WV to Rockville MD commute (Martinsburg, Charles Town: rent , job, house)

[questionsfromme]

Hello everyone,

I have been reading posts here as I contemplate a move and now that I have decided to make the move I was hoping I could get the benefit of some specific opinions on my planned move. Any opinions/thoughts are appreciated, here is the scenario:

I will be moving from MA to take a new job in Rockville MD in the next few months. I plan to move ahead of my family but we will all be settled by the end of August at the latest so our three children can start the school year on time.

I plan to rent a house in the area that we will eventually buy in but I can’t buy until my MA house sells. When we buy we are looking for some privacy, a minimum of 1 acre of land, and a minimum of three bedrooms in a low crime area that has access to parochial schools K-8. I would like spend below $400K so I expect to have to live in WV and commute to Rockville MD in order to find a home that meets our requirements.

I currently commute 1 ½ hours each way per day so if the commute from say Charles Town, WV to Rockville, MD can be done in 1 ½ each way per day I think that would work. If that is an unrealistic expectation please let me know.

We lived in Northern VA about seven years ago so I know the Loudoun county area and how much it has grow as we have been back there many times since we moved.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

Thanks.

[7th Direction]

The commute from the West Virginia Panhandle to Rockville is not bad if you use the MARC Train. From Rockville to any of the WV stops on the Brunswick Line, the commute is roughly an hour (Harpers Ferry) to an hour and a half (Martinsburg) give or take a few minutes. It can be longer if there are heat restrictions, but all in all, it isn't a bad commute.

I work in Silver Spring and I depart from Duffields, WV and go to Silver Spring. It is roughly an hour and 45 minutes from door to door (leaving my driveway to signing in at work).

Driving is a different story! My husband used to work in Rockville and he found a new job because he had to drive everyday. It is around an 80 mile drive one way and during rush hour, I-270 is bumper to bumper pretty much from the Montgomery County Line (in the morning and evening).

You can take Rte. 28 most of the way, but the SHA just closed the Washington Run Bridge today (until September), which makes the commute more difficult if you go that way.

[Threerun]

I used to drive from Kearneysville to Frederick MD many years ago. Back then it was an easy drive that took 40 minutes or so. Now it's over an hour.

Morning rush hour down 270 to Rockville you can certainly add another 45 to that hour.

Anyway you slice it, it's brutal. If I had to do it, I'd be on the train..

[mtneeratheart]

If you leave anytime after 630 it will probably be closer to two hours from the Panhandle to Rockville. If you move to the northern part of Berkeley County right off I-81 or in Charles Town (Jefferson County) off of 340 then I would say it could definitely be done in an hour and a half IF you leave very early. Friday's when everyone is heading out of DC to the mountains for the weekend, expect an even longer commute. I-270 is absolutely horrible with stop and go traffic EVERY MORNING from Frederick MD to the Beltway (almost 50 miles) and the same heading back in the evening. Pray there is never a major wreck.

[Threerun]

Pray there are no wrecks on either of the bridges... I remember those. What a load of fun.