7 Ways to Get from Rockville, MD to Washington, D.C.

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It takes just 30 minutes to commute the 17.7 miles from Rockville, MD, to Washington, D.C. on a good day. Rockville is one of Maryland’s largest cities as well as a suburban transportation hub, playing host to both daily commuters and those seeking dining, sports and recreational activities in the D.C. metro area.

Certain parts of I-495, better known as the Beltway, and I-270 see rush hour run from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and again from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. If you don’t want to deal with rush hour traffic that can move at a crawl — costing you both time and gas — you have other options! 

Here’s what you need to know about getting from Rockville to D.C. and all the points between.

Your Rockville to D.C. Travel Options

Some people don’t mind driving to D.C., regardless of the traffic or time. They may need to have their vehicles during the day to make sales calls, drop kids off at school, or run other errands, and thus might be used to the downsides that come with a driving commute. Others may not have their own cars, or many simply prefer to use alternatives like the Metrorail, Uber, Amtrak, carpool, or bicycle. 

The good news for all travelers is that Washington D.C. has the second-greatest number of public transit commuters in the nation after New York City. Here are some of your options for how to get from Rockville to D.C.

1. Driving routes

Interstate 270 is the main commuting route to the Beltway from Montgomery County’s central corridor. This eight-lane highway carries heavy commuter traffic, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes are available for those who carpool or vanpool during peak hours.

  • If you don’t hit rush hour from Rockville to D.C., the general commute time is 30 min for the nearly 18-mile drive via Massachusetts Ave NW. 
  • If you take the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the 22.3-mile trip will still take you about half an hour sans traffic. 

Add a few extra minutes if you are traveling the 17.8-mile journey on the Clara Barton Parkway.

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2. Metrorail

The Shady Grove Metro Station is adjacent to the Westside at Shady Grove Metro townhome community. Hop on the southbound Red Line for the 40-minute ride to D.C. You can purchase a monthly fare pass for unlimited “peak” Metrorail trips from Shady Grove to downtown D.C. The passes are called SmarTrip® cards, and you must purchase one to ride Metrorail.

3. ZipCar

Check out ZipCar if you usually commute by train, bus, or taxi and then find that you need to drive around D.C. You have the choice of an economy, SUV or luxury vehicle, which you can rent by the hour, by the morning or afternoon, day or weekend up to 500 miles. The first 180 miles are included in the rental, making it perfect for short distances or a round-trip commute to D.C. from Rockville.

4. Amtrak

The Amtrak Capitol Limited is indeed limited. It runs once daily and takes 49 minutes from Rockville to D.C. Ticket costs are currently under $10 for the trip. Monday is traditionally the busiest day of the week with Saturday being the least crowded. If you take Amtrak into D.C., you can get back to Rockville by train from Union Station. The train trip operates three times daily, takes a little over half an hour, and the tickets run less than $10.

5. Uber 

The fare varies with traffic if you Uber from Rockville to Washington D.C. or D.C. to Rockville. You will pay around $53 for a one-way fare, but keep in mind that Washington D.C. rates are more expensive — around $60 including a 15 percent tip — plus cancellation fees and tolls.

Man taking an Uber from Rockeville to DC

6. Ride sharing

Carpools and vanpools not only take the stress off driving, but are also environmentally friendly means of travel. There are more than 730,000 registered users ride-sharing from Rockville, Md. to D.C. taking an estimated 5.4 million cars off the road saving over 3 billion gallons of gas!

7. Biking

If you choose to bike to work in D.C., Rock Creek Trail forms a sometimes narrow, winding path through Rock Creek Regional Park. The 14-mile trail begins around Needwood Lake, northeast of Rockville, MD. and the Washington, D.C. border. There have been plans to widen the Beltway’s bike and pedestrian connectivity, but an authorization or rejection is currently on hold.

Which Commute is Right for You?

Consider how much time you have to travel, your comfort level while traveling, and cost when deciding on the commute that will best suit your needs. The choice comes down to logistics as well as your quality of life. 

This process should include —  but not be limited to — questions such as:

  • Where do you live in respect to commuter transportation?
  • Do you own a vehicle? 
  • Do you mind rush hour traffic?
  • Does public transportation make more sense than vehicle upkeep and expenses like gas and parts?
  • Do you need to be able to take calls and work during the commute time?
  • Does your work timetable fall within the range of alternate transportation? 
  • If you must work late in D.C. how will you get back home to Rockville?
  • Have you discussed commuting options with your family?

Talk to coworkers and friends about commuting options versus driving to metro D.C. for insight. Your situation is unique, and public transportation isn’t always the least-stressful option just because you’re riding instead of the one behind the wheel. Sometimes knowing that you have a vehicle in case of an emergency provides crucial peace of mind.

Rockville’s Many Travel Options

No matter which route you choose from Rockville to Washington, D.C., it’s less than 20 miles to commute whether you drive or take alternative transportation. Make the logistics work in your favor by taking time to explore options, especially if you are a first-time homeowner in the area.

While you’re checking out your favorite routes to D.C. make a few stops along the way. There’s many museums and parks for the entire family to enjoy as well as sports bars nearby that can take the edge off a busy day. Contact Nomadic Real Estate today to speak with an expert about any questions you might have about moving to or living in the Rockville, MD, area.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a place to rent, check out our DC rentals.

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Enhanced Reporting

Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

Scroll down to learn more about Reports:

Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

  • Keep in mind, these reports are dynamic records. They will refresh to display current information every time you view them. 

Enhanced Rent Roll Report:

  • The Enhanced Rent Roll Report will show the rent amount, last payment date, move-in date, lease expiration date, and security deposit amount for each of your tenants. 
  • It will also show a portfolio summary with occupancy percentage, vacancy loss, and more!

Unit Comparison Report:

  • If you own multiple units (or buildings) with Nomadic, you’ll get access to the Unit Comparison Report. 
  • This report enables you to quickly compare financial performance between your units at a glance without toggling between individual reports. 

Income Statement Month-Over-Month:

  • The Income Statement Detail – Monthly Report serves as a month-over-month record of portfolio performance. You’ll see itemized income and expense categories and can track monthly. This report will update with fresh data every time you view it. 

Financial Statements

Financial statements will be published to your portal on a monthly basis. The statements are found in your Documents library, and provide a historical record of all financial performance. The statements serve as a snapshot of financial performance over a given period, and are static documents (unlike Reports, the statements do not update/change in real-time). 

Scroll down for more info about the Financial Statements in your Documents library:

The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

  • The statements in the Documents are are static documents. They are posted to the portal once a month to serve as a historical record of financial performance. 

Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
  • The communications module will contain a record of all messages that you create through the portal. 

Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

Responses will show up in the conversation ticket:

Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
  • You’ll get an email notification whenever you get a response, and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Each conversation will be logged in its entirety:

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

  • The date reflected in the lefthand column is the actual transaction date, not the “bill date”. This is the date the transaction was actually processed. 

If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

  • You can filter the ledger to look at just one property, all properties, or specific sets of properties. 
  • If you only have one property with us, you’ll just see the ledger for that property. 

The Description column displays the transaction type:

  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
  • Negative Amounts:  if an amount is negative, this is a transaction that is either payable to Nomadic or is an amount that has already been paid to you. Typically this will be for repair costs or management/leasing fees. Owner draws (net distributions into your checking/savings account) also reflect as negative amounts, since they have already been paid to you. 

The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

  • Account Balance should always equal zero after a net distribution has been processed. When the balance is zero, this means that all expenses have been paid and you’ve received the remainder as net operating income, leaving a balance of zero (meaning: no one is due any money, as all funds have been distributed appropriately). 

Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.