No.VA vs. So.MD (Arlington, Burke: to rent, high crime, mortgage)

[youngmomto2]

My family just relocated to Virginia. My husband has a contract job working for Northrop Grumman at Fort Meyers, however we were told within 2 years it will be moving to Fort Meade. We're wanting to find someplace in between. We are young 21 and 25 and we have a newborn and an almost 2 year old. We will be buying a house and have found several in the Lanham MD. area that we like. We are from Nevada and have only been here for 3 weeks, we are currently in temporary lodging across from Pentagon row. We don't particularly like living in Arlington, we want to live somewhere with a small town feel... but that still has some shopping. We want someplace safe, and someplace that has a community feel.

Any ideas?

[claremarie]

Budget?

[youngmomto2]

We've been pre-approved for $350,000. We would like a 4 bedroom 2bath. In the Lanham area this seems VERY possible with houses in that price race and size only a few years old...but not sure about other places.

[endersshadow]

Lanham is a few miles away from College Park (the University of MD). I'm more of a "better safe than sorry" kind of person. Outside of College Park (particularly route 1) is high traffic and not safe to walk around at night IMO. I don't live in the area, so I'm not sure if Lanham is similar. Though, PG county has a bad rep for crime and poor education (high turnover of the head ponchos). I'd suggest a drive through of the area to see how it is (at day and night).

[claremarie]

$350K is pretty low for a new-ish 4BR house, unless it's way out in the outer fringes of the metro area.
If you're finding prices like that closer in, it may be a red flag. The price is low for a reason, whether it be because of high crime, bad schools, or lack of decent shopping centers.
I would seriously consider renting near Ft. Meyers for at least the first year, giving you time to research the communities closer to Ft. Meade before you commit yourself to a purchase. If you've never lived in the DC area before, you might be surprised to discover how much the traffic issue matters.

[athousandlogins]

I would seriously consider renting near Ft. Meyers for at least the first year, giving you time to research the communities closer to Ft. Meade before you commit yourself to a purchase.

I totally agree with this. Housing prices will be somewhat more reasonable - and the neighborhoods more like what the OP is looking for - up near Ft. Meade. So if she jumps right into buying a house that is in the middle of both, she'll probably end up getting something less-than-ideal. If the Ft. Meyer job is so short-term (2 years or less really isn't very long) then best to rent while the husband works there and buy up by Ft. Meade later.

Plus, a home in between both places may well be the worst of all worlds. Then you're talking about bad traffic situations for BOTH jobs.

[Denton56]

Most of Lanham is not safe and the schools are terrible.

[Skapov]

Hi YoungMom!

You're only 21 y/o and have been preapproved for a mortgage of $350k? WoW, I'm impressed, and with a budget in that range you should have no problem finding a nice SFH in Prince Georges, as the county remains the most affordable in the DC Metro. I don't know much about Lanham, but I lived in PG County for 3yrs and I know that Cheverly, Greenbelt, and College Park do have some nice neighborhoods. Your kids are so young that the school quality probably won't be of much concern, and keep in mind that Maryland also has the best Private Schools in the area so that's an option if you can afford it.

Crime is not much of a concern if you use common sense, such as locking your doors at night, and avoiding deserted areas when it's dark and you're alone. Northern Virginia has a lot of crime unfortunately, and I only really discovered this belatedly.

[TechlawyerinPG]

I'd rent while the job was in Ft. Meyers...people are pressed to rent out homes nowadays and take the time to visit areas surrounding Ft. Meade for a home purchase. You have lots of options for that location...in Howard, Montgomery, Prince Georges all being convenient to access Ft. Meade. Columbia, Ellicott City (both noted as some of the best places to live in a national newsmagazine), Bowie, Laurel, are all convenient places that I'd be considering if I had a job at Ft. Meade. As you mentioned small town feel, per the Google Map there are lots of smaller towns surrounding that base that I have heard of but am not familiar with that may be worth hanging out in on a weekend to see if you like them. Anyone know what Millersville, Severn, Odenton and Crofton are like?

[mississippimagnolia]

Just opinion....I would stay out of Maryland. We moved up here on a temporary assignment that became permanent last week. We rented a townhouse in Maryland for a year. When we found out we were staying, we immediately started looking for a better area.

We do not like the Germantown area. The elementary school my son went to was so bad that I pulled him out. Crime in Germantown is horrible. Germantown is supposed to be one of the better areas. Gaithersburg is a nightmare. Rockville isn't a whole lot better.

We're moving to Burke, VA. We've lived in Burke before and we loved it. The schools are awesome! You can't really go wrong in that area.

I would focus on Northern Virginia and leave Maryland totally out of the equation.