Moving to DC

[Alps]

When will you change your location?

Next couple of months. Long drive ahead of us.

Drop me a line. I head down on occasion.

[NJRoadfan]

A friend of mine used to live in a condo in Arlington near the Courthouse stop on the Metro (Orange/Silver line). Seemed to be a nice area from what I saw of it but likely because its an expensive area to begin with.

[AlexandriaVA]

A friend of mine used to live in a condo in Arlington near the Courthouse stop on the Metro (Orange/Silver line). Seemed to be a nice area from what I saw of it but likely because its an expensive area to begin with.

Expensive is a relative term in these parts. For a salaried professional, Courthouse isn't cheap but it sure isn't deluxe either.

[Desert Man]

Congrats and good luck living in the nation's capital...I plan to visit Washington DC one of these days, along with the whole east coast. I'm in Southern CA so this is the other side of the country for me. I traveled across CA, including the state capital Sacramento.

Washington DC used to be the highest Black population of any major city in the US (now Detroit-80%), due to gentrification since 1990 reversed the previous 50 years of white flight. In an unscientific survey, DC has the highest LGBT percentage or population, surpassing San Francisco and Palm Springs CA, although this isn't a census report statistic. And nearby Northern VA have the wealthiest cities or counties in the country, outdoing New York City's 5 boroughs, the entire NYC metro area, coastal southern New England, the SF Bay area, and expensive Alaska and Hawaii.

[mrsman]

I'm obviously biased, but Virginia offers some notable advantages–lower income taxes, lower gas prices, usually lower car insurance premiums.

This is important to me, because I come from a state with no income tax. I understand that Virginia also collects personal property tax, whatever that is. But I will appreciate the nearly-halved sales tax and slightly lower fuel prices. Hopefully diesel isn't too much more expensive than unleaded over there. Same price as unleaded here.

One disadvantage if you drive into the District is a natural barrier–the Potomac. All traffic has to funnel onto the bridges, so they're natural chokepoints. Maryland has a land border with the District, so there are more alternate routes when something gets messed up. I think the key to getting around here is to learn as many different routes as you can and to be prepared to use any or all of them at a moment's notice if the traffic report tells you something is wrong.

Her office building, the location of which is considerably more important in the overall scheme of things (I can theoretically work at just about any hotel), is south of the Mall. I don't know how that might play into things (maybe trying to cross the mall is a PITA, so living north of downtown is not such a good idea?). That said, I completely forgot about the Potomac. I come from an area with lots of natural land barriers (hills, rivers, lakes), so it's not something that I need to adjust to and/or am annoyed by. Might just have to live with it, since Maryland is now officially off the table (apparently she talked to some area friends who highly prefer Virginia for various reasons -- she (being my mother) makes the call, as you might imagine; she is also not familiar with the area so is relying on her friends heavily). That in mind, her intent is to take Metro most days, so the Potomac shouldn't pose too much of a threat from day-to-day.

Is Waze heavily utilised out east? I use the app just about every day here, even just going a few miles. Lots of people here using it, so it comes in handy when trying to avoid congestion. Although, being incredibly familiar with Seattle roads means that I often ignore it, as I think I know better.

Just wanted to chime in as another local that I agree with your general assessments.  For most of the reasons that you've described like taxes and other expenses VA is a much better deal than DC or MD.  (I live in MD because I prefer to live within my ethnic community and there are more of us in MD than VA - but otherwise I'd probably choose VA as well.)

Despite its problems, Metro is still better than driving on a regular basis.   I work in Downtown DC and I always Metro to work, but do occasionally take the family on museum outings by car on the weekends.  If you have a regular work schedule, Metro is generally fine but the off-peak and weekend frequencies are generally terrible.  Living within reasonable distance of Metro would be really helpful.  As far as car commuting goes, you do have to contend with bridges but at least you generally have expressway access direct to Downtown.  (This is really helpful if you do drive at off-peak times - your drive from VA will be quick, but from where I am, I either have to go out of my way to take a winding parkway or drive on streets with poorly timed signals on every other block - like 16th or Georgia.)

Roadgeeking-wise, I think MD does a pretty good job of signing, both on highways and on local streets. In DC and VA there are too many traffic signals that do not have large overhead signs that make navigating easier.  And the traffic circles in DC are never fun.

Plus, I like your signage style of what you post in the "Illustrations" forum.  They are reminiscent of 40's and 50's California styling.  It would be interesting to see your take on some of our local roads - when you move here and drive around here you are likely to be inspired to make some changes.  The DOT highways tend to be pretty well signed in both MD and VA but the parkways (especially Rock Creek and GW) could use some help.

[jakeroot]

Hey guys! Little update for ya.

Nothing has happened yet. Our house here in the Seattle area is on the market. No bites yet, but it's more expensive than most homes in the area, so it will take some time to find the right buyer. Until the house sells, it's likely that we will move into an apartment in the Merrifield area, hopefully near the metro stop so that my mother doesn't have to suffer in traffic!

She's actually in DC right now scoping out some homes. She's currently looking around Springfield. And that's fine, but it seems awfully far from DC. There's the Franconia metro station, and there's a large garage there. She would have no problem paying to park there, but it's a first-come-first-serve garage (as it should be), and I'd be worried about it filling up. Anyone know how quickly, and by what time, these garages generally fill up? Assuming they do?

[1995hoo]

Yesterday I found a spot at the Franconia—Springfield stop at 10:30 AM with no difficulty at all. It can fill up, but as long as you don't mind parking on the top level you can usually get a spot. We live about two miles east of there. We have no problem finding a space under cover at 8:00 AM. There are about 5100 spots in the main garage there.

Other thing to know is that you can park for free a quarter-mile away on the top level of the Macy's garage if you don't mind a short walk or waiting for a shuttle bus. A fair number of people park there to save $4.95 a day and then park in the WMATA garage if it's raining (so expect a more crowded Metro garage if bad weather is forecast).

[1995hoo]

BTW, something to add to my comment from last night: The Springfield Metro garage is not entirely first-come first-served. There are a certain number of reserved spaces–WMATA.com's mobile site doesn't give the exact number of spaces–and you can sign up for a reserved space for $45 a month (does not include the daily $4.95 fee). You're not actually reserving a particular numbered space. Rather, they don't sell more permits than the number of reserved spots, and the spots in question are reserved only until 10:00 AM. After 10:00, anyone can park in them. The idea is essentially that you can ensure yourself access to a space in a certain part of the garage if you pay the extra. I don't think it's worth it at Springfield and I don't have a reserved permit because we never have trouble finding parking around 8:00 AM and because I don't care about parking in a particular part of the garage other than preferring not to be on the top level out in the elements. If we commuted from a smaller stop with fewer parking spots (say, Van Dorn Street, which has 325 spaces), I might feel differently about it. The price for the reserved permit varies (it's $45 at Springfield but $65 at Van Dorn, for example), and some stations may have waiting lists.

[jakeroot]

Thank you very much for the information, 1995hoo. Very, very helpful!

My area doesn't build very many large parking garages at park-and-rides (although there's some), so it's always a race here to see who will get a spot, and who won't. At the stations, the only reason the trains aren't completely packed all day is due to the limited amount of parking (never mind the lack of homes within walking distance). People here love trains, they just don't know how to get to the train stations without their cars. Many towns aren't jumping on the idea of large park-and-rides because of the lack of infrastructure to support that many more cars in the area.

[froggie]

Unless your mother's beholden to the I-95 South corridor, I'd suggest looking for something that offers easy (or easier) access to the Huntington metro.  Yellow Line tends to operate better (and more frequently despite "Rush Plus") than the Blue Line, and heads more directly into the DC core instead of looping around via Rosslyn.

That said, VRE (the commuter rail) is also an option in Franconia-Springfield...

[1995hoo]

"Rush Plus" is no more. They did away with it near the end of this past June.

[jakeroot]

At this point, I think she's beholden more to a three-bedroom townhouse than anything else, but she's fairly certain that she wants to live at least in Virginia, and within some distance of a metro (whether she'd have to walk, take a bus, or drive to the station is not of major concern). Huntington is near a new development she was considering, but I think she decided they were too expensive. She's also dropped her "distance/time" requirements due to a tighter budget. She's accepted the fact that she can't live 15 minutes from DC, and be able to afford three bedrooms. The federal government just doesn't pay that well.

She has strongly considered using the VRE, because that's how she gets to work now (heavy/commuter rail -- the "Sounder").

[1995hoo]

At this point, I think she's beholden more to a three-bedroom townhouse than anything else, but she's fairly certain that she wants to live at least in Virginia, and within some distance of a metro (whether she'd have to walk, take a bus, or drive to the station is not of major concern). Huntington is near a new development she was considering, but I think she decided they were too expensive. She's also dropped her "distance/time" requirements due to a tighter budget. She's accepted the fact that she can't live 15 minutes from DC, and be able to afford three bedrooms. The federal government just doesn't pay that well.

She has strongly considered using the VRE, because that's how she gets to work now (heavy/commuter rail -- the "Sounder").

Given that description, she might want to look into the Kingstowne area. Of course I'm biased because that's where I've lived since 2001, but it meets all those requirements: (1) Close to three Metro stops–Springfield, Van Dorn, and Huntington. (2) Close to the Springfield VRE stop; less convenient to the King Street and Backlick Road stops. (3) Plenty of three-bedroom townhouse and other options (single-family, condos, some apartments).

BTW, examine the Metro fares and the VRE fares carefully before deciding on one or the other. I would say if you live near a Metro stop, the Metro is likely to be the better option most of the time because it costs less and runs more frequently. From Springfield to L'Enfant Plaza is $5.35 one-way on the Metro and $7.65 one-way on the VRE (the latter can be reduced a little with multiple-ride passes). If you have to park at Springfield, that's an additional $4.95 a day regardless of which train you use. The nice thing, of course, is that if the Metro gets messed up, you can take the VRE and still get back to the same place (or vice versa).

Edited to add: BTW, one other thought is that Springfield (or Huntington) is at the end, or beginning, of the line. You'll always get a seat. I don't know whether the VRE is full when it gets to that area, but it certainly looks quite crowded when I see it from the Metro trains. The majority of VRE passengers are coming from further out.

[Bruce]

Thank you very much for the information, 1995hoo. Very, very helpful!

My area doesn't build very many large parking garages at park-and-rides (although there's some), so it's always a race here to see who will get a spot, and who won't. At the stations, the only reason the trains aren't completely packed all day is due to the limited amount of parking (never mind the lack of homes within walking distance). People here love trains, they just don't know how to get to the train stations without their cars. Many towns aren't jumping on the idea of large park-and-rides because of the lack of infrastructure to support that many more cars in the area.

Link gets rather full at mid-day, even running three-car trains. And those riders aren't coming from the park and rides (which account for 2% of daily ridership).

And there's a lot of large garages for the bus system. And plenty more coming with the suburban Link extensions (which will break the bank...because the car is the only deity worshiped here).

[jakeroot]

Thank you very much for the information, 1995hoo. Very, very helpful!

My area doesn't build very many large parking garages at park-and-rides (although there's some), so it's always a race here to see who will get a spot, and who won't. At the stations, the only reason the trains aren't completely packed all day is due to the limited amount of parking (never mind the lack of homes within walking distance). People here love trains, they just don't know how to get to the train stations without their cars. Many towns aren't jumping on the idea of large park-and-rides because of the lack of infrastructure to support that many more cars in the area.

Link gets rather full at mid-day, even running three-car trains. And those riders aren't coming from the park and rides (which account for 2% of daily ridership).

And there's a lot of large garages for the bus system. And plenty more coming with the suburban Link extensions (which will break the bank...because the car is the only deity worshiped here).

The Link, given its current route, appeals more to the urban non-car lifestyle than it does to suburban commuters. I'm not surprised that only 2% of ridership is from park and rides. But, looking at something like the Sounder (something I'm more familiar with in the south sound), its routing is far more suburban, and although I don't have the numbers (don't know where to get them), I'm certain that many of the Sounder riders drive to the stations, and ride the train to their destination (perhaps taking a bus or the Link from that point on). Speaking specifically of the Puyallup station, the closest to the house where I grew up, and where my mother has been residing, the city lot is tiny. Probably 250 spots. A lot of people arrive at that station via bus from other nearby park and rides due to the limited capacity. Similar situation in Sumner.

Looking at Google Maps, I've suddenly realized how many large garages there really are. Federal Way, Lakewood, T-Dome, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way...the list goes on. And I know the north Puget Sound has many, many more. I guess it's all those news stories about the lack of parking at park and rides that can make you forget how much parking there really is, if you know where to look.

[Bruce]

Thank you very much for the information, 1995hoo. Very, very helpful!

My area doesn't build very many large parking garages at park-and-rides (although there's some), so it's always a race here to see who will get a spot, and who won't. At the stations, the only reason the trains aren't completely packed all day is due to the limited amount of parking (never mind the lack of homes within walking distance). People here love trains, they just don't know how to get to the train stations without their cars. Many towns aren't jumping on the idea of large park-and-rides because of the lack of infrastructure to support that many more cars in the area.

Link gets rather full at mid-day, even running three-car trains. And those riders aren't coming from the park and rides (which account for 2% of daily ridership).

And there's a lot of large garages for the bus system. And plenty more coming with the suburban Link extensions (which will break the bank...because the car is the only deity worshiped here).

The Link, given its current route, appeals more to the urban non-car lifestyle than it does to suburban commuters. I'm not surprised that only 2% of ridership is from park and rides. But, looking at something like the Sounder (something I'm more familiar with in the south sound), its routing is far more suburban, and although I don't have the numbers (don't know where to get them), I'm certain that many of the Sounder riders drive to the stations, and ride the train to their destination (perhaps taking a bus or the Link from that point on). Speaking specifically of the Puyallup station, the closest to the house where I grew up, and where my mother has been residing, the city lot is tiny. Probably 250 spots. A lot of people arrive at that station via bus from other nearby park and rides due to the limited capacity. Similar situation in Sumner.

Looking at Google Maps, I've suddenly realized how many large garages there really are. Federal Way, Lakewood, T-Dome, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way...the list goes on. And I know the north Puget Sound has many, many more. I guess it's all those news stories about the lack of parking at park and rides that can make you forget how much parking there really is, if you know where to look.

Link is an urban rail system. It's not supposed to have large amounts of parking, and certainly not within the city limits and built up areas.

There's not many garages in the north end (just Mountlake Terrace), instead we use large surface lots built before the tech-induced development boom of the 1990s to present. They will be re-done into garages when Link is extended, with remaining parcels redeveloped into housing and offices. And they still won't account for all that much ridership compared to bus transfers (which will be massive for Lynnwood) and people living/working in those new developments.

[AlexandriaVA]

Did you consider Braddock Road/Potomac Yard areas of Alexandria?

[jakeroot]

Major update today.

First: I will be staying put for the time being. I had a job opportunity pop up back in my area.

Second: My mother has finally found a place. It's in the Court House district of Arlington. It's just an apartment, so nothing permanent. But she expects to stay there for about a year. It's a 15-month lease. She will be able to ride the metro to work every day (it's only a couple block walk). She's pretty excited.

Third: Our house has sold. We have been moving everything out for the past month, and we're just about finished. Movers show up mid-December. They will be taking her stuff. The stuff I left at my mother's house when I moved out will be coming back to my place. Her flight to DC will be the 27th of December. The government is paying to ship her car. Not sure when that's happening.

Did you consider Braddock Road/Potomac Yard areas of Alexandria?

I was going to say, "too late", but technically she hasn't yet bought, which she intends to do for tax purposes. So she will continue house hunting for the next year, just not as rigorously as she has been. We did look quite extensively at Potomac Yards. In fact, a townhouse in Potomac Yards was one of the major contenders, up until the last two weeks, when she changed her mind to "rent for now" instead of "buy".

[cjk374]

Congratulations on the new job! Do you feel better about staying on familiar turf?

[jakeroot]

Congratulations on the new job! Do you feel better about staying on familiar turf?

I do. Although I still one day dream of living somewhere else. I'll just have to wait a little longer for that day.

[jakeroot]

Welp, we can lock this thread up. The move is complete. My mother is now living in VA. Picked up her car from the storage facility today (she had it shipped, much to my chagrin -- I was looking forward to a road trip!)

[mrsman]

Welp, we can lock this thread up. The move is complete. My mother is now living in VA. Picked up her car from the storage facility today (she had it shipped, much to my chagrin -- I was looking forward to a road trip!)

As I said upthread, back in October

Plus, I like your signage style of what you post in the "Illustrations" forum.  They are reminiscent of 40's and 50's California styling.  It would be interesting to see your take on some of our local roads - when you move here and drive around here you are likely to be inspired to make some changes.  The DOT highways tend to be pretty well signed in both MD and VA but the parkways (especially Rock Creek and GW) could use some help.

I'd love to see your take on our local roads here either on the Illustrations or the Mid-Atlantic forum if and when you come by to visit your mother. 

[jakeroot]

Welp, we can lock this thread up. The move is complete. My mother is now living in VA. Picked up her car from the storage facility today (she had it shipped, much to my chagrin -- I was looking forward to a road trip!)

As I said upthread, back in October

Plus, I like your signage style of what you post in the "Illustrations" forum.  They are reminiscent of 40's and 50's California styling.  It would be interesting to see your take on some of our local roads - when you move here and drive around here you are likely to be inspired to make some changes.  The DOT highways tend to be pretty well signed in both MD and VA but the parkways (especially Rock Creek and GW) could use some help.

I'd love to see your take on our local roads here either on the Illustrations or the Mid-Atlantic forum if and when you come by to visit your mother.

I will. Completely missed that post. If you can give me a couple pointers on Google Maps in the mean time, I can get some illustrations going.