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My husband and I are moving to DC in February. His job is right off the red line -10 minute walk from Faurragut North (but Farragut West would be great too), and I have a job offer in Annapolis. DH is averse to long commutes, so we would want something less than 30 minutes for him.
Do you have any suggestions for commuting options to Annapolis (around/ ideally or less than an hour)? We are currently living in PA, so we're not familiar with DC or Annapolis (or anything in between). I am hoping/thinking that this is a reverse commute so traffic won't be too bad.
Any advice/suggestions on areas to live would be great. We will rent for the first year to see how things go. We'd like to spend no more than $2600 an apartment.
The drive between DC and Annapolis sucks. Your only option is rt 50 and it gets bogged down with traffic. There is no HOV (well there is one, but its laughable) and there is no rail service between DC and Annapolis.
The drive from DC to Annapolis as a reverse commute probably would not be too bad, but the non-reverse will be no fun. Living in Annapolis for your job and your husband driving in is not a good plan.
From DC to Annapolis the reverse commute would probably take about 40-45 minutes. You should be able to rent fairly close to your husband's work in your budget.
For your husband to live within a 30 minute walk/train commute, you guys will have to live either in DC or Arlington. That would be really expensive. If he could sacrifice a little bit more on his commute, then he could commute walking/train in 35-40 minutes from Alexandria or Montgomery County, MD (Bethesda, Grovesnor, White Flint).
It would be easier to commute from Arlington/Alexandria because you would be driving against traffic almost the entire way. Commuting from Montgomery County, you would hit a lot more traffic on 495.
The drive between DC and Annapolis sucks. Your only option is rt 50 and it gets bogged down with traffic. There is no HOV (well there is one, but its laughable) and there is no rail service between DC and Annapolis.
The drive from DC to Annapolis as a reverse commute probably would not be too bad, but the non-reverse will be no fun. Living in Annapolis for your job and your husband driving in is not a good plan.
From DC to Annapolis the reverse commute would probably take about 40-45 minutes. You should be able to rent fairly close to your husband's work in your budget.
Out of curiosity, I hear the commuter buses from Annapolis to DC aren't so bad. Do they get some kind of lane to avoid traffic?
For your husband to live within a 30 minute walk/train commute, you guys will have to live either in DC or Arlington. That would be really expensive. If he could sacrifice a little bit more on his commute, then he could commute walking/train in 35-40 minutes from Alexandria or Montgomery County, MD (Bethesda, Grovesnor, White Flint).
It would be easier to commute from Arlington/Alexandria because you would be driving against traffic almost the entire way. Commuting from Montgomery County, you would hit a lot more traffic on 495.
They gave their budget, 2600. It's a very healthy budget. You could rent a whole rowhouse with yard in Capitol Hill for that and be very close to Route 50 and east of downtown so you avoid all the congestion and traffic lights. That doesn't help with the traffic once you get out of the city, though.
They gave their budget, 2600. It's a very healthy budget. You could rent a whole rowhouse with yard in Capitol Hill for that and be very close to Route 50 and east of downtown so you avoid all the congestion and traffic lights. That doesn't help with the traffic once you get out of the city, though.
Renting a nice row house these days can go for more than $3000 in much of the district, including capital hill. But they should be able to find something nice for that budget. Many of the ones below $3000 usually have some issue, or are really just a scam. Lots of scams on craigslist these days.
Thanks everyone, yes budget is around $2600. DH actually stayed in Maryland for a week and tried a few different commuting options:
Metro from New Carrollton
Metro from Largo
Marc from Bowie/Metro at Union
Commuter bus from Annapolis
In theory, New Carrollton would work for us and he could take the orange line, but the area around the station doesn't look too great, and moving out farther away into PG county would be too far of a commute for him.
We will def check Capitol Hill. I was looking at Takoma Park and Hyattsvile but I really have no sense of what the commute to Annapolis on 495 would be like.
Is there anywhere else you suggest checking out in Montgomery County or in DC near 50?
Thanks everyone! I'm pretty anxious about this commute.
Renting a nice row house these days can go for more than $3000 in much of the district, including capital hill. But they should be able to find something nice for that budget. Many of the ones below $3000 usually have some issue, or are really just a scam. Lots of scams on craigslist these days.
I rent a row house with yard in Capitol Hill for $2,000. It wasn't hard to find on Craigslist. My house is 900 square feet so a bit small but fine for a couple. Lots of couples in this city live in smaller 1 bedroom apartments. The yard is small but it's front and back and it's still a yard.
Yes row houses can go for more than 3,000, but just because something is under 3,000 doesn't mean it's a scam or some kind of unlivable place. I know, because I live in one that is significantly under 3,000 and is fine.
I work in Stevensville (other side of the Bridge from Annapolis). You can move to DC and just commute to Annapolis. The ride East is about 45 minutes door-to-door for me to Stevensville from Columbia Heights when I leave (about 745). Once you're on 50 it's smooth sailing, so you should have no trouble getting to Annapolis. What happens on Rowe Blvd or any of the other exits to Annapolis might add to your trip.
Whatever you do, don't move to VA--you'll have to compete with all the traffic on the beltway to get to 50 and that sucks. Reasonable options are Cap Hill, Navy Yard, anything east of 14th Street but south of Spring Rd in NW, or parts of NE (but not too far up ). Good Luck!!
Chariega, Thanks so much. I keep hearing from colleagues that Fridays on 50 are like a parking lot. Have you experienced this? If the commute is really about 45 minutes, that's great and I'm optimistic this will work. My job would be off Riva Road - the exit with the Annapolis Town Center (I think there's a Whole Foods there) so I wouldn't have to drive far into Annapolis.
Thanks so much anymore. My only other concern beyond commute time with living in DC are parking - for those of you that live in the city, do you have cars? We would obviously need one for my commute. Do the places you live offer parking? Have you had problems findings parking near where you live?
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). Good Luck!!
