Commute Q: to and from US Census (Suitland MD), home in Falls Church

[Anonymous]

I am job hunting and considering positions to apply for, and an opening came up at the US Census in Suitland MD.

We live in Falls Church (near Mosaic District) and I need to be home at 5 PM each day for a family commitment.

Google Maps says I should be able to be home earlier than 5 PM most days if I leave Suitland at 4 PM.

Does this seem realistic?

[Anonymous]

You need to metro. 100%

[Anonymous]

I did that commute for years, but it has been awhile. Metro was waaay longer than driving. That was mostly before the widening of the 66 on ramp which was a slog from route 7 up 29 (sometimes 15-20 minutes!). I found the traffic from FCC to Suitland was about the only reverse commute route on the Beltway. It usually took me 45 minutes to do the route. If I left at 6pm or later, I cut through the District, because I preferred that route. Sorry I don't have more up to date info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did that commute for years, but it has been awhile. Metro was waaay longer than driving. That was mostly before the widening of the 66 on ramp which was a slog from route 7 up 29 (sometimes 15-20 minutes!). I found the traffic from FCC to Suitland was about the only reverse commute route on the Beltway. It usually took me 45 minutes to do the route. If I left at 6pm or later, I cut through the District, because I preferred that route. Sorry I don't have more up to date info.

Thanks for your feedback. I figured Metro would not be a good option. Maybe I'll need to test out the drive home.

[Anonymous]

It would stress me out if I HAD to be somewhere every day by 5 pm, but YMMV. I used to commute from Falls Church to Gaithersburg and the beltway sucks. Yours looks like more mileage but maybe a less trafficky stretch of the beltway.

I personally would look for something closer to home just for quality of life reasons. In fact I work in Arlington now