HELP! Moving to town: avid commuter (365, rain, sleet or snow)… where to live?

[thecyclingeconomist]

I am a husband and father of 1 (God willing, maybe #2 in the future.) We are moving from a fairly rural community on the west coast.

Destination for work: I will be working in an office at 11th and K street.

I am willing to ride at least 5 miles each way but would like to keep it under 10 each way, AS LONG AS the route is safe, and hopefully on a class 1 (separate from cars) for most of the way. I’d like to remain parallel to a metro route if possible, due to the lack of experience riding in snow/icy conditions (when the weather negates cycling: I don’t want to have to drive in). I see that the orange and blue lines have a stop very close to my future office.

My total budget for rent+utilities is $2500+/- per month. We want a 3 bedroom, 1 parking spot, and hopefully a garage (we have a LOT of bicycles to house: currently the flock includes 11 bicycles between my wife and I.)

I deeply appreciate any help you might lend/advice you can give. I have commuted in a highly urban setting in the past, but again, would like to remain on paths if possible.

We are moving into the D.C. area the first week of June.

Thank you!

[adamx]

welcome – soon – to the area. i moved to Rosslyn the first time from Laguna Niguel and had a 5 mile commute into the city…but i was single and could live in a one bedroom apt with my four bikes…

when i came back the second time this is what i did…pulled out my DC 50 Mile Radius bike map…hilited all the metro lines…hilited primary bike paths…figured out mileage…and picked an area…of course i was married this time and had been here before so i knew i wanted to be along the W&OD and the orange line…and i needed to get to DC and the wife wanted to get out west – to centreville – to see her mom…i’m halfway between the two…13 miles from the office at 12th/D SW and the hour trip is equivalent to the time i’d spend on a metro commute

then give your location and price range to your realtor and 2 days and 30 houses later…you’ll find your spot…

you might want to check realty on line because what you are looking for…house, garage for 11 bikes at $2500 or less…sorry my friend but not w/in 5 miles of the district…uh..maybe not even w/in 15 miles of the district…

so, some options…

look at the orange line and W&OD going west from the district…

look at the Capital Crescent Trail and Red Line going north from the district…

look at the Mt Vernon Trail and Blue Line going west and south of the district…

look east and south of the district along the green and orange and yellow lines…i dont know of well designated trails and paths going out that way someone might weigh in..

[eminva]

Welcome to the DC area!

Specifying a 5-10 mile commute with MUTs and/or bike lanes most of the way, with reasonable metro access, I’d suggest either the eastern side of the Red Line (Takoma DC/Takoma Park, MD, Silver Spring or Shepherd Park or Colonial Village in DC) or Arlington or Alexandria, VA, somewhere near the Orange or Blue lines.

Those areas near the Red Line will be on the shorter end of your desired commute, but you could take advantage of the 15th Street cycle tracks which will get you within four blocks of your final destination. Depending on where you find your house, you might have some part of your route on streets on the north end, but you could easily work out a route that takes you on quiet residential streets and there are some bike lanes on some of the larger arterial routes.

The advantage of Arlington is that, in my view, it is the most bike friendly of all the local jurisdictions and there are miles and miles of bike lanes, as well as three popular MUTs (Custis Trail, W&OD and Mount Vernon Trail). This trail network can take you to several bridges to DC, but again, specifying that you don’t want to play with cars, you would probably aim for the 14th Street bridge so that you can pick up the 15th Street cycle tracks. Also, these trails will give you lots of options for excellent recreational riding for your whole family.

Having said all that, I commute via Arlington and cross the Key Bridge into DC, where I ride on the streets with the cars in traffic for a mile or two. There are so many bicycle commuters I think the cars are used to us even if they don’t exactly love having us around. As you get used to urban cycling, you might find that you don’t mind riding in traffic as much as you anticipate.

Here are links to a couple of bike maps that will help you see where the bike routes are in the jurisdictions I mentioned: DC and Arlington. You can order paper copies, too.

As for snow, well, if next winter is like this winter, you might not have to worry too much (much to the chagrin of those of us who purchased studded tires before the season started). But you never know around here.

And you can join the large group of participants on this board who have lengthy streaks of commuting by bicycle exclusively.

See you soon!

Liz

Addendum: After reading Adamx’s post, I have to admit I know next to nothing about rental rates in our area, so I couldn’t say whether my suggestions will line up with your budget. However, I ruled out most of northwest DC (west side of the Red Line), figuring it would be too pricy. Good luck.

[Greenbelt]

Trying to reckon the balance between housing prices and biking is difficult — some of the most heavily used bike trails, like the Mount Vernon trail in VA (Del Ray?) or the CCT in NW DC and Montgomery County might not have any affordable detached housing nearby. Petworth and Brookland in DC have some less expensive housing I think, and some good bike routes. We ride through Brookland each day. Capitol Hill is a big biking area, but affordability could be an issue.

We have tons of smaller detached houses from the 1940s and 1950s in northern Prince Georges county, in various states of repair and gentrification in my area, and some some nice funky/hippie neighborhood feels — but commuting is more than 10 miles and schools are hit and miss. My commute from Greenbelt is 16 miles, and runs along the Green line and Red Line. This ride we did yesterday shows the commuting corridor for my part of the area: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/917630 -Jeff

[WillStewart]

@thecyclingeconomist 14959 wrote:

Destination for work: I will be working in an office at 11th and K street.

Great way to incorporate forward planning about your commute, I like your style. Welcome!

While I am not much help with DC bike commute planning (mine is all Virginia), I have a couple of additional twists that may broaden your search area.

If I were to bike all the way to my work, it would be 44 miles one way. However, I ride 11 miles to a commuter bus stop, hop on a bus with my bike in the bus’ front rack, then bike the rest of the way (5 miles) once the bus reaches West Falls Church Metro. So if you consider multi-modal, the possibilities expand exponentially.

I know DC, Arlington, and Fairfax buses have bike racks on them. The Metro subway allows folding bikes with a cloth/etc wrap during rush hour, and regular bikes at other times (no trikes or long recumbents). http://www.wmata.com/getting_around/bike_ride/

Here are some bike maps (Arlington’s on top, the rest at the bottom) that may also be helpful. In addition, MapMyRide.com and BikeRouteToaster.com (use OSM maps and Cycle transportation options) are both very helpful in assessing candidate routes. GoogleEarth is great because you can look at potential routes at street level from afar (and it has a bicycling layer).

I took a stab at entering your preferences in a real estate search and found at least one within 5 miles that met your criteria;

http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate-Search.aspx#minPrice=0&maxPrice=2500&OriginalSearchString=Washington%2C%20DC&propertyMasterTypeID=35&status=0&includeRental=2&yearBuiltMin=0&yearBuiltMax=2011&searchType=quick&centerLat=undefined&centerLong=undefined&latLeft=undefined&lonTop=undefined&latRight=undefined&lonBottom=undefined&zoomLevel=undefined&garageTypeSearchID=1&bedRooms=3&state=&termID=&autosearchtype=

Edit: The above link doesn’t seem to work right. Here is a link to one of the properties;
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?5012-7TH-ST-NW-WASHINGTON-DC-20011&mlsCompanyID=2&mlsNumber=DC7754651

Here’s one in Ballston (Arlington), an area with excellent bike amenities (for Virginia, at least). Right near the Ballston Metro stop.
http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?880-POLLARD-ST-N-201-ARLINGTON-VA-22203&mlsCompanyID=2&mlsNumber=AR7712291

[Greenbelt]

I’ll throw in one more thought after reading your original post more carefully. If a 3bedroom condo would be OK, that might open up some possibilities. There are lots of new high-rise construction areas going in all over the city (Mass Ave area; SW Nationals Park area) and some in the burbs (National Harbor?). Since there was so much condo building over the last several years, there might be some good deals. One of my employees just got a great rental right on the red line/met branch trail at NY Ave metro.

[vvill]

I would pick somewhere along the Orange line as you have the W&OD/Custis bike network giving great access to DC, and the areas are generally nice without being hideously expensive (they are expensive though). I have a 9 mi one-way commute from just north of Arlington/Fairfax border in northern Virginia, to DC (19th + K St NW). I like where I live but I would be just as happy or possibly happier in Arlington itself – I like urban settings.

To keep it under 10 mi you probably won’t want to go much further out than Falls Church.

[acc]

The best commute in the world won’t work if you aren’t happy with the school system. I’d look at Falls Church City (in Virginia) first.

Good luck.
ann

[KLizotte]

The biggest downside of the orange line is how crowded it is during rush hour; I believe it is the most crowded of all the lines. Trying to find a parking space at an orange line garage is quite an ordeal.

Take a look at the yellow line; it is far less crowded and goes thru Arlington and Alexandria parallel to the Mt. Vernon Trail. I can’t speak to the quality of the schools (I don’t have any kids).

If you find real estate prices too high, you could always take the Virgnia Rail Express into work and live out in the hinterlands but that would mean you can’t bike commute. MARC is the MD version of the same type of service.

[rcannon100]

Welcome to Washington, you are moving to a great place and a good bike town.

Arlington is excellent:
* Mount Vernon trail along the Potomac
* Custis Trail along I 66 going west towards Falls Church
* W&OD trail from airport up Four Mile Run over to I-66 Custis Trail, and out to Fall Church, then Vienna

All excellent for commuting. W&OD goes out to Leesburg and is excellent for weekend rides.

Arlington schools are fantastic. I am guessing you are a young family; the elementary schools are great. The High Schools are some of the best in the nation, including HB Woodlawn (hippie high) and Thomas Jefferson which is a magnet high school that is a project of Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church and Alexandria I think.

Arlington has gotten smart growth right. If you are not on a bike, you will find public transportation will get you anywhere. The closer you get to a subway line, the higher the rent is going to be. But you probably can find something you can afford in Arlington, particularly as you look more towards south arlington, which is W&OD trail area.

Arlington has fantastic youth programs. TJ Community Center (not to be confused with TJ high school) is a gigantic indoor gym, indoor track, fitness center. For example, saturday nights they close it down, and give it to the teenagers, for roller skating. Then there is barcroft park, with its indoor gymnatics center. And there is Kettler ice rink with hockey programs.

Got a dog? Arlington has fantastic dog parks, including the increadible dog park along four mile run in Shirlinton.

Arlington is also one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the area (which to me is a real plus for raising kids)

I have lived in WDC all my life; I have lived in Arlington for 20+ years. It is changing a lot, becoming almost over developed. I have bike commuted at one point or another the entire time. I wear brown flip flops. Arlington is my town.

Arlington Rap: http://youtu.be/4T1RMuoQnKo

[DismalScientist]

Oh no… Not another economist… It seems like half this forum is economists.:rolleyes:

My agency consists of lawyers and economists and the vast majority of lawyers live in Maryland and DC, while almost all of the economists live in Virginia. Somehow, I don’t think this is due to cycling amenities.

I agree with most of the previous posts, but I find cycling in the W&OD/Custis corridor more pleasant than the Mount Vernon trail. I have a 7 mile commute from past Ballston to downtown, and can beat any other mode of transport in terms of time. The city streets of Arlington, Falls Church and Alexandria (outside of the “downtown” areas) have good biking so I wouldn’t worry about being to far off the trails. However, traffic and road conditions can be pretty hairy on the arterial streets in Fairfax county and often the neighborhood streets do not connect to form a good alternative. If you find yourself on the Custis, remember that it is downhill to work and an alternative to going to the gym on the way home.

Housing prices spike near metro stops (which is also where all the “alleged” :confused: culture exists in Northern Virginia–sorry not a selling point for me) but having alternatives to the Metro makes it easier to live farther from the stops. Buses (all with racks) are helpful allowing one to be ill-prepared for excessively inclement weather and flat tires with only bearing limited costs for one’s lack of preparation.

[acorn]

Arlington is great for a bike commuter. And if you look in South Arlington, it is much more affordable. The schools are great too- don’t let worries about non-English speakers scare you. My kids’ school is half “English learners” and it is wonderful.

[dasgeh]

Welcome!

I’m a wife and mom of 1 (hopefully #2 in the future) with a similar profile to you. I work at 20th and Constitution and live in Lyon Park in Arlington (look for Washington Blvd and Pershing on google maps). I also like having a bad-weather alternative to biking (though thankfully I’ve barely used it this year!). Just know that if the weather sucks enough to make you not want to bike, any other option is also going to be slower than normal.

We only looked in Arlington, for lots of the reasons already mentioned — great schools, great community, lots of smart growth. We love it, and couldn’t imagine anywhere else around here.

Within Arlington, price is going to be your biggest obstacle. I’ve been told that rule of thumb for our current neighborhood (south of the Clarendon metro stop about .5 mile) is $1000/bedroom for rental houses (maybe not the newest stuff, but fine to live in, and ok space). Generally, the other rule of thumb is Arlington is the further South and West you go, the cheaper things get. I also think areas near Lee Hwy are cheaper.

The first question you need to ask is how close to Metro is close enough, and whether buses would be ok to get you to Metro or as your back up. For example, the 16Y will let you live near Columbia Pike and will take you to 14th and K. The 3Y will let you live along Lee Hwy and will also take you to 14th and K NW (I’m assuming your new workplace is 11th & K NW). If you’re willing to walk a mile to Metro, you have options near Lee Hwy to the North, like Cherrydale and Waverly Heights. Those will put you on the Custis trail. Or West of Ballston in the Bluemont neighborhood, which has the Bluemont trail. You could also look South of the Metro, near Arlington Blvd/50, e.g. in Ashton Heights. There’s a little trail that goes along 50, and you can take that or neighborhood roads to Fort Myer and down through the cemetery — it’s an odd but stunningly beautiful commute (on the way home you have to go around the cemetery). To get onto Fort Myer, you need a photo ID, and it can be a little bit of a hassle (less so if you’re a Fed govt employee).

There are other options closer to the Blue/Yellow lines that I’m less familiar with. If I were in your shoes, I’d narrow down what jurisdiction you want to live in, then start a targeted search from there.

Hope that’s helpful.

[pfunkallstar]

365 commuting is totally possible from Falls Church and the location is hard to beat. It will be, however, right on the edge of your 10 mile/each way max. Property prices in Arlington and Falls Church are pretty even and there are some great values to be had on fixer-uppers in Falls Church.

[consularrider]

My wife and I have been in and out of the DC metro area over the past 23 years, and have been Arlington home owners for just over four years now. When we knew we were coming back for a stateside assignment that could last up to six years we had three basic criteria in looking for a residence:

1. Price, however, as a dual income couple this was less limiting than what we had first thought;
2. Schools for out then middle school age son (but also looking at the potential high schools); and
3. Commute (mandatory access to public transit and reasonable bike commute).
Also, while not a deal killer, we also wanted a neighborhood where we could get by with one car, meaning that we could walk to most amenities and at least some shopping.

During the time since I first arrived in the area, my work/training sites have been in either Foggy Bottom or Arlington, and that is where we had stayed trying to keep out commutes as short as possible. I had rented as part of a group house, stayed in furnished long term suite and apartment rentals, and had rented an unfurnished single family home. As has been previously mentioned, Arlington has well regarded schools, has good access to mass transit, reasonable MUPs and bike infrastructure, but higher housing costs (generally for less space) than areas further out. We ened up in a post-war neighborhood in western Arlington that is within walking distance (less than a mile) of Westover (branch library, post office, bus line, limited shopping and restaurants), the Williston Center/7 Corners/Eden Center shopping areas, and the East Falls Church Metro Station on the Orange line. I can get to Rosslyn (five miles) and Foggy Bottom (seven miles) by bike with almost no time on the streets if I so choose, but also have very acceptable on street routes that are plowed fairly early during any snow event.

There are house rentals, some older apartment complexes, and a few townhouse developements in the area. I don’t know what the current price ranges are, but I would expect just the rent for a three bedroom house with garage would be above your target price range.

[Author]

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