Relocating to Northern VA soon...

[fabinva]

I work in DC (close to Capitol) and been driving for years, it is about an hour each way (little less in mornings, little more afternoons) if I leave home by 5:30am and DC by 3pm.
I live in Bristow (Braemar area) and it is a very nice neighborhood for families, close neighbors that do look for one another and I'm very happy with Bristow public schools.
There is a train station for commuting as well, VRE.org, the ride is 1:15min all the way into DC but I find driving less of a hassle, faster too and just wishing there were vanpools available as an option. Omnibus stops are close by as well.

[ZakAttack]

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

A 1 hr commute around here is considered short!

I wouldn't go that far, but I would say a 1 hour commute is common. I would not recommend this for someone new to the area, though. Is the extra stress and time away from your family worth a few hundred more square feet? Also, Internet research can only get you so far. You have to come visit these areas you are talking about to see them in person.

[wingman7000]

Originally Posted by ZakAttack

I wouldn't go that far, but I would say a 1 hour commute is common. I would not recommend this for someone new to the area, though. Is the extra stress and time away from your family worth a few hundred more square feet? Also, Internet research can only get you so far. You have to come visit these areas you are talking about to see them in person.

I think you are right about that. I'm getting anxious to get out there and see for myself. It is nice to get input on where to start looking though.

[utennvolsfan]

I recently relocated from the area to Georgia because of a job transfer, but my husband and I lived in Arlington. He was assigned to the Pentagon, and I worked in downtown DC (at the Ronald Reagan Building). Our house is in the Columbia Forest neighborhood, which had easy access to the Arlington Transit (ART) bus and Metrobus. That gave me a short ride to either Ballston Metro (Orange line) or the Pentagon Metro (Blue and Yellow lines). Depending on my shift (law enforcement - we rotated), I sometimes drove in to the office.

A long commute is doable, but it wears you down. My personal recommendation is to get as close in as you can afford. For less than $2000, you can get a three bedroom/two bath single family home with access to good schools if that's a concern down the road.