what would you recommend ? (Arlington, Herndon: apartments, to rent, house)

[Whattodo]

Hi there

My Husband and myself are relocating from Europe to the States. I have a job in Herndon, Northern Virginia and my Husbands job is in Baltimore, Maryland. We are looking to live half way between both work places somewhere like Sliver springs and commute by car to work. I would like to know what the traffic would be like for me going out towards Herndon in the morning and back in the evening and also for my Husband going into Baltimore each day ? Also is Silver springs a good place to live (we are young, no kids, enjoy socializing etc ..) or where would you recommend ?

[car54]

I would recommend that one of you reconsider your job offers, because as it is, one or both of you face a GRUELING commute....

[Whattodo]

Is the commute from Silver Springs to Herndon the worst or the one to Baltimore ? If only one of the commutes is really bad (say silver springs to
Baltimore) then we would live near to Baltimore or vice versa. I just really need to get an idea on averae commuting times to both places from silver springs and then we will know better about where to live - can you provide further info. ?

[JfromReston]

I expect the Silver Spring to Herndon commute will be much worse than the Silver Spring to Baltimore.

Estimated travel times for the SS - Herndon are about 45-50 minutes with no rush hour issues and 1:10 to 1:30++ during rush hour. My husband occasionally drives from Herndon to Bethesda during evening rush hour and that can often take 1:30. Getting off the Toll Road and on to I-495 in the afternoon is brutal and can easily eat up 20 to 30 minutes.

I really don't know much about the SS - Baltimore route during rush hour but would estimate that it could be done in less than one hour.

I agree with previous poster - one of you needs to find a different job location.

[CaseyMac]

First--welcome to our area.

I will be perfectly honest with you and say that I would reconsider one of the job offers. I don't want to come across as negative, but your quality of life during the work week is likely to be not as much fun since so much of it will be spent in the car. You are young and want to get out and explore the area, enjoy the restaurants, etc., and the commute will likely make you tired. This is just one person's opinion of course, and all.

If you do decide to go down this path, Silver Spring would definitely be the place to live. They have all kinds of cool shops and restaurants, Whole Foods Market, etc. You can drop into DC by car or Metro pretty quickly from SS as well.

I wish you the very best of luck with your move!

[Yankeesfan]

You really can't do this and stay sane. Maybe you can decide who really wants to stay in their job the most, then live closer to that one, and the other can endure the longer commute for a few months while actively looking for a different job. Would that work?

[Whattodo]

Thanks for the advice. There is no possiblity of either of us looking for other jobs. Both our companies are sponsoring our visas and relocating us out there. We cannot simply go and work for another firm legally. The only other option would be both to rent small apartments and see each other at the weekend. If we were to live in Alrington -would the commute from Arlington out to Herndon be ok ? Anything less than 2 hours I can cope with. I live in London and it takes me over an hour each day anyway on a packed tube ... I have collegaues who travel by train for over 2 hours every day as well .. We would rather live together even with the commute as it save alot of money and it means we would be together ....

[scimitar12]

Originally Posted by Whattodo

Thanks for the advice. There is no possiblity of either of us looking for other jobs. Both our companies are sponsoring our visas and relocating us out there. We cannot simply go and work for another firm legally. The only other option would be both to rent small apartments and see each other at the weekend. If we were to live in Alrington -would the commute from Arlington out to Herndon be ok ? Anything less than 2 hours I can cope with. I live in London and it takes me over an hour each day anyway on a packed tube ... I have collegaues who travel by train for over 2 hours every day as well .. We would rather live together even with the commute as it save alot of money and it means we would be together ....

I know one couple who live separately and see each other on weekends. Yes, it almost doubles their rent and other living arrangments; however, living together and doing the heavy commuting, they only spent a couple of hours a day together. And they were always tired and cranky. No quality time at all. At that point you would think one of them would quit their job and take up something - anything just to live closer to the another. They both say their jobs pay to well for that...go figure.

[kevbros]

It seems the problem here is the Herndon commute.

Getting from close-in to Baltimore in the morning will definitely be easier with more options than getting from close-in to Herndon. For this reason, to share a house and keep the commutes even, I'd say live closer to Herndon, which means Arlington, or at the most DC. Silver Spring is too far from Herndon.

I don't drive to Baltimore every day, but it seems when I do go that traffic is heavier the other way, so it's somewhat of a reverse commute, at least around the DC area. There are several routes to take, which also helps. In addition, there is a public transporation option. You can take the MARC train from Union Station in DC to Baltimore. Union Station is also a Metro stop. So if you live near Metro in Arlington, or DC you can take public transportation to Baltimore, which will take longer, but is generally less stressful.

There are few practical public transportation options to Herndon. Although it is also somewhat of a reverse commute once you get beyond the beltway.

Good luck!

[claremarie]

I'd live in Arlington. Driving out to Herndon is mostly against traffic, and your husband can take the Metro to Union Station, then the MARC to Baltimore. He could also drive to Baltimore.
DC is also an option, but more expensive for the safe/nice neighborhoods, and it can be time-consuming to drive through rush-hour traffic to get to the bridges to Virginia.