Thinking of moving to NoVa from Chi-town (interest, research)

[claremarie]

If you're going to be working downtown on a regular basis (more than once or maybe twice a week), you may want to reconsider some of the items on your wish list, or else resign yourself to a long commute.

[swazi]

I guess part of my problem is I'm lacking a frame of reference. How bad is traffic really? How far out can I live and say have a less than 1hr commute?
If I drop down to 4bedroom, do my choices increase to get to a more central location?

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by swazi

I guess part of my problem is I'm lacking a frame of reference. How bad is traffic really? How far out can I live and say have a less than 1hr commute?
If I drop down to 4bedroom, do my choices increase to get to a more central location?

Traffic can suck! If you want to be less than 1 hr to downtown DC you are going to have to give up considerably on your housing criteria and/or increase your housing budget.

I commute to DC from Reston and do it in about 45 minutes - with the big caveat - that I always have a rider (a slug in DC terms) to get me on the I-66 HOV. If I didn't have the rider it would be 1:10 to 1:20 on a regular basis with 1:30 a day or two a week - I did that too may times before cruising the bus stops to find riders. With no traffic the drive is 30 minutes.

To find a 4/5 Bedroom house in Reston you are going to have to up your price range and/or look at townhouses. Here are a few places to check out - though some of them are under contract and I've included them to give you an idea of what is selling.

2416 MYRTLE LN, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
11174 GLADE DR, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase
2400 SWEETBAY LN, RESTON, VA 20191 - HomesDatabase

[claremarie]

IMO, if you want a commute under an hour, you'll have to stay in Fairfax County and look for a 4 BR townhouse (if there is such an animal), or increase your budget by at least $100K.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by swazi

I guess part of my problem is I'm lacking a frame of reference. How bad is traffic really? How far out can I live and say have a less than 1hr commute?

A good but unscientific rule of thumb is to assume that you will be traveling no faster than 30mph during rush hour. A "reverse commute" is relative since many people head to the job centers out towards Dulles and Tysons Corner. In terms of a commute to DC, I agree that Fairfax County would be as far out as a solo driver going to a 9-5/8-4 job can go and be at work within an hour.

[swazi]

Originally Posted by claremarie

IMO, if you want a commute under an hour, you'll have to stay in Fairfax County and look for a 4 BR townhouse (if there is such an animal), or increase your budget by at least $100K.

Good perspective - thanks. 4BDR I can live with but townhouse is not an option I'm willing to settle for.

[swazi]

Further clarification on outlying areas in Fairfax;
Would it make a huge difference to live in Lorton vs Woodbridge?
and the same for Centreville vs Manassas?
So to ask it differently, I am guessing some places in Fairfax is also out of the question for a one hour commute?

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by swazi

Further clarification on outlying areas in Fairfax;
Would it make a huge difference to live in Lorton vs Woodbridge?
and the same for Centreville vs Manassas?
So to ask it differently, I am guessing some places in Fairfax is also out of the question for a one hour commute?

Yes, yes and a qualified yes if taking the Metrorail isn't an option.

[Claire2900]

Bristow/Gainesville will get the house with that price, but you would have to take VRE. Depending on where the locations in DC are, this could be a viable solution if the TH idea doesn't have any appeal. There are lots of VRE riders on the forum so search on VRE and read some of the posts.

[stockdale.35]

PWilly is another world, your commute would kill you in a couple years, or your family would eventually kill you because you would have such a bad attitude when you got home after loads of unending traffic.

Live in Herndon, nice place, but exspanding all the time.