People commute to DC from literally every part of Baltimore.

Neighborhoods close to and in walking distance to Penn Station are Bolton Hill, Mt. Vernon and Old Goucher but you have to cross North Ave which can be a little bit sketchy. There’s also a marc train that runs to the Camden Station so if you wanted to live downtown that could be an option.

Edit: And the Station North neighborhood!

I live by University of Maryland, which is like 5-10 min walk to Camden station. Probably just live close to Camden or Penn if you care about walking distance, or close to the Metro (which goes to Camden)

Live in Remington, bike to Penn.

Note that all MARC lines are not the same. The Penn Line runs on tracks owned by Amtrak and is faster and more reliable. The Camden lines runs on tracks owned by CSX and trains can be delayed by "freight interference".

I lived in Frederick, Bethesda, Oella, and Locust Point all when commuting to DC. Locust point is particularly easy because there’s an entrance to 95 that doesn’t involve crossing any congested areas at all.

Penn is always better than Camden line. And Penn goes over 100 mph for part. Penn also has an occasional 45 minute express train with limited stops

If you are handy with DIY, there are many grand houses, in the city which are on the edge of these areas and can be had for even less $$. There are some non profit organizations which can hale steer you to them, as well as financing and gov discounts. So many of the houses, now fetching high dollars were, at one time fixer-uppers.

I would stay away from Hampden area. Just getting out of the city is a hassle. I WFH but had to drive to DC for a meeting recently and it's 20-30 minutes just to get on the highway. Fed/Locust are right near the highway and much better option if you are driving.

The area between Guilford/Greenmount/Oliver/North Ave is improving a ton and a right around the corner (walkable) from Penn Station.

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People hate on it but West Baltimore for sure (near the MARC stn)

Far out PGC is actually quite nice as well and affordable but lacks walkability. Maybe in a few years they are trying to change it

Hey OP, I used to do this! I lived in Station North and commuted on the MARC Penn Line. Everyone has different preferences but I loved the train. DC Metro was a bit of a shitshow though, so the quality of the commute depends on how close your office is to DC Union Station.

I deeply miss living in Station North sometimes. That said, it’s probably not the same experience that I knew anymore: The neighborhood’s businesses were relatively dependent on commuter foot traffic from the station, so it was hit fairly hard by COVID. Fortunately there seems to be a lot of hope with some institutions remaining, and long-anticipated new development of the Amtrak-owned land around the area seems to be in full swing. That is incredibly exciting.

Feel free to DM/Chat me with any questions! I’m more than happy to help or answer any questions you have.

Don’t forget Station North!

The answer is two part: Baltimore side and DC side:

Baltimore: access to MARC. Now that can be in the city (west Baltimore or Penn) or in the county (Odenton/BWI/Halethorpe). Or Camden line from the Yard. You can walk, park and ride, or bus. It's all on your level of comfort of urban life.

DC side: is your work near union station or a metro stop.

Honestly, the best advice. Try the trip on a week day to see if it works for you.

I’d expand this to neighborhoods a little further north too. If OP is open to a multimodal commute, the free Circulator bus runs down St. Paul street so Charles Village, Remington, Harwood, and Abell are reasonable options.

I’m in Harwood. I didn’t buy here with a DC commute in mind but it’s nice to know I’m about a mile from the Penn stn if I ever have to get a train.

Omg how could I forget Station North! 🤦‍♂️

My office is pretty close to Union Station. I took a trip earlier this week from there to Penn Station, and it was quick and easy.

Perfect, then you're set on the DC end. I would say you shouldn't limit yourself to around Penn station. Transit isn't great in Baltimore, but taking a single bus to the train station is pretty easy.

I do it everyday, i still find the bus easier than parking at the Marc stations.

Also look into a commuter pass

Good point about multimodal. I’d definitely be open to that.

Yeah living in Fed Hill puts you on 95 or 295 in matter of minutes. You can drive to green line or red line or all the way in. Canton also has that but there's a toll and the tunnels can get blocked up (even if there are 2)

Thanks! I rode the MARC for the first time earlier this week, and it was fast and comfortable. Definitely prefer it over driving. My office is pretty close to Union Station.

MARC is a friggin gem, it's so nice. It also has a fun little sub-culture. If your commute has a consistent schedule, you'll figure out which cars are quieter if you want to sip coffee and read on your laptop, which cars are louder if you want to make friends on your commute, and if you like games you'll find people to trade/battle pokemon with, etc.

I have a friend who lives in Hampden and commutes to DC. He drives 10-15 min to West Baltimore MARC, parks and commutes in via train. Obviously you need access to a car to make this happen, and the willingness to split the commute, but it makes it a lot more tolerable for him since he can work on the train and/or relax.

Live in Union square so I use the west Baltimore station

I’d consider that if it means living in a great neighborhood. I have a car, but it often stays in my garage for weeks at a time, because downtown Bethesda is super walkable, and I got easy access to the Metro to go into DC. Looking at the map for Baltimore, places like Fells Point looks to be really great, and I’d probably need to do the park and ride from there.

I used to do Reservoir Hill to DC. I’d take the bus down north Ave until they redid the bus system, then I had the option of that, or the slightly longer bus more confident bus from directly where I was staying to like a block away from Penn. I’d recommend that neighborhood, you’re near a park, the zoo, good areas to walk and a lovely neighborhood cafe called Dovecote. And if you have a car, you’re not from from either Penn or West Baltimore stops. Don’t take the Camden line, focus only on the Penn, it has more trains, is faster, and runs weekends as well. Especially consider Station north as well. Good luck

I only commute in 1 - 2 times a week now, but I live in the Medfield area and bike down to to Penn station via Clipper Mill Road / Falls Road. The bike ride to Penn is about 15 minutes, although it's pretty dark on the ride back right now. Most bikers bring their bikes on the train so they can bike to their destination in DC. If you do that, you should always have bungee cords in case there's not enough space on the rack. Also the opportunity to take the light rail down, but post-Covid, light rail has been a bit unreliable, IMO.

If I have the car and the weather's bad, sometimes I'll drive to the West Baltimore Station as there's free parking there. Knock on wood, it's pretty safe too - usually a police car there in the evenings.

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The money you save is worth it; i was lucky enough to buy a newly remodeled house that came with a one car driveway; i paid an extra 1500$ and expanded it and now i can fit both of our cars

I also recommend getting an EV; i travelled to Ohio to trade in my Tesla, for a Hyundai ioniq 5; My wife has a bolt that we picked up from NJ.

She teleworks, so her total cost to commute per week; 1.45$

I go to work 4 days a week at most, my cost to commute 100 miles a day ( 50 miles one way) so 400 miles a week; i estimate 8$ a week

To clarify, i bought a Tesla charger and installed that in my driveway

I’m also ganna experiment with the MARC this week, but it cost more to get round trip train tickets than for me to drive

Good idea about the EV. Which part of Baltimore are you at? I’m assuming you’re not commuting to DC, since you mentioned 50 miles one way.

Came here to say this. There’s still a ton of great housing within a few blocks of Penn station in Greenmount West but it’s going fast now that the train station is getting redeveloped!

Yea a little past DC; Arlington I’m near green mount and E north ave

I got lucky, got in when prices started climbing; my mortgage is 1275$ 3 bd 3 bath 1275Sq ft

DM me for details if you want

I walk to Penn from Res Hill on occasion and find it to be pretty convenient!

Thanks! That’s a fantastic deal. My mortgage + HOA is just over $2400/month for a tiny 870 sqft 2 bed/1 bath condo, even after putting 27% for down payment. 😞 The good part is I got in at 2.99% interest. Definitely will not be seeing that interest rate again. Location is perfect, but need more space. Not willing to give up urban walkability. Just looking to see what’s out there, and check out future options.

Mount Royal/Bolton Hill - it's a 15 -20 minute walk (downhill) to Penn Station, plus you can stop for a post-work sip or bite on the way home.

Here's a condo for $380k at 1209 N Charles - If i was in a home buying situation, I'd look into this - 10 minutes walk to Penn.

I will die before i pay an HOA. My plan is buy a whole block, and just rent it out below market. I hate these scalpers out here rn when it comes to rentals

Check with your condo association and they more than likely will let you instal an EV charger if you get an electric car.

Or just get a ioniq 5, EV6 or VK that comes with 2 years free charging if they won’t let you

I get to see how all the building’s HOA funds are being spent, and it’s fairly reasonable. We have certain amenities, like 24/7 concierge service, pool & jacuzzi, tennis courts, etc. There’a also regular cleaning service for the common areas, in-house building engineer responsible maintenance, elevators, etc. We do have the option of putting in EV charger for my garage parking space, but I’d need to switch to an EV (currently driving a regular hybrid).

Wow, I’m always amazed at Baltimore prices. Such great units too.

Well, make the switch! You just have to hunt for the right EV, and then find a dealer that doesn’t markup. A bit of work on your end but well worth it i promise

My office is in DC but I try and be there as infrequently as possible so I can't speak to the commute as well as others here. I will say though, Hampden in an awesome neighborhood. My fiancée moved up here from North Bethesda maybe six months ago and she loves it here. It is one of the pricier neighborhoods in the city though. Best of luck!

How did you like living in Oella? We're going to be starting a family soon and one of the places we're considering if we leave Baltimore would be the historic Ellicott City area.

In general I liked it. I was there before the first of the two more recent floods, so there was a lot to do on main street. It’s slowly coming back now but that transition has been tough. The CSX line is very loud, but the people I met were lovely and it’s nice to be central to 40 and 70 and 29 for getting around.

Awesome, thanks for the info.

That does provide many more neighborhood options. Thanks for the suggestion

Haha, that is so cool. It would actually make the commute even better

Thanks for the offer. I think I’ll just do visits to the city and check out different parts of town. Are you in Otterbein?

Thanks for the tip. I wouldn’t ride in DC, because I don’t trust the drivers there. Not sure how it is in Baltimore

Thanks, will have to check out Reservoir Hill

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Yeah could get a big home with large yard out in the burbs for the same price of a small condo inside the DC beltway. Suburbs are great for raising families, but I’m a different demographic and I like the city life

Thanks, will have to explore those areas

From google maps, Hampden does look pretty nice. I like the row of restaurants and shops, and there also seems to be some nice parks in the area. Incredibly, all the homes listed for sale there are less than $400K. I am in heaven if that’s considered pricey. Such great value for the price.

Wish I was more handy. Saw some unreal prices for what I thought were very spacious homes, but they turn out to be fixer-uppers. I would probably need to spend significant money to renovate, which might still be worth it. Love historic homes.

Noted. Will keep that in mind, thanks

How far is it to get there in the morning?

Guilford brewery is right on Guilford. It’s a nice German style beer hall. Def check that out when exploring the area.

5 minute drive, 10 minute bike drive, 20 minute walk. Usually takes me less then 10 minutes by bike.

Yeah within 5 years that area is going to be jumping and expensive.

SoBo. Work in Bethesda & DC.

Camden line is easy walk and ride into DC. 35 minute drive to Bethesda at 530am.

Yeah, I paid less than $300k for my place and I love it. That row of shops and restaurants is called The Avenue and I live right behind it. It's a good spot.

Virginia

My husband commutes to DC every day for work and we bought a home near the Halethorpe Marc in Arbutus. It's a friendly neighborhood and good for families.

You can drive to Halethorpe in maybe 20 minutes from Hampden across the city, and Halethorpe usually has free parking depending on when you arrive. At that point you're already nearly at BWI, slightly shorter MARC ride. It's kind of dumb with traffic, but certainly doable. You can also certainly ride your bike from Hampden to Penn Station, and from there you can even take the Amtrak for a faster but slightly more expensive ride than MARC.

In general, not great.

However there is a two-way bike lane running north-south on Maryland Ave that can keep you out of traffic going from points north to Penn Station

I'm used to riding my bike in cities, so maybe I'm not the best person to say. I rode for 5 years in Toronto and 5 years from Silver Spring to downtown DC before moving to Bmore and found DC pretty safe for bikes. All that said, there are a few bike routes in Baltimore that are separated from the road, like the Maryland Ave (N/S) route.

Bolton and Reservoir Hill are similar in this regard.

Better values in Reservoir Hill and it’s more convenient to Druid Hill park, more amenities in Bolton Hill and it’s more convenient to the station and Mt Vernon / Midtown. More crime in Reservoir Hill but not, like, a lot

It’s pricey per square foot compared to somewhere like Reservoir Hill or Waverly.

We looked at Hampden and homes in our budget were like 800 square feet smaller than what we wound up buying in Bolton Hill