Maryland vs. No. Virginia (Columbia, Silver Spring: home, buy, public schools)

[momandrn]

Hi,

I posted a similar post on the VA forum, now am looking here. I am currently interviewing for a position in Arlington, VA. Currently living in So. Fla.

Am wondering, if I were to take this position, where the best place to live would be...No. Virginia or Maryland?

Am interested in the following: Public Schools, Commute times (45 min. or less), am hoping to spend no more than $550K for a SFH. The main reason that I am looking more to Md, is we are also Jewish and it seems as if there is more of a Jewish community in the Silver Springs/Rockville areas than in Arlington, etc..

Any input is welcome. Thanks...

[Njrover0216]

I do not pay attention on what peoples religion are based on where I live. Is religion your only factor for wanting to move to MD vs VA? I am not understanding your question. Do you want to know if there are more jewish communities for you to live in in MD? Or are you asking where can you buy a home, where it is safe with good schools for 550K or less?

[Zippy7fo]

Rockville has a huge Jewish community. You might wanna get into contact with a local synagogue or the U-Md Jewish Center and ask the Director or staff for advice about the region. But yes Silverspring, Columbia, and Rockviille and dc itself have a huge jewish community, especially NW dc...

[momandrn]

Ok, my question now is, Silver Spring or Rockville? Can you get more than a TH for $550k? How bad would the commute to Arlington be? How are the schools?

Thanks...

[trickymost]

Not sure if this is posted elsewhere, but this site has all the data you would need to be able to judge the quality of a public school in any county in MD, including progress on standardized test, diversity of student body, how many people are special needs (and what type, ie special ed, free lunch, advanced classes):

2007 Maryland Report Card

I am unaware of any similar site for VA, but I expect for any area in which you'd be looking to live will have quality schools.

[leeba]

I live in (northern) Rockville and like Rockville but not the trip to Arlington, which I've been doing for 4 years and am planning to change soon.

If you choose MD, you'll be crossing the river; there are limited options.

Rockville to Arlington is not a great Metro commute because you need to take the red line all the way to Metro center, and then go out the orange line. Rockville metro parking lots are usually full by 7:00am or so, better in summer.

If you try to use i270 and the capital beltway, which is the direct way, you'll be going over the Americal Legion bridge and have the privilege of driving both the busiest MD and the busiest VA section of the beltway. Very slow on a bad day; pretty slow on an average day too.

Basically, plan on ~1 hour when things are smooth, whether by Metro or car, and much more if anything goes wrong. If you drive you can reduce the time in the morning by leaving very early, but there's no way out of the afternoon/evening congestion. As I said I'm in northern Rockville; if you are in southern Rockville, maybe your trip will be a bit better. July and Aug. are a bit better because about 1/10 of the people are gone.

Just something to consider. Good luck with your decision.

[Bigbluelandrover]

I curently reside in Silver Spring and drive to Fairfax which is further out than Arlington. It takes me 30-35 mintues to get to work as long as there are no accidents..This drive is actually going against traffic.

Coming home is another story...Monday it took me 30 minutes to get home (a record!) Today it took me 1 1/2 hrs. it was just inching along traffic.

My co-worker lives north of Rockville and she said it takes close to 2hrs coming and going. She takes the train now and even though she takes 2 trains she saves on gas and gets to relax on the train... Also taking the train into VA is MUCH less crowed than being on the train coming into the DC area.

[sundaze]

If you are Jewish, definitely Maryland.