Where to live within occasional commuting distance to DC?
August 28, 2021 7:54 AM Subscribe
My partner accepted a position which requires occasional (2x-4x monthly) commuting into an office in the Southwest Waterfront area of DC. What area or towns within 60-90mins driving distance would be worth checking out as spots to live?
We live in a pretty rural area of PA now and enjoy it. We're surrounded by mostly farmland, but we're within 20-25 minutes of some smaller cities where we can find coffee shops & restaurants, music, indie films, and take classes. We'd prefer to stay away from heavily built-up areas and traffic, but not be completely isolated from small towns and cities. Is there anywhere in MD or VA that would fit this description, while still having access to DC via car or train?
We'd like to find a single family home for under $2400/mo. Ideally somewhere near a lot of parks and maybe a nice college campus for walks. School districts aren't a consideration.
If you have any suggestions for areas we should check out, please let me know...thanks!
We live in a pretty rural area of PA now and enjoy it. We're surrounded by mostly farmland, but we're within 20-25 minutes of some smaller cities where we can find coffee shops & restaurants, music, indie films, and take classes. We'd prefer to stay away from heavily built-up areas and traffic, but not be completely isolated from small towns and cities. Is there anywhere in MD or VA that would fit this description, while still having access to DC via car or train?
We'd like to find a single family home for under $2400/mo. Ideally somewhere near a lot of parks and maybe a nice college campus for walks. School districts aren't a consideration.
If you have any suggestions for areas we should check out, please let me know...thanks!
As you think about this, take into consideration that Amtrak from Baltimore to DC is 35-50 minutes (Acela vs Regional). So somewhere 30-45 minutes from Baltimore still gets you to DC within 90 minutes.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:21 AM on August 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:21 AM on August 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
I grew up in that area and my family still lives there (VA suburbs). It's all heavily built-up/sprawl, so a rural-ish or even small-town experience within 60-90 minutes of SW DC is going to be hard to come by, at least on the Virginia side (I know less about MD). For context, my parents live about 25 miles west of DC, and by the time they retired in the mid-2010s, their commute was a solid 75 minutes door-to-door, assuming HOV status and no accidents.
Your comment about a college campus made me think of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg -- I-95 is a hellscape to drive, but there is commuter rail (VRE) which connects to Metro at L'Enfant Plaza. You are probably looking at more like 2 hours each way with the transfer.
Westward, you'd probably have to get past Gainesville and Manassas to get to rural-ish. Perhaps Warrenton? Again, you'd probably be looking at ~2 hours commute time.
Walkscore's commute tool maxes out at 60 minutes but could give you a starting point. Looks like the Eastern Shore area might fit? I thought Annapolis was a cute town when I visited years ago.
posted by basalganglia at 8:28 AM on August 28, 2021
Your comment about a college campus made me think of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg -- I-95 is a hellscape to drive, but there is commuter rail (VRE) which connects to Metro at L'Enfant Plaza. You are probably looking at more like 2 hours each way with the transfer.
Westward, you'd probably have to get past Gainesville and Manassas to get to rural-ish. Perhaps Warrenton? Again, you'd probably be looking at ~2 hours commute time.
Walkscore's commute tool maxes out at 60 minutes but could give you a starting point. Looks like the Eastern Shore area might fit? I thought Annapolis was a cute town when I visited years ago.
posted by basalganglia at 8:28 AM on August 28, 2021
[I'm not familiar with the area, but I like exploring areas like this. ]
You could find something like this 4/2.5 in Waldorf, MD, almost due south, which is allegedly 60 minutes from DC. It's not super-rural, more suburban, but it's giving you an idea of commute times.
This house is 75 minutes from DC, and is pretty rural.
Another house (way out of budget) on the other side of the Chesapeake so more than 90 minutes out. But my understanding is that with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, if there's an accident on the day you have to cross it, alternatives are practically impossible.
Good luck!
posted by China Grover at 8:57 AM on August 28, 2021
You could find something like this 4/2.5 in Waldorf, MD, almost due south, which is allegedly 60 minutes from DC. It's not super-rural, more suburban, but it's giving you an idea of commute times.
This house is 75 minutes from DC, and is pretty rural.
Another house (way out of budget) on the other side of the Chesapeake so more than 90 minutes out. But my understanding is that with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, if there's an accident on the day you have to cross it, alternatives are practically impossible.
Good luck!
posted by China Grover at 8:57 AM on August 28, 2021
Leesburg, VA/eastern Loudoun county could be a good fit. Leesburg in particular has a cute walkable downtown, but also a ten minute drive west will find you in beautiful rural land. Nice parks, hiking trails, and about an hour out of DC.
posted by nancynickerson at 9:11 AM on August 28, 2021
posted by nancynickerson at 9:11 AM on August 28, 2021
Consider the area south and west of Annapolis. It's relatively rural and inexpensive, but Annapolis is a nice small city. It's not far from DC, so even with rush hour traffic should be within your 90 minutes. If you want to be near water, check out North Beach and surrounding areas.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 9:16 AM on August 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 9:16 AM on August 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
If my office was in the SW Waterfront area, as you described, I'd try to live near the VRE. You'll be able to get off at L'Enfant Plaza and either walk or transfer to the green line.
I am only a little familiar with towns along the VRE lines, but Fredericksburg could strike a good balance between access to a large town (Fredericksburg itself), access to DC on the VRE, and the ability to live in a more rural-ish area if you drive to the train stop on days when you're commuting in. Fredericksburg also has the University of Mary Washington if you're looking for a walkable college campus nearby.
posted by oiseau at 9:17 AM on August 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
I am only a little familiar with towns along the VRE lines, but Fredericksburg could strike a good balance between access to a large town (Fredericksburg itself), access to DC on the VRE, and the ability to live in a more rural-ish area if you drive to the train stop on days when you're commuting in. Fredericksburg also has the University of Mary Washington if you're looking for a walkable college campus nearby.
posted by oiseau at 9:17 AM on August 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
I lived in Fredericksburg VA for 15 years. You'll probably need to live out in Spotsylvania County 10-15 min from downtown Fredericksburg. Once you are out of the Fredericksburg city limits, you are deep in Trumplandia, if that will matter to you.
You could live down by me on the northern edge of metro Richmond. It'll be a 2-hour Amtrak to DC, and you'll be 20 minutes from downtown Richmond, which is the capitol of VA but really feels more like a small city than a big city.
posted by COD at 10:28 AM on August 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
You could live down by me on the northern edge of metro Richmond. It'll be a 2-hour Amtrak to DC, and you'll be 20 minutes from downtown Richmond, which is the capitol of VA but really feels more like a small city than a big city.
posted by COD at 10:28 AM on August 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
WETA, one of the local PBS stations, did a TV show called "If You Lived Here". It looks like all 10 half hour episodes are available to view online. You might want to check it out to get more familiar with some of the neighborhoods. These are closer in than you are necessarily asking about, but it doesn't hurt to learn more about the area.
I agree with people above suggesting looking for places on the various commuter rail lines, like the VRE or even Amtrak. MARC is another line to consider, though the VRE is more convenient to the SW Waterfront. With MARC, partner would still need to take something like Metro from Washington Union Station to SW. (I know lots of people who do this type of commute daily, by the way.)
posted by gudrun at 11:59 AM on August 28, 2021
I agree with people above suggesting looking for places on the various commuter rail lines, like the VRE or even Amtrak. MARC is another line to consider, though the VRE is more convenient to the SW Waterfront. With MARC, partner would still need to take something like Metro from Washington Union Station to SW. (I know lots of people who do this type of commute daily, by the way.)
posted by gudrun at 11:59 AM on August 28, 2021
One thing to consider: there's a huge difference between rush hour and off hour traffic in the DC region. You can't just use distance as an indicator. When I worked in Reston my reverse commute out in the morning was a pretty reliable 35 minutes, but my evening commute home still got caught in traffic and was usually 65 minutes and sometimes worse. So it might look like, say, Front Royal meets your specs, but the actual drive from Front Royal on a work day could easily exceed two hours.
posted by fedward at 1:20 PM on August 28, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by fedward at 1:20 PM on August 28, 2021 [7 favorites]
Try Riva MD.
posted by shadygrove at 2:17 PM on August 28, 2021
posted by shadygrove at 2:17 PM on August 28, 2021
Chestertown, MD, meets your requirements and is pretty nice. It might be much more than 90 minutes if the bridge is backed up which it is summer weekends.
posted by procrastination at 3:08 PM on August 28, 2021
posted by procrastination at 3:08 PM on August 28, 2021
Purcellville Virginia. Three people I’ve recommended it to over the years have settled here and they had some similarities in what you are looking for.
posted by Rapunzel1111 at 3:12 PM on August 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Rapunzel1111 at 3:12 PM on August 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
You might also want to consider places along or near commuter bus routes.
posted by oceano at 3:12 PM on August 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by oceano at 3:12 PM on August 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
If you like the water, Annapolis is a good bet based on your description, though do make sure if you buy a house, you buy on high ground.
posted by coffeecat at 4:14 PM on August 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by coffeecat at 4:14 PM on August 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Richmond is at or beyond your maximum travel distance, but it has the advantage of being a pretty neat place to live in and of itself. My two cents as a DC native who has lived in Richmond for the past 15 years.
posted by AlbertCalavicci at 4:29 PM on August 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by AlbertCalavicci at 4:29 PM on August 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
The DelMarVa peninsular from the Canal down thru the aforementioned Chestertown and beyond is farm country, pure and simple. But, really, just going about 25 miles NW from city it gets pretty rural.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:13 PM on August 28, 2021
posted by SemiSalt at 5:13 PM on August 28, 2021
I live in Baltimore County, Maryland.
In non-Covid times, my husband has to travel regularly to DC for meetings.
He can hop an express MARC train from one of the nearby stations, and be in Union Station in 40 minutes. Travel time from Union Station to Southwest Waterfront would be roughly twenty minutes, either on foot or by Metro. (I'm a former Southwester and have done that trip many times myself.)
Baltimore County has universities, such as UMBC, Goucher and Towson. It's highly affordable here, and gives you cute towns like Catonsville. Arbutus has a giant arts festival and regular flea markets. You're also within day trip range of communities like Annapolis, Harpers Ferry and Frederick, and the Eastern Shore is an easy weekend trip. We visit both DC and Baltimore regularly, and can easily access BWI and Amtrak for longer journeys.
You can find more rural homes along the outskirts of the county, or look in nearby Carroll County.
posted by champers at 4:35 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
In non-Covid times, my husband has to travel regularly to DC for meetings.
He can hop an express MARC train from one of the nearby stations, and be in Union Station in 40 minutes. Travel time from Union Station to Southwest Waterfront would be roughly twenty minutes, either on foot or by Metro. (I'm a former Southwester and have done that trip many times myself.)
Baltimore County has universities, such as UMBC, Goucher and Towson. It's highly affordable here, and gives you cute towns like Catonsville. Arbutus has a giant arts festival and regular flea markets. You're also within day trip range of communities like Annapolis, Harpers Ferry and Frederick, and the Eastern Shore is an easy weekend trip. We visit both DC and Baltimore regularly, and can easily access BWI and Amtrak for longer journeys.
You can find more rural homes along the outskirts of the county, or look in nearby Carroll County.
posted by champers at 4:35 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Coming back to say I've spent much of my life in the DC-Baltimore megalopolis, in NoVa, DC and now Maryland. "Driving distance" and "rush hour" are very fluid concepts.
Traffic is gnarly, frustrating and unpredictable. You can think you've timed things to avoid traffic, then spend an hour in gridlock on the freeway because people stop to gawk at a broken-down Peapod truck.
Family and friends from LA and New York visit us and marvel at how annoying it is to drive here.
So once a week or every other week of a drive-only, variable, long commute to Southwest Waterfront (which always has a lot of construction going on) may well drive your partner bananas.
I strongly suggest giving yourselves access to transit in some form.
posted by champers at 5:37 AM on August 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Traffic is gnarly, frustrating and unpredictable. You can think you've timed things to avoid traffic, then spend an hour in gridlock on the freeway because people stop to gawk at a broken-down Peapod truck.
Family and friends from LA and New York visit us and marvel at how annoying it is to drive here.
So once a week or every other week of a drive-only, variable, long commute to Southwest Waterfront (which always has a lot of construction going on) may well drive your partner bananas.
I strongly suggest giving yourselves access to transit in some form.
posted by champers at 5:37 AM on August 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Does your husband have flexibility in his work hours? I agree with everyone who has mentioned how awful traffic is. Commuting outside of the usual work hours would be good. (Honestly traffic starts up around 7:45 and then 2:45.) I live maybe 9 miles from southwest, within the beltway, and I can totally imagine that in rush hour it would take me an hour to get home via car. Something along the MARC to Metro would be best.
I would also ditto that Frederick is very nice, with great walking and hiking areas. I personally would not commute 4x a month from WV or Richmond, but I definitely know people who do.
posted by inevitability at 6:02 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
I would also ditto that Frederick is very nice, with great walking and hiking areas. I personally would not commute 4x a month from WV or Richmond, but I definitely know people who do.
posted by inevitability at 6:02 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Have a coworker who commuted from Fredericksburg, it only was 'quick' for him when he used the toll lanes of 95.
When I worked in Reston my reverse commute out in the morning was a pretty reliable 35 minutes, but my evening commute home still got caught in traffic and was usually 65 minutes and sometimes worse
Yeah this has been my experience. It doesn't make sense to me how that evening commute is worse than the morning but it is.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 12:28 PM on August 29, 2021
When I worked in Reston my reverse commute out in the morning was a pretty reliable 35 minutes, but my evening commute home still got caught in traffic and was usually 65 minutes and sometimes worse
Yeah this has been my experience. It doesn't make sense to me how that evening commute is worse than the morning but it is.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 12:28 PM on August 29, 2021
I was thinking some more about this. Traffic in this area defies any sort of logic. I used to have a gig one or two nights a week up I-270, and getting there from Reston after work took anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, aside from the one night it took two and a half hours and got me disciplined for being late (and contributed to me quitting that gig). I had a different reverse commute job in Annapolis for a while, along with a different weekly gig in Alexandria, and a jackknifed trailer on US-50 caused me to miss a night of that gig (I didn't care about the money, but the guy who hired me was an asshole about it). My wife and I drove back to DC from Richmond a couple weeks ago, a point to point distance of 112 miles. It took us 3 ½ hours, averaging 32 mph in bumper to bumper traffic the entire way. It was not pleasant.
MARC and VRE trains have their own problems, but if you can find a place on a train line the commute should be much more predictable and much less stressful. Sitting on a train would be far preferable to being stuck on the highway because of an accident miles ahead of you.
posted by fedward at 1:04 PM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
MARC and VRE trains have their own problems, but if you can find a place on a train line the commute should be much more predictable and much less stressful. Sitting on a train would be far preferable to being stuck on the highway because of an accident miles ahead of you.
posted by fedward at 1:04 PM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
A data point about DC public transportation: my daughter and spouse live on a nice tree-lined street in Silver Spring and commute to offices in DC by public transit. They each report their commute takes an hour. This includes walking time to the Red Line, and walking at the other end to the office.
Public transit often takes twice as long as driving.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:46 AM on August 30, 2021
Public transit often takes twice as long as driving.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:46 AM on August 30, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Alterscape at 8:04 AM on August 28, 2021