Incredible traffic on Interstate 95- Springfield to Stafford! (Burke, Woodbridge: sales, new home)

[General Interest]

Are the jobs in DC or Fairfax County is wonderful that someone would put up with the traffic to live way south in a place like Woodbridge or Stafford? Considering most people don't have to live in the greater DC area and their jobs could be found in anywhere USA, why put up with the grief of fighting that traffic every day?

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by General Interest

Are the jobs in DC or Fairfax County is wonderful that someone would put up with the traffic to live way south in a place like Woodbridge or Stafford? Considering most people don't have to live in the greater DC area and their jobs could be found in anywhere USA, why put up with the grief of fighting that traffic every day?

Yes and no. Yes because there are so many niche jobs that only are in the greater DC area and the salary on those jobs would not be offered even if there were available elsewhere.

When it comes to government jobs, the pay scale is skewed in that the same job elsewhere might be at one or two pay scales lower if it's available elsewhere.

No if you are counting a job where the pay difference is " consumed" by the higher cost of living. Same thing in San Francisco but i don't think our apartment costs are as high. There are articles with 5 or 6 tech workers are living together because there is no other option.

[Goodlucklady]

We're contemplating this exact move/ commute situation because we have a large family (multiple children and now a disabled in-law) and housing is simply not affordable in NoVa. Most people moving to Stafford are doing so because there's not much choice.

[frostopsy]

I don't think it's worth it. I have friends and coworkers at lived down that way and I don't know how they dealt with the commute. Same reasons as above, they wanted more space, "land", be away from the rat race in the beltway. IMO, it's not worth it, I'd rather have more time to spend relaxing, spending with friends and family than sitting in traffic for 2-3 hours a day. The DC area has the worst traffic in the nation (LA beat DC this year) so I don't exactly agree that it's this bad everywhere. The DC metro needs more heavy rail lines like the VRE going out west to make things better (never going to happen) and build more roads and highways (good luck without tearing down subdivisions). HOT lanes were nothing more than a cash grab, it does nothing but benefit people who can afford it and/or gov workers who are comped for it.

[FlightAttendant]

I agree with frostopsy, the HOV lanes 24 hours a day were absolutely the most awful transit decision I have ever seen. When the non HOV lanes are backed up for 25 miles, the HOV lanes are like a ghost town. It is not unusual for the cost of going a few miles can go up to over $15 or more. Ridiculous. Government workers are subsidized for some of their transportation...wow, what other job offers that perk?

Because my commute is so unpredictable, I can't carpool to work.

I am actually going to move out of this area next year due to traffic.

[General Interest]

I wonder how many people living in Stafford are working in jobs that only can be found in DC.

I was talking to the grocery clerk at the local Safeway. She tells me she drives 50 miles a day each way from her home south of Stafford to Reston VA so she can make an extra $1.50 an hour. I told her it was not worth it emotionally, physically or financially. I told her she would come out ahead just doing her cashier job at a Stafford Safeway. She rejected my statement out of hand.

(She only makes $259 a month before taxes extra because of the $1.50 an hour pay difference for working in Reston vs Stafford- for her daily 100 mile commute. Assuming gas and wear and tear on her car would cost her 35 cents a mile it costs her $35 a day or $770.00 a month extra in commuting fees. But again she rejected this out of hand.) I wonder how many other long distance commuters like her have not done the math.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by General Interest

I wonder how many people living in Stafford are working in jobs that only can be found in DC.

I was talking to the grocery clerk at the local Safeway. She tells me she drives 50 miles a day each way from her home south of Stafford to Reston VA so she can make an extra $1.50 an hour. I told her it was not worth it emotionally, physically or financially. I told her she would come out ahead just doing her cashier job at a Stafford Safeway. She rejected my statement out of hand.

(She only makes $259 a month before taxes extra because of the $1.50 an hour pay difference for working in Reston vs Stafford- for her daily 100 mile commute. Assuming gas and wear and tear on her car would cost her 35 cents a mile it costs her $35 a day or $770.00 a month extra in commuting fees. But again she rejected this out of hand.) I wonder how many other long distance commuters like her have not done the math.

She sounds like an exception rather than the norm. I would think most folks are federal employees or government contractors. I know for my job, companies in my new area (Virginia Beach) want to pay about HALF of what I was making in NOVA. Yes, COL is lower, but not THAT much lower.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by FlightAttendant

I agree with frostopsy, the HOV lanes 24 hours a day were absolutely the most awful transit decision I have ever seen. When the non HOV lanes are backed up for 25 miles, the HOV lanes are like a ghost town. It is not unusual for the cost of going a few miles can go up to over $15 or more. Ridiculous. Government workers are subsidized for some of their transportation...wow, what other job offers that perk?

Because my commute is so unpredictable, I can't carpool to work.

I am actually going to move out of this area next year due to traffic.

Well, quite a few companies offer that perk. All the private sector employers that I worked for offered either mass transit or parking subidies. My daughter, very new in her career, has her parking or metro paid for. So, it's not just the government workers.

No one is subsidizing the HOT lanes yet.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

We lived in Fairfax, 1500 sq ft 1970s house with no garage - cost 1/2 mil. - we could have gotten 3,000sq brand new home on a huge lot for a lot less in Stafford but my husband wanted to spend time with the children and not sitting on the highway wasting his life away - a big home and yard takes more time to maintain anyway, cleaning, heating, cooling, cutting the lawn - all a big waste.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Nancy in Nokomis

We lived in Fairfax, 1500 sq ft 1970s house with no garage - cost 1/2 mil. - we could have gotten 3,000sq brand new home on a huge lot for a lot less in Stafford but my husband wanted to spend time with the children and not sitting on the highway wasting his life away - a big home and yard takes more time to maintain anyway, cleaning, heating, cooling, cutting the lawn - all a big waste.

One thing to consider when faced with this type of purchase is what your cash flow is. For $500K do I buy a home closer in that is 50-60 years old and nothing is updated. So at any moment, I would need a new roof, new appliances, or other major repairs. Obviously, if you can find an older home that has been updated, that's fine. Or you can be faced with buying a $500K home farther out but it's brand new and needs nothing.

When I was buying my house (in the 90s), I had two very young children in day care and not making a lot of money at all. If I were to have bought closer, I was facing a stock of homes that were going to need an almost constant source of cash once I moved in. And I did not have that kind of cash flow. I had to go with the new home and, for the most part, I don't regret my decision. I really didn't have to pay for anything for about 12 years.

One could argue that I shouldn't have been buying a home if my cash was that tight but I bought at the lower end of what I could qualify for and my mortgage was better than rent on a 3 bedroom apartment.

I think that while you have the "land lovers" down in Stafford, you will see much, much more of people buying in because they can get a decent house that's new or newer and won't require a lot of cash once moved in.