Moving from DC to NoVa (Arlington, Reston: apartments, rentals, townhouses)

[nadang]

I am getting ready to move in with my fiancee somewhere in Northern Virginia. She works in Purcellville, I work in downtown DC (Faragut West). We are looking for apartments/townhomes for rent that will allow her to get to work by car in under 45 minutes and where I can get to work on public transportation in about the same (maybe an hour). Any suggestions?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[goldenmom7500]

Hi -

I guess she will need to take Route 7 or the Dulles Greenway to get to work. She will be going against traffic which is great. But you probably will want to be near the Vienna metro in, yes, Vienna (tons of townhouses, etc.), or the Falls Church metro (Falls Church - lots of rentals). I don't think you would want to be much further out or closer in. These would give her easy access to the road she needs. I haven't been on the metro in ages so I may be forgetting a stop or two in between. There could be more creative routes if you wanted to think about buses, etc. - like Tysons Corner (Tysons/McLean).

hope this helps!

[dullnboring]

I think it's going to be very difficult to find a commute that will run 45 minutes for the both of you. Purcellville will indeed be a reverse commute but the difficulty lies in the fact that Metro doesn't extend along Route 7 (the route towards Purcellville) but rather along I-66 so even if you were to find a place near West Falls Church or Dunn Loring Metro station, the two closest stations to Route 7, you're still looking at around 50-60 minute commutes to Purcellville in NON-rush hour. Rush hour won't be that severe in that direction, maybe an extra 15 minutes, but it will certainly be more than 45 minutes. That would mean it would be best to located yourselves a bit further down towards Route 7. While I'm tempted to recommend Reston, the problem is that most likely that would bring your commute into DC at over 45 minutes. Route 7 going towards Tysons is an absolute nightmare. You can use some other roads, but the areas around Metro stations are always horrifically clogged with traffic. I'm not that familiar with the bus routes so perhaps there's a bus that goes a different way, and perhaps goes to a station in Arlington (Rosslyn?) that may offer a quicker shot into DC.

I'm not sure how long you're planning on staying in the area, but one potential benefits of Reston is the fact that Metro will be extending it's service to Reston via Tysons in 2011 (supposedly), which would potentially make a 45 minute commute to Farragut West doable.

[saganista]

Well, I think you could get close to 45 minutes each way -- well, maybe closer to 55 minutes each way -- from the Vienna/Oakton area. Metro run-time from Vienna to Farragut West is 27 minutes, so figure to add 15-20 for getting to/from the station on the VA end and another 10 on the DC end, and your in that 55-minute ballpark. Fare is 3.45 each way, minus any SmartBenefit subsidy. Going west, it's a bit over 35 miles from V/O to Purcellville via either 7 or 267, and you can sneak out the back way via Hunter Mill Road to either 7 or 267 from either Vienna or Oakton, thereby avoiding any Tyson's related delays. A non-rush hour trip would probably run 45 minutes or so, and since it's against the traffic all the way, even in rush hour, you'd likely be in that same sort of just under an hour ballpark. There are some good rental locations in Vienna, and perhaps more in Oakton, so I think that area would have to be at least up near the top of the list...

[ashbrn4]

There are buses (private companies run them) from Loudoun county that run to the metro stations in Falls Church and downtown. I would suggest Reston as a place to live. I don't think there's any perfect way to split the difference, but Fairfax county also runs buses to metro from park and ride locations. She definitely gets the better commute!

[saganista]

Well, that would be get to the bus and park, 12-15 miles on the bus (some of which will be in Tysons traffic and the equivalent), do the transfer to the train, then 27 minutes on the train, and then get over to the office. Not going to happen in under an hour...not by a long shot. Reston might cut 15-20 minutes off the Purcellville commute over Vienna/Oakton, but I suspect it would add that and more to the DC version...

[nadang]

Thanks a lot! That all helps. I think we will probably end up in Reston. Anyone familiar with the transfer from Fairfax buses to Metro? How long should I expect it to take to get onto the train? I don't have to be at work until 10am, so I figure I'll miss the worst of rush hour.

[saganista]

Maybe five minutes to do the bus/rail transfer. The bus (Fairfax Connector Rte 505) originates at Reston Town Center. Runs every half hour at 5 and 35 minutes past the hour. It will drop you right at the door to the West Falls Church Metro station about 20 minutes later, depending on traffic. At WFC, you just need to walk inside and then head down the escalator. Run-time on the train to Farragut West is 20 minutes. Fare for the complete ride is $3.50 each way. But by missing the worst of the rush hour, you'd also miss the best. During rush hour, trains run every 3 minutes for a while, and then every 6 minutes. But after about 9:15 or so, they run every 12 minutes, so by going in late, some days you may have a wait a bit until the next train arrives. On the plus side, you'll virtually always get a seat at that hour...