Honest assessment from those that live in Virginia, is it better than Maryland? Why? (Arlington: condo, low crime)

[JavaChip3]

I've lived in both Maryland and Virginia (I currently live in DC so I have no dog in this fight).

Without going into detail, I would put it like this:
VA close in suburbs > MD close in suburbs
MD exurbs > VA exurbs

[chariega]

Originally Posted by JavaChip3

I've lived in both Maryland and Virginia (I currently live in DC so I have no dog in this fight).

Without going into detail, I would put it like this:
VA close in suburbs > MD close in suburbs
MD exurbs > VA exurbs

I agree with this. Unless you are living in Arlington, close in Alexandria, or closer in Fairfax (inside the beltway), VA is not worth it. MD close in is weak with the exception of Bethesda and Chevy Chase.

And unless you work out there, Ashburn, Leesburg, Woodbridge, etc. further out are a waste of money when you can pay similar prices to live in Annapolis, Columbia or Ellicott City. Also living in Columbia and Ellicott City gives you access to the MARC train for easier commutes to DC.

Another thing about Maryland that's good is that there are more back roads to get into DC compared to VA.

Traffic in general (IMO) is wayyyyy worse in VA tho which goes back to my point above.

Generally, the lower cost of living in MD makes it worth it to me. As a VA-born, Baltimore resident who works a few days a week in VA, my living expenses in MD are WAY lower than they could have ever been in VA.

[stpickrell]

Ashburn will have Metrorail in 5-6 years.

Manassas/Woodbridge/Fredericksburg has VRE, which provides access to all five Metrorail lines, unlike MARC which is Red-Line only.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by chariega

I agree with this. Unless you are living in Arlington, close in Alexandria, or closer in Fairfax (inside the beltway), VA is not worth it. MD close in is weak with the exception of Bethesda and Chevy Chase.

And unless you work out there, Ashburn, Leesburg, Woodbridge, etc. further out are a waste of money when you can pay similar prices to live in Annapolis, Columbia or Ellicott City. Also living in Columbia and Ellicott City gives you access to the MARC train for easier commutes to DC.

Another thing about Maryland that's good is that there are more back roads to get into DC compared to VA.

Traffic in general (IMO) is wayyyyy worse in VA tho which goes back to my point above.

Generally, the lower cost of living in MD makes it worth it to me. As a VA-born, Baltimore resident who works a few days a week in VA, my living expenses in MD are WAY lower than they could have ever been in VA.

I disagree. Have you been in Waldorf during rush hour? What about other parts of southern MD? VA has bad traffic but the idea that MD traffic is better is one of the biggest misconceptions we have in this region. Show me a part of this region where traffic is significantly less than others. It's definitely not many if there are any.

Places like Woodbridge, Stafford and Fredericksburg have commuter buses that give you quick access to DC using the HOV lanes. Does Georgia Avenue have an HOV? Connecticut Avenue? 16th Street? BW Parkway? The only road in MD that has an HOV lane to DC is Route 50, so unless you are taking the train, you are more likely to be stuck in unpredictable traffic in MD.

[snowdenscold]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

5. A wider spread of good schools: Montgomery Blair is the only really good HS up there, but TJ is better. The other HS in MC are still not as good as the ones in N. Arlington/McLean/Fairfax County.

Originally Posted by dkf747

I don't think I agree with that. There are plenty of great schools in MC that are on par with schools in NOVA.

Originally Posted by AlexandriaLightHouse

national rankings and statistics would tend to disagree

I believe these are the 2012 SAT score averages. I copied a previous thread that had them in order from across Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington, Falls Church and Montgomery Counties:

TJHSST 2186
Poolesville 1869
Whitman 1863
Wootton 1837
Churchill 1836
Langley 1812
Richard Montgomery 1775
McLean 1755
Woodson 1754
Oakton 1753
Yorktown 1747
Bethesda-Chevy Chase 1746
Walter Johnson 1744
George Mason 1734
Madison 1730
Marshall 1702
Montgomery Blair 1670
Lake Braddock 1669
Robinson 1666
West Springfield 1660
Quince Orchard 1659
Loudoun Valley 1652


So even though I prefer NoVa, I wouldn't be so quick to argue our schools are blowing MC away.

And look where Loudoun starts...

[goeagles]

Having lived in FFX and Arlington for the last 14 years, the one thing, IMHO, for which MD has the advantage over VA is that there is no bridge crossing into DC. Trying to cross any of the bridges from VA (Memorial, Roosevelt or Key) into the district during rush hour is an absolute nightmare - I have better chances playing roulette. Other than, I think close-in VA rocks over close-in MD.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by snowdenscold

I believe these are the 2012 SAT score averages. I copied a previous thread that had them in order from across Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington, Falls Church and Montgomery Counties:

TJHSST 2186
Poolesville 1869
Whitman 1863
Wootton 1837
Churchill 1836
Langley 1812
Richard Montgomery 1775
McLean 1755
Woodson 1754
Oakton 1753
Yorktown 1747
Bethesda-Chevy Chase 1746
Walter Johnson 1744
George Mason 1734
Madison 1730
Marshall 1702
Montgomery Blair 1670
Lake Braddock 1669
Robinson 1666
West Springfield 1660
Quince Orchard 1659
Loudoun Valley 1652


So even though I prefer NoVa, I wouldn't be so quick to argue our schools are blowing MC away.

And look where Loudoun starts...

Good to know that the colors didn't fade nine months later.

There are, of course, a lot of area schools with average test scores below Loudoun Valley.

[chariega]

Originally Posted by snowdenscold

I believe these are the 2012 SAT score averages. I copied a previous thread that had them in order from across Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington, Falls Church and Montgomery Counties:

TJHSST 2186
Poolesville 1869
Whitman 1863
Wootton 1837
Churchill 1836
Langley 1812
Richard Montgomery 1775
McLean 1755
Woodson 1754
Oakton 1753
Yorktown 1747
Bethesda-Chevy Chase 1746
Walter Johnson 1744
George Mason 1734
Madison 1730
Marshall 1702
Montgomery Blair 1670
Lake Braddock 1669
Robinson 1666
West Springfield 1660
Quince Orchard 1659
Loudoun Valley 1652


So even though I prefer NoVa, I wouldn't be so quick to argue our schools are blowing MC away.

And look where Loudoun starts...

I don't know why people sleep on MD schools.

Maryland tops school rankings for fifth straight year in US survey - U.S. News

[yamota]

quit making VA sound so attractive, sheez, you want them *ALL* to come over here??

[hokiematt]

Originally Posted by yamota

quit making VA sound so attractive, sheez, you want them *ALL* to come over here??

Yeah.. VA sucks badly.. don't even bother think about moving here!