for my DC peeps

[ste_noni]

In theory, how much of a pain would it be if one half of a couple was working in Baltimore and the other half was in DC (Pentagon or maybe Ft. Belvoir).  The NSA is sort of near Baltimore, isn't it?  I've seen this on a map, but I'm trying to get a feel for how far apart they are in actual commuting terms.

Comments

[lala-lisa.livejournal.com]

Commuting in and around DC is always kind of a bitch, there's no way around that, but A LOT of people do this. You might want to ask in the Charm City lj group. Or look through the archives there. Somebody is always posting about commuting around the area.

NSA is about a 40 minute commute to/from B'more depending on traffic.

In conclusion, move to Baltimore!!! It's still a bargain!

[lala-lisa.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/charmcity/profile

[sowilo.livejournal.com]

There's a HUGE difference between Ft. Belvoir and DC, mileage notwithstanding. The NSA is on the BW parkway, maybe 30-40 minutes from DC. If one person is at the NSA, and one person is at Ft. Belvoir, DC might be an okay compromise. Baltimore to Ft. Belvoir would probably an hour to an hour and a half.

[mearagrrl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's one of those things where it really depends on *exactly* where you're talking about. Someone who had regular enough hours and could take public transport to where they're going? Might not be so bad. If you can take the train, and it's close to where you're going, sometimes that's pretty quick. Or if where you're going is right off a highway, etc etc, sometimes that's not bad. But then other times, adding three miles of local traffic on one end, or having to switch to a bus, or something, suddenly the whole trip is not worth it at all.

[sarameg.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it really depends on where you live and where you need to get to. A couple friends have lived in Laurel when one works in B'more and the other in DC. One of the jobs in DC was an easy commute, the other so bad he left it. Another is in Pasadena due to a B'more/Annapolis split.

People here commute a long way, if you ask me.

[mfnlaw.livejournal.com]

What they said.

For the DC person, commuting to the Pentagon is a hell of a lot different than commuting to Ft. Belvoir. The Pentagon has a Metro station and significant bus service. Ft. Belvoir is located on Route 1 in VA, much further from the city, and has no Metro stop. (I can't speak to bus service to/from the area.) By car, a commute to Ft. Belvoir is going to be terrible coming from MD. You'll have to cross the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, and with the BRAC expansion of the post, more and more cars will be trying to get there on roads not designed to handle that kind of traffic. If you're coming from DC, it will involve more travel on the Fairfax County Parkway which is constantly congested during rush hour.

The Pentagon is much less of a commuting headache. If you're living in DC, then you can take Metro. If you're living in MD and not near a Metro station, then it will involve either the Beltway or cutting through the city. Both options at rush hour are less than ideal.

While Laurel or Beltsville MD would be a good compromise, they're located in Prince George's County. The school system is not great. One former superintendent was just convicted of taking kickbacks, and countywide performance is less than average. Montgomery County schools are much better, but the cost of living is also higher.

If you want to manage expenses, you can go further out. DH and I live in Frederick MD, right across from Ft. Detrick. Housing is less expensive (we bought our townhouse for less than half of what we would have paid in Montgomery County). The schools are acceptable, and there's commuter rail (MARC trains) that take you right into Union Station in DC where you can then get on the Metro to take you right to the Pentagon. Baltimore is about 45 minutes-1 hour away by car on I-70, which is usually less congested than many of the closer-in interstates.

I work in DC, and I time shift to avoid most of rush hour--in at 10:30 am and out at 6:30 pm. It's 55 miles one way to the office and usually takes me about an hour. DH used to work in Columbia, which is relatively close to Ft. Meade, and his commute was 45 minutes. Edit: I could take the MARC train to work, but that mean that I have a set schedule. Part of my job requires me to be able to respond to last-minute onsite visits, many of which I can only get to by car. And if I want to meet someone for drinks or dinner after work, I need to drive. MARC trains only run during rush hours.

I love living in the DC area for the most part. The commute/traffic and cost of housing are the biggest downsides. Compromise is the name of the game.

[faerieflings.livejournal.com]

I used to live in that area. Commuting around the NSA is not so bad, it's far enough away from both DC and Baltimore that the traffic through that area isn't as bad. The NSA is actually about halfway between the two cities as far as driving time. If you live in Laurel, your commuting time to the NSA will be very short (and living in Laurel isn't too pricey). Getting into or to the far side of DC, tho, will kick your rear.