New to DC/VA - Looking For 1 Hour Commute From Crystal City (Alexandria: mortgage, how much)

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by shamrock847

Although there is no VRE, the Loudoun County Commuter Bus takes about 45 min from Dulles North to Crystal City and qualifies for federal (and some corporate) reimbursement. Add in some time on both ends to get from home to bus and bus to work, and you should be around an hour door to door.

Dulles/Ashburn to Rosslyn, Pentagon, DC

I am actually kind of shocked over this. It's a bus scheduled so I know the times must be "true"; however, I know people who live out that way and who are leaving work around 4:00PM from the Crystal City area and it is taking way longer than that. Granted, they aren't using the bus so that may play into their time loss, but I am getting reports of more like an hour and half commute time from those areas.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by chicagonick

Thanks Christine, I will certainly check these areas out...I will be making about 100K and come in with no debt...but you know the deal - four boys eat like crazy and I don't want to be house rich at the expense of everyone eating Ramen noodles and mac & cheese. Off the cuff, are all the schools in that area fairly decent or do I need to find the needle in the hay stack?

I have not heard one bad thing about the schools in Western Prince William County. All good. And the housing is very affordable. An acquaintance of mine just had to "walk away" from an upside down mortgage. He had a very cute 2000 square foot home (early 2000 construction). The bank sold it for $275,000 which was the going rate for those homes. The drawback to this area is that you are not really close to jump on any interstate; however, if you are committed to the VRE, it's going to be a predictable and easy commute for you.

[shamrock847]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

I am actually kind of shocked over this. It's a bus scheduled so I know the times must be "true"; however, I know people who live out that way and who are leaving work around 4:00PM from the Crystal City area and it is taking way longer than that. Granted, they aren't using the bus so that may play into their time loss, but I am getting reports of more like an hour and half commute time from those areas.

The bus uses the airport access road on 267 and the greenway so it doesn't have to deal with as much traffic as you would find on say 7, 66 or 50, or even at some of the exits from the toll road that can back up during rush hour. Plus, it can use 66 inside the beltway which most non-HOV commuters can't do during rush hour.

If you can use HOV and are willing to pay tolls, the commute time is probably a lot closer to the bus, although the non-airport lanes on the toll road can still back up.

[shamrock847]

Originally Posted by chicagonick

Hi everyone and thanks for the comments. Upon reading the bus schedule posted by "Shamrock" it seems I can catch the 6:21 a.m. bus and be at the Crystal City 20th Avenue stop in about 45 minutes.....do I have to change buses at all or is this a straight shot? Alternatively, on the return journey I can board the 4:43 bus and arrive back to dulles north at 5:35...wow, that actually seems doable.

Really, you're all correct, I can go smaller but with such an age difference, a four bedroom would be great...three is certainly doable but for the sanity of four boys jockeying for position - sometimes it's nice to let the older one have some space. Well, this has at least opened another area to consider. Bus or VRE, I guess there is no difference as far as comfort, I would prefer a straight shot so hopefully, I won't have to switch buses.

Does anyone know how the parking around Dulles North is and are the buses more reliable than the VRE?

Last, the 2k budget is what I am shooting for...would like a life and not just a house. Thanks again.

To answer a few of your questions:
There is ample outdoor parking at Dulles North. If you go that way you'll want to make sure you are able to get to/from home to there easily.

No bus transfers on the schedule you are looking at.

I can't speak to reliability vs VRE but any commuting option around here sometimes has delays etc due to weather or traffic or breakdowns. In general the bus is reliable though. Due to using the airport road it misses a lot of the worst traffic.

One downside of the bus is $14/day round trip but many people get that subsidized by their work, and even without that it is probably cheaper than paying for gas/wear and tear/parking.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by shamrock847

The bus uses the airport access road on 267 and the greenway so it doesn't have to deal with as much traffic as you would find on say 7, 66 or 50, or even at some of the exits from the toll road that can back up during rush hour. Plus, it can use 66 inside the beltway which most non-HOV commuters can't do during rush hour.

If you can use HOV and are willing to pay tolls, the commute time is probably a lot closer to the bus, although the non-airport lanes on the toll road can still back up.

Ah, that explains it.

[davidco]

I'm biased, but I'd recommend South Riding based on your criteria. Great community and schools. It's a good haul to get to work, but your wife and kids will thank you. I've lived just beyond South Riding for 24 years on Gum Spring Road so I know the area well. I don't like that it takes me more than twice as long to get anywhere as it used to, but I'm thankful the communities are some of the best in the entire country. All 4 of our boys went to schools in the area. Plenty of huge TH's available to rent for under $2k/mth.

Good luck to you and yours. Look us up when you get down yonder.

[chicagonick]

Would any of you consider living in Fredericksburg and utilize VRE to CC? I will be within one block of the station. It seems to be only 15 minutes further than Bristow, yet offers so much more house for the $$.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by chicagonick

Would any of you consider living in Fredericksburg and utilize VRE to CC? I will be within one block of the station. It seems to be only 15 minutes further than Bristow, yet offers so much more house for the $$.

Absolutely. Lots of communters travel from Fredericksburg on the VRE to Crystal City- the 9-2'ers (that's the fare zones they travel). The convience of having the VRE drop you off right at Crystal city with more dependability than the buses is hard to quantify for convience and predictability. There are express VRE trains but they skip Crystal city. Either way, the train ride would just exceed an hour (your original benchmark) but if the house is so much more, in a nice area of Fredericksburg, and is that close to the VRE stop in Fredericksburg, then you have a solid option. The hour train ride isn't like driving either - lots of options (obviously); work, read, sleep. Thankfully not many make phone calls.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by chicagonick

Would any of you consider living in Fredericksburg and utilize VRE to CC? I will be within one block of the station. It seems to be only 15 minutes further than Bristow, yet offers so much more house for the $$.

I would consider it if I worked in Crystal City. I will not do it if I had to take another form of transportation after that. I work in DC and many people take the VRE, then have to switch to Metro. The commute takes FOREVER. I wouldn't do it. But having ONLY to have to get to CC, well, that a HUGE plus.

[JfromReston]

The Fairfax Connector Bus runs an express bus from Reston to Crystal City. Free parking and pick up at Sunset Hills and Wehlie. I take this bus often when I have meetings in Crystal City - time tables are accurate.
Route 597: Crystal City Express*- Fairfax County, Virginia

You should be able to find a nice 4 bedroom townhome in Reston for your budget. I don't see any that I would recommend right now but if you keep an eye out and jump when a good property becomes available your family will be able to enjoy all that Reston has to offer.
Welcome to Reston Association
This photo tour is getting a little old, but still shows the beauty and diversity of South Lakes Reston
https://www.city-data.com/forum/north...uth-lakes.html