Job in McLean/Langley, commute from Leesburg, Haymarket, Lake Ridge? (Woodbridge: sales, house) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

wyntersun · 05-20-2011, 08:20 PM

We are moving to NoVa very soon and looking for neighborhood with a reasonable commute to the McLean/Langley area. We are looking for a SFH (1980+) with a budget up to $420k and decent schools. I've been considering areas as far out as Leesburg, Haymarket, and Lake Ridge. My husband will be working 9-9 rotating shifts (sometimes am-pm, other times pm-am), so he'll only have to worry about morning rush hour into McLean about 10 days a month. Are these areas feasible for commuting? What do the commute times look like for both on and off-peak hours?

waagbuck · 05-21-2011, 05:56 AM

You are looking at a long commute from all of those locations, both on and off peak. Leesburg is probably the easiest off-peak. Using the Greenway (267) from Leesburg, which is a toll road that allows for faster travel times, you're looking at around 30 minutes on Sunday morning at 3 am. Route 7 would be a bit longer.

Haymarket would require you to use I-66 and Lake Ridge would send you up I-95, which are probably the most congested roads in the area for rush hour commuters. Don't use the mileage as an indicator of the commute time, especially during rush hour, because most of the commute will be well below the speed limit.

Margery · 05-21-2011, 10:13 AM

Have you considered Ashburn? It is closer to Langley/McLean than Leesburg. Also, check out 20165 in Sterling, the Countryside or Broad Run Farms area has detached homes in your price range. Also, 20164 in the Seneca Ridge area or Sugarland Run has homes in your price range. High school would be either Potomac Falls or Dominion. You can take Georgetown Pike to work, it goes right past the CIA and is a much pleasanter, albeit slow, commute than route 7 would be. Try homesdatabase.com for your home search.

5stones · 05-21-2011, 04:50 PM

Cascades in Sterling or Lowes Island would be in your budget and a much better commute than Leesburg or Ashburn.

getting in at 9am will be the worst part. But also comming home at 9am will be rough until you are past 495, then easy.

stpickrell · 05-21-2011, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyntersun

We are moving to NoVa very soon and looking for neighborhood with a reasonable commute to the McLean/Langley area. We are looking for a SFH (1980+) with a budget up to $420k and decent schools. I've been considering areas as far out as Leesburg, Haymarket, and Lake Ridge. My husband will be working 9-9 rotating shifts (sometimes am-pm, other times pm-am), so he'll only have to worry about morning rush hour into McLean about 10 days a month. Are these areas feasible for commuting? What do the commute times look like for both on and off-peak hours?

Of the areas you mention, Leesburg is the straightest shot. Haymarket and Lake Ridge would be terrible during your husband's rush hour commutes.

The Greenway can get pricey ($4 each way) if you use it day-in, day-out. I'd take 7-28-267 in the off-hours commutes.

I'd avoid anything zoned to Park View in Loudoun County or Potomac/Gar-Field/Freedom in Prince William. (Those are the high schools, most of their elementary feeders aren't so hot either.)

If you can find anything in Ashburn or Sterling given your wishes, consider that unless you have to live within walking distance of downtown Leesburg or something like that.

ReblTeen84 · 05-22-2011, 10:27 AM

I commute into McLean from Woodbridge now. Going in, I go up 123 (this TOTALLY depends on your time going in - I leave the house at 6am, so traffic isn't bad). It's about an hour, hour and 15 minute commute. If you go up 95, it's going to be about as bad. Coming home, avoid 123 like the plague, backs up at fairfax something fierce..it took me over 2 hours to get home one day. I come home down 95 now via the GW Parkway. Bout an hour and 15 on a bad day. On warm days I commute in on my motorcycle. Straight up HOV and hit the GW, takes about half an hour, 40 minutes. Same coming home.

ChristineVA · 05-22-2011, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReblTeen84

Coming home, avoid 123 like the plague, backs up at fairfax something fierce..it took me over 2 hours to get home one day.

My daughter used to attend high school in Fairfax and commute home on 123 to Woodbridge. You are correct, in the aftern, the couple of intersections starting in Fairfax City through the George Mason area can be brutal. After that, it's all good though.

wyntersun · 06-03-2011, 09:01 PM

Thank you for the advice! We are currently under contract for a house in River Oaks in southern Woodbridge, east of 95. We thought that my husband's job would be at Fort Belvoir, but have found out since then that it will be in Langley. Due to the delay in getting his employment contract, it looks like the sales contract is going to fall through and the house will be going back on the market. We're going to be taking advantage of this and finding a house within a better commute. It's really such a shame that the VRE doesn't extend up that way.

guilliam · 06-09-2011, 07:36 AM

Virginia state govt has approved VRE out to Haymarket...but has no budget for it (to upgrade track, add station). One day, maybe.

ReblTeen84 · 06-09-2011, 07:52 AM

River Oaks is a nice area. Not sure about Potomac HS though, I haven't heard much good about it. I went to Gar-Field. It's not a *bad* school overall, it's mostly the kids not caring about their grades or just not behaving overall. Wife works there as a math teacher, I hear the good and the bad. I agree with the rest though, anything south of fairfax county or much farther west is going to be a bear of a commute - I'd die if I didn't have the motorcycle!