I have been in as early as 5:45am and as late as 9am. Traffic going towards Reston in the am is minimal even at what would be considered peak times. I have noticed a big difference in the other direction, though.

I don't think Falls Church to Herndon would be too bad during morning rush hour, but I am not sure how bad the westbound toll plaza on the Toll Road is in the morning. Evening commute would be ok until you get close to 66. And again, a lot can change based on exactly what time you'll be commuting, to exactly where. "Herndon" has a somewhat wide definition. You can be in Herndon working right off the Toll Road or be 2 exits down Rt. 28 in one of the EDS buildings.

My wife had a co-worker who commuted Falls Church to Herndon; I'll have her ask how long it took her.

As I stated above, traffic is minimal. It gets a little heavier at peak times but I still can cruise along at 60-65mph.

Welcome to Northern Virginia. DEN to NoVA will offer considerable sticker shock when it comes to housing. Good luck. That said, Fairfax county is the wealthiest county in the USofA. The schools reflect that. Your wife should find a really good teaching gig.

The tech corrider lies along the W&OD bike trail. If you are a rider, and your employer is close, consider commuting by bicycle when you are house-hunting. By car you're in for a LA-style commute.

If tou can afford it, Reston is as good as it gets. Avoid southwest Reston and south Herndon. These areas qualify as the wrong side of the tracks. Your bride should aim for Rachel Carlson middle school or Oakton high. These are the best of the non-magnet schools. (Boy will I get some arguments on this!)

Affordable housing starts in Ashburn and points west. Avoid living in MD. The bridges across the Potomac are always congested. I think the Park Service arranges a wreck every Friday afternoon just about rush hour. It's called Performance Art. People who want aceres of land look west of the Shenendoah. Some from as far as West Virginia.

Thanks for all the advice.
I'll be coming down to DC in a few weeks to check out the area

Definitely rent a car and try to drive around the area where you think you might be living at rush hour. Ask your wife to pick a few choice schools and see what the drive around them is like. Fairfax is a pretty big county, and keep in mind that it generally takes less time to drive outward (away from D.C.) than the opposite direction.

If your wife teaches at the high school level, she may be in better luck with regard to buses -- the middle and elementary schools are more numerous and spread out. An invaluable site for D.C.-area public transit users is www.wmata.com, which covers all the Metrobus/Metrorail routes serving Northern Virginia. You'll also want to check out the sites for the transit systems serving individual localities within Northern Virginia, such as Fairfax Connector, Alexandria's DASH, Fairfax City's CUE, etc.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a place to live that fills both your needs. Public transit in the D.C. suburbs can be hard to nail down, but it's definitely doable. Good luck!

Just noticed the typo above. The actual site is http://www.wmata.com

Ack! Thanks for catching that. I even made the same mistake when trying to find the site and noticed the error -- and then repeated it. Some editor I am!