Takoma Park commute (Baltimore, Silver Spring, Greenbelt: house, transfer to, neighborhood)

[LongAndLow]

Reposting, as I guess I posted in the wrong forum initially:

So my partner and I may be relocating to the area within the next few years. She would be stationed at Ft. Meade. I would be working either in downtown Baltimore, or East side of Fairfax (near Dunn Loring station). I won't necessarily get to choose which, it'll be whichever office has an opening at the time.

At any rate, I really don't want to live in a typical suburb. We live in the middle of a fun walkable neighborhood in San Diego now, and the idea of living in the 'burbs, in an unfamiliar area with less than desirable weather is just depressing. I would love to live somewhere like AU park/friendship heights/Tenlytown, but I'm afraid that would add an extra level of difficulty for the commute to Ft. Meade. I also love Old Town Alexandria and Del Ray. That would be great for me working in Fairfax, but again, not so for Ft. Meade.

It looks like Takoma Park is a cute area with a nice walkable downtown. We could definitely afford a house there, and we don't have kids to worry about schools and such. Only dogs, and the plus is we could have a yard there and not have to walk them in the cold.

Another reason for choosing Takoma Park is that there is a possibility that after a couple of years I could transfer to downtown DC, and she could transfer to the Pentagon. So I'd rather go ahead and live somewhere where we have the flexibility to accommodate any of those offices, without having to move again.

Finally to my question. I'm trying to get a feel for what commute times might be like for each of us. I'm estimating to each of those 3 places (Dunn Loring, Baltimore, Ft. Meade) it would be about an hour. Does that sound about right? Are we setting ourselves up for tear your hair out commutes on a daily basis? Any other suggestions on areas to live that might be appropriate?

Thanks so much! This is my first post, I think I made it count

[kcmo]

Not really, you will be going against most of the traffic. Fort Meade wouldn't be bad at all. Most traffic will be going the other way, so probably 30-40 minutes most morning. Could be a little longer coming home, traffic is worse in the evenings.

Going all the way to Baltimore you might push an hour because you will eventually hit Baltimore traffic going into Baltimore. I would consider taking Metro to union station and MARC to Baltimore.

I like Takoma Park. It's a nice area, great location.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by LongAndLow

Finally to my question. I'm trying to get a feel for what commute times might be like for each of us. I'm estimating to each of those 3 places (Dunn Loring, Baltimore, Ft. Meade) it would be about an hour. Does that sound about right? Are we setting ourselves up for tear your hair out commutes on a daily basis?

Takoma Park is a good choice given the constraints. It does have a nice walkable downtown with many amenities like cafes and bookstores. You might also check Hyattsville which has been improving.

My husband and I have commuted to Baltimore from Silver Spring, and it is about 45 minutes to an hour but not bad as it is mostly a reverse commute. If can you can take the MARC Camden line, check the Greenbelt station for the parking situation.

BTW, the best way to get to Dunn Loring in the AM is to go through the District and go west on Route 66. It's a reverse commute also.