Anonymous
06/22/2025 18:26
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Honestly can’t imagine driving 4 hours through traffic and all you get is mediocre Delaware beaches. You have to really be obsessed with the ocean to find that even halfway worth it.
Most people in the DC area who do this, don't drive at peak times because they don't have to. Ergo, the drive is a solid 2:15-2:30 and not much of an issue.
You hear this all the time but it's just not true. Unless you live in PG County and you're driving in the middle of the night in the middle of the winter, it's not 2 hours and 15 minutes to the Delaware beaches from anywhere in the DMV. At least not anywhere where most people in the DMV who can afford a second home in the DE beaches choose to live.
Anonymous
06/22/2025 18:22
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:We live in Bethesda and 135 miles from our DE beach house. My wife can usually do the drive in 2 1/2 hours. It takes me 3 with one brief stop and sometimes up to four when traffic is heavy. We do have to contend with the Bay Bridge.
What can I say. It’s a pain but worthwhile. If we found a place we really liked and hour to 1 1/2, it would be a big plus - but it wouldn’t be the beach. I tend to avoid going there on one night trips, but my wife does it all the time.
And once over the bridge, it’s a pretty please drive. There are alternate routes that add about 10: lies that add a lot of back country roads and are very pleasant.
Right now (Sunday evening) it's 2 hours and 34 minutes from Bethesda to Rehoboth and 2 hours and 53 minutes to get back. This is about as good as you're gonna do in the summer. And for a lot of people (count me among them) that's just too much as a regular thing.
Anonymous
06/22/2025 18:15
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We bought a place at the beach during the early part of Covid when interest rates were very low and before the real run up in prices. It’s exactly 3 hours without traffic. Yes I wish it was closer but we are very much beach people. I could not get excited about a house on a lake or river. I like beach towns and all the things to do. We can walk to a lot of things including the beach. What makes it work is that my spouse works remotely and I am very part time and remote in the summer. Spouse is out there now to attend an event, and has off today so it works out. I will meet them there with the kids this weekend and stay through Monday evening. We go back and forth a lot until mid July then will spend a few weeks there before school starts.
We could get a bigger nicer home here if we didn’t have the beach house but what is the point… this area kind of sucks. I’d rather be able to get out of here and go somewhere with a more laid back lifestyle and the ocean.
I assume you’re in the DMV? What about the winter? That to me is the drawback of having a beach house in this area. Sure, the occasional weekend there in the middle of the winter is fine, but it can’t be a regular thing. Most places are closed, 90 percent of the houses are empty, the weather is cold and windy, no walking on the beach etc., and the local folks are generally either old or MAGA or both. Not that there’s anything wrong with being old . . .
We go to Rehoboth regularly year round and the vast majority of restaurants are still open. And if there’s a MAGA crowd, there is also very much the opposite end of the political spectrum.
Maybe. But it's not like very many of them are any good. Rehoboth is hardly known for fine cuisine. And no beach as a practical matter for more than half the year? No thanks.
There's a reason these places are dead in the winter. They're not desirable.
Anonymous
06/21/2025 18:51
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have friends with a second home a mile from their house. It’s a waterfront cottage where their boat is kept. They use it to WFH, as a weekend getaway and for out of town guests. It’s even in their same school district.
Not quite this but an old ex had a beach house on CT shore that they could still commute from (same commute time as from “FT” house). Was such a lifestyle hack for Memorial Day - early October. Wish we had something like that for DC - Annapolis is probably the closest?
Yes, I think there are a lot of waterfront homes in Annapolis or other locations on the Bay. The area doesn't have much in the way of beaches, but if you're into sailing, boating, fishing it can be amazing. We have friends with a sleepaboard sailboat they take to various locations around the Chesapeake Bay with their kids. They also will sleep on the water somewhere in their same zip code
Anonymous
06/21/2025 18:44
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:I have friends with a second home a mile from their house. It’s a waterfront cottage where their boat is kept. They use it to WFH, as a weekend getaway and for out of town guests. It’s even in their same school district.
I have a second home in my backyard. It's an ADU. See vacation homes don't work this way
Anonymous
06/21/2025 16:31
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Honestly can’t imagine driving 4 hours through traffic and all you get is mediocre Delaware beaches. You have to really be obsessed with the ocean to find that even halfway worth it.
I think many of us are, indeed, obsessed with the ocean. This is surprising to you? And it’s never 4 hours from the DC area unless you decide you want to leave during rush hour in the summer.
How many consecutive weekends can you drive 2-4 hours each way to stare at the same view of the horizon?
I am a DP from the one you posed this to, but we do this drive 2-3 times a week during the summer season, and often times it is just one of us to get mail or check on things in DC, even as a day trip. It really isn't a big deal.
2-3 times a week? What is there to check on or what mail (especially when most important things are delivered electronically) needs to be reviewed more than once a week or really once every 2-3 weeks?
Anonymous
06/21/2025 15:30
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Honestly can’t imagine driving 4 hours through traffic and all you get is mediocre Delaware beaches. You have to really be obsessed with the ocean to find that even halfway worth it.
I think many of us are, indeed, obsessed with the ocean. This is surprising to you? And it’s never 4 hours from the DC area unless you decide you want to leave during rush hour in the summer.
How many consecutive weekends can you drive 2-4 hours each way to stare at the same view of the horizon?
I am a DP from the one you posed this to, but we do this drive 2-3 times a week during the summer season, and often times it is just one of us to get mail or check on things in DC, even as a day trip. It really isn't a big deal.
Anonymous
06/21/2025 15:29
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Honestly can’t imagine driving 4 hours through traffic and all you get is mediocre Delaware beaches. You have to really be obsessed with the ocean to find that even halfway worth it.
Most people in the DC area who do this, don't drive at peak times because they don't have to. Ergo, the drive is a solid 2:15-2:30 and not much of an issue.
Anonymous
06/19/2025 22:04
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Honestly can’t imagine driving 4 hours through traffic and all you get is mediocre Delaware beaches. You have to really be obsessed with the ocean to find that even halfway worth it.
I think many of us are, indeed, obsessed with the ocean. This is surprising to you? And it’s never 4 hours from the DC area unless you decide you want to leave during rush hour in the summer.
How many consecutive weekends can you drive 2-4 hours each way to stare at the same view of the horizon?
Treating your question as a serious one, the short answer is as many as I want, though I rarely go for just a weekend. I’m retired, with one kid still at home. We go as a family for several days at a time when DC has breaks and in the summer. I also go solo for 2 or 3 days at a time by myself or with friends, and DH does the same.
If I am by myself, I do actually spend a significant amount of time staring at the ocean and horizon. I find it incredibly relaxing. All the great food around there is a bonus, but it’s mostly about the ocean.
Anonymous
06/19/2025 21:18
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Honestly can’t imagine driving 4 hours through traffic and all you get is mediocre Delaware beaches. You have to really be obsessed with the ocean to find that even halfway worth it.
I think many of us are, indeed, obsessed with the ocean. This is surprising to you? And it’s never 4 hours from the DC area unless you decide you want to leave during rush hour in the summer.
How many consecutive weekends can you drive 2-4 hours each way to stare at the same view of the horizon?
Anonymous
06/19/2025 20:38
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Honestly can’t imagine driving 4 hours through traffic and all you get is mediocre Delaware beaches. You have to really be obsessed with the ocean to find that even halfway worth it.
I think many of us are, indeed, obsessed with the ocean. This is surprising to you? And it’s never 4 hours from the DC area unless you decide you want to leave during rush hour in the summer.
Anonymous
06/19/2025 17:29
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Honestly can’t imagine driving 4 hours through traffic and all you get is mediocre Delaware beaches. You have to really be obsessed with the ocean to find that even halfway worth it.
Anonymous
06/19/2025 17:18
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:We live in Bethesda and 135 miles from our DE beach house. My wife can usually do the drive in 2 1/2 hours. It takes me 3 with one brief stop and sometimes up to four when traffic is heavy. We do have to contend with the Bay Bridge.
What can I say. It’s a pain but worthwhile. If we found a place we really liked and hour to 1 1/2, it would be a big plus - but it wouldn’t be the beach. I tend to avoid going there on one night trips, but my wife does it all the time.
And once over the bridge, it’s a pretty please drive. There are alternate routes that add about 10: lies that add a lot of back country roads and are very pleasant.
That feeling once you get over the bridge is amazing, isn’t it? I agree that the rest of the trip is pretty and pleasant.
With respect to PP’s point about the Delaware beaches in winter, it has been a very long time since 90% of businesses were closed in the winter. We have a place in Bethany and love going during the fall and winter. There are lots of great restaurants to choose from, including all the So/Del Concepts ones, and a short drive to get groceries or other supplies. Plus there are fun town-sponsored events many weekends in the offseason.
Anonymous
06/19/2025 16:55
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
We live in Bethesda and 135 miles from our DE beach house. My wife can usually do the drive in 2 1/2 hours. It takes me 3 with one brief stop and sometimes up to four when traffic is heavy. We do have to contend with the Bay Bridge.
What can I say. It’s a pain but worthwhile. If we found a place we really liked and hour to 1 1/2, it would be a big plus - but it wouldn’t be the beach. I tend to avoid going there on one night trips, but my wife does it all the time.
And once over the bridge, it’s a pretty please drive. There are alternate routes that add about 10: lies that add a lot of back country roads and are very pleasant.
What can I say. It’s a pain but worthwhile. If we found a place we really liked and hour to 1 1/2, it would be a big plus - but it wouldn’t be the beach. I tend to avoid going there on one night trips, but my wife does it all the time.
And once over the bridge, it’s a pretty please drive. There are alternate routes that add about 10: lies that add a lot of back country roads and are very pleasant.
Anonymous
06/19/2025 16:54
Subject: Second home 2 hours v 3 hours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Two hours is our limit (we bought a house on the water 1:45ish away). It allows us to wait for Beltway traffic to clear out in the evening and still get there at a reasonable hour (by 10).
+1. Over 2 hours just seems so much longer to me than 1:45 to 2. Feels more doable for us and the kids.
Sure, 2 hours is better than 2.5 or 3, but unfortunately you can't get to the beach in 2 hours unless you're leaving at 4 AM.