Two completely different alternate ideas although they would both be a little bit of a commute to Luarel. 1) Annapolis, MD and 2) Penn Quarter. Annapolis is out on the water in MD probably a 40 minute drive (maybe longer in traffic). Penn Quarter is in downtown DC near the Verizon Center where the Wizards & Capitols play and on par with Capitol Hill & Georgetown in terms of restaurants.

I don't know much about the MARC train (or Laurel), but i know it runs from DC up towards Baltimore and runs through or close to Laurel. I am not sure what the stop / station is like in or whether its possible to take that train out from DC to Luarel and then walk or bus to the office.

Another item if you are planning to buy - the real estate market here is VERY VERY slow - I don't care what the realtors or talking heads on TV say about a "leveling off" sellers are getting desperate and you should be very agressive when making an offer.

I'm sure some will disagree, but having just sold a house in suburban Virginia and bought one in DC, the real estate market here has hit a brick wall. We sold our house in March. Our former neighbor put their house on the market shortly thereafter and have not had a bite in 3 months.