Where to live to have 20 min driving commute to Capitol Hill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I hate commuting. The only problem with silver spring is the schools. I think we'd want a better school pyramid than what you find generally in silver spring. So I'm thinking I may have to suck up the Arlington commute to get better schools. Somehow I don't know anyone who actually makes that drive, and looking at it on google maps just doesn't illuminate things.

The schools in downtown Silver Spring are at least similar if not superior than Arlington. The commute, however, down North Capital St does kind of suck. Arlington driving can be ok or horrific, depending on the bridges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I hate commuting. The only problem with silver spring is the schools. I think we'd want a better school pyramid than what you find generally in silver spring. So I'm thinking I may have to suck up the Arlington commute to get better schools. Somehow I don't know anyone who actually makes that drive, and looking at it on google maps just doesn't illuminate things.

The schools in downtown Silver Spring are at least similar if not superior than Arlington. The commute, however, down North Capital St does kind of suck. Arlington driving can be ok or horrific, depending on the bridges.

Come on, be serious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I hate commuting. The only problem with silver spring is the schools. I think we'd want a better school pyramid than what you find generally in silver spring. So I'm thinking I may have to suck up the Arlington commute to get better schools. Somehow I don't know anyone who actually makes that drive, and looking at it on google maps just doesn't illuminate things.

The schools in downtown Silver Spring are at least similar if not superior than Arlington. The commute, however, down North Capital St does kind of suck. Arlington driving can be ok or horrific, depending on the bridges.

Come on, be serious.

Actually that is a fact, not including yorktown most of the school in Silver Spring are similar or better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you looked about any property around Capitol Hill? There are so many parks that the back yard issue has been non-existent for us (plus we meet so many others at the parks/playgrounds that it's great for socialization.

We are very happy with our school. There are some great school options (elementary) and we believe things will improve (or we'll have more options) by the time our child reaches middle.

Uh huh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I hate commuting. The only problem with silver spring is the schools. I think we'd want a better school pyramid than what you find generally in silver spring. So I'm thinking I may have to suck up the Arlington commute to get better schools. Somehow I don't know anyone who actually makes that drive, and looking at it on google maps just doesn't illuminate things.

I sort of do this drive. I commute from the Cherrydale neighborhood in N. Arlington to 4th and Eye NW, passing right by (or, depending on what route I take, under) the Capitol. So I can tell you with certainty that you can't make it from my house to the Hill in 20 minutes, except during non-rush hours. Depending on where you are going on the Hill, 30 minutes, door-to-door, would be a very good day, but I think you have to plan for 40, especially in the evening. Of course, there are places in Arlington closer to the Hill than Cherrydale, but your big choke points, traffic-wise, are the bridges, and you have to cross them no matter where in Arlington you are coming from. So living further east or south in Arlington will help, but not as much as you might think.

We moved to Arlington from the Hill, and I truly hated the commute at first. (Because I live a mile from the metro and have to switch lines to get to work, it's quite a bit faster for me to drive than metro, so that's what I do.) But I've gotten used to it and don't really mind it anymore, especially in the morning. Evening rush hour is more annoying, both because it is often longer and because I am just crankier at the end of the day.

I work on the Hill - on the NE side - and commute in from Rosslyn. No way is that 20 minutes. I commute via metro, b/c it's way less variable than traffic. It's about 35 minutes from Rosslyn to Union Station, with the transfer. Driving, it could be 15 minutes or an hour on any given day. That said, if you would live somewhere around Pentagon City, it would shave some driving time, or you could take VRE into Union Station if you are on that side. But traffic is a mess heading to the hill when Congress is in session.

[Anonymous]

I do this in 20 minutes via 295 at 7am from Hyattsville. Now, 7:30...that's another story.

[Anonymous]

At 6:45, 20 min is about right. I go to union station from tenley twice a week to catch the Acela and its about 20 door to door. Later on, a different story. In the middle of rush hour, you are looking at about 40 min to the Hill from Upper NW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - DH has ruled out living in D.C., and because of child care issues a car will be necessary in the afternoon, so Metro is a no-go. I have a reserved parking space at work.

Then you want to do the impossible and will be stuck in a life you don't want because of ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People trying to convince the OP to move to the Hill- she already said they have ruled out living in the city. Respect that personal choice, just as everyone should respect your choice to stay in the city.

But she also said she wants the commute to be 20 minutes. Which is it?

[Anonymous]

I think you could do 20 minutes from Arlington or Crystal City at 6:45 am, no? 30 minutes? The problem would be getting home, as many PPs have mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Where does DH work? Does he get to have a nice easy commute?

[Anonymous]

A couple years ago when I lived in Fairfax (Merrifield), I could leave my house at 6:35 a.m. and get to work at Gallery Place in 37 minutes door-to-door. Every day. And most of that was in VA. I bet the drive from the Rosslyn/ Courthouse area would take you 20-ish minutes or less if 395N wasn't backed up. (After 7:00 is a very different story.)

Houses in Rosslyn/Courthouse feed into very good Arlington schools.

[Anonymous]

We live in the Penrose area of Arlington. Love it! DH works near Gallery Place, and if he leaves at 7:15 he can be sitting down in his office by 7:50 and that includes walking a block and a half from his parking space.

[Anonymous]

Commuted from Arlington to Capitol Hill for many years. Leaving at 645am, a 20 minute commute is doable for much of Arlington, although probably not the western and northern edges of the county. Arlington is a much better bet than Silver Spring - too many stoplights to hit and speed cameras to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We lived on Captiol Hill for years. It can take close to 20 minutes to get from one area of the Hill to the other- there are so many stoplights. We used to always comment that it took almost 10 minutes to officially get off the Hill from Eastern Market.

Your best bet is probably Arlington, which can take 40+ minutes depending on bridge traffic. If you lived in Chevy Chase, MD, you could go down North Capitol and it would probably also take 30-40 minutes.

No it will take longer. I live on N Cap by Rhode Island and it is 40 min for me to Chevy chase outside of peak traffic, plus another 15-20 to the hill, depending on what part. That said, Eckington/Bloomingdale is 20 min drive in traffic to the hill.