Alexandria to Chantilly, Alexandria to College Park? (McLean, Huntington: apartments, rent)

[jaelbird]

Hello, and Happy Easter!

I will be starting as a full-time grad student and teaching assistant at University of Maryland, College Park next fall. My husband works in Chantilly. Changing jobs at this point in time is not an option for him. We are looking for places to live somewhere in between, where the commute won't be completely unbearable, and where rent can be affordable for us.

Our price limit is 1300/month, and we want a 1 bedroom (no studios).

That being said, we were looking into the McLean area, but we cannot afford anything there. Which led us to Alexandria-- particularly, the Huntington area... reason being, we can afford the apartments there. Also, it appears that I could get to College Park quite easily on the metro (Yellow/Green line).

My question is, do any of you have much experience commuting from the Alexandria area to Chantilly? What are the traffic patterns like? How long is that drive likely to take him? My husband works off of 28. Is there any way for him to avoid the beltway?

I'm sure there will be some days that I will need to drive into school, rather than rely on public transport. What would my commute to College Park be like? Are there any alternate routes I could take to avoid hellacious traffic?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[dkf747]

I answered this in one of the other forums.