Incredible traffic on Interstate 95- Springfield to Stafford! (Richmond, Arlington: condo, daycare)

[General Interest]

Why would anyone put up with the lifestyle of driving from Stafford to Springfield on Interstate 95? Every time I am on that road I just go crazy sitting in bumper to bumper traffic going less than 20 MPH for the whole trip. I am forced to do that trip just five or six times a year but what about the people who put up with it every day?


Why do they live there if they have to drive back and forth on a regular basis? If you do it, why?

[The Dissenter]

Larger and more affordable housing. Of course, good chance that whatever you save in housing will go back out in gas and time.

[quanva]

Originally Posted by General Interest

Why would anyone put up with the lifestyle of driving from Stafford to Springfield on Interstate 95? Every time I am on that road I just go crazy sitting in bumper to bumper traffic going less than 20 MPH for the whole trip. I am forced to do that trip just five or six times a year but what about the people who put up with it every day?


Why do they live there if they have to drive back and forth on a regular basis? If you do it, why?

people question the commute times here like it's so odd when it's quite normal in other cities

the issue is the poor highway system we have here in the DMV area

When I lived in NJ the avg commute for most was about 30 mins or miles and you have the choice of many ways to get to were you need to go

Garden state parkway, 2 lane dived highways or the NJ turnpike ( what I-95 needs to be)


Stafford to DC is only maybe 40 miles, same distance from Dc to baltimore or from NYC to the jersey suburbs


I have a very unorthodox commute and it never takes me more than 97 mins from door to door (henrico to springfield)

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by General Interest

If you do it, why?

What we were looking for in a home and community is significantly more affordable.

We could have a bought a home closer to or even inside the beltway. But it would have maxed out our budget and been a fixer-upper or a condo (and even then you have high monthly dues). We were not inclined to fix anything up nor we would have been able to afford to do so---what with that pesky maxing out our budget just on the purchase thing.

There are days when the commute can be is terrible and I'll get frustrated but generally, it doesn't bother me all that much. I also take the advantage of driving in the express lanes on occasion.

[ChristineVA]

For some people, the "house" and "yard" are extremely important. For them, it is worth the commute. For others, it would not be. It's just a preference.

I live in Woodbridge and commute to DC and I can't imagine moving any farther south than I am. But when I bought, truly, Woodbridge was all I could afford. This was in the 90s and I wasn't making much. I started looking close in and kept getting pushed farther and farther out and Woodbridge was my affordable option. I tried really hard in Springfield and I just couldn't quite swing it. So I do see how it happens.

I make it work, though, by just working early hours and for the most part, my commute is very tolerable at 40 minutes each way.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by General Interest

Why would anyone put up with the lifestyle of driving from Stafford to Springfield on Interstate 95? Every time I am on that road I just go crazy sitting in bumper to bumper traffic going less than 20 MPH for the whole trip. I am forced to do that trip just five or six times a year but what about the people who put up with it every day?


Why do they live there if they have to drive back and forth on a regular basis? If you do it, why?

The number one answer is undoubtedly housing/lifestyle. Daily commute is only one of a long list of factors to consider when choosing a location to live. When my husband and I bought our first home, we bought in Woodbridge because we couldn't afford anything that meet our other requirements (size, condition, monthly association fees, neighborhood, etc.) any further north up 95, and our jobs were in PG County and western Fairfax County at the time. I'd assume the same is true for those making the Stafford-to-DC commute. They wanted a larger home, larger yard, or perhaps one of them works in DC, but the other works near Richmond.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by General Interest

Why would anyone put up with the lifestyle of driving from Stafford to Springfield on Interstate 95?

Why do they live there if they have to drive back and forth on a regular basis? If you do it, why?

Not many on here live that far south where you are mentioning. Springfield, Lorton, Woodbridge, Dale city, Quantico, Aquia are all closer.

The reasons that I moved out were to AVOID what is closer to downtown DC. SFH house so I could finally stop hearing my next door neighbors in the $450k adjoined townhouse. Two assigned parking spots with no garage was not enough. Often neighbor's visitors used assigned parking spot and street parking was full.

Neighborhood pool was not part of HOA, which raised their monthly fee to nearly $200 in 2012. Neighborhood pool was hundreds of dollars per year for a family. Yards front and back, were incredibly small. Traffic to and from interstate (to catch metro or VRE) was worse than anything outside the beltway.

Cost of specialty groceries, auto repair, food, and daycare was much more expensive. However the gas tank didn't need to be filled as frequently. Sports were uber competitive with only one varsity and sometimes a JV team being fielded. With thousands of kids in high school, less student population can participate in sports.

Taxes on vehicles, housing, and utilities are higher inside the beltway. With everyone having underground utilities, storms rarely take out power. With garages, less time is needed to warm up car or brush off snow and ice. On the services I use most ; groceries, affordable cleaners, gas, daycare, and gym, my house is actually closer to these amenities than when I was inside the beltway.

[FlightAttendant]

I bought in Stafford county back in 2010. I work out of DC. Fortunately, I can commute "off hours" most of the time. If I do have to use 95 during the peak hours ( 3PM-8PM), life sucks.

Still, I bought a gorgeous 4 bedroom single family house with 1/2 acre of land, great schools, good services and lovely neighborhood with a pool, tennis, playgrounds, a lake, no crime, great local shops and restaurants, etc. for under $350K

Yes, the commute can be brutal, bit with a bit of flexibility, it is a wonderful place to live.

[NOVA_guy]

Stafford is good if you work in Fredericksburg or somewhere off of Route 1 in PWC. But people who commute from Stafford to Tysons, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Reston... I tip my hat to them, I don't think I could do it. And you'd be surprised, there's quite a bit of people who do it everyday.

Also, having lived in Stafford at one point, one major disadvantage is there's no easy access to 28, 29, 50, 234, 123, etc. So on the weekend, your only option when going somewhere is to take 95 and sit in traffic like everyone else.

[gomason]

Don't forget that pre-HOT lanes era, people could take the express lanes south without having to pay a toll or sit in traffic. As someone who used to commute everyday on 66, I would have died for the transit options on 95 between buses in the express lanes, slugging, VRE, etc.

You get in the HOV lane on 66 and you will be moving slower than every other lane on the highway. Im amused by people who think the HOV lane saves times outside of the beltway on 66.