Commute: Arlington, VA to Baltimore, MD (Columbia, Catonsville: sublet, apartment, lease) - Maryland - City-Data Forum

jdauria · 07-05-2011, 07:52 AM

Originally had this thread in the Northern VA forum, but they pointed me in this direction.

Had a questions that I hope you guys can answer. I will be moving down to the Arlington, VA area next week . I recently received an offer from a firm, but the office is in either woodlawn, md or baltimore. This commute would be a Mon-Fri morning commute, and I would need to be in by 8am. Since I am new to the area, I wasn't completely sure how to go about getting from point A to point B. I know the area a little, and know that the traffic is awful in the DC metro area. I've been doing a little research and found I could take the metro from pentagon city into DC (union station?) then take MARC to baltimore, then probably a bus or metro again to the actual office. Is this correct?

Or should I just suck it for a year or so and drive? I will have a car and know to drive daily would be at least 90-100 miles along with parking costs (most likely), and gas costs.

Can someone give me a play to play of how my commute would pane out?

KLynch10 · 07-05-2011, 08:06 AM

That should be a pretty clean morning drive. My Friend commutes to Catonsville (just south of Woodlawn) from Columbia Heights DC everyday and it's about 45-50 minutes consistently. You'll be going the opposite of traffic. They key is to avoid the Beltways and 295. The rest of the roads are generally pretty decent.

jdauria · 07-05-2011, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLynch10

That should be a pretty clean morning drive. My Friend commutes to Catonsville (just south of Woodlawn) from Columbia Heights DC everyday and it's about 45-50 minutes consistently. You'll be going the opposite of traffic. They key is to avoid the Beltways and 295. The rest of the roads are generally pretty decent.

So your suggest driving commute? Your friend is commuting from Columbia Heights DC, but I will be commuting from Arlington, VA just outside DC. Not sure If i want to drive through DC during rush hour, or around it either

sl0622 · 07-05-2011, 08:17 AM

Oy. By the time you get the metro to Union Station (living in Arlington you'll have to transfer at Metro Center or Gallery Place to get on the Red Line), and then the train to Baltimore, and then other public transit to your office, you're looking at probably a 2-hour commute one-way. Not fun. Sure - you won't have to deal with traffic - but that's still a really long commute. I would suggest driving... Perhaps the driving into Baltimore in the morning won't be too awful? (I am only familiar with commuting from Baltimore to DC.) The drive back to Arlington, especially on either the topside or bottom-side of the Beltway (depending on where you live in Arlington), could be a beast.

Can you possibly sublet your new apartment and just move to Baltimore? A) It will be cheaper to rent a place in Baltimore and B) Your life will be *that* much better b/c you won't have to deal with that commute. It sounds like this is a new job -- so perhaps asking to work from home one day a week, or changing your hours to something earlier than the regular 8-5 might not fly since you're new... Maybe you could do a combination of driving and public transportation (train one or two days a week to save you some gas money and traffic woes). If you take the train - - could you spend that time reading on the train/metro and that could count towards your billable hours?

Tough situation in general. I would suggest trying to get out of your new lease if at all possible - - perhaps if you explain the situation, your new landlord might be willing to help you out. Maybe you'll only have to do that awful commute for 2 months (while he tries to find a new tenant, or you find a new tenant for him via Craigslist) instead of 12.

Good luck!

jdauria · 07-05-2011, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sl0622

Oy. By the time you get the metro to Union Station (living in Arlington you'll have to transfer at Metro Center or Gallery Place to get on the Red Line), and then the train to Baltimore, and then other public transit to your office, you're looking at probably a 2-hour commute one-way. Not fun. Sure - you won't have to deal with traffic - but that's still a really long commute. I would suggest driving... Perhaps the driving into Baltimore in the morning won't be too awful? (I am only familiar with commuting from Baltimore to DC.) The drive back to Arlington, especially on either the topside or bottom-side of the Beltway (depending on where you live in Arlington), could be a beast.

Can you possibly sublet your new apartment and just move to Baltimore? A) It will be cheaper to rent a place in Baltimore and B) Your life will be *that* much better b/c you won't have to deal with that commute. It sounds like this is a new job -- so perhaps asking to work from home one day a week, or changing your hours to something earlier than the regular 8-5 might not fly since you're new... Maybe you could do a combination of driving and public transportation (train one or two days a week to save you some gas money and traffic woes). If you take the train - - could you spend that time reading on the train/metro and that could count towards your billable hours?

Tough situation in general. I would suggest trying to get out of your new lease if at all possible - - perhaps if you explain the situation, your new landlord might be willing to help you out. Maybe you'll only have to do that awful commute for 2 months (while he tries to find a new tenant, or you find a new tenant for him via Craigslist) instead of 12.

Good luck!

Thanks for the good information. I am not sure I will be able to get out of my lease. Your suggestion of maybe doing a combination of driving and mass transit a week sounds intriguing.

Sorry I didnt post my hours, it is not a 8-5 job. This job requires almost 70hr/week so I know the commute back wont be so bad, just take some time.

Maybe the drive wont be so bad in the morning going opposite of what most people do. Just putting the mileage on my vehicle can be costly

KLynch10 · 07-05-2011, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdauria

So your suggest driving commute? Your friend is commuting from Columbia Heights DC, but I will be commuting from Arlington, VA just outside DC. Not sure If i want to drive through DC during rush hour, or around it either

I think you'll get out of DC early enough to avoid traffic, and get to Bmore early enough to avoid traffic. As far as the drive home, it should be worse, but still against traffic for the most part.

If you are open to living anywhere, Federal Hill is young and vibrant just like Arlington, and your commute would be easy.

KLynch10 · 07-05-2011, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdauria

Thanks for the good information. I am not sure I will be able to get out of my lease. Your suggestion of maybe doing a combination of driving and mass transit a week sounds intriguing.

Sorry I didnt post my hours, it is not a 8-5 job. This job requires almost 70hr/week so I know the commute back wont be so bad, just take some time.

Maybe the drive wont be so bad in the morning going opposite of what most people do. Just putting the mileage on my vehicle can be costly

If you are working that much, adding at least 2 hours a day in the car could be very exhausting. Sounds like it is a good job, or at least when you would be dedicated to, so I would def consider relocating if possible. Dowtown Baltimore is great because there is a lot to do, and there is so many activities geared towards young people. So in your few hours off, you could have a lot of fun playing sports, going to bars and restaurants, and events.

jdauria · 07-05-2011, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLynch10

I think you'll get out of DC early enough to avoid traffic, and get to Bmore early enough to avoid traffic. As far as the drive home, it should be worse, but still against traffic for the most part.

If you are open to living anywhere, Federal Hill is young and vibrant just like Arlington, and your commute would be easy.

you think the commute back will be worse driving back around 7pm or after?

KLynch10 · 07-05-2011, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdauria

you think the commute back will be worse driving back around 7pm or after?

No, should be the same. I just read about your hours, so I don't think you'll deal with a ton of traffic.

sl0622 · 07-05-2011, 08:32 AM

Oh good - - well, not good that you have to work long hours - - but it sounds like traffic shouldn't be a problem if you're getting in at 8am and likely not leaving until 8pm at the earliest each night (70 hours a week - that's a lot!!). Right - it will just be the mileage on your car - - but at least you won't be sitting still on the Beltway for 30 minutes each day. I'm really thinking that public transportation will be terrible. If you're already working 12+ hours a day, adding another 3-4 for commuting via train/metro/bus will be unpleasant to say the least!