Potential Move to DS area (Silver Spring, Wheaton-Glenmont: foreclosures, house, schools)

[bjohn209]

I'm interviewing for a federal job in downtown DC (Pennsylvania Ave) next week and wanted to become a little more informed about housing and cost of living issues in the DC area in order to be able to think about salary needs should that topic come up.

I have a family (two kids--one 3 years old and the other almost a year old), so I'd like to find a community with decent schools as my older child will be of school-age soon. I'd also like to find a house in the suburbs with a commute of around an hour. We'd be willing to spend up to $300,000. We're not looking for anything fancy, just a comfortable home with 4 bedrooms or so and a yard. Is it possible to find something in the Maryland DC suburbs that fits my criteria or am I in for disappointment? (I know some counties just wouldn't be a good fit due to high home prices.)

I've been doing some cost of living comparison's on Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed and have found some suburbs that seem like they might be good fits: College Park, Savage, Laurel, Wheaton-Glenmont, Bowie, Odenton, etc. Any thoughts about these would be appreciated. I know some of these communities are on the MARC line and might be more desirable when it comes to the commute.

All of this of course will be moot if I don't receive an offer. But I'm trying to do some homework now.

Thanks in advance for any advice/help.

[bjohn209]

My finger slipped while I was typing the thread title--I meant "DC area," not "DS area."

[Madison24]

You're not going to find anything for under $300,000. Foreclosures maybe upper $200's but probably only 2-3 bedroom, and not in move-in condition. "A comfortable home with 4 bedrooms or so and a yard" will run you well over $500,000 in any area that you could safely house a family. I live in Maryland, so I don't know the "good" areas of Virginia (but I do know that housing costs about the same). Good areas of Maryland are Bethesda. Kensington, and Olney. There are a couple of good pockets in the Gaithersburg/Germantown area and possibly Silver Spring (be careful w/Silver Spring, though), but these are way out of your price range. Don't be fooled by College Park, either. Just because the University of Md is there doesn't mean its safe. Once you step foot off campus, you're done. Plus, it would take you forever to get to downtown DC from there.