Commuting from Pennsylvania to Bethesda, MD (Baltimore, Germantown: rent, condo, house)

[Yuquy]

Hi,

I am wondering if someone has had any experience commuting from PA to Bethesda, MD and/or could suggest places in Pennsylvania close enough to MD such that one could commute from PA to Bethesda, MD in a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks a lot!

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Nowhere! I've never heard of a worse idea in my life! Rent a room in someone's house in Bethesda and buy the palace of your dreams in PA, if that's truly "home."

[Yuquy]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

Nowhere! I've never heard of a worse idea in my life! Rent a room in someone's house in Bethesda and buy the palace of your dreams in PA, if that's truly "home."

Please abstain from responding if you don't know any answer other than "According to me, it's not possible, so do this other thing"

Thank you

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by Yuquy

Please abstain from responding if you don't know any answer other than "According to me, it's not possible, so do this other thing"

Thank you

I'm serious, it's an impossible commute. Southern York County? that's a haul to Baltimore, let alone Bethesda. 695 is fraught with traffic every day. Hanover? Same problem, and you have to travel on 795, which backs up due to 695 traffic. Greencastle PA? That's about 90+ miles and you have to drive on 270.

Gettysburg maybe? I really don't think anywhere in PA is commutable. Philadelphia maybe, if you are well heeled and can by a monthly Acela ticket.

[westsideboy]

What do you consider a reasonable commute time? When do you work?

If you are working a 9-5er I am saying 1.5 hours one way MINIMUM if you come down Rt. 15 to Frederick then I-270 to Bethesda. Probably much closer to 2 hours one way. I can't think of anyway faster than that.

[smitity]

I'm assuming there's a compelling reason to live in PA and work in Bethesda, so lets not insult the poster.

Obviously you'll want to limit yourself to southern PA, as close as possible to the MD state line. Maybe somewhere south of York and Gettysburg? Expect to commute at least 2 hours each way on a good day. If you plan to work in Bethesda long-term, you may want to consider moving to MD, or conversely looking for a new job in PA. You'll be throwing away alot of money on gas and car maintenance with this commute, not to mention lost time.

Alternatively, If you can get yourself to Frederick MD in the morning (e.g. 7am), you can take the MARC Brunswick line to Rockville and catch Metro's Red line from there to Bethesda. In which case, you might want to look south of Gettysburg.

[carroll4628]

My brother-in-law commutes from Leesburg VA to John Hopkins in N Baltimore everyday. I would strongly suggest living north of Frederick as well, so at least part of your commute can be spent taking the train/metro - then you can work/read/relax a bit. I would count on 2hrs min giving that you'd be at the mercy if the train schedule (waiting at each change).
//www.city-data.com/forum/frede...erick-nih.html

[TestEngr]

There was a community of communters in I think Fairfield, PA not far from Gettysburg. Most do not go to Bethesda, maybe Germantown, Gaithersburg, or something. If you want to work in Bethesda, ask for appropriate pay if you can. That sure got me in trouble when I worked in Bethesda...

Moving that far out scares me, I used to think about it at one time. I would say it will be very hard for you.

[HurricaneDC]

You'll probably be on the edge of the cliff after a year of doing that. It is possible in the sense that there are enough hours in the day to make the drive to and from PA.

[bufflove]

Holy crap, my condolences. I second the recommendations to try and take MARC/Amtrak at least some of the way. A huge chunk of your day is going to be wasted commuting.