Moving to DC from Israel (Silver Spring, Germantown: apartment complex, for rent, daycare)

[dolevharel]

Hi,

We are considering moving to DC in about 6 months since my husband will probabaly be starting his post-doc at NIH.

We are looking for a decently priced area for renting an aprtment/town house in an are with good schools, which is nice, quite and safe and with easy commute to NIH and downtown DC. We have heard a lot about Rockville and am wondering if there are other area's we should look at as well.

In addition we are looking for good nursery schoold and child care facilities for our kids (3.4 and 10 months), preferably with a lot of nature, healthy food, etc. similar to the waldorf schools.

Any recommendation on where to start would be great since we will be doing all organizations by long distance!

[Zippy7fo]

rockville is a good start...so is silver spring..bethesda...you also might wannna consider wheaton..their all connected to routes that take you downtown with ease...by car/metro/bus..

[DLK]

I would never recommend someone to move to Wheaton of all places from Israel.

Dolvharel, have you ever lived or visited in the US before? If so, where?

I don't know what financial range you are looking in. You said "decent priced" and this is completely relative, especially if you are coming from Tel Aviv. I've lived in both Israel as well as Silver Spring and surrounding areas. I would scratch Silver Spring / Wheaton off your list regardless of what price range you're looking for.

[Gary20852]

You'll definitely find a community of Israelis if you move to Rockville. One of the apartment complexes is even referred to as the Little Kibbutz. There are two Israeli-owned kosher stores (same owner), the neighborhood has plenty of Jewish and Israeli-oriented organizations and activities.

Many of the Israelis also work at the NIH. I work there as well (but I'm an Oleh-to-be). Are you coming through the Binational Science Foundation (my sister works there in Jerusalem)?

Wheaton has a very haredi community, probably less expensive than the Rockville area (but still not cheap) but Rockville is the most convenient in terms of community if you'll be at the NIH main campus in Bethesda (the NIH has free employee shuttle buses from Rockville). Even though Wheaton and Bethesda is on the same red line of the Metro, they're at opposite ends of the line (think of it as a U-shape, going down through Washington DC and then heading back out).

What more would you like to know?

[Kensington]

Kensington is very convenient to downtown dc and the NIH. There is a Waldorf school in Bethesda that starts at age 3, I believe. There is also a preschool called the Outdoor Nursery School in northern Chevy Chase, MD. It is not Waldorf philosophy school, but they hold classes outside and integrate nature and outdoor activities into the curriculum. It is just south of Kensington. The NIH has a well-regarded daycare/pre-school as well, though I doubt they follow any sort of Waldorf philosophy.

[dolevharel]

Thank you all for providing the usefull information!
I hope can contact you all in case I'll have more questions.
Thanks!

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by dolevharel

Hi,

We are considering moving to DC in about 6 months since my husband will probabaly be starting his post-doc at NIH.

We are looking for a decently priced area for renting an aprtment/town house in an are with good schools, which is nice, quite and safe and with easy commute to NIH and downtown DC. We have heard a lot about Rockville and am wondering if there are other area's we should look at as well.

In addition we are looking for good nursery schoold and child care facilities for our kids (3.4 and 10 months), preferably with a lot of nature, healthy food, etc. similar to the waldorf schools.

Any recommendation on where to start would be great since we will be doing all organizations by long distance!

Rockville is expensive but close to NIH. So is Bethesda. Rockville has several synogoges and a large Jewish Community Center (JCC) there so that may be something for you to consider as an Israeli. Gaithersburg is further away but still a reasonable commute. If you want a more traditional, all-American type place you can also try Frederick County which is mostly suburbia and beautiful small towns and rural areas. There are a lot of townhouses in Urbana in southern Frderick county and also in Germantown in northern Montgomery.

Hope you enjoy your time in MD and in our country. I'm not Jewish but I have a lot of respect for Israel and how y'all can stand so strong as a country against the forces of radical Islam.

[dolevharel]

Hi,

One of you recommended to us the Outdoor Nursery School in northern Chevy Chase. I can't find any info about it on the web (other than address and phone number). Do any of you know if they have a web site or have friends who have sent kids there and can give me more info about this nursery school? It sounds really great but I want to know more about it.

In addiiton - what is the name of the apartment complex evreyone refers to as the Kibbutz in Rockville?

[dolevharel]

The outdoor nursery school sounds great but I couldn't find any web site or info about it (other than address and phone number). Do you have any idea where I can get more information about it?

[dolevharel]

Yes I have lived in the Silicon valley for many years (Palo alto, Sunnyvale, Cupertino). We currently live in one of the subburbs of Jerusalem - Mevaseret. My husband will be on an NIH fellowship so money will be tight.