Greetings from Albuquerque!

I am moving to northern Virginia this Winter for a DC-based FBI job. I have heard intimidating things about the car-commute in DC, and am interested in riding the VRE to work.

I'm trying to find a city/area/neighborhood where my Mini will feel safe, with fun things to do nearby, and a fairly short drive to the nearest train station.

If you have any views about where to live/commute/play in n-VA, or views about living in Manassas, Manassas Park, Gainesville, Dale City/Dumfries/Triangle, Quantico area, etc, please fire away.

Thanks! Looking forward to motoring with you in the Spring, --doug

 

Are you going to be working in the city or out at Quantico? Have you looked at the DC metro website? That has some good info on time into the city with trains. http://www.wmata.com/default.cfm

Welcome in advance to the area. Hope to see you joining up with us for some MINI adventures!

 

My first nine weeks will be at Quantico, going through Intelligence Analyst school. After that I'll be working in DC somewhere. Maybe in the Hoover building, maybe in some newer counterterrorism building that I can find a picture of but can't find the address for. Spring and Fall, I'll probably walk from Union Station. During Summer & Winter I'll be the Metro's biggest fan.

 

The VRE has a train stop in the Quantico MCB. I ride the VRE everyday into DC. I catch it at the Lorton Station stop. Check out their web site http://www.vre.org

I have to say that they are not always on time.

 

I live in Arlington and catch the Metro into the city everyday at the Pentagon via Bus. I'd say that living as far in toward the city as you can afford is best, but if you're looking for a suburban lifestyle I'd suggest trying to live somewhere along either the Orange or Blue/Yellow lines so that you wouldn't have to mess with the VRE. The only thing I don't like about where I live is that there aren't any fun motoring roads in the immediate vicinity, but a short 15-20 min drive gets me to a number of fun roads. Ultimately it depends on how much you can afford for housing in this area, which of course is pretty pricey ...

And from a fellow employee of the DOJ, I hope you enjoy D.C.!

 

What about Capitol Hill ? I have a one bedroom condo with off-street parking - my MINI has never had any issues.

 

Fredericksburg should be on your short list....sits in the middle between Richmond and DC. The VRE is readily accessible but not always on time

 

and if you decide that's too far South, Springfield/Franconia area is good.

 

I live in Arlington and drive into DC because I park free at work. Would take Metro if not spoiled by this. Before I had a car, I took the bus daily.

VRE is great, but I have heard it can be late and in bad weather (excessive heat, any sort of snow etc) sometimes all the trains do not run.

Metro might be a better option, because it pretty much runs smoothly all the time. I would also recommend Blue/Orange line stations. You can get as far out as Vienna/Springfield on either and have a "suburban" lifestyle and pay a little less for housing. Living close in is very convenient, but also more expensive. Depending on how close in you are, the bus could be an option. I loved my bus commuting days. The bus stopped right on the block I work in (rather than having to walk for 10 minutes from the nearest Metro) and picked me up on the block I lived on (rather than walking 10 minutes to Metro agiain.)

 

Springfield is fairly expensive for one person. Right now I'm living in manassas Park and I take the VRE from my back yard. They adhere to their schedule fairly well (except when DC is flooded). Most apartments I looked at yesterday are around $1200 for a 2 BR. Two good stops VRE once you get into DC are L'Enfant plaza and Union Station. You can connect to anywhere from L'Enfant!

 

I personally recommend the Stafford area for living. Benefits to Stafford:

- With Stafford you are still close to DC but it's not nearly as built up as anything north of Quantico.
- There are plenty of fun roads to drive on.
- There are plenty of places to commute from to include commuter/slug lots, car/van pools, VRE station at Quantico, and others. You can also commute to the Fran.-Springfield metro and then take that in. Check out the commuter connection page and get more info there. http://www.mwcog.org/commuter/ccindex.html

 

I've lived in northern VA (inside the Beltway) for 18 years.

Assuming that you are optimizing for the long-term commute to DC rather than the 9 weeks in Quanitico, I recommend you live inside the beltway or in DC itself (but only if you can find off-street parking). Ideally you'd live within walking distance of a Metro stop, but you can also check the MetroBUS schedules for rush hour buses (most have a "T" suffix, e.g., 24T) which offer quick and cheap commutes to nearby Metro stations. You can't go wrong if you are within a 20 minute walk of any orange line station inside the beltway or any blue or yellow line station from King Street inbound. An often overlooked area is Del Ray which is the part of Alexandria that is "across the tracks" from pricey Old Town Alexandria. Look for places within walking distance of either the King Street or Braddock Road stations.

Fredericksburg is a great town, as are many of the outlying suburbs in northern Virginia, but I do not find them fundamentally different than any suburb that is an hour outside of any major city--if you're going to live in the national capital area, live close in so you can live the Washingtonian life.

Keep in mind that the closer in you live the more you will be surrounded by the "type A" folks who work DC jobs. If you want a more casual life, an outer suburb may be better for you. I travel frequently to Albuquerque on business, and it is one of my favorite cities in the USA, but you are less likely to find the laid-back Albuquerque-type folks inside the beltway than in the outer burbs.

As far as commuting goes, keep in mind the time cost as well as the $. Over the long run the time will have a larger impact on your quality of life than the money.

If you have to worry about schools, anyplace in Fairfax County is good. Arlington schools are generally good, but there is more variation than in Fairfax. The Alexandria City schools are a crap shoot, but those in the City of Falls Church and the City of Vienna are good.

In all fairness, you could also consider suburban Maryland along the red line. The west side of the red line (Tenleytown, Chevy Chase, Bethesda) is pricier than the east side (Takoma Park, College Park). Montgomery County schools are also very good.

Good luck, and welcome to the area!

 

I agree with the time factor from FINDUDE. Approximately 6 hours is absorbed in commute time living out here in Manassas Park. Getting to DC isn't bad, it's getting to the other side of DC for my job over by Andrews. If I'm off by only a minute getting to the metro, I have just added an extra 40 minutes to my commute. Fredericksburg or Manassas is as far out as I would go. Springfield was ideal because the metro was close, and if I had to drive it was only 35 mins. If I have to drive now, it's about 2 hours if I don't get out of the house before 6am. And taking the train to get to work by 7am I have to get up at 0425. Makes for a long day! Time seriously will affect your quality of life; that's why I am looking for another place as we speak. Good luck on your search T2NAV!