How horrible is the commute from Ashburn to DC

[Anonymous]

Do one of the bus / transit lines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know people who do it. They work very early - 6:30 to 3 - to make it work. Commuting at normal times would be terrible.

NP+1
I should say the people I know who make this commute make use of the time.
One takes bus / metro and watches Netflix or movies and the other two drive and enjoy the time as decompression (which I don’t totally understand because the drive can be stressful, but to each, his own…)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what is your commute/driving tolerance? I commute in 2x a week from the western exurbs (Fauquier not Loudoun) and it’s about 1 hour 10 minutes door to door each way. I take the 66 express lanes all the way in, which yes is expensive but totally worth it. I do not mind my commute at all. Traffic on Mondays and Fridays is noticeably lighter, so those are the days I go in. I get in around 8 and leave around 4:30.

Same, from Fauquier. I don’t use the express lanes, go in periodically, and try to arrive around 9:45-10 and leave at 3pm or after dinner. If I need to be in earlier, I’ll stay in a hotel.

It’s not awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be going into the office 3 days a week

3 kids

Looking to cash in on appreciation of our McLean home that we bought 6 years ago

Wife works from home

why do you need the cash?

OP here

I'm in one of those careers where you can make a lot of money and die at age 50 having never seen your kids or hop out at age 40, move to government, and make 5-10% of your prior salary as a GS-15. I'm opting for the latter

You're not going to see your kids with that commute.

[Anonymous]

We used to live there and I couldn't take the commute any longer and we finally moved. The schools are fine, but we found the quality of teaching uneven. I think you have better school options where you are and a far better location.

I don't know how much you're cashing out or if you plan to pay cash for a new home, but we live off one GS 15 salary with 3 kids and frankly, I'd rather be in your situation. You're going from wealthy to watching every dollar spent if I'm understanding this correctly. And as others have pointed out, the tolls are expensive and seem to go up every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be going into the office 3 days a week

3 kids

Looking to cash in on appreciation of our McLean home that we bought 6 years ago

Wife works from home

why do you need the cash?

OP here

I'm in one of those careers where you can make a lot of money and die at age 50 having never seen your kids or hop out at age 40, move to government, and make 5-10% of your prior salary as a GS-15. I'm opting for the latter

You're not going to see your kids with that commute.

This is objectively not true. The commute snowflakes on this thread are crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't recommend it. It will take you a solid hour and a half on the train each way (at least), if you want to metro, and if you drive, it will cost a small fortune (tolls and presumably parking garage). If you can get away with going into the office twice a week, that might be passable, but I think you'll feel pretty miserable doing it any more than that. I say this as someone who also has a long commute (I go to DC 3 times a week from Reston).

Do you need to be in Ashburn or could you consider somewhere a little bit closer? My commute is about an hour, give or take, and while I don't love it, it's generally manageable.

Agree. Have you looked at Reston or pimmit hills? I realize wife probably wants a McMansion (hence Ashburn)

[Anonymous]

Virtually every federal agency is or soon will be mandating a minimum of 50% in-person work for local managers/supervisors based on guidance from the WH. And at most federal agencies, non-supervisory staff will be required to be in the office 2 days per week (instead of the 2 days per PP now) by spring ’24.

You might consider a nice TH in McLean (3000+ sq feet) for $1.5M or less that has some of the very best public schools in the state. Another option would be Chantilly. Chantilly has some very good public schools and you can get a very nice SFH (but not a new McMansion) for under $1.25M.

The only reason I can see to buy in Ashburn is to get a newer McMansion, but you’ll have a 2.5-3hr average commute (4+ hours when are accidents or construction), you won’t have quality time with your kids for several days each week, and your kids education would suffer (Ashburn schools are OK but definitely not among the best in the state based on test scores or top tier college admittance). If your family insists on a McMansion, I think a dose of reality is needed.

[Anonymous]

Heres how i do it from ashburn: 15 min drive from home to dulles transit center. Take the loudoun commuter bus for 40 min and it drops me off 3 blocks from where i work. Total commute time one way is 1 hr. Key is to live near the dulles transit center while still living in ashburn. My agency covers transit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heres how i do it from ashburn: 15 min drive from home to dulles transit center. Take the loudoun commuter bus for 40 min and it drops me off 3 blocks from where i work. Total commute time one way is 1 hr. Key is to live near the dulles transit center while still living in ashburn. My agency covers transit.

What time do you get the bus and where does it drop you off? We live in McLean near the 267 toll access to 66 and drop off at Gonzaga (near Union Station). Leaving between 7-7:30am can often take 40 minutes in the morning; almost always 40 minutes in the afternoon home.

[Anonymous]

I take the 7am or 717am bus. I get dropped off on 18 and E street. I recommend taking a look at the schedule to see if drops you off near where you work.

[Anonymous]

Let me get this straight. You have had an HHI north of $1million for multiple years and have a house in McLean and you want to move to Ashburn to save money? Those ghastly houses in Ashburn aren’t cheap by any stretch and the commute will be awful. You clearly suck at money and shouldn’t make any move of this kind without consulting a reliable financial advisor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be going into the office 3 days a week

3 kids

Looking to cash in on appreciation of our McLean home that we bought 6 years ago

Wife works from home

why do you need the cash?

OP here

I'm in one of those careers where you can make a lot of money and die at age 50 having never seen your kids or hop out at age 40, move to government, and make 5-10% of your prior salary as a GS-15. I'm opting for the latter

Plenty of GS15’s in McLean. Work an extra year and pay off your house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be going into the office 3 days a week

3 kids

Looking to cash in on appreciation of our McLean home that we bought 6 years ago

Wife works from home

why do you need the cash?

OP here

I'm in one of those careers where you can make a lot of money and die at age 50 having never seen your kids or hop out at age 40, move to government, and make 5-10% of your prior salary as a GS-15. I'm opting for the latter

So...biglaw partner to DOJ trial attorney?

NP DOJ trial attorneys do not have sedate work lives. If you are looking for work/life balance, that ain’t it.

I billed 2800 hours last year. Is the DOJ really comparable?

Yes. Travel at 60-70% at many agencies. No support staff. Trials. Lots of them. So, yes. Are you defending cases where the DOJ is investigating doing 2800 hours? With how many attorneys on staff? Can’t you imagine it’s quite a lot on the other side?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would be going into the office 3 days a week

3 kids

Looking to cash in on appreciation of our McLean home that we bought 6 years ago

Wife works from home

90 mins minimim each way. And it is a horrid commute, not pleasant at all.