Commuting from Centreville to Arlington (Annandale, Fairfax: 2009, to rent, how much)

[iluvcisle]

Hope one of you can give me some info:

My daughter has a job in Arlington, teaching in a school just south of Route 50 by Glebe Rd. She is currently living in NJ and is looking for shared housing in Arlington - she just returned and found that many of the listings on Craigslist were awful - she's 24 and people that advertised as "young" were in their 40's. I think she will do better when she's in the area - she has friends who live there who can put the word out and she can take her time to find a good place.

Fortunately, my sister lives in Centreville and she can stay there until she finds a good place to live. She plans to commute by car and we've visited enough to know that 66 is just the ugliest commute ever. She'd be alone in the car (and no hybrid) so she'd have to exit 66 at 495 South and take 50 into Arlington. She has to be at work at 7:45. What time do you think she would have to leave Centreville? Her work day is over at 2:45 so I think the return commute would not be as bad. Hopefully, this will only last for a month or so.

Any thoughts you could share would really be appreciated.

Marilyn

[OrangeFish]

I would toss another option there -- possibly taking Rt 29 in vs. 50. (I work in Ballston and have used both options from 495.)

I do not commute in from Centreville, but I would think that she'd need to leave Centreville no later than 6:45 am to get to work by 7:45 am.

I have some work colleagues that live in Fairfax by GMU, and they find a faster option is to take Braddock Rd into Annandale, cross over to Columbia Pike, and then take Carlin Springs Rd into Glebe Rd. She may want to try that option as well and see if that works better.

Also, she may want to look around the Marymount U area for possible roommates.

[normie]

I'd suggest going to work an hour early and then doing some activity near her workplace. For example, she could go to a gym. True, it's a little tricky to change into work clothes in the locker room, but the easier commute makes it totally worthwhile. Plus, it makes sureshe gets a workout in every day.

[v2009]

She'll be stuck in traffic both in the morning and in the afternoon, especially if she takes I66 and Route 50. Tons of people live in suburbs (including Centerville) and commute to DC/Arlington every day. A lot of government workers start at 6-7 AM till about 3 PM.

I live in Arlington, and young (20-30 yo) professionals here often rent a house or townhouse together. She could rent a studio for about $800-$900 in south Arlington. How much is she planning to spend on rent?

[iluvcisle]

Thank you all for your responses. I'll suggest she tries some of the other routes you outlined. To v2009 - she is looking into renting a group townhouse, but as yet has not met a group that she wants to live with. I think she would be happier with a group arrangement than alone at first - she's fairly social and that would help with the transition. One will come - it just will take some time. And to Normie - well, she's a girl so the working out before work thing may be tricky - there's shower, hair, makeup...you know. But, she may be able to go in early and work on lesson plans at that time.

[jsosh]

Hi,
I accidentally ran across your post. I know you are looking for commuting information but my daughter age 24 (who is a teacher in Centreville) is moving into a house in Arlington very close to the area your daughter is teaching. Last I heard they were looking for a girl to share the 3 bedroom house... The address is 3713 1st Street, Arlington if you want to check the location on google maps or something.....if she might be interested you can email me at judy@saindon.net and I will give you more information.

Good Luck