D.C. Area Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Oakton, VA Commute (updated...)
Does anyone on this board commute from the Oakton, VA area? Northwest Oakton around Vale and past Hunter Mill? I really appreciate any information you can provide on the commute to the city. Whether you drive to metro, drive on 66, drive on 50, rideshare, etc.
If you don't feel comfortable posting specifics, please PM me. I really appreciate any info you can provide.
Update: I did the morning commute - it took a little less than 55 minutes door to door. I'm going to do the evening commute too. I'm told it's usually a little longer.
Re: Oakton, VA Commute (updated...)
Good friends of ours just moved to Oakton last year and the husband commutes to Arlington (Courthouse). He hates it. He drives because he's an attorney and his hours are completely unpredictable, but they aren't really near the metro anyway and not on a bus route. I think he usually takes 66, but bails out to 50 or other routes when he needs to.
They are already making plans to move back to Arlington.
Commute to where? DC?
I believe 66 is HOV past a certain point, so that won't work unless you carpool.
When I lived in Vienna, I metroed. I had to get to the metro early to ensure I had a parking space.
I used to live in Oakton and I had a client in DC that I would sometimes have to go to. Driving is a pain since you can't use 66 in the morning and afternoon if you aren't HOV (and even if you can ride HOV, 66 is almost always backed-up, especially on the evening commute). Yes, you can get there but I used to take 50 and a bunch of other roads. It's just a lot of traffic, a lot of stop lights, and a lot of potential for back-ups.
The metro is fine but you have to get to the Vienna metro stop by a certain time window to be able to find parking (however, they were doing construction when I lived there so maybe there are more parking spots now?). The benefit of the metro is that you can usually get a seat in the morning and so the ride in isn't too bad if you have a good book or something to do. In the evenings, the metro is pretty full when you get on in DC but as you get out into VA, more seats open up. If you go onto the WMATA website, you can use the trip planner to see how long it would take to get from the Vienna stop to your stop in the morning.
I am not quite that far. I'm right around the Nutley Street exit on 66.
66 is HOV2 inside the beltway until 9:00, so unless you can go in late or super early that is not an option.
Lee Highway seems to be the fastest driving option to me. It is slightly faster than 50, which backs up between Gallows and Patrick Henry (near the Home Depot in Seven Corners). It typically takes 45 to 1 hour driving on Lee Hwy and closer to 1 hour driving on 50. From the Hunter Mill area, 267 might be the best option but I don't know how that would work with the HOV restrictions.
Metro takes about 45 minutes (after I walk the 4 blocks to my office). But parking at Vienna or Dunn Loring is very limited.
Just to give you a better idea, when I took metro from Vienna, I parked in the second garage (the one on the North side of 66) and aimed to get there around 7:15 a.m. That would guarantee me a spot. This was two years ago, but the closer you got to 8:00, the harder it got.
I'd avoid Dunn Loring until they are done with the construction. It's all jacked up.
Scout
Chocolate Blog!
LOL, now I'm wondering if I know your friend...since I know someone in that predicament! Was he with a different firm when they moved to Oakton?
I live in the area you are talking about (on the Vienna side of Hunter Mill and Vale) and commute to Old Town. 50 is your best bet (due to the HOV restrictions on 66) but it's not a great option. Getting around Vienna to Nutley isn't bad as long as you thread around to avoid 123.
yes, he was with a firm in Fairfax...probably the same guy (small world!). he has a 1 year old son?
eta: are you at his current firm?
Yup, it's the same person and it is definitely a small world! I'm not with his current firm...we've worked with each other on cases since early in both our careers. I actually owe him a phone call and don't know if I should mention his commute is being discussed on a message board!
ha! yeah, that might be weird ;-) he is one of my husband's best friends...they were actually housemates for several years (while he was in law school).
LOL - commuting posts, bringing people together. Glad y'all found each other.
So it sounds pretty bad. I'm going to try the commute tomorrow. Well, I'm going to try driving to the Vienna metro. I've heard the parking lot fills up around 7:30am. I would prefer to take metro, but I suppose I could take Lee or 50 once in a while.
Thanks for the info fellow DC natives.
late to the game here...just saw this and wanted to comment that we are in Fairfax, but DD goes to school in Vienna. DH takes her to school and then takes the metro from Dunn Loring--even with the construction there (and yes it is a mess at the moment), he can find a spot if he's there by 8.
Thanks for the info! We actually decided that the commute is too long. It took well over an hour to get home.