Commuting downtown from close-in Silver Spring

[Anonymous]

I live near the Forest Glen Metro in SS and am considering a new job in downtown DC. Does anybody make that commute? How long does it take? It seems like driving would be impossible, but is Metro much better?

[Anonymous]

I live in that general area, and for about 3 years drove in to my office next to the White House via 16th Street...30-35 minutes each way during rush hour unless an accident. Was much more reliable than metro. I know others who work further east and take 13th St or Georgia/7th, about the same time.

[Anonymous]

Every day. Takes me 20 mins in the morning, 30 in the evening. 16th via Alaska Avenue. I'm a little closer to Downtown than Forest Glen, and go to MacPherson Sq.

[Anonymous]

I take metro from Wheaton to Metro Center every day. It takes me about 45 mins door to door. I used to drive but found it horiffic, especially in the evenings. when it could take anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours.

[Anonymous]

Wow, based on the first two posted drive times, that is a similar-to-better commute than Bethesda and much of Chevy Chase! And you get similar houses at a lesser price Posted by a "close-in" Bethesda resident whose driving commute downtown takes 45min - 1 hour each way ...

[Anonymous]

i live next to forest glen station...
commute every day to farragut north...
30 minutes door to door ..on average..
time the train was out of service ...i took the 16th street bus home...caught the express...took just about the same amount of time...let me off near silver spring station...east/west highway ....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, based on the first two posted drive times, that is a similar-to-better commute than Bethesda and much of Chevy Chase! And you get similar houses at a lesser price Posted by a "close-in" Bethesda resident whose driving commute downtown takes 45min - 1 hour each way ...

The commute from SS inside the beltway does seem better than the commute from Bethesda, IMO. I lived in Bethesda for a few years (rented) and we bought in SS. We have friends who live in SS, Wheaton and Kensington and their commutes downtown averages 35 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, based on the first two posted drive times, that is a similar-to-better commute than Bethesda and much of Chevy Chase! And you get similar houses at a lesser price Posted by a "close-in" Bethesda resident whose driving commute downtown takes 45min - 1 hour each way ...

The commute from SS inside the beltway does seem better than the commute from Bethesda, IMO. I lived in Bethesda for a few years (rented) and we bought in SS. We have friends who live in SS, Wheaton and Kensington and their commutes downtown averages 35 minutes.

I would tend to agree with this, depending on where you work downtown. I used to live in Bethesda and my office is in Penn Quarter. I now live in Kensington and if I drive, my commute is much better than when I had to drive from Bethesda. But if you are going to the west end of the city, Bethesda is better (I've done that commute too).

Regardless OP, I would take Metro. I've lived and worked all along the red line and, despite the occasional delays and issues, it's almost always easier than driving. And if you get on at Forest Glen, you should be able to get a seat for the most of the ride (at least in the mornings). If not for Metro, I would never have time to read books.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely take metro. I live less than a mile from FG metro and take it to Penn Quarter every day (Judiciary Square). My co-worker lives not too far from me and drives. It takes us the same time in the morning (45 minutes door to door) and it takes him at least 30 minutes longer than me at night. It is a 20 minute or less metro ride for me and if the red line is screwed up you can always get off at Fort Totten and transfer to green. I have a pretty consistent ride - been doing this for about 4 years.

I like metro - I get to read and at Forest Glen (or Silver Spring) you almost always get a seat. When everyone gets off at Union Station I typically get a seat on the way home too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in that general area, and for about 3 years drove in to my office next to the White House via 16th Street...30-35 minutes each way during rush hour unless an accident. Was much more reliable than metro. I know others who work further east and take 13th St or Georgia/7th, about the same time.

Same here, but I used to take Georgia to 13th, rather than 16th as it tended to be faster. I worked on 19th near L Street.