I have to reiterate those who said AVOID AVOID 270. Really. THEY ARE NOT KIDDING.
This means, don’t board in Frederick, or anywhere in that direction, if you can by any stretch avoid it. My roommate did that commute keeping her horse in Keedysville for about 6 months and it was absolutely horrid. My receptionist commutes from Germantown to DC every day and it takes her 2 hours each way.
Rent is far more expensive here than where you are, unfortunately.
I’m going to vote with the folks suggesting living on a metro line in upper DC/lower Maryland (Friendship Heights, Bethesda, etc.) and boarding out in Poolesville or over in Olney/Damascus way. I live on Capitol Hill and board at Waredaca, and it is an EASY 45-50 minute drive (easy as in mostly very peaceful, not stop and go). But. I work flexible hours from home and rarely have to go during rush hour. If I didn’t, I’d look to live over on the Red Line in DC/Maryland, metro to work and back, and then drive to the barn that way. I think VA is a nightmare, frankly, when it comes to commuting.
Waredaca would meet all your needs except for your turnout needs. THey do have a couple of small paddocks but those are usually in use by either the BOs horses, horses in for training, or layups. It might be worth talking to them, however.
this looks like what i am looking for…living on the red line to commute to work and drive to the barn in the MD area, brookeville, olney, etc. so it is good to hear that it is doable. which barn to you board at? i am still looking at several options. thanks!
[QUOTE=Classic Melody;3643181]
The key to my sanity is the fact that I take the metro to work so I only have to battle traffic on the way to the barn. I work downtown and live in suburban Maryland on the red line, and then have a 35-minute commute to the barn in the evenings. It is manageable. I currently keep my horse near Olney, but I used to be in Poolesville. Honestly, if you can wait to go to the barn after rush hour (approx 7 pm) then the MD side of the beltway is fine. Avoid, avoid avoid 270. Driving to Poolesville, while a 24 mile commute, only took 30-35 minutes. Now I’m only 16 miles to the barn but it takes just as long because I’m on local roads and not the highway.
I used to live in Northern Virginia. I would absolutely NOT recommend living or boarding there if you work in DC and you have to go anywhere near a car. It’s simply a clusterf*ck.
Something no one has mentioned here is cost. Since you’re seriously involved in eventing, I presume you want very nice facilities. Be prepared to pay at least $600 for a good barn with turnout, and up from there.
I would suggest working the phones and visiting a ton of barns when you come looking for a place to live. Good luck!’
Edited to add: It’s not all bad news. This is a GREAT area for eventing with access to many XC courses, competitions and top trainers. You will love it![/QUOTE]
I second that commuting from DC to MD is relatively easy, however, commuting from VA to MD is a nightmare, just because there is only 1 bridge on the west side of town on the beltway, and EVERYONE is driving there in the afternoon. Just a note on 270(I agree its a nightmare but only in certain parts) - I am used to driving it every afternoon and familiar with traffic pattern - there is a bottleneck on 495 before you get to 270 split, after you actually get on 270, the traffic usually moves at speed (even in full rush hour traffic), until you get into Gaithersburg, where it basically stops. So, if you have to get off 270 before Gaithersburg exits (River Rd or 28 for Poolesville), traffic won’t be nearly as bad as if you were going to barns in Germantown or Clarksburg.
Incredible help from all of you! Thank you so much!
Since you all keep emphasizing how much easier it would be to have a flexible job, anyone have any suggestions in that regard.? That really seems to be my biggest dilemma right now. I’m curious to hear how everyone else is supporting their eventing habits. Especially at the upper levels.
I’m young (25) and at that horrible in between college and a career phase. I know you all know what I’m talking about. Living every day just dying to have some sort of clear vision for how the hell I’m suppose to make money to support this black hole momey pit of a “hobby”. It’s so scary out here in grown up land.
If only I had had the opportunity I have now when I was in high school or college with the 2 talented horses I currently have. In reality I am looking at moving up to advanced next year (knock on wood) away. I can’t very well settle now. You know? Some people never get that horse, (I never thought I’d get it) but I am lucky to have the stars align for me and I have 2 going at the same time and it’s all just an arms reach away. That’s enough to put off “career plans” for a while, right?
What kind of flexible jobs do you have?
VA and MD governments are big into promoting incentives for employers to offer flex time/schedules to meet traffic and now financial demands - plus flex hours helps w/ employee morale, however I happen to work for a company that doesn’t seem to believe in flex hours; alot of it depends on what type of industry you want to get into and also because of the state of economy many companies are laying off rather than hiring; on the plus side with a new administration moving in one would think there should be job openings; living in DC itself can be quite expensive, MD a little less expensive rent-wise; MD has a huge biotech industry which happens to be close to alot of riding facilitlies - the 270 Corridor/Shady Grove area is big w/ biotech which is in close proximity to Waredaca; Poolesville - The Mont. Co. area is also a good commute to many Area II events.
Ugh, pay is sooo low in DC. Everyone is running around with a Phd and making $20k a year until they either go back where they came from (taking back valuable experience), or finally move high enough up the experience scale. At the same time, there’s a lot going on so it’s a good place for you be while making career decisions.
I don’t know if they are hiring right now but IT sales companies have pretty flexible work out of the home type of jobs, not requiring a MBA (at least at the entry level in order to move up into management you need one). The base salaries are good (you could live in this area on the pre-commission salary and pay board etc.) and the hours are flexible, plus as I mentioned you can work from home. In this area a lot of the sales are to the federal gov’t which is always growing despite the economy so if you get into a gov’t contracts or military contracts position with one of these companies it offers good security. A friends husband is in this area and works from home at least 4 days a week. The companies I am thinking of are IBM, ATT, Verizon etc.
You can also consider boarding in Howard County, MD. This summer, I lived off the Blue/Yellow line in Arlington, VA and commuted to the K street area (known for lobbying/law firms) for work. I looked into riding in the Great Falls/Maclean area which was very close but also beyond my budget (this was just for lessons though, but I’d imagine that boarding would be likewise very expensive). I ended up sticking with a dressage trainer in Howard County, MD that I’d ridden with before. Typically, I’d leave my apartment between 6:15-7:00PM and be at the barn within an hour. Didn’t have to go up the dreaded I-270 though, but rather went up through and around the East side of DC on DC/I-295.
In Howard County, you might check out Sunset Hills and Hopkins Spring Farm (no personal experience). You can also easily get to barns in eastern Montgomery County. I’ve also lived/ridden in Silver Springs and agree with the other posters that living off the Red line is a great option.
My understanding is that Sunset Hills is for sale and they are shutting down the boarding operation and their on-site trainer will be gone as of 12/1- I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure I am not.
I agree with bambam, I would stay away from Sunset Hill.
As far as jobs go, a federal govt job is a good option. They have all sorts of stuff from IT to secretarial to science jobs to PR/marketing type stuff. As another poster said, they are really promoting flexible work schedules and the ability to work at home (if your position allows for that). I work for the fed, and now I am only in the office 2-3 days/week depending on my meeting schedule. That really helps for being able to make it out to the barn during the day, and then finish up working at home later.
Cleveland, I will second the “try to avoid Va --> MD commute” chant. I just moved BACK to the city after living in SW Virginia for 7 years. It was BEYOND imperative to me that I try to keep my commuting to a minimum. I lived here for 20 years, I know the hell that is DC. I’m a chill person, but damn if the beltway doesn’t crush my zen. :uhoh:
Depending on WHERE in the city your BF is going to work I suggest a MD “suburb.” Like I said, I live in Silver Spring and I’m a long walk or a short bus ride to the metro (you can EASILY live walking distance to a metro in Silver Spring).
I am a psychologist and I work in Baltimore. I then commute from Baltimore to Damascus to where Woods is boarded. The other secret to surviving is try to work out a reverse commute if you can. My drive to work is 30 minutes because I’m going against traffic UP 95 and I’m on the road by 7:00 at the latest.
My drive to the barn is just under 40 minutes because of my hours (I’m usually done at work by 3:30), and then by the time I leave the barn I can normally make it home in 45 minutes if the beltway hasn’t turned into a parking lot because some idiot got distracted by something shiny :sigh:. If I don’t get distracted hanging out and having a beer after I ride :D, I’m usually home by 7:00.
As far as a job with flexible hours, you may want to consider working for the school systems. Granted, because of the drop in housing prices a lot of the local districts are on a hiring freeze, but it might be worth taking a look at. I don’t know what sort of training you have or what sort of money you need to live on, but it’s something to think about.(you won’t be making much depending on your qualifications, but the breaks are lovely and summers off are hard to beat).
Good Luck!
From reading everybody’s responses, and looking back on my own experience when I moved to DC … it just seems SO hard to make it work.
Cleveland - if I were you, I would just NOT move to DC or the burbs around it. If that is possible. I lived down in Durham, North Carolina for several years before schlepping up to DC and I highly recommend it to somebody like you. The commute to jobs is friggin EASY, there are EXCELLENT barns (Holly Hepp is now at Equiventure, where I used to board when I lived there, and I can tell you it is an AWESOME farm with everything you need). Cost of living is cheap compared to DC. Quality of life is much better. Southern Pines is an hour away. Aiken is much closer. And their are LOADS of jobs for people like you. I had a GREAT job in the Research Triangle Park when I was there. UNC and Duke are there with loads of jobs too. DC is 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive (depending on how you drive and traffic) and there are shuttle flights between RDU and Reagan airports daily.
Seriously, I would just really reconsider moving to DC if you don’t have to…
Your work isyour life in DC. People come here to work, not because of the quality of life. I think it is very hard to come here if you want to focus on anything but your career. That said, if you do move to DC, I would suggest you focus your home/barn search based on which part of the city your job is located in. If you are in SW DC, NOVA is your best option. NW DC, try lower Montgomery County. NE or SE DC, PG County or AA County. Also look at the entry points into the city (both Metro and Road). In NW DC, its Wisconsin and Connecticut Avenues, Beach Drive, RockCreek, and Cabin John Parkways and the redline metro. In SW, 395, route 50, orange and blue lines, etc. If you do not want to spend your life commuting, do not plan to live more than 5 minutes in rush hour from your primary point of entry into the city. Ideally, if you want a good commute and plenty of access to horse farms close in, I would suggest SE/SW DC (that includes most of downtown - ie Metro Center/Smithsonian/Federal buildings etc) and look for a house/barn in either Southern PG County (ie Upper Marlboro/Croom area) or Southern AA county (ie Lothian/Harwood/Davidsonville). Most don’t have websites or advertise except sporadically (check PVDA classifieds, the equiery.com etc) but there are many eventers out there (Stuart Pittman in Davidsonville, Valerie Vizcarrondo in Harwood, etc). You also might try some of the racing barns/steeplechasing barns in the area as they would likely have the types of conditioning facilities you are looking for - maybe Larking Hill in Harwood.
My two cents from a lifelong DC resident…
Ugh. That’s why I didn’t make it in DC. Quality of life was and is just way more important to me than any job, no matter what the pay or benefits.
Everybody in the RTP (Research Triangle Park) warned me about moving up there, but I had to find out for myself. Lots of them were DC and NYC regugees. Many of them turned down really good job offers in DC while I worked with them - because they refused to go back to that life.
That said, there certainly are some people, like asterix and bambam who have made it work and don’t seem any worse for the wear. But for me it just didn’t fit my personality and I came to realize it was not my only option, so I left. I just wouldn’t recommend it to someone who has a serious commitment to advancing in UL eventing and who is young enough that they have options.
Flyingchange - You’re making me nostalgic. I grew up in Durham, NC, went to UNC and loff it there. I’ve been in DC area for the last 15 years (law school/biglaw practice) and am DYING to move back home. I’m burnt out on law practice and currently wondering what I could do to get back to my home area. Any suggestions welcome. I agree that Equiventure (Quail Roost) is an awesome place.
Best, Koko
Another answer is to move to the Baltimore suburbs, hon. (or, Bawlmer, as it were)
I live in Catonsville, horse lives in Howard Cty nearby, I work near Columbia, and never have to deal w/ EITHER beltway. MD has so much going on ridingwise, although of course as a much more advanced rider and competitor, your needs are more specialized. Baltimore real estate is cheaper than DC, and the city as a place to live is less obnoxiously career-obsessed. It can be done, but you need to be creative. There is a train from downtown Baltimore to DC. There are cool downtown neighborhoods where your housing dollar will go far in Baltimore, if you can deal w/ some sketchiness. If I hadn’t lived in a dirt-cheap Bawlmer apartment for 5 years, I would not be a rider of any kind right now. It literally made the difference for me budgetwise, and the commute out of Baltimore west to barns is some distance, but not as evil traffic-wise as DC-VA, which I would avoid unless I owned a helicopter.
As has previously been noted, a reverse commute can be a life-saver. And I second the recommendation for Silver Spring being pretty livable. (PM me if you and boyfriend are interested in RENTING a nice house in SS before you commit to a location.)
[QUOTE=flyingchange;3647597]
Ugh. That’s why I didn’t make it in DC. Quality of life was and is just way more important to me than any job, no matter what the pay or benefits. [/QUOTE]
That just depends on what “quality of life” means to you. I love the cultural diversity of DC, the amount of museums and historical sites to visit (most free), the climate, and the unique professional and personal networking opportunities. I’ve lived in a lot of places across the country and feverently hope to be able to settle near DC. On the other hand, you couldn’t pay me enough to move back to NYC or the NC Research Triangle. Different strokes for different folks.
You can also have a decent quality of life in DC, it may just depend on who you work for. I have been fortunate to work in industry and now the federal government where my bosses and the culture have been supportive of a life outside of the office.
Lori B has a good point. If you lived between B-more and DC, you can probably find a good boarding location and use the MARC train (http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/marc/schedulesSystemMaps/marcTrainSystemMap.cfm) to get to/from your job, depending on which city you decide to work. in. 
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