Husband has accepted position in Gaithersburg, but I want to accept position in Suitland (Bethesda: transfer, neighborhood)

[dmurphy2006]

Hello. My husband has accepted a position at NIST in Gaithersburg, so we plan to move to the area soon. I have possibly found my dream job working for the National Museum of Natural History. The position would be located partly at the NMNH on the Washington Mall, but mostly at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD. I'd love to take the job, but I'm scared of the commute. We originally wanted to move to the Kentlands, but now we're not sure where to live. How bad would the commute to Suitland be if we lived in the Kentlands? What about the King Farm area? Any suggestions? Thanks.

[barbieemarley]

i know of a place in maryland called KENTLAND with no s. its pretty close to suitland and it wouldnt be my first choice of places to move but its not to bad

[dmurphy2006]

Thanks for the reply, but that's not the same place. The Kentlands is a very nice planned community in Gaithersburg. Unfortunately for me, it's not close to Suitland.

[hedgie]

If you live in Gaithersburg your commute to Suitland will involve the Beltway. I'm guessing that it will be a 30-40 minute commute in rush hour....longer if it is raining or snowing.

[dkf747]

Is the place in Suitland near the Metro? If Yes, take Ride-On bus 76 from the Kentlands to Shady Grove. Get on Metro Red line. Transfer at Gallery place to Green Line. If it's not near the Green Line then you should live somwhere like NW DC or Bethesda. From there to Gaithersburg would be a reverse commute. However, from any of those locations to Suitland, by car, would be awful. I hope it is Metro Accessible as that would make things easier.

King Farm's only advantage over the Kentlands is, is that it is right near Shady Grove Metro and they have a shuttle bus to the Metro.

[Kensington]

I will stick with Montgomery county options since that is what I know best, but there may be options in PG county and Virginia. It all really depends on your budget, do you have kids, tolerance for commute, and how you want to commute (either metro or driving).

If you guys want to live in Gaithersburg, I would choose King Farm over the Kentlands, since it is closer to Shady Grove metro and I think it is slightly closer to 270. Since it is a government facility, I do think there is a good chance there will be a shuttle from the suitland metro to the facility. Ask them what the metro options are for the Suitland facility. This is going to be a very long commute on public transportation, prepare for about 1 hour 15 minutes especially if you are going to have to wait for a shuttle bus to get you to work. I don't know about the drive, but if you can leave early, it will probably be slightly shorter to drive.

I would try and live in Bethesda close to 495 and 270. Your husband would have a short reverse commute out to Gaithersburg and you would have sort of a reverse commute on the beltway (though I don't know once you get to the South-- you might be in the thick of it again). One neighborhood to look at in Bethesda is Ashburton. It is off of Old Georgetown Road right between 270 and 495 with good access to each.

Best of luck to you. Those job locations are not ideal for choosing a place to live.

[dkf747]

I just wanted to comment on the last post so the original poster can get more info. Not against you in any way,soplease don't interpret it that way.If they do as you suggest it wouldn't bother me at all.

The bus ride from Kentlands to Shady Grove does not take long, nor is the Kentlands too far from 270. I would say it may be easier to get on 270 from the Kentlands than from King Farm. That said, choosing King Farm isn't bad. If you go with King Farm, your kids could end up in Gaithersburg High School which is not a good one. Depends on which part of King Farm you live in.

Metro from Shady Grove to Gallery place is around 30 minutes. From there to the station near your job may be slightly less than that. Combined with a 10-12 minute bus ride (Kentlands) plus waiting for Shuttle bus, the 1 hour 15 minutes estimate seems prety close. Driving would be worse. I live in Gaithersburg, close to the Kentlands, and it can take up to 2 hours to get to the area near Capitol Hill that I sometimes drive to. That's on bad days. On a good day I would guess an hour to an hour 15. No advantage to driving there.

Last comment - I don't think a true reverse commute exists on the beltway. That said, livingin Bethesda is probably best asat least one of you will have a reverse commute.

[Mom21]

You can walk from the metro to your job location. Although it's one long block, it's the equivalent of approximately 3 blocks. By car it will take approximately 1 hour 15 to 1 hour and 30 minutes on a good day.

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ The museum support center is on the southwest side of Suitland Pkwy, and the Metro station is on the northwest side of the Pkwy. As Mom21 mentioned, you would have a bit of a walk along a busy road (Silver Hill). But the Metro commute would probably be more comfortable and you wouldn't have to worry about traffic tie-ups (which often happen on the beltway).

[dmurphy2006]

Thanks everyone for the replies. They really are helpful. I'm pretty sure that I do not want to drive all the way to Suitland. I'll probably only take the job if I think commuting from Gaithersburg/Rockville on the Metro is do-able. I have a few more questions, mostly about safety. For those of you familiar with Gaithersburg, which area is safer - Kentlands or King Farm? We'd probably prefer to live in the Kentlands, but, in addition to the longer commute time, I also worry about the safety of the Ride On Metro commute from the Metro to the Kentlands. Should I be worried about that? For those familiar with Suitland, would the walk from the Suitland metro to the museum support center be safe for me? There is a shuttle from the National Museum of Natural History to the Museum Support Center, but I don't think there's a shuttle from the Suitland Metro to the Museum Support Center. To avoid having to walk somewhere that might not be safe for me, I've thought about taking the Metro from Gaithersburg to the museum, and then taking the shuttle from the museum directly to the museum support center in Suitland. Probably too long and complicated of a commute, though! (Also, we don't have children yet, so schools won't be a factor in where we live.)