How long will this take? I'm taking a job in Reston, I have to be there at 8AM, it's only 3 days a week. I'm thinking If I leave at 6:00 AM I should be okay. Has anyone else done this commute?

That's a long drive. I would leave at 5:30 am.

You're probably going to come down US 15 through Frederick and Point of Rocks.

Traffic on the Leesburg bypass generally sucks. Avoid Route 7 in Virginia. Get an EZ-Pass for the Greenway.

Also, there are a number of alternate (well, not involving US 15) crossings of the Potomac. One is at Brunswick, MD, another is at Knoxville, MD and Harpers Ferry, WV. There's also White's Ferry (a toll ferry) somewhere in rural Montgomery County, MD but I can't vouch for that since I've never actually taken it.

Stay far away from the clusterf*ck that is 270 and the Beltway. You have been warned.

Worked with a guy who would commute from Smithsburg and he would take 270 down to our office in Springfield. He would be on the road not later than 5AM and at the office by 6. Then he left at 2 so he didn't have to deal with the traffic heading north. He finally ended up buying a townhouse down here closer to the office.

Art VanDelay Wrote:
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> Worked with a guy who would commute from
> Smithsburg and he would take 270 down to our
> office in Springfield. He would be on the road
> not later than 5AM and at the office by 6. Then
> he left at 2 so he didn't have to deal with the
> traffic heading north. He finally ended up buying
> a townhouse down here closer to the office.

Was he a latex salesman?

I commuted on 270 for 18 months. Sometimes I thought it might be less stressful working in Afghanistan.

PA commuter Wrote:
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> How long will this take? I'm taking a job in
> Reston, I have to be there at 8AM, it's only 3
> days a week. I'm thinking If I leave at 6:00 AM I
> should be okay. Has anyone else done this
> commute?


Yes, maybe. 270 is a fucking bear. Maybe you better leave at 5am and hangout at work before starting time. If you leave before the traffic, it should only take 1.5 hrs Are you going 270 to the toll road? (oh shit! I guess there’s more than one toll road now.) I don’t even know the number of it.

Thanks! Definitely going to use ezpass.


It's right around 79 miles, Google maps is saying 1H 20m - 1 H 40m. I'm taking 15 not 270, I know all about 270. Even google maps is saying to stay clear of it.


1 hour is pretty quick for that commute, all the way to Springfield. I just have to put up with it 3 days a week, for a couple years. My home has 2 acres of land with a swimming pool, I paid $150k 2 years ago. I couldn't buy a out dated down 1 bedroom condo down there for that price. The Fairfax county income, in my small PA town goes really far, I should be able to pay my 30 year mortgage off in a couple years if I can just put up with the commute.

PA commuter Wrote:
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> Thanks! Definitely going to use ezpass.
>
>
> It's right around 79 miles, Google maps is saying
> 1H 20m - 1 H 40m. I'm taking 15 not 270, I know
> all about 270. Even google maps is saying to stay
> clear of it.
>
>
> 1 hour is pretty quick for that commute, all the
> way to Springfield. I just have to put up with it
> 3 days a week, for a couple years. My home has 2
> acres of land with a swimming pool, I paid $150k 2
> years ago. I couldn't buy a out dated down 1
> bedroom condo down there for that price. The
> Fairfax county income, in my small PA town goes
> really far, I should be able to pay my 30 year
> mortgage off in a couple years if I can just put
> up with the commute.

You will go insane with that commute before you can pay off that mortgage.

They live in Pa, Delaware, Md and Richmond. No shit. 24 hr shift is why.

PA commuter Wrote:
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> How long will this take? I'm taking a job in
> Reston, I have to be there at 8AM, it's only 3
> days a week. I'm thinking If I leave at 6:00 AM I
> should be okay. Has anyone else done this
> commute?

You're fuckin crazy.

Apology Boobs Wrote:
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>
> You will go insane with that commute before you
> can pay off that mortgage.


^ This. Did the drive from Springfield to Germantown for years. That was brutal enough. It's one thing to make a long haul like that somewhere traffic is more reasonable. Around here it's a fucking nightmare. Eats away at your soul a little every day.

Just to make it worse, about a month into it you'll be driving along one day and see them setting up construction somewhere on your route that will make your life hell for the next two years. lmao

Sometimes they do construction during off hours, so you end up sitting in traffic in the middle of the night.

PA commuter Wrote:
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> I just have to put up with it
> 3 days a week, for a couple years. My home has 2
> acres of land with a swimming pool, I paid $150k 2
> years ago. I couldn't buy a out dated down 1
> bedroom condo down there for that price. The
> Fairfax county income, in my small PA town goes
> really far, I should be able to pay my 30 year
> mortgage off in a couple years if I can just put
> up with the commute.

Time=Money, and long commuting is pissing both of them away. If you're single, it'll be a grind, but if you have a wife/younger kids, it can quickly turn into a nightmare. If the job really is only 3 consecutive days a week, you could air-bnb two nites a week because daily rentals in Reston are dirt cheap. By saving on the gas, tolls, wear&tear, and time you're likely to come out about even, and you get to keep your sanity as a bonus. Don't forget that your $150k rural PA manse will still be worth $150k in 10-20 years from now. Housing is expensive in Northern VA because the land it sits on is valuable, not the structure itself.

What do you do when the house is paid off? Quit the Reston job, then go work at the local Sheetz? With all that being said, if this is a $120k+ job, I'd make the effort. If this is a $40-60k job, you might need to re-assess. Good luck either way.


Go Ask The Firemen Wrote:
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> They live in Pa, Delaware, Md and Richmond. No
> shit. 24 hr shift is why.

Back when DC Fire had all their shift coverage issues a couple of years ago, it came out that there were firefighters on staff that actually lived as far away as South Carolina and NJ. One guy even flew in and out to work every week. Working 3-4 days on, then 3-4 days off is a crazy way to live a life.

Why don't you keep your country ass in PA?

It looks like a minimum of 1hr and 40 mn when you split up the route to its three components (G-F, F-L, and L-R). I used to do Reston-Martinsburg and my times were generally 30 minutes longer than Google's times because of the lower speed limits on the two-lane country roads. Also, the Leesburg bypass is essentially a parking lot now. Expect 15-25 mph on 15 around Leesburg as many do the commute from West Virginia and Harpers Ferry.

I used to do 3-4 12-hour days. After a while, your recovery time from the commute seems to get longer and longer until it doesn't.

>There's also White's Ferry (a toll ferry) somewhere in rural Montgomery County, MD but I can't vouch for that since I've never actually taken it.

I wouldn't bother, if I was commuting. It's shorter but chances are you'll wait for the ferry and if you're trying to save time, you won't save much vs the bridge at Point of Rocks. It is pretty though and something of a short-cut - you should try it just for fun sometime.

I totally get the whole commute vs. nice cheap house thing but I gotta say, you went pretty far afield for it. There're tons of places closer than that where you could have gotten a pretty nice place cheap (perhaps not as cheap) compared to Leesburg so I hope you have a reason for going all the way to PA. Also, keep your eyes open near Thurmont - I think the HP has a station there cuz there it seems to be a hot spot for speed traps out on 15.

PA commuter Wrote:
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> Thanks! Definitely going to use ezpass.
>


> My home has 2 acres of land with a swimming pool, I paid $150k 2
> years ago. I couldn't buy a out dated down 1
> bedroom condo down there for that price. The
> Fairfax county income, in my small PA town goes
> really far, I should be able to pay my 30 year
> mortgage off in a couple years if I can just put
> up with the commute.

You also make a lot more so you can afford to live closer if you wanted to. You can still find deals in Loudoun or Prince William.

Please don't become one of those people that lives very far and complains about their commute all the time. I see that a lot and in my mind think...your decision.

In two years to you move to a local job in PA making 1/4 the pay?

PA commuter Wrote:
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> I'm taking 15 not 270, I know
> all about 270.

Rt 15 can be a royal pain in the ass once you cross the river into VA. Too much traffic, too many 18 wheelers, and it's almost impossible to pass the slow pokes.

Make an appt with your dr...get a prescription for Prozac..you are gonna need it

Money is not everything. Health is. Just a thought.

#1 Health

#2 Family and Love

#3 Money


Unless of course you're not eating.