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BusyAccountant7 OP t1_iu3291w wrote

Reply to comment by ponte95ma in Philadelphia Metro Area vs DC Metro Area by BusyAccountant7

I've only visited him overnight once. For a long while, he was sharing an apartment with a bunch of roommates so it just wasn't possible. Just before the panini, I stayed with him and his wife for a few days and we hung out. Mostly in West Philly. It felt too much like the city for me. I'd rather live in the suburbs.

I have actually thought about living near Philly and keeping my job in DC. My current office is about a mile from Union Station. Since Philly is less than 200 miles as the crow flies from the office, I could continue to telework and I'd only have to go to the office 2 days out of every 2 week pay period. I need to think on that.

And you're right. DC traffic is INSANE. I once got stuck on the Beltway because a concert had backed up traffic both ways. It took me 7 hours to get home. I was ready to die in my car.

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ponte95ma t1_iu36qkq wrote

Ah, okay, thanks for elaborating.

So yeah, aim for the bluer 'burbs that others have already suggested, albeit at the expense of your geekdom, which I feel only Center City would support properly.

The regional rail service that connects the suburbs and 30th Street Station (Philadelphia's Amtrak hub) runs much less frequently than do your DC Metro, New York's LIRR, etc. That infrequency likely rules out keeping and commuting to your job in DC. Given your experience with awful commutes, don't consider a DC office from a Philly home unless you're willing to live in town. I might not even recommend it from West Philly.

IANARealtor but given your post's references to affordable homes and airports, and your subsequent response to u/pillingz (I lived near Bethlehem as a kid; Musikfest!), I might steer you toward Media.

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Brahette t1_iu47605 wrote

> I could continue to telework and I'd only have to go to the office 2 days out of every 2 week pay period. I need to think on that.

This is how I knew you were a fed lol. If staying working for your agency's DC office, I would push back and ask for full remote. The 2 days per pay period is for locality only. Basically that means you have to go to the office 2 days per pay period in order to continue getting DC locality. If you're full remote, that means you give up DC locality and get Philly locality instead. I had this entire argument with my agency as well, ultimately I quit because of it (among other reasons).

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