have asked several questions in a difffernt post and members were very kind to give their feedback.

When I read your post, I thought I should share what I can with the help of internet. So, take it for what it's worth.....other locals can chime in with their experiences....

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Live in Baltimore VERY close to Amtrak station.

Take Amtrak To/from DC:

DC - BWI - $18 - 26 minutes
BWI - DC - $18 - 26 minutes

GMU Meto (Yellow Line) Station - Amtrak station - $3 10 minutes?
Amtrak - GMU (Yellow Line) Metro Station - $3 10 minutes?

Parking $8 at Metro station each day (assuming leaving a clunker on the station over weekend is an option)

Hendron to GMU station by car - 10 minutes?
GMU to Hendron station by car - 10 minutes?

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Total cost/month = $36 + $6 + $8 = ~$50 * $22 days of work + car expnese = $1400
Commute Time each day To/From = ~2 HR including waiting time for trains?

I know I have made a lot of assumptions here and may be impossible/insane to follow it...... But perhaps, you can consider this for very short time until you guys figure out what's best for you.......