Choosing a commute: Hagerstown or Greenbelt? (Leesburg, Merrifield: home, schools, calculation)

[daniellenbosley]

Hello all. My bf is currently job hunting. We know we want to be in the DC burb area, but have been leaning more toward NOVA than MD due to personal preferences, schools, and other factors. I decided to use Google maps tonight to see how long his commute would take on a give Monday evening on the way home from work. He has two possible jobs on the table right now- one in Hagerstown, and one in Greenbelt. While Greenbelt is closer to DC distance-wise, that's not really a factor for us; just the commute is. I am most drawn to Leesburg of all NOVA towns, so I used that as the destination on Google.

The results:

Hagerstown, MD to Leesburg, VA was about a 54 minute drive with no delays.

Greenbelt, MD to Leesburg: an hour and 6 minutes with some delays (one that I could find, a 3 mile back-up on 495 near due to congestion.

My question: Do these calculations seem to be on par with what one could expect most of the time? It seems likely to me being most people probably commute from NOVA/DC to the north in the evening whereas he would be going against the grain of traffic going from Hagerstown to NOVA. I expected more traffic and a greater likelihood of delays coming from Greenbelt being that area is more congested than 70 or 15 would be. Am I on the right path here? Thanks!

[spencgr]

What time would your bf be commuting in the morning and afternoon?

[daniellenbosley]

Greenbelt would likely be prime 9-5 rush hour. Hagerstown might be a little more flexible, but for the sake of comparing the two, we'll say pretty much 9-5 as well. He's a lawyer, so doing business outside of business hours isn't likely.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by daniellenbosley

Greenbelt would likely be prime 9-5 rush hour. Hagerstown might be a little more flexible, but for the sake of comparing the two, we'll say pretty much 9-5 as well. He's a lawyer, so doing business outside of business hours isn't likely.

Honestly, I would NEVER do Leesburg to Greenbelt during regular commuting hours. And I am someone who has a 1.5 hour commute each way. I think the hour estimate is way off, and it will mostly be stop and go around the Beltway, especially in the evening. Also, you'll be paying upwards of $15 dollars a day in tolls. (If you take the Rt 7 option, it will take you an hour just to get to Tysons.)

Hagerstown all the way......

[dkf747]

Leesburg to Hagerstown, while kind of long, might be okay, but Leesburg to Greenbelt would be a really awful commute during rush hour. I couldn't handle that commute for very long. The Greenway and the Dulles Toll Road will help (at a cost) but the exit onto the Beltway, and later trying to get across te American Legion Bridge, and then through Montgomery County, is just too much. If something goes wrong, and it sometimes does, you could be looking at a 2 hour commute one way. Going up 15 to 70 to 32 to 95 is a lot longer, and takes longer. I just can't see how anyone would want that commute twice a day, day after day. That said, Leesburg is a nice town!

[michgc]

I'd pick Hagerstown because you'd be going against traffic. Although I'd personally live in Frederick, MD which would be a much shorter commute. One thing to be careful of possibly is the winter weather.

[dmv101010]

Hagerstown if you must.

[jillybean720]

Do not attempt Leesburg to Greenbelt (and vice versa). Unless one is happy to sit in traffic for literally hours every day...the Google Maps estimate of about an hour is highly inaccurate. As already mentioned, just going from Leesburg to Tysons via rt 7 can take an hour (I live in Sterling and used to commute down 7 through Tysons to Merrifield, and I am very happy to no longer have that commute).

[Yankeesfan]

Rethink the whole thing and live somewhere in Maryland near the job. Unless you have a really compelling reason to live in Virginia, it's not worth that kind of commute.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by michgc

I'd pick Hagerstown because you'd be going against traffic. Although I'd personally live in Frederick, MD which would be a much shorter commute. One thing to be careful of possibly is the winter weather.

Agreed. Definitely not Greenbelt. Frederick to Hagerstown would be fine. Even though you'd be going against traffic from Leesburg, I'd still worry about Route 15 being only two lanes. I can't tell you how many times I've been stuck, sitting in that stretch between Point of Rocks and Leesburg, because of an accident - with no real alternatives for bailing out and going around. And that's been off-hours and weekends - it's probably worse during commuting hours.