Commute and weather conditions? (Baltimore, Columbia: apartment, how much, find a job)

[jtatman]

My husband PCS'd to Ft. Meade, MD, and we found a nice apartment in Odenton. Now I am trying to find a job.

I am specifically looking for an entry level accounting position, so have been searching the surrounding areas.

I have seen some job postings in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Bethesda. Time to these places looks like over an hour in traffic, so I was wondering if these commutes are that unreasonable in the winter? Also, I am finding the variety of Public Transit rather confusing, as I come from places that were sorely lacking in that area.

Basically, my questions are:

Is there an easy way to take public transit to these areas from Odenton?
How much snow is there in winter? Does it get very icy? (I am terrified of driving on ice)

[hedgie]

You might try looking for a job in the following areas: Laurel; Columbia; Annapolis; Glen Burnie; Severna Park. These areas would be an easier commute. Probably very limited public transportation to these area.

Regarding weather: It depends...I know that's not very helpful. Winter of '07-'08 we had hardly any snow. 1996 we had a huge January blizzard. Generally it is not icy but once in a while it does get icy.

[childofaaco]

Unfortunantely Odenton has very limited public transit. There is one bus (broken link) that takes a very meandering path through residential communities in the area over to Arundel Mills Mall. There is a commuter train station in Odenton (MARC (http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/marc/ - broken link)) that will take you to Baltimore/DC and points in between. Snow is normally not a big traffic issue in the mornings, all a weatherperson has to do is whisper "snow" on the 11 o'clock news and the region shuts down, if it starts in the afternoon, the afternoon rush gets bad as everyone goes to work anyway but has problems getting home. The biggest problem is normally rain. No one here can drive in the rain. It's taken me an hour to get from Laurel to Severn (typically a 15 minute drive in the Odenton area) a few times in the rain due to accidents and people forgetting where the gas pedal is. Personally I would not commute from Odenton to those areas, especially given gas prices, but many people do every day, with many more people expected to be arriving and making similar journeys over the next few years. I second the suggestions for Laurel, Columbia, Glen Burnie and Severna Park (as well as surrouding areas) as you will stay out of most traffic. The Baltimore area might not be bad as well if you work somewhere accessible via MARC or Light Rail. MARC into DC is a pleasant ride, but the trains are getting pretty crowded in that direction and they do not have the ability to expand capacity in the near future.

[Dark Rider]

When I was stationed at Ft Meade, my wife would drive to the Odenton Marc Station and commute to DC. Like the other poster said, those trains can get pretty crowded. Commuting to the areas you mentioned will take a long time because you would have to go to South to DC and then transfer to go Northwest. There are many good paying jobs with Defense Contractors in areas close to Ft Meade. Try looking at Annapolis Junction, Columbia and Hanover. I hope this helps.