Frederick, MD to Dulles, VA commute (Arlington, Alexandria: crime, house, job market)

[dvd7e]

Hi, I'm wondering what the commute time would be going from Frederick, MD down to Dulles, VA (in the morning; reverse for evening). I know rt 15 is a single lane road, so there's the potential for getting stuck behind a big truck or something, but it still seems better than 270. Are there at least occasional passing zones?

Would it be significantly better at all if I left at 6:30 AM and 3:30/4:00 PM?

Think I can keep it around an hour, on average (assuming no accidents)? How often are there accidents on 15? Is rt 340 to 287 through Lovettsville a viable alternative if there is an accident on 15?

How well is rt 15 plowed in the winter?

Thanks!

[finalmove]

I vote no. Why on earth would you willingly endure such a commute? Your travel times are way too optimistic, and the amount of fuel you would use makes it impractical.

I live in Fairfax, and sometimes it takes 50-minutes to go the
8-miles to Tysons.

Move closer to your job.

[stpickrell]

I'm not as pessimistic as PP. If he left at 6:30am and were able to use the Greenway, it would certainly work, albeit at a cost. You might be able to get away with using Sycolin/Waxpool in the AM, though. I'm not sure how bad the traffic light tieups are on 7 east of Leesburg (especially Belmont Ridge) are at 7am, however.

Friday afternoons on the Leesburg bypass, especially during the holiday season, are a level of Hell. Going through Lovettsville is a decent alternative.

It also helps knowing what part of Frederick you're coming out of. It might take 10-15 minutes get from the areas near the Wegmans to the areas along 15/340 south of the city.

As for up and moving, you have roots in a community -- jobs are easier to change than lifestyles and what others (kids, spouses) are used to doing. There's worse things in the world than having to commute 45-60 minutes.

With the distance, though, I'd want you to either (1) really really really like downtown Frederick -- which is something not really duplicated in VA, not even by Leesburg, (2) consider this job truly something awesome -- either a chance to get a high-level certification, a HUGE bump in pay, etc., or (3) it'd be this or go unemployed. If you've got other options, just want a change, etc., I'd look for a similar opportunity in Columbia or Gaithersburg.

If you really really like downtown Frederick (*) or have some reason to stay in MD (**), an hour long commute is just part of the price you pay.

If it's "take this job or starve," or "this job really offers me some good opportunities," and you live in some part of say Urbana or some random 3-acre spread that's easily duplicated elsewhere, then consider moving in a year or two to make sure everything works out. Of course, kids in school, a wife that's used to Frederick, etc., are all reasons to stay put.

Good luck!

(*) Very walkable, lively, much better schools/cheaper/lower crime than similar areas in DC or Old Town Alexandria. I'd recommend it -- or downtown Leesburg -- for a moderate-activity younger person or any family on a regular house budget.
(**) I'd including "being very liberal," "having family pretty nearby," or "being part of a gay couple" as good reasons to stay in MD.

[finalmove]

I suspect you were geting your commute times from a map site like Google. You are talking a 100-mile round trip.
Route 15 from before the river all the way to Lucketts and beyond is single file, stop and go for miles and miles.
If it's rush hour(s) or snow or rain or God forbid an accident, you can hang it up. Call the wife(?) and tell her to keep dinner in the oven.

I did a 50-mile round trip commute for several years and the stress and cost wasn't worth it.

Ultimately, you'll have to find out for yourself. Good luck and Merry Christmas!

[dvd7e]

Ya I'd be looking at Frederick more out of necessity (wife commuting in opposite direction) than trying to find cheaper/better housing or something. I'm commuting 1.5 hrs one way now, so I'm used to a long commute, but that is a lot of miles (~90 one way, and $6 toll each way) but little traffic. As opposed to commuting down 15 out of Frederick into the Dulles area, which would be half the mileage but much more traffic/bottlenecks. So given what I'm used to now, and if it meant that both my wife and I could be happy in our jobs, then I'd actually be looking forward to a commute that was "only" 1 hr long.

Yes, I was getting commute times from online - Google maps says ~45 mins, and I figured that would be optimistic, but I was hoping something close to an hour (on average) would at least be possible. Are there at least occasional passing lanes if you do get stuck behind a big truck?

[dmv101010]

NO and NO and NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Do a test trail one morning and evening, it just looks miserable.
I go from Leesburg to Sterling think Battlefield(SE) side of leesburg to right off 7 Sterling. and I want to bang my head agaist the steering wheel some days.

[dkf747]

We do Ashburn to Rockville several times per month (on call) at 6:30 am. It takes an hour but isn't so bad as I thought it would be. No idea about Frederick to Dulles, but it's got to be easier, or possibly, the same as our commute.

[stpickrell]

Originally Posted by dkf747

We do Ashburn to Rockville several times per month (on call) at 6:30 am. It takes an hour but isn't so bad as I thought it would be. No idea about Frederick to Dulles, but it's got to be easier, or possibly, the same as our commute.

Live in MD-work in VA traffic is usually way worse than live in VA-work in MD traffic. When I was on the job market, I was looking at jobs along the upper I-270 corridor (Frederick-Gaithersburg-Rockville). Leesburg's actually a better commute for that than just about anywhere else in Northern VA.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by stpickrell

Live in MD-work in VA traffic is usually way worse than live in VA-work in MD traffic. When I was on the job market, I was looking at jobs along the upper I-270 corridor (Frederick-Gaithersburg-Rockville). Leesburg's actually a better commute for that than just about anywhere else in Northern VA.

Actually, we just moved out of MD. We're not going back. This is a second job that will end in a few months. The main job is in Arlington.

[geekocaster]

I work in Dulles, there are 2 guys in my office who come in from Frederick on 15. they are both 6 or 6.30 am guys, they say it takes like 45 minutes to an hour that early