Looking for advice on commuting Virginia to Washington, DC (Burke: construction, buses)

[jessicadepalma]

My husband and I are looking to settle down in Virginia. My job would mean commuting into L'Enfante Plaza. We are considering Chantilly and Centreville so it seems like driving to the Vienna-Fairfax station might be the best option, but I was wondering if anyone has advice on that. Also what is the parking like there. I see there's reserved parking, but is that necessary?

[boyd888]

Pretty monstrous commute you'd be setting yourself up for there. Vienna to L'enfant is 45 minutes on the train, plus whatever times it takes you get to/on the Vienna metro (could easily be another 30-40 minutes if going west during rush hour).

The parking lot used to nearly full by like 830a, but not sure if that's still true with the silver line being open.

[Old Guard]

This is not a commute I personally would want, be able to tolerate nor wish on my enemies.

But a lot of people do. My naive recommendation is to move farther west and take a commuter bus in.

I know there is a drop off for at least Maryland commuter buses at 7th and Independence and would assume the same for VA commuter buses if not closer to L'enfant.

I know several people commuting from Loudoun on commuter buses to that area and all seem to be pretty sane. They probably have commuter buses from Chantilly as well but there really is not much about Chantilly that I fine charming or desirable.

[jessicadepalma]

Thanks for the information boyd888 and Old Guard!

[airjay75]

Unless you have a particular reason for picking the Chantilly/Centreville area, you might also want to consider somewhere along 395 or 95 that would have easy access to a Pentagon commuter bus where you could switch to a Yellow Line train to take one stop to L'Enfant Plaza. I have never commuted along 66 or the DTR, but my general impression is that the HOV/HOT lanes in the 395/95 corridor are more efficient than those along 66 outside the Beltway. Another idea that comes to mind given that you're commuting to L'Enfant would be somewhere along a VRE line. I've never taken the VRE, but people speak pretty highly of it.

[jessicadepalma]

Thanks airjay75. My husband and I are open to other areas and have also been looking at Burke and Springfield, as well, but I think they might be outside of our budget which is why we're considering Chantilly/Centreville as well as Ashburn. We're moving from New Jersey so we're realistic about the commute, but I was hoping to keep the commute to an hour and 15 minutes, although it seems like that may not be possible

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by jessicadepalma

Thanks airjay75. My husband and I are open to other areas and have also been looking at Burke and Springfield, as well, but I think they might be outside of our budget which is why we're considering Chantilly/Centreville as well as Ashburn. We're moving from New Jersey so we're realistic about the commute, but I was hoping to keep the commute to an hour and 15 minutes, although it seems like that may not be possible

Ashburn then to the start of the VRE would be nice. Free parking And the train stops directly at Le Efant. No switching trains. Free wifi

[dkf747]

The Silver Line is coming to Ashburn in 2020. You would have to drive until then, or catch a Loudoun commuter bus.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by dkf747

The Silver Line is coming to Ashburn in 2020. You would have to drive until then, or catch a Loudoun commuter bus.

The silverline will be completed and located from Reston to DullesAirport in 2020

[url]http://www.dullesmetro.com/silverline/assets/Image/railmap_dullesmetro.gif[/url]


Also, because of money/safety woes, just because the construction will be finished, WMATA is not required to take possession of the line nor run any trains on it. The Last bit of the SL will be a Metro bargaining chip for dedicated Virginia funding, which is not available now.

[Old Town FFX]

I would aim closer in towards the Vienna Metro stop, perhaps in Fairfax City/Fairfax. I made the commute for 6 years into the city 5 days a week and it was enough to drive me bonkers some days, I couldn't imagine having to get out even further west. From Metro Center to FFX City, was easily an hour and a half via metro rail to Vienna then to home. Even directly driving was over an hour and up to 2 depending on circumstances, and even in the best of conditions, Centerville is still 20min from here.