Also, driving in DC is almost a non-starter. The public transit, while pricey, is comprehensive and convenient. It's getting into the city proper that is the main issue- right now
Basically this, working in DC has always been about the commute, if you're fresh out of a masters program working in the city chances are you won't really be able to afford a place near by because living in the City is almost prohibitively expensive. However commuting isn't' exactly cheap. I spend about 100 bucks a week commuting to DC between parking, gas and metro. I rarely ever drive into the city though because that's more of a headache than the benefit I get out of that.
Considering that I also live about 10 miles out of the District imagine how difficult and expensive it gets for people commuting twice that distance? Sure it's doable but it's not exactly stress free or easy.
A train where you can commute to the city from 40 miles away in under 20 minutes would be a god send and a boon for everyone really. People from further out can find work in DC without feeling like they need to relocate, commuting is less stressful leading to better productivity throughout the day (in theory), honestly even if the round trip ticket for the super maglev is 20 bucks a day it's beyond worth it. At 8 billion for start up fee's it'll probably pay for itself in under a decade.
Well spoken. I currently live in a fairly pricey apartment (even low-priced by Montgomery County standards) because I need to live near metro without wanting to spend an hour+ driving and then another 45 minutes riding each day. A conveniently placed maglev with extremely fast travel times could open up opportunities for us to move out to more rural locations in Maryland that are cheaper.
Grosvernor station waddup! But yeah basically, if you're going to be working in DC your first look at a living situation will probably be at least 15 miles outside of the city.