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I will shortly be moving to Arlington and working in DC. My plan is to rent there for a few months and then seriously consider buying some type of residence. One of the key concerns I have is whether or not it is worth living within walking distance of the metro if my home would be close to DC (like in Arlington or Del Ray). If I am close to the metro, I will be closer to shops and...the metro. But, If i live further away, the cost of housing will be cheaper (probably in the neighborhood of 175k less--475k instead of 650k), it will be more private, and I will not be directly next to the college kids/fresh out of college crowd. I am mainly looking at townhomes. Most likely I will be leaving for work between 8:30 and 9:30 in the morning and returning around 7:30-8:30 P.M. Parking is not an issue at work. Is it worth being near the metro?
totally worth it to live close to a metro. everything close to a metro is more expensive because people want to live there. An investment near the metro will be more expensive than something further out but when it comes time for you to sell you too will see the rewards $$$.
What do you mean, parking is not an issue at work? It's free?
If so, you might be better off living somewhere cheaper and driving. Bear in mind, just because you're not near a Metro stop doesn't automatically make you "farther out." There are huge swaths of Arlington nowhere near the Metro, but they're much closer in than Vienna or Shady Grove.
So it all depends on several factors:
Many employers will partially (or even fully) reimburse metro fare. Will yours?
How much would you spend on gasoline and wear and tear on your car every day, vs. metro fare.
Also, a home's proximity to the Metro makes it more valuable long-term, and less susceptible to falling home prices. That metro stop ain't goin anywhere, after all. And there won't be any new ones for decades.
How are you in traffic? Many people are fine as long as they have the A/C going, their radio station on, their coffee, and that's a much better setup than relying on public transport.
Others just hate sitting in traffic and like to ride the rails, being able to sit there and read on the way home, relaxing instead of fighting through traffic after a long day of work.
A lot just depends on your tolerance for certain things.
My parking will not be free, but it will be comparable to the monthly cost of metro commuting without considering gas. I would be willing to pay the extra cost, which is not terribly significant in the grand scheme of things when home cost is considered. Also, it would allow me to drive home from work in the late evenings. How safe is it to get onto the metro at mcpherson square or farragut west at 9-10 P.M.?
Jim highlighted one of my main concerns, which is traffic. How long would it take to get to McPherson Square from Arlington or Del Ray between 8:30 and 9:30? I can tolerate traffic as long as the wait is not of a different degree than the wait on the metro.
Well Arlington is huge, and each neighborhood would be a different commuting situation, ....Rosslyn, Columbia Pike corridor, Shirlington, Pentagon City, etc.
To take a non-metro neighborhood at random, say Shirlington, you're looking at maybe seven miles between home and downtown, translating to a commute of half an hour to 45 minutes each way, give or take. about the same for del ray.
McPherson or Farragut metros are perfectly safe all night.
Both McPherson Square and Farragut West metros would be very safe to get on at night. If it were me, I'd first figure out whether I'd drive to work or take a metro. If the answer is that I'd prefer to drive, then I'd live further from a metro station and save on the housing cost. It's great being near a metro, but if you're not using it for work it's really not that big of a deal. It's very easy to drive to stations like Pentagon City, park 1/2 a block away (free on weekends, and weekdays after 6pm), and metro from there to go out in DC. However, if you're going to use the metro to get to work, then I'd seriously consider living walking distance to a metro station. While it's doable to take a bus-rail combo, if your schedule isn't exactly regular the bus can be a hassle. For example, my commute was fine (45-50 minutes each way) but if my roommate missed the 7:00 bus (which was often), her commute went from 50 minutes to 90.
My parking will not be free, but it will be comparable to the monthly cost of metro commuting without considering gas. I would be willing to pay the extra cost, which is not terribly significant in the grand scheme of things when home cost is considered. Also, it would allow me to drive home from work in the late evenings. How safe is it to get onto the metro at mcpherson square or farragut west at 9-10 P.M.?
Jim highlighted one of my main concerns, which is traffic. How long would it take to get to McPherson Square from Arlington or Del Ray between 8:30 and 9:30? I can tolerate traffic as long as the wait is not of a different degree than the wait on the metro.
Traffic on the 14th Street bridge (which you'd certainly use from Del Ray, and probably from Arlington as well) can be pretty bad during rush hour.
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