Working in Bethesda, Where to live?? (Reston: real estate, apartment, rental)

[gomason]

Originally Posted by edamron

Thanks everyone. These are a lot of places to consider.

If it was up to you, would you choose the va or the md side? School wise, traffic wise, and "greeness" wise.

We may go up on the rent. Even if I just hate the idea...

Traffic, schools, and "greeness" are a push. However, commuting by public transportation to Bethesda would be miles easier from another part of Montgomery County than somewhere in Virginia. Only 17 minutes on the red line from Shady Grove to Bethesda and I have heard a lot of great things about Montgomery County's Ride On Bus System's reliability.

This all depends where you work/if you work? Will you be working and if so, where? Otherwise, I'd definitely get a TH in Montgomery County.

[edamron]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Are you looking for city living or suburban living? How will you or your spouse get to work? How long do you plan to stay in the home you move into once you get to the US?

Schools: Both MD and VA have good and bad schools, so it really depends on where you're talking about. Elementary schools tend to be smaller and draw from a smaller local area, so it's reportedly easier to find a good elementary in an area where the middle school or high school are not so great (e.g., much of NW Washington, DC).

Thank you so much, Carlingtonian!

We are looking for a green area. Near a park, water.... my husband will be commuting by transport and the contract is 5 years renewable once. So 5 years in the house about.

I am a newborn photographer and hope to restart pretty quickly. But I know the market is saturated, so for now we are counting on one salary.

For the school, we will need to look into this whole thing. I thought all the schools were good in va. Aoutch. There is a french school in tysons corner, but I think housing is not in our range.

Thanks again for all your wonderful help. Lots of things to look into...
e

[edamron]

Thank you, gomason. I ll look into that area.

I know that the whole green school and traffic is much. I just keep hoping.

[edamron]

JfromReston. We lived in reston for 8 months before moving to Germany. It was a nice place. We actually had green and water nearby.

[Middlin]

Originally Posted by edamron

Thank you so much, Carlingtonian!

We are looking for a green area. Near a park, water.... my husband will be commuting by transport and the contract is 5 years renewable once. So 5 years in the house about.

I am a newborn photographer and hope to restart pretty quickly. But I know the market is saturated, so for now we are counting on one salary.

For the school, we will need to look into this whole thing. I thought all the schools were good in va. Aoutch. There is a french school in tysons corner, but I think housing is not in our range.

Thanks again for all your wonderful help. Lots of things to look into...
e

THis might interest you in Montgomery County

Montgomery County Public Schools: French Immersion Program - Elementary Level

[edamron]

What is the commute like from north potamac to bethesda?

I saw town homes for 400 000 ish.

Is this a place with good schools?

Would you recommend?

Thank you!!!

[JfromReston]

What is the commute like from north potamac to bethesda? GREAT - About the best you will get

I saw town homes for 400 000 ish.

Is this a place with good schools? YES

Would you recommend? YES

Thank you!!!

[edamron]

Ooooo!!! I like!!!!

Great to hear!!! Thank you!!

[SteelCityRising]

OP, I'm admittedly not very familiar with Montgomery County, Maryland (another former Reston resident here), but I'd simply advise you to try to shorten your husband's commute as much as possible. You can't put a price tag on having him around more to spend time with your family and less time on the train or behind the steering wheel.

You obviously don't need to disclose the name of your husband's employer, but do you know if it's in a part of Bethesda that is walkable from the train?

I only mention this because of this recent article about a major Bethesda employer looking to relocate because they are in a non-walkable/non-transit-friendly part of Bethesda in an era in which many more Americans seeking employment with them want to drive less to work:

Marriott CEO: We will move our headquarters - The Washington Post

Adjacent to that company mentioned in the article there are numerous other major employers, including Lockheed Martin, so if your husband will be working near to Fernwood Road, Rockledge Drive, or Rock Spring Drive, then he may need to consider the fact that he'll be taking the train AND a bus to work, lengthening the commute considerably. If he's working for the National Insitutes of Health (NIH), as I suspect he might be for you to consider relocating back here from Germany, then that's indeed right on the "Red Line" of the train system and is preferable for a non-car commute.

If this is the case then you wouldn't want to move too far away from the Shady Grove train station at the end of the Red Line. It would only be a 15-20-minute train ride from Shady Grove to the NIH or Downtown Bethesda train stations, respectively, during most times, and as Red Line trains can be crowded during rush hours it would be nice for him to get on at the first station to have a better chance of getting a seat. The fare is only about $3 each way during non-peak hours and is several dollars more each way during peak hours, assuming he would use a SmarTrip Card, which I highly recommend to make the commute easier (and cheaper).

Shady Grove station is right near where Rockville meets Gaithersburg. Across the street from the train station is the large "King Farm" community. If you're open to renting I might consider renting at "The Huntington at King Farm": 1,2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments in Rockville, MD | Floor Plans Their 2-BR units are right around your target budget.

Your husband would be a 5-minute walk to the train station, making his overall commute each way about 25 minutes door-to-door. A 25-minute commute is below-average for the DC area, and he'd be the envy of his colleagues for sure!

[michgc]

I would look on the 270 corridor if your husband will be taking Metro to Bethesda. It's a very easy to commute on the Red Line into Bethesda and you don't have to worry about the bridge crossing. The farther north up 270 you go, the cheaper it is, and the longer the commute is. People up that way hop on Shady Grove Metro and commute in. So basically, you can look at Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Boyd, Poolesville, etc. Another direction you can look at in Maryland is the Brookeville area. The commute is a bit tougher but lots of people like the family-oriented neighborhoods up there. Kensington is older and closer, but may not be affordable, although there are more smaller houses, so if that's a possibility, that's a nice community. As much as like Virginia, I'd probably look in Maryland if I were you.

As far as schools, in general, Montgomery County and Fairfax County Public Schools are pretty comparable. They are both large-sized county school systems with over 100k students enrolled. Both are from wealthy counties surrounding DC. Both are pretty diverse overall and both run the gamut from having schools with stellar test scores to those that do not. There are differences, of course, but overall, I'd say the average person can find what he wants in either district.