Anonymous wrote:OP you can definitely find something in your budget that is walkable to the east falls church metro--we did, and we love it. But my DH hates the metro and has free parking at his office downtown, so he drives in. His hours are pretty 9 to 5. It usually takes him 30-40 minutes door to door, which ends up being shorter on average than walking to the metro, going up the escalator, waiting for the train, walking out of the station and getting to his office. But it's nice to have the metro for bad weather or if he's going for drinks after work. There is a bus that runs along Washington blvd to the metro and I see lots of working-professional-parent-types waiting for it.
I don't hate metro, but my drive from cherrydale to Chinatown is definitely faster than metro--25 to 35 minutes, sometimes 40 in the evening or during cherry blossom time.