DC area Traffic (Silver Spring, Germantown, Gaithersburg: construction, college, to live in)

[EdwardA]

I cross the Woodrow everyday into VA and back. Going home is a nightmare although during the summer it's bearable most days. Also the Feds teleworking on Mon & Fri helps matters some too.


I'm dreading when kids return back to school though.

[papichulo2]

traffic is fun here its like a game challenge if you can make it alive or in time you get reward of less stress. and you can count how many ppl get mad at you or honk there horn on a red light

[selhars]

^^ I must admit I've tried to start leaving a bit earlier (one could argue that I was leaving too late to begin with)….
…but I'm trying to lave about 5 mins earlier than I used to so I do NOT start my day stressed….or even have any of my day stressed because of traffic. Even going to the doctor or dentist at midday….I try leave with plenty of time allowance.

By not doing that I'm really setting my own self up for agita. Who knew it was that simple….just leave earlier

The problem comes with rush hours -- when leaving 5 minutes earlier won't help any. You have to leave THREE HOURS earlier to avoid it. I DO think DC has what I call "long rush hours"…some other cities rush hours might just be 5-6:30. But hear in DC the damn rush starts at 4:30 and goes al the way to 7p. And who doesn't know that if you leave your house in the morning just 5 minutes later than you'd like -- and that's the difference between sloWING traffic, and bumper to bumper.

[dkf747]

I think the DC rush starts around 3 pm. My practice is to try to be across the AL bridge by 3 pm.

[jayman1981]

As much as I love the D.C. area I just couldn't do it any more. I will say from my perspective, D.C. offers an array of opportunities for employment and diversity. After traveling to various cities across the nation, I realize people were able to enjoy life more. Of course there are trade offs, but at this stage of my life the DMV is no longer my cup of tea. Every major city is going to have rush hour but lord have mercy D.C. takes the cake (only NYC and LA are worse). So to answer the OP's question yes I can't stand traffic thanks to D.C.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by jayman1981

As much as I love the D.C. area I just couldn't do it any more. I will say from my perspective, D.C. offers an array of opportunities for employment and diversity. After traveling to various cities across the nation, I realize people were able to enjoy life more. Of course there are trade offs, but at this stage of my life the DMV is no longer my cup of tea. Every major city is going to have rush hour but lord have mercy D.C. takes the cake (only NYC and LA are worse). So to answer the OP's question yes I can't stand traffic thanks to D.C.

Stats may say otherwise, but it sure seems like Atlanta has worse traffic than DC. Chicago, Houston, SF, Philly, Boston, Seattle etc all seem to have very similar traffic. It all depends on your commute.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Stats may say otherwise, but it sure seems like Atlanta has worse traffic than DC. Chicago, Houston, SF, Philly, Boston, Seattle etc all seem to have very similar traffic. It all depends on your commute.

The key word is "seems". You think it's worse, but the evidence (stats) say otherwise.

[ncole1]

Originally Posted by selhars

Has DC area traffic driven anyone else to the point of hating it so much you never want to be in rush hour?

I live in the Bowie area and find myself with morning appointments in MontCo.
And I usually suck it up and leave waaay early, just to get there waaay early -- all for the sake of not having the travel time take twice as long as need be.

I need to be at Sibley hospital at 9:30a if I wait and leave Bowie 8:30, I'll really have to leave at 8:15. And it will still be a bumper to bumper trip.
Am I crazy for leaving at 6:15 am JUST to have a fast, no traffic drive….only to arrive HOURS early.

I know lots of people listen to books when they're stuck in traffic. But I just can't sit in traffic for an hour and a half for a trip that I know could only take 45 minutes.

What do you usually do when the choice is:
-- leave waaay early, get there away early, but avoid traffic (I usually take crosswords and magazines, or just get some more sleep to read to kill time)
-- leave at a 'normal time' but have the trip take twice as long in bumper to bumper traffic

Sounds like you might need to move.

[selhars]

^^ I will when I retire and leave the state….in 9 1/2 years…..and I'm already counting the days and obsessing about it.

(NOT to derail the thread but I've been asking friends and co-workers just for fun: Which seems shorter?…
3650 days?….520 weeks? 120 months? for me oddly enough the way I FEEL that time passes it's the 3650 days or 120 months. To me, 520 weeks just seems longer. Everyone else picked 520 though. In my mind however....weeks seems to pass slower or drag -- and days fly by…...so I picked 3650 days because even though that number is higher, I can check off a day…well, every day. And the 120 months seems not that long, because 120 is really lower….a lot lower than 520 weeks, which to me sounds like forever.)

It's amazing the things a person needs to do to just get by, and take life "one day at a time isn't?"

[Cruzincat]

Long time ago, when I had a 8-5 job, I would leave 15 minutes earlier and get to work about 25 minutes earlier because the traffic was lighter. I found work to be much easier if I would get there and go sit in the lunch room with a coffee before I started working. Sort of meditation to cleanse myself of the stress from traffic, so that my mind was rested before any possible stress from work itself.

Now I work out of the house but have to travel at all hours of the day when I have to go out. The above is probably one of the few positives of going to the same place every day.