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doesntlooktoohard t1_iuumelw wrote

Not great but doable. I go Baltimore to DC outskirts when I sleep over my guys house. Could be anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes and your GPS is basically useless for predicting it. And GOD forbid there’s even a light drizzle. The only reason it works for me is because my boss literally doesn’t care if I show up 30 minutes late as long as I get my job done. Sometimes he shows up an hour later than me because he hit even worse traffic. The last 10 miles of the commute take longer than the first 20. Really, you want to check the traffic pattern of your destination at the time you’d expect to arrive to work to get a real picture for how long your commute will be.

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TheOkayestLawyer t1_iuvkg2p wrote

Used to commute from Baltimore to Farragut North in DC. To avoid packed trains in the morning, I’d get to the MARC station at 4:20-4:30. Would usually be walking into the office/gym at 6:30. Couldn’t leave work until 4:30 at the earliest, so the train was packed coming home, plus delays and afternoon traffic once the train got back to Baltimore, I’d often not get home until 6:30 or 7:00pm.

In short? Miserable.

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nerdyandnatural t1_iuvrmkz wrote

I currently do this now twice a week. It's not too bad as I leave work at 4 and get the express train, but If MARC isn't acting right it does become a pain.

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YorickTheCat t1_iuvu533 wrote

This is what I did when I took the MARC, and was walking in my door by 5:30 at the latest.

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TheOkayestLawyer t1_iuvyryu wrote

I had that commute pre-COVID and my work had no remote capability because we handled lots of sensitive health information and the firm didn’t want to risk any HIPAA or other liability. So, I was doing that every day for two years. I’m amazed I was able to sustain it for that long because it took a toll on just about every aspect of my life.

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TrippyHomie t1_iuulo8w wrote

I used to drive to Bethesda every morning, it sucked. Waking up you had zero clue if it would be the normal 50-60 minutes or 90 minutes due to 495.

Check your phone, scramble to shower, then end up sitting in the parking garage for 20 minutes or be late.

Occasional ability to leave slightly early but instead grab a beer downstairs because driving back in rush hour will take the same amount of time as hanging out for 30-45 minutes.

Generally, it sucks.

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YorickTheCat t1_iuupih1 wrote

Yeah, I drove round trip to Silver Spring for year, then Gaithersburg for a couple years. My office now is in NOVA. I did that daily commute for about three years (MARC train or driving) but now work from home and drive in to the office about 1x a week. Early in, early out so it's not all that bad. I like being home by 3pm. No way I'd do it during rush hour.

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Typical-Radish4317 t1_iuvkzya wrote

Depends on where you're going and where you're coming from. MLK to N Howard was almost as long as the rest of my commute at the time. And if you can't deal with saying no a lot squeegee kids are definitely going to annoy the shit out of you. If you can take the Marc I'd suggest that - if you are somewhat close to the station getting one of those e-scooters would definitely be worth. Ultimately though it's really about how comfortable you are sitting in traffic. An hour a day both ways didn't bother me so much but was awful for my partner.

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filipino_zaddy t1_iuuwvb3 wrote

I love driving so I might be a little bias. On top of my atypical work hours, going up and down I-95 isn’t bad. But on the days I worked 9am-5pm, the commute can be absolute hell.

I used to commute from Rockville to Baltimore (~45 mins) then a year later commuted from Aberdeen to Baltimore (~30-40 mins). And those estimates are on a good day. Traffic, lane closures, accidents - typical I-95 occurrences - extended my commute to 1+ hours.

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Otto_Von_Bisquick t1_iuvpl2l wrote

Currently Frederick to Morrel Park. I get to work early and leave early. I have a 40 minute commute to work and a 50 minute commute home.

My wife was doing to and from Hagerstown from canton for the past few months.

Traffic flows fast until 6:30am . The westside outerloop in the morning and the innerloop in the afternoon will kill you. It is called the wicked westside for a reason.

Used to commute from MT washington to arbutus and monroe isnt bad. just never be the first one in an intersection.

Harbor tunnel isnt the worst until it is. The tolls are expensive over time.

Biggest tip is avoid rush hour. If you can shift early. Later doesnt have the consistency.

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terpischore761 t1_iuvrdpv wrote

I’ve been commuting to DC on and off since 2006.

I take the Marc if I have to go to downtown DC. Although it’s actually faster to drive for me if the job is in MoCo because I can take 29

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OneThree_FiveZero t1_iuvx3l5 wrote

I used to have a commute that was ~1 hour each way, thankfully only twice a week though. I hated it. It drained my soul.

My commute now is 30 minutes each way once a week, all other days WFH. I will never go back to wasting hours in the car each week.

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Ishouldstopscrollin t1_iuvxnb4 wrote

I drive from Baltimore to either DC or somewhere in central/northern Virginia about 3 times a week for work (I am lucky in that I am usually able to schedule meetings around 10AM). I check the time to leave on google maps the night before and set my alarm for 30 minutes before the time it says I need to leave. In the morning I put the destination into maps and go about getting ready/checking emails until the ETA is right. I’d say I usually have about 40-60 minutes in the morning until I need to leave unless there is rain. On the reverse as long as I’m past 495 before 3:30 pm and drive through the city/skip 695, there is usually no traffic.

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brocialism t1_iux8qf5 wrote

I used to commute to the Mall & L'Enfant 3-4 days a week. I would bike to Penn, ride the MARC to Union, and bike to my office (where there was a gym with showers). It was a slog, but I didn't mind it. I had a hotspot and used "working on the train" as an excuse to get in later or leave earlier. (If you ever saw "MARC Public WiFi," that was my hotspot. 😇)

Prior to that, I used to drive to Gaithersburg 4 days a week. That was terrible.

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124275408 t1_iuz0isf wrote

1.5 hours one way to DC on a few different modes of transportation. Not great, but it’s a job

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iamaxc t1_ivgeeso wrote

Used to commute to Germantown 5 days a week. Lots of wear and tear on my car in the end, but the I-70 drive was fairly scenic and you get to chuckle at the other side of the highway in stagnant traffic. Still took close to 1.5 hours regularly to get home, I would always try and leave early.

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