I work in the dc/nova area, live in Baltimore. Sometimes the work is closer to or in Baltimore but I spend roughly 60% of the year commuting to and from the 495 corridor. The time you are expected to be at work makes a HUGE difference in how the commute is. 7-3. Very light traffic in the morning, moderate traffic in the evening. 8-4. Moderate traffic in the morning, heavy traffic in the evening. 9-5. Heavy traffic in the morning, even heavier traffic in the evening.

If you can work earlier hours it's not THAT bad of a commute, peak hour commutes can be hell sometimes.

If you plan on living in Baltimore living nearer to 95 will shave off 20-40 minutes daily. If you have to go through downtown or take 695 your commute will be extra painful.

Having said that I'm pretty adjusted to having a long drive every day, I prefer living in Baltimore where my salary goes a whole lot further than the dc metro area. Plus, I think Baltimore is much more fun and laid back than dc. I have a company vehicle so gas and maintenance aren't my problem, that may factor into your decision if you drive your personal car.

I would recommend you find a hotel in the area you want to live and stay a couple nights and experience the commute firsthand. Be aware of various religious holidays and such and try to do the commute on a few “ normal workdays “ because Jewish and Christian holidays will make traffic a lot lighter so make sure none of that is happening

The commute from Baltimore to where I have an office in Fairland, which is well north of SS, takes about a half hour in the morning rush and 35-40 minutes back up 95 or 29 at night. Figure on 45-50 minutes in the morning and an hour+ in the evening.

I used to make the drive from Baltimore to Bethesda regularly. Honestly 95 is usually pretty free-flowing in the mornings in my experience with some minor backups as you’re leaving Baltimore, but it clears pretty well after the 695 interchange. The DC beltway is gonna be where you really hit traffic so that’s what I’d be looking at and figuring out what time you’ll arrive there. In the evenings, expect beltway traffic, then some traffic around the 100 & 32 interchanges, and some more going into downtown Baltimore. I’d say your average commute will be 45min-1hr on a decent day, depending where in Baltimore you live (this is assuming you’ll be by 95).

My biggest piece of advice would be avoiding BW Parkway/295 as much as you can…as in, don’t take it unless an accident has happened on 95. My GPS has tried to take me on that road ever since I moved to Maryland years ago and it’s always a shit show of traffic and hold ups. And lord forbid you get one slow person in the left lane who’s stubborn, because traffic will get held up for miles. It is almost never faster to take 295 unless you’re going into downtown DC, and you’re not. There is almost never not traffic around numerous interchanges (495, 197, 32), unlike 95 which really only gets traffic at rush hour.

That drive freaking sucks

I live in Bmore and grew up in Rockville and live not too far from SS. Generally speaking, it takes 45 mins if you’re on 95 to 495. Maybe up to an hour or an hour and fifteen minutes. Definitely doable, but can be rough during rush hour.

My office is in Rockville. When I lived in Mount Vernon and Downtown, it was an hour or less door to door in the evenings barring any dramas and a bit under an hour in the mornings. I would work from like 7 to 3 to beat the traffic. It wasn't horrible, actually.

Now I live in Butchers Hill. This has added 20 minutes to my commute, and it sucks. Definitely live closer to 395 in Baltimore if you can.

I hate the commute, I'm happy when it is decent, but I really cannot stand driving it. If the Purple Line ever gets done and I still work where I work now, I'll just take MARC and the purple.

The main hold up is at the intersection of 95 & 495. As the bottleneck is at Georgia Ave. Sometimes jumping off of 95 onto 29 and taking it into Silver Spring is less difficult, but still no prize. I was born/raised in outer Silver Spring (New Hamp corridor) . Driving was tough in the 70s. All due to suburban sprawl and the idea that the DC area is a gold mine.

Living in Old Catonsville, Arbutus, St Denis, Haelthorpe would put yo at 95, though its not in the city, it is old suburbs.

With or without traffic?

Commuted from butchers hill to Fenton street via car 3 days a week for 2 years. My boss was cool with 630a-230p hours so traffic was never a problem. Would suggest something like that if you can, not bad at all, maybe 47 min each way.

I used to do Baltimore to Rockville everyday. It can either be 45-50 or 2 hours. I ended up changing employers because I wanted to shorten my commute. It’s a bearable commute but I would try to find a place with designated parking.

I'm from SS, lived in Baltimore city and now in Catonsville.

It's not the best commute. Nowadays I commute to North Bethesda about once a week and it's a schlep. I usually go via 29 but occasionally take 95 if the Beltway isn't too bad. But even 29 is a pain because once you pass Rt 200, it's dense.

The difference in housing price has to be really worth it to make such a challenging commute.

Before Pandemic I worked in White Oak 3x a week. I could take 95 to From the East side of Baltimore County it was 45-minutes to an hour to be in at 7:30 and a complete crap shoot on the way home at 4. Could be anywhere between an 60 and 120 minutes. With two days of remote work, it was completely doable, so long as you started early. Getting through the tunnel was the bane of my existence in the evening.

If I could've started at 6 and left at 2:30 it would've been fine! Either way, glad to work remote now.

Edit for more details: Got on 95 at the 95/695 junction near White Marsh, got off at 29/212/495 split depending on traffic.

The commute? When you slam on the brakes (and you will), have one eye on the rear view mirror.

It’s not bad, and if you drive to Wheaton and take the metro you can save yourself a little stress