Commuting to DC from farther away (how much, house, DMV)

[Carolina65]

I will soon be working in DC only one day per week, as the rest of the week, I can work from home.

It doesn't make sense for me to live near the city and pay the extra costs of doing so, if I only need to be here for one day.

Please suggest locations in the outer suburbs or rural areas surrounding the DMV metro area that would not be too difficult to commute from, using trains or buses offering a straight shot into the city for commuters...preferences are for cute towns near mountains or water where the housing costs are lower (a girl can dream)

I am open to any state or area.

thank you, C

[Mahatma X]

Frederick, Hagerstown or even Cumberland out in Western MD really. Since its only one day you can pretty much live anywhere in the country depending on how much $$$ you have to spend on transportation costs. Frederick is a small historic town north west of DC that has commuter trains and buses connecting to DC and Shady Grove metro. You would need to use Amtrak if you go with Cumberland or Hagerstown. Since you said you like mountains I'd also recommend Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry in West VA and Brunswick in Western MD too. Those towns are either right in the mountains or not too far from them and best of all they are connected to DC via commuter rail.

Here goes the commuter rail map:
http://mta.maryland.gov/sites/defaul...Csystemmap.JPG

[Silkdashocker]

Charles Town in Jefferson County, WV would be worth a look. It is close to the Mountains but still within reasonable commute time for 1 day a week into the city.

[terrence81]

Harper's Ferry, WV is beautiful and you could take the MARC train to DC.

[Carolina65]

Thank you all for the info - any thoughts on coming in from the other direction - i.e. - Annapolis or farther East? I do enjoy the mountains, but the water more so....I am totally unfamiliar with commuting options from eastern Maryland.

thank you again, C

[Fundman]

I think most of the places mentioned are probably too far away. Even though you are only coming in to DC one day a week you still don't want to have a 3 or 4 hour commute. The folks who come from places like West Virginia leave their house as early as 5 am to beat the traffic. I wouldn't want to do that even one day a week. If you want to be in Virginia, a good option would be to live in a rural community near Fredericksburg and take the VRE train. If you prefer Maryland, you can drive in from Annapolis or the western shore of the bay.

[11KAP]

too many more metro stops between
metro stops will slow metro way down.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Fundman

I think most of the places mentioned are probably too far away. Even though you are only coming in to DC one day a week you still don't want to have a 3 or 4 hour commute. The folks who come from places like West Virginia leave their house as early as 5 am to beat the traffic. I wouldn't want to do that even one day a week. If you want to be in Virginia, a good option would be to live in a rural community near Fredericksburg and take the VRE train. If you prefer Maryland, you can drive in from Annapolis or the western shore of the bay.

People who come from West Virginia usually take MARC, which is the same as taking VRE from Fredericksburg.

[Carolina65]

What kind of direct public transportation options exist from the Western shore of the bay?

I am leaning away from NoVA and more toward MD at this point. Thank you.

C

[DCforever]

There are private buses that leave from the Annapolis area and drop off downtown.

Here's one Dillon's Bus Service