OP - it can be done, and you will find a good route that works for you. I would contact the school and ask for names of folks in FC and put a call in to them. It can all change with time you leave and there are diff routes to try. Might be a little trial and error but it will all work. Before my DS started HS, I drove the route every day for a week and tried all the various ways and got a feel for traffic. Guys in the guard house thought I was nuts - driving up every day, turning around and leaving

Anonymous wrote:Good grief! I'm in FCC and did the commute to Burke for a year. Left the house at 8:20, got on 66E (because there were 2 of us in the car!), Key Bridge to Foxhall, Foxhall to Nebraska to CT Ave. I passed Sidwell (well, a block from Sidwell) every day. I almost always got there by 8:45 a.m. It's totally manageable and the drive back to FC was also a breeze. Occasionally on a Friday the traffic coming home would be bad, but that was about it.

It will be OK, OP.

OP is going to Sidwell's lower school in Bethesda, not the D.C. location.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks so much for the information and opinions. Yes, we are moving for DH's job not just for a "free house". DH wants to try to keep the house in Falls Church for sentimental reasons. I work from home and DD is our only child. We'll try the commute for a year and reassess.

New poster. Good choice. According to Google/Bing, your drive will be about the same as mine, although we come from the opposite direction in MD. It's really not that big a deal, and I actually enjoy the quiet time talking with my kids in the car. You just learn to adjust your work commute schedule to make the side trip to school. Also, be sure to look for carpools, because I know there are other SFS-LS families who live in that general area. If you like the school but hate the commute, you can always make a choice later to move closer. A few families do that every year at SFS. But it's much wiser to make that decision after having tested the school and the house for a year or two. See you around!

Good grief! I'm in FCC and did the commute to Burke for a year. Left the house at 8:20, got on 66E (because there were 2 of us in the car!), Key Bridge to Foxhall, Foxhall to Nebraska to CT Ave. I passed Sidwell (well, a block from Sidwell) every day. I almost always got there by 8:45 a.m. It's totally manageable and the drive back to FC was also a breeze. Occasionally on a Friday the traffic coming home would be bad, but that was about it.

It will be OK, OP.

I'd give up the house before I'd give up Sidwell.

I'm in Falls Church and had Waze pull up the commute this morning. You will basically be taking 495 on what has become a nightmare of a commute to MD. Agree with posters that it will be over an hour in the AM, 45 min I the PM. Your commute back to the school for pick up in the PM could be over 2 hours.