La Plata commute to downtown DC? (Bowie, Fort Washington: real estate, 2015, houses)

[DonDC-11]

As a small family in the process of moving out of the city for greener pastures in the suburbs, several properties in southern Charles County have come on our radar which we are giving serious consideration.

That said,one of us would still need to make a daily commute into DC. I understand the commute is 1 hour without traffic (which is do-able), but rush hour traffic would significantly increase that time and make this commute simply untenable.

As someone who could flexibly change their hours at the office (i.e. 6:15am to 2:30pm), would a driving commute from La Plata or its surrounding communities into downtown DC be feasible outside normal rush hours?

Thank you for your experience and recommendations in advance.

[Curbed Enthusiasm]

Originally Posted by DonDC-11

As a small family in the process of moving out of the city for greener pastures in the suburbs, several properties in southern Charles County have come on our radar which we are giving serious consideration.

That said,one of us would still need to make a daily commute into DC. I understand the commute is 1 hour without traffic (which is do-able), but rush hour traffic would significantly increase that time and make this commute simply untenable.

As someone who could flexibly change their hours at the office (i.e. 6:15am to 2:30pm), would a driving commute from La Plata or its surrounding communities into downtown DC be feasible outside normal rush hours?

Thank you for your experience and recommendations in advance.

You are looking at 1 hr 45 mins during normal rush hour; add another 45-60 mins if the weather is bad or there is an accident. Add more time depending on how far you are from the highway.

You may save some time by leaving at these very early hours, but the roads will still not be clear of traffic, as many other feds do the same. And, even without traffic, it's still a long way to drive twice a day.

I assume you are looking at La Plata based on price factors. Have you considered Cheverly or Bowie? Those are nice areas, relatively cheap, and a much easier commute. Plus, the schools are no longer that great in Charles County, so the difference in schools in Charles vs. the nice parts of PG may not be dramatic (moot point if you are looking at privates).

[DistrictSonic]

Seriously...This commute is crazy. Get something in the nicer parts of PG, or consider the less metro accessible areas of Montgomery County. This isn't the suburbs, this is the exurbs. The commute will break you. 3-4 hours a day just commuting, vs 1:30-2 hours in PG or Montgomery (at worst).

The commute is not feasible. There is a reason real estate prices in the exurbs are dropping right now, and real estate prices in the inner beltway and DC west of the river are going up. It's the commute. It may seem affordable, but it really is not. The more you increase your VMT, the more likely you are to have an accident. The longer you are on the road, the worse your health will be.

[Mom21]

How close to 301 are you? You could travel the back roads and avoid any significant traffic all the way down Branch until the metro. I don't know how it is beyond that. But it's still a long ride even without traffic.

BTW there's going to be a big difference in housing costs between PG and Charles county. The taxes alone put comparable houses in totally different price tiers. If it were me and I had a small family I would just settle for less house in a nicer area of PG to avoid the commute.

Try Tantallon, Fort Washington (near the water views) or Accokeek.

[bus man]

The MTA operates two commuter bus routes from La Plata into Washington, Routes 630 and 650. This is in addition to a variety of other routes operated from Waldorf, including the Blue Crabs Stadium.

http://mta.maryland.gov/sites/defaul...30June2015.pdf
http://mta.maryland.gov/sites/defaul...50June2015.pdf

If I were going to live in La Plata and work in DC, I would be on one of those buses for sure.

[insthrnmd]

A lot is going to depend on where you live in La Plata and where in DC are you going. If you are commuting earlier in the morning, it will probably be about an hours drive.

I live outside of Hughesville and commute up to Alexandria everyday. I leave early - around 5:45 am to 6 am and it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get to work.

The schools are not that bad but do your research.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by bus man

The MTA operates two commuter bus routes from La Plata into Washington, Routes 630 and 650. This is in addition to a variety of other routes operated from Waldorf, including the Blue Crabs Stadium.

http://mta.maryland.gov/sites/defaul...30June2015.pdf
http://mta.maryland.gov/sites/defaul...50June2015.pdf

If I were going to live in La Plata and work in DC, I would be on one of those buses for sure.

Really the only way to go frankly. At least you can catch some ZZZs or read a book.

[rltrdc]

Like you said it's about an hour at the times you mentioned. I know from experience traffic on Rt. 5 can start backing up earlier than expected in the evenings. I'd be watching Google maps and making sure 210 would not be better for traffic on a daily basis.

[Mom21]

Originally Posted by bus man

The MTA operates two commuter bus routes from La Plata into Washington, Routes 630 and 650. This is in addition to a variety of other routes operated from Waldorf, including the Blue Crabs Stadium.

http://mta.maryland.gov/sites/defaul...30June2015.pdf
http://mta.maryland.gov/sites/defaul...50June2015.pdf

If I were going to live in La Plata and work in DC, I would be on one of those buses for sure.

This definitely seems the way to go for people who are patient enough. Personally, I wouldn't mind getting up early enough to do this, because I would instantly fall asleep once I sat down and got settled. I'm not familiar with the commuter buses because I don't work too far from Waldorf so I drive. How often are they late arriving at their destinations? If traffic bogs you down, it could be become an old excuse to your employer.

[bus man]

Originally Posted by Mom21

This definitely seems the way to go for people who are patient enough. Personally, I wouldn't mind getting up early enough to do this, because I would instantly fall asleep once I sat down and got settled. I'm not familiar with the commuter buses because I don't work too far from Waldorf so I drive. How often are they late arriving at their destinations? If traffic bogs you down, it could be become an old excuse to your employer.

The schedules are set to account for the "normal" level of traffic congestion, which varies by time period. (That's why the trips that leave at Zero-Dark-Thirty are faster than the ones that leave at more civilized hours.) So on the days when traffic is at its normal molasses-like flow, the buses will be on time. If something particularly bad happens, though, they'll be late -- along with everyone else.