I have just accepted a job that will have me working just off the Maryland side of the American Legion Bridge. Where should I live? Traffic and commute times are obviously a key part of this. I have been watching online traffic cameras for the last two weeks and I’m surprised at how not horrible traffic in the area looks at 7:00 AM. It looks like I could realistically be anywhere from Sterling, Herndon, Reston all the way around to Darnestown, Gaithersburg, maybe as far as Germantown. I don’t see myself in the very close in suburbs or DC.

Do traffic patterns change much when school starts?

If I wanted to keep a typical commute to, say 30 – 40 minutes on the way in (I'd probably start at 7:00) and 45 – 50 on the way home at 4:30 how far out could I be? What else to look for? I know Maryland has a local income tax of around 3%, VA has the personal property tax.

I am torn as to what I want to live in… I have always been a single family homeowner but now I am in my mid 50s and single again and part of me likes the idea of a townhouse community, at least one that has on site natural gathering places like a gym, pool, clubhouse, etc. The one requirement is that I MUST have a garage and it’s almost a must that it’s a two car for my hobbies. I’ll probably rent for a year. Looking at $2k ish. Suggest away.