Does anyone regularly commute to DC from Philly? (Philadelphia, Harrisburg: apartment, townhouse)

[PhilliesPhan2013]

Yesterday afternoon, I interviewed for a Senior Financial Analyst role at my dream company! The role will focus on a specialization that I've desired to get into since graduating from college. I have dreamed of working at this company since I was a little boy, although in a different capacity back then. As a Financial Analyst who currently works at a Center City-based company, I make about $54,500/year. If I make it to the final stages of the interview process and receive an offer, my dream company will offer me between $70,000-$75,000/year, a higher 401K match relative to my current company, tuition assistance (very important, as I was recently accepted into grad school), travel benefits, and great health/vision/dental benefits. The only downside? The position is located in Washington, DC.

Does anyone here regularly commute between Philly and DC? For those who don't: would you take the position if you were in my shoes? What about if you were to successfully negotiate between 2-3 work from home days. To provide some perspective into my life, I am 25, have a girlfriend who I've been dating for two years, will have a puppy by the summer, and have been accepted into grad school with a Fall 2021 start date*. This company will also pay for my Amtrak tickets to and from DC. I know that a few people may simply suggest that I pack up and move to DC, but:

1.) Due to the nature of my girlfriend's work, we'd have to stay in Philly for the foreseeable future
2.) I have no interest in moving out of Philly.


*I will consider deferring or outright putting a stop to my grad school plans if I were to accept this position without successfully negotiating WFH days. I was hoping to accept a similar position at this company upon matriculation from grad school, so why take on additional debt when this company may eventually contribute to/pay for my MBA/MS?

[Redddog]

Wow. This place sounds amzing.

I've lived in DC and a few years ago, I did a short commute to Baltimore. I'd say if you could do 3 days from home, it's doable. It would help if you could crash somewhere in DC for a Monday-Tues and only have to do the commute 2 ways. Acela, if they're paying for it, is a jaunt, relaively. Not a bad ride at all.

Moving there? Crazy expensive town. Even with that salary, which is good, you'll be living outside of the district. On the up side, I LOVED living there. I was just out of school and lived stacked up in an apartment with 4 other people but had the time of my life. AND met my wife there.

Congrats on the job. I'd say the WFH thing is the deal maker. Daily commute would be a lot.....and not just from a cost perspective. Good luck, man.

[PhilliesPhan2013]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Wow. This place sounds amzing.

I've lived in DC and a few years ago, I did a short commute to Baltimore. I'd say if you could do 3 days from home, it's doable. It would help if you could crash somewhere in DC for a Monday-Tues and only have to do the commute 2 ways. Acela, if they're paying for it, is a jaunt, relaively. Not a bad ride at all.

Moving there? Crazy expensive town. Even with that salary, which is good, you'll be living outside of the district. On the up side, I LOVED living there. I was just out of school and lived stacked up in an apartment with 4 other people but had the time of my life. AND met my wife there.

Congrats on the job. I'd say the WFH thing is the deal maker. Daily commute would be a lot.....and not just from a cost perspective. Good luck, man.

Thanks for the perspective man! If I were still single, I'd be more likely to consider moving to the District and doing what you did. My girl and I have pretty much agreed that we'd be living in PG County if we ever move down there and want to save money haha.

I agree that it wouldn't be that bad of a ride. I'm a 15 minute bike ride from 30th Street Station, so I could make it to DC on time without waking up unreasonably early. It can't be worse than the 2-3 hour commute to Chadds Ford from West Philly via SEPTA I did after graduating from college! I'll also see what I can do in terms of WFH days. It may be entirely possible to do this job, stay in Philly, and attend grad school if I can negotiate everything well.

[newmarlig]

You're 25, go for it, especially if you can work 2-3 days from home. And being close to 30th Street Station is a huge plus.

[selhars]

Good luck.
Even if you only have to go to DC 2 days a week, it will still be tiring.

Maybe, as someone said, you can crash with friends during the days you work, and just come home once a week?

I worked in DC, lived in MD for 20 years. There were periods when I came home to Philly once a month that I found draining. And yet there was a 9 month stretch when I had a family situation where I HAD to come once a week, and for some reason mentally I was just committed to it that it didn't seem tiring at all. Yet, looking back on it, I don't know how I did it. Also, I drove.

But I also had a coworker who lived in Radnor and drove to DC (worked overnight) for more than 10 years. I'm sure it was tiring. But he did it.

Initially, he took the train, but said it was so undependable that he had to take the train BEFORE the train that should have been the one to get him to work on time.

Will you work near enough to the DC train station to walk to work, or will you need to cab or Metro to get to the office? Depending on where you work in DC getting from the train station to the office could be another 20 minutes.

Also, even if your boss/company will pay for the train -- that doesn't mean they'll pay for the Acela.
See if they will. If not, perhaps you can work a deal where you only have to pay the difference between a regular ticket and what the Acela would cost. The last time I looked into what an Amtrak anytime/any train pass would cost just from Philly to NYC, I think it was about $1,400 a month.

Keep us posted. Hope you get the gig...but that commute.....

[cpomp]

It's a tough commute, much longer than PHL to NYC, but if you can manage 2-3 days there and 2-3 at home AND the company pays your Amtrak bill, then I would say go for it. Just make sure you ask every question regarding the job, commute, flexibility, etc. Never be afraid to ask those questions since this would be a big change.

Also, sounds like you don't plan a move to DC, and its expensive, but I would not classify it as "crazy expensive" as Redddog did. I have a lot of friends in DC scattered throughout the district (some in Virginia), and their rents are all over the place. My one friend lives in Shaw in a townhouse with 2 friends and they each pay $1000/mo. I have another friend in a luxury building that pays ~$3100 for a 1-bedroom. A big difference I notice between Philly and DC rents is that Philadelphia is very affordable outside of Center City and a few other spots, DC (being smaller) is uniformly moderate to expensive throughout, with a few exceptions East of the Anacostia, but certainly doable with a roommate. Still nothing like Manhattan, thankfully.

Good luck!

[selhars]

And of course, just be mindful, that what you're told to GET the job, can change after you're hired. They can change the telework rules at any time -- unless you have a contract.

But it's your dream job. So you have to go for it.

Heck, you're young.
Even a worse case scenario isn't so bad. You get there, don't like it. But stay long enough for them to pay for your next degree, put in the time they say you have to stay after that. Then you can leave and sell yourself to an even higher bidder because you've got the degree AND the big company, impressive D.C. experience.

[Duderino]

I say give it a shot. When I was in college in DC and then back again for a stint after grad school, I'd make the trip back to the Philly area at least once every couple months. But at some points, once a week. Not the same as commuting multiple times per week, of course, but I think it's definitely in the realm of reasonable with your personal situation.

Honestly, the drive became not so bad after a little while (although I personally love road trips, which makes a big difference). Even better when you can take a Bolt Bus/Megabus/train and not even give any thought to the traffic and get some time to be productive on a laptop. Given that you're young and don't have the strict demands of a young family, now's absolutely the best time to take a risk and build up your resume.

Hope it all works out for you!

[Penna76]

If you can negotiate to work from home 2 - 3 days a week, and they are willing to pay for your Amtrak costs, then it is not a bad gig.

DC is hella expensive and 75k does not go that far there. (crazy to think).

Do they have an office in the Philadelphia market?

I say this, because long term, if you were promoted and the company has no Philadelphia presence you would probably have to move to DC.

Also, after a year, I am sure the commute will get old. But hey maybe not. Didnt Joe Biden commute all the time on Amtrak??

And I guess when I come to think of it, a fair number of higher up state workers make the commute from Harrisburg to The Main Line and Philadelphia via Amtrak which is about the same trip time.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by cpomp

....

Also, sounds like you don't plan a move to DC, and its expensive, but I would not classify it as "crazy expensive" as Redddog did. I have a lot of friends in DC scattered throughout the district (some in Virginia), and their rents are all over the place. My one friend lives in Shaw in a townhouse with 2 friends and they each pay $1000/mo. I have another friend in a luxury building that pays ~$3100 for a 1-bedroom. A big difference I notice between Philly and DC rents is that Philadelphia is very affordable outside of Center City and a few other spots, DC (being smaller) is uniformly moderate to expensive throughout, with a few exceptions East of the Anacostia, but certainly doable with a roommate. Still nothing like Manhattan, thankfully.

Fair. I was talking from a perspective that is quite outdated.