There is a significant amount of reverse commuter traffic to the Dulles area, between the tech companies and govvie contractors along the Route 28 and Toll Road corridors. I half-jokingly say that all the government employees live in the 'burbs and commute into the district to work, and the techies do the opposite... :)

I'm DCA-based with my current carrier, and since the Silver Line has opened, I have used it a number of times to get home (from Wiehle, I can either get a princess pickup, local bus or on a nice day, short cut via the golf course and hoof it home). I've seen a number of crew take it and hop on the Washington Flyer to get to IAD. Not sure what the cost is now but they did have an airline discounted fare when it ran from West Falls Church.

I've also heard from others that crew is exempt from the I-66 HOV restrictions, but my regular route between Reston and DCA avoids the Toll Road and 66...

The City of Alexandria is contained inside the Beltway. Belle Haven/Ft. Hunt/Mt. Vernon are in Fairfax County.

We recently moved to a bedroom community called Round Hill about 3-5 minutes west of Purcellville with lots of new construction going on. Its quieter out there, with WAY less people, and younger families with lots of kids for our young son to play with. The schools are great. Purcellville has the basics, but Leesburg is only about 20 minutes down the road and has everything else. Takes about 30-40 minutes to get to IAD from Round Hill. You can take hwy 7 to 28 to IAD (pretty busy during rush hour) or you can spring for the Greenway which dumps you off right at Dulles. (The tolls are stupid expensive) If I were to venture a guess, the Greenway would save you around 10 minutes on the commute. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

Try this: Route 7 to 15 south (the exit before you get to the Greenway off the bypass) then a left turn onto Evergren Mills Road. Stay on that until you get to 606/Old Ox Road, make a left. You'll cross over the Greenway... keep going until you get to Ariane Way, right turn and you're in the back side of IAD at employee parking. It's a bit longer but you might save time vs. 7/28 and definitely save $$$ on the tolls.

Another option is Sycolin Road which turns into Ashburn Farm Parkway and then Waxpool Road. Eventually takes you to Route 28 or there are a few roads around the AOL/Raytheon complex across from Wegman's that will get you to Old Ox Road and the airport. Getting to Sycolin from where you're at is a bit of a pain, though, and traffic and lights may be more of a hassle depending on time of day - and the area right around Wegman's can get congested at peak times. I use this route a lot getting out to Leesburg Airport as an alternate to driving out Route 7.

The whole area west of Leesburg is what the Ashburn/Broadlands area was when I moved to the area some *mumble* 20+ years ago. Back then, it was mostly woods and farms once you got west of IAD until you got to Leesburg, and then you were really in the sticks past there :) Shoot... the Greenway wasn't even open, and when it did open up, it was two lanes each way.

I'd be glad to discuss the Northern Virginia real estate market with anyone that might be interested. I'm based in Dulles on the 756 but have run my own residential appraisal business for 15 years... safe to say I've done valuations in almost every neighborhood in the area. Presently, I spend most of my time with buyers and sellers. PM me if you have any questions.

Thanks for the replies everyone. We may end up doing a recon mission this weekend on the west side of Dulles. I believe I am prepared for sticker shock, but we shall see.
SS31

Don't forget it will be fairfax county. My lady friend lives there. Let's just say base pay for a apartment starts with a 2

Thanks for all the info. Does anyone have any Intel or opinions about Woodbridge? Most flying I do would be IAD but I don't mind the drive. My wife's work would be SW part of Springfield... No kids yet but they are in the near future plans...

You could be very happy in Woodbridge and save a tiny bit of money. Commuting to Springfield--or any of the airports--could be a real drag.

You only do it once, maybe twice a week. Keep mama san happy.