Which of these commutes is the least miserable?

[Anonymous]

I live in Vienna near Tysons and its a pretty easy commute from Tysons to Rockville. Not too bad of traffic going towards Maryland in the morning, and coming home seems better than the other direction trying to get into Maryland from VA over the bridge. I'd live in Vienna or Falls Church as close to the Beltway as possible if I were you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not meant to be snarky. Why don't you just stay in DC, especially upper NW? It would seem to be equidistant to both offices. There are a dozen or more homes on the market right now for <$700K in 20015, 20016, and 20816/Md.

The peer cohort in the elementary and middle school in Ward 3 is as strong as it's going to be in N. Potomac or Vienna, so don't buy let the "omg the schools are frightful" thing.

(H.S., you -may- have an issue, but I predict you and DH won't have your same 2 jobs in the same location when your eldest is 15.)

Since WHEN did 700K become an affordable home? Is the water really that bad in DC that it has contaminated you brain rendering you senseless?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Vienna near Tysons and its a pretty easy commute from Tysons to Rockville. Not too bad of traffic going towards Maryland in the morning, and coming home seems better than the other direction trying to get into Maryland from VA over the bridge. I'd live in Vienna or Falls Church as close to the Beltway as possible if I were you.

What route do you take? Even at 6:30 AM, there's backed-up traffic on the 267 Toll Road getting onto the 495 daily. Everybody's trying to get on the 495 from one lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in D.C. but are thinking of buying in one of the suburbs. I work in Rockville and my DH works in the Vienna/Tysons area. McLean and Potomac are out of our price range which means we're looking at Vienna/Fairfax or N. Bethesda/Rockville/Gaithersberg area. So I guess my question is this: Is the 495 between I-66 and I-270 better going in one direction or the other during rush hour?

1. Who's going to stay at her/his job longer? Live a tad closer to that person.
2. Daycare closer to home is preferable. I assume both of you are about equal in terms of ability and willingness to do daycare, etc., pickups.
3. What is your price and home/lot size range? Potomac may be more affordable than you think, especially if you are OK with a townhouse.
4. 66 to 270 in the AM was fairly easy 10 years ago. In the PM, it's a nightmare. Ugh! Try using 7 Locks Road as a shortcut in that case, at least it worked 10 years ago.
5. In Vienna, cutting along Idylwood to get to I-66/I-495 is fun.
6. Which elementary and middle schools in Ward 3 are as strong as Vienna, Louise Archer, Flint Hill, and Wolftrap ES?

[Anonymous]

You may want to consider Western Silver Spring/eastern Bethesda near east west highway and Beach Dr. Beach Dr. goes to Rock Creek Pkwy which is one way, south into DC in the mornings and one way north out to Montgomery County in the evenings. It's slow, but it moves along and you don't have a ton of traffic. I did this commute to Falls Church every day and it was about 45 min-1 hr which isn't much worse than my husband's metro commute, especially since you are moving. Your husband can easily get to Key Bridge or Memorial Bridge and jump on the GW Pkwy.