Where to live..college in Rockville, Hubby at Pentgaon (Bethesda: real estate, houses)

[neumants]

Hi there,

Where are on military orders to the Pentagon and I am trying to get in to nursing school at U of M at Shady Grove. We are looking to buy in the $500K range and have found some good places in my search. My question is, I will be in school at Rockville and hubby needs to commute to the Pentagon so where would you suggest we try for the best commute for both of us. We are leaning toward Montgomery County over North VA just because of the traffic horrors we have heard. Any input appreciated!
Thanks!

[dullnboring]

If you position yourself anywhere along Metro's Red Line in Montgomery County, your husband would be able to commute by Metro to the Pentagon which many Pentagon workers do as the station is right by the building. A trip from the Shady Grove terminus to the Pentagon would be some 50 minutes. I think Rockville would be a good location. Commute-wise, the areas that would afford a roughly equal commute would be closer to Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac and McLean, but these areas are extremely pricey.

[neumants]

Thank you so much! We thought Rockville may work....and were wondering how long it would take on the red line. 50 minutes is not bad if you are not sitting in a car! I have looked in the other areas you mentioned and are a little out of our price range. We have 3 kids, all elementary school age. Do you think Rockville is a good place for families? Thanks so much for any input! This is a huge lifestyle change for us!

[Kensington]

I live in Kensington, MD in Montgomery Co. and my husband commutes to Arlington. It is about 45 min. - 1 hour. I think you could find something here in the 500,000 range though it might not be in one of the best highschool clusters. Driving is faster than taking public transportation, so your husband would just have to decide which he prefers. Rockville is certainly doable, but traffic on 270 is really awful. I think most people stationed at the Pentagon tend to live in Virginia. If you will be commuting to and from school outside of rush hour, then Northern VA to Shady Grove wouldn't be too bad of a commute. The only other thing to consider will be where they do clinical rotations.

How long are your husband's orders? I would definitely find a real estate agent and discuss whether it makes sense to buy or rent. The market seems to have hit its low and be on the mend, but if you're only going to be here for 2 or 3 years, buying could be a risky proposition. I would also choose a real estate agent based on where you decide to live (either VA or MD). Make sure they specialize in the area you want. Most agents are licensed for the entire region, but that doesn't mean they really know all the schools and neighborhoods well.

[neumants]

Thank you Kensington for the reply. So you think driving is better? My husband would do either the train or drive...maybe a combo of both depending on my schedule and the kids.

We did think about NOVA and have me commute across the river, but I was worried about that commute as well. I suppose the time of day will be the key, and that will all depend on my schedule. I can also apply to school at George Mason....that is the plan if I do not get accepted to Uof M (it was just my first choice).

We will be there 3-4 years.....so we thought we should buy versus rent. Someone else told me the Kensington area was nice.

Thanks again!

[teleblazer]

THe one thing I learned in my many years of moving around the nation is this. Never live somewhere with a bridge or tunnel between you and your work. It leads to lots of frustrating moments stuck in traffic.

Unless you can work some kind of alternate schedule the traffic to/from the various areas in the DC Metro location is pretty bad. If you don't have to go over a bridge or through a tunnel you at least have back roads and neat shortcuts you can learn to get where you need to.

Just a thought...

Originally Posted by neumants

We did think about NOVA and have me commute across the river, but I was worried about that commute as well. I suppose the time of day will be the key, and that will all depend on my schedule.

[claremarie]

If one spouse is working at the Pentagon, and the other is going to school in MD, then it's impossible to avoid the bridge issue. But keep in mind that there are a number of bridges across the Potomac.
Attending George Mason rather than Shady Grove would greatly simplify your commuting/housing issues. Unless there are very compelling reasons to attend Shady Grove, I would seriously consider the George Mason option.

[neumants]

Thank you claremarie and teleblazer. You both gave great advice.....and we were just talking about how I should just go ahead and apply to GMU and Marymount and see what happens. The more I look at it, the more reasonable it seems to try and live in NOVA. And the school issue, I just want to get my BSN.....and I thought I may be more copmpetitive at Shady Grove. We will be in DC for 4 years so I have some time if I do not get picked up for school the first time I apply. SO now I guess I need to jump to the VA forums and figure out where to look for houses in Fairfax county Thanks for all the input!