I'm sorry, it's another relocation q but please read... (Martinsburg: travel, salary)

[nollies1]

Dear all,

This is my first post so perhaps I should at least introduce myself and say hello to any who read this.

I am very excited as I will be living (somewhere) in Eastern WV very soon. I have read a bit about that part of the country and have seen numerous pictures and let me tell you it looks absolutely gorgeous.

Admittingly, I will be one of those 'commuter types' most likely MARC'ing it to MD as I will be working in Bethesda, and as having a family with two little boys whose rpm's require a nice yard to grow and play, not to mention the salary of an academic such as myself, well, it just seems to fit the bill for all of our needs.

Which brings me to ask how any of you who commute like I will, or live in the Eastern panhandle of WV, decided that was the place? I have read a few posts here and it seems that all those cute little towns are equally appealing. If I had to prioritize it would come down to commute times and school district.

I had a general question about population/congestion, recent rates of growth, or anything that would aid in figuring out the actual commute time rather than just adding up miles on a map. Specifically, in terms of commute, is there any advantage to areas South of 340 (Southern Harper's Ferry area, Southern Charles Town) vs. North (Shepherdstown, Kearneysville). Being that I am not physically there yet I was trying to get a feel for rush hour bottlenecks other that this apparent issue with 340 crossing into MD, which btw is that really a major issue in itself?

As far as (elementary) schooling goes, Shepherdstown is, according to various websites, more or less in the top 10 of the state. However, it also seems that pretty much anywhere in Jefferson County is respectable. So in other words, I am currently leaning to the ST district, but if I can find a place closer to 340 such as above-mentioned places that would significantly cut down on commute time I will seriously consider. I'm already looking at 1.5h commutes each way between work and Brunswick Station so is there going to be any significant difference in commute time between ST, CT, Kearneysville, or Harper's Ferry from the Brunswick MARC station?

Again, hello to all, and thank you so much for reading this short novel. I hope to hear back whenever you have a chance, and I look forward to any advice you may kindly have to offer. Oh, and if anyone plans to come on down to the Houston area feel free to ask away!

Best,
George

[nollies1]

Okay, starting with two overall categories I will try to summarize what I have found from various sources

Category 1: The overall “life”.
If any of you are looking to party and club like you would in more urban regions, well this is not the place to go. If you do not party like it’s 1999, must work in the DC area, are starting out your family (I have two boys 6 and 2), then these towns are viable options.

Category 2: How to get to/from your job.

A) Car options: It appears that unless you leave before 5:30am it will not be fun.


B) In an effort to maximize my time spent during this migration between work and home, I have decided to instead utilize the MARC system. The rationale is that I can do emails, read articles, plan experiments, etc. during the trip.

Beware of minimal arrival/departure times. MARC claims that the fees they pay to run on the tracks (owned by Amtrak) beyond the fork at Point of Rocks exceeds their ability to offer more trains/times.

Train options: In my case, I will be traveling to the Rockville station, where I will catch a Red Line to the Medical Center station, Bethesda (11min ride). Then I will walk to my building which is approx. 10min from the station. I have added a fudge factor of 10min for a total post-Rockville commute of 30min.
a. Martinsburg: two options, crazy early, will take 1h 30min to reach Rockville. In other words, before you figure out how long the drive is to get to the Martinsburg station from wherever you live, realize you are already looking at a 2h commute
b. Duffields: 1h 15min to Rockville
c. Harper’s Ferry: 1h 5min
d. Brunswick: 1h to Rockville This is the first station that offers more than two trains, but keep in mind the last one for the morning rush leaves by 7:40 am.

[nollies1]

(forgot to add above)
Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong about any of my comments. If there are other options that I have overlooked I would enjoy your opinion.

[nollies1]

I'm going to check out the MD forum now and see what information I can find. Just wanted to mention for anyone who finds this in the future and may be interested.