Ashburn commute?

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by miko920

Dullnboring, you lost me on that last post. Is it 50 minutes to Mclean without traffic or were you referring to commuting to Rosslyn in that post? If you were talking about Rosslyn commute in nonrush hour, why is it that it takes 50 minutes to get there when the drive is only 30 miles of which 20 is on the freeway? Just want to make sure I understand.

No, the 50 minutes thing was just a random example but had nothing to do with your particular commute. Sorry for the confusion. Here it is in black and white. A commute from Brambleton to McLean USING the Toll Road, will run 35 minutes in NON-rush hour, and approximately 50 minutes during rush hour. It you use any other road other than the Toll Road, you can add an additional 15-20 minutes onto those times (in other words, probably around 45-50 minutes during non-rush hour and a bit over an hour in rush hour.

[DavidS827]

Originally Posted by miko920

Thanks David! I was getting that impression from a lot of posts I have read on the board. Would you say the commute times dullnboring mentioned are pretty accurate? I am okay with a commute up to 1 hour especially because my work is flexible some days and I could probably avoid driving during the worst times. Thanks again!!

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - Went to Miami to watch my Hurricanes lose to VT . Yes, dullnboring is pretty accurate in her times. Your flex scheduling will be a tremendous benefit for you.

[miko920]

Three quick questions for everyone. Out of curiousity, what would a commute from Brambleton to Rosslyn during rush hour take? I am just wondering so that on the off chance my fiance has to drive it during this time, he will know up front.

What would an average rush hour commute from Brambleton to Dunn Loring be?

If you only had the option to live in one of two places and would be working in McLean, Dunn Loring, or Rosslyn, would you choose the area near Brambleton or the areas near South Riding?

Thanks in advance!!

[DavidS827]

I would give myself at least an hour and a half for Rosslyn and Dunn Loring. If I had to choose which place to live I would probably pick Brambleton. Depending on your builder, I think the homes there are a bit nicer.

[miko920]

Thanks for the information David. Another question - could you help me out in understanding why a commute to Dunn Loring would run 1 1/2 hours while a commute to McLean would average 45-60 minutes? Aren't these two places approximately the same distance from Brambleton? Of course, my knowledge of how far and where they are located is from mapquest, so this doesn't show me where traffic is heaviest.

Is the time you gave using the Toll Road? I am not concerned about the commute to Rosslyn taking that long as it will be VERY rare that he needs to drive there during rush hour but there is a chance he will get moved to Dunn Loring after 2-3 years (commute would be during rush hour) and this could become a problem. This would need some reconsideration if your 1 1/2 hours is via the toll road.

Thanks again.

[miko920]

Oh. One more question. Since you mentioned choice of builder, which builders would you say have a better reputation for quality homes - some we are considering include Toll Brothers, Lennar, Stanley Martin. A few others but I can't remember the names so any information you have would be greatly appreciated.

[jmarkd]

Centex, which builds places in Brambleton, is very highly rated on a national level by JD Power. Pulte is a close second. Toll is very low, surprising since they build only "luxury homes." Hovnanian, Ryan, Richmond American are middling, and the rest of them are more or less local and thus harder to judge.
At the end of the day they're all local, though- KB Home in California might be great but KB in Phoenix might be awful. That is why JD Power ranked them locally. Go to their site, click "homes" then "home builder ratings." It's a pain to navigate but has all the builders and their rankings for different areas. It's Centex, then Pulte, then everybody else.

[DavidS827]

Jmark has the builders pretty accurate. Your realtor can help you determine which is best for you.

As for the commute..I just estimated a little high on both to build in some extra time for lights and delys coming off of the exits.