Where to live?? Working in Springfield and Union Station (Arlington: to rent, townhome)

[eliasgrace]

Hello!

My husband and I and our 15-month old twins will be moving to NOVA this July. My husband will be working in Springfield (right off of the 395 springfield/franconia exit) and also in Union Station. Where is the best place to live with regards to commute/traffic patterns? Ideally, he would like to keep the commuting time to 40 min or under. We would also love to be w/in walking distance to local parks etc as our twins love to be outdoors. Living near some nice grocery stores would be icing on the cake! We are looking for a 3 or 4 bedroom townhome or SFH to rent.

Thanks in advance for your response!

[movingtodcfromseattle]

Try 22032 zip. There is a great neighborhood park, 3 pools to choose from, not too far from Burke Lake Park (train, etc), fairly close to Trader Joe's, Target, Wal-Mart. Commute should be within 40 mins. I think there are a couple of mom's groups too if you are a SAHM. PM me for more info.

[CaliTerp07]

What's your budget? That will make a huge difference in the suggestions you get

[movingtodcfromseattle]

Yes, budget would help!

[eliasgrace]

Hmm...budget would be maybe $2500ish/month? Could we live in Arlington for this much? Also, we wouldn't mind living near Vienna since my parents live there (free babysitting!) but I'm thinking that commute would be awful from that part of town. Would Vienna, near route 50 be feasible though? Since hopefully this would be a reverse commute to Springfield and my husband could take rt 50 all the way into DC?

Thanks for your responses!

[eliasgrace]

By the way, my husband's hours will be 8:30-5pm (non-negotiable) so he'll be driving during peak rush hour...

[bmwguydc]

I would look in Vienna or Dunn Loring if you want to be close to your parents. Could your husband take the Metro from Vienna/Fairfax or Dunn Loring to Union Station? Either that, or he'd need to have a carpool to use HOV, otherwise the commute would be much longer.

Springfield would be an easy drive as you're against traffic and you're not going to hit the backups around VanDorn to the construction zone getting to Alexandria.

Driving from Vienna would not be too bad if he were to leave early, to avoid the headaches, and potentially be able to use 66, though he'd be very early for work as he'd need to be on the TR Bridge before 6:30 to be in compliance. He'd be at Union Station by 6:45 or so, but the return trip would be bad, however, given his end time, since there's no possibility of using I-66. Alternatively, he could take the GW Parkway to Memorial Bridge to get to DC and not have to worry about the I-66 regulations, provided he would clear Tyson's before the traffic gets horrible.

I would also check Fairfax, 22031, as it's not far from Vienna, only a few minutes if you take Nutley Street. You'd still be close to your parents, and the drive to Springfield would be even easier.

[eliasgrace]

Any guesses on commute times from Falls Church or Arlington to Union Station, as well as Springfield?

My dad did a test run to Union Station at 7:45am from his home in Vienna and it took 1hr10min.... so Vienna doesn't seem like a good option for us. He does live about 10 min from Rt 50 though...so maybe living further down Rt 50 towards DC would be better.

[marchar123]

Try looking in the burke/west springfield area (15 minutes south of vienna)

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The VRE from Rolling Road Station to Union Station is 35 mins. (No driving in traffic!!!!!)
Rail service in Virginia - VRE

15-20 min drive to Springfield with traffic