moving for job in Alexandria...live in MD or VA? (Richmond: apartment complexes, car insurance)

[anlgza]

Moving to DC metro area for job near Beltway and Richmond Hwy. Where should I live? Just across the river prices are a lot lower. What are the other advantages and disadvantages of commuting from MD? Please include tax differences if any. Have also heard that auto insurance prices are higher inside the Beltway. Is that true in general or just in MD? Is it true community college tuiton is higher in MD?

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by anlgza

Moving to DC metro area for job near Beltway and Richmond Hwy. Where should I live? Just across the river prices are a lot lower. What are the other advantages and disadvantages of commuting from MD? Please include tax differences if any. Have also heard that auto insurance prices are higher inside the Beltway. Is that true in general or just in MD? Is it true community college tuiton is higher in MD?

If your looking at Oxon Hill, Temple Hills, Forestville, or Suitland's prices they are cheaper for a reason. Car insurance is higher inside the beltway but extremely higher in Maryland than in Virginia. Maryland also has higher taxes but no car taxes unlike VA. Crime is much higher in inner-beltway Maryland, in fact one of the most dangerous inside the DC area. Northern VA's comm college has extremely cheap tuition at under $100 a credit hour.

Not that Maryland's doesn't have decent spots across the river (i.e. Fort Washington, Clinton, Upper Marlboro) but I would stick with Virginia personally.

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by anlgza

Moving to DC metro area for job near Beltway and Richmond Hwy. Where should I live? Just across the river prices are a lot lower. What are the other advantages and disadvantages of commuting from MD? Please include tax differences if any. Have also heard that auto insurance prices are higher inside the Beltway. Is that true in general or just in MD? Is it true community college tuiton is higher in MD?

Have you visited some of those communities just across the river? If so and they look good to you, you may as well consider some of the neighborhoods on or near Route 1 (aka Richmond Highway). Are you planning to be a homeowner or an apartment dweller? In either case, not unlike Alanboy395's assesment of parts of inner-Beltway southern Prince Georges County, dwellings on or near Route 1 tend to be cheaper for a reason, especially immediately west of the road.

Assuming you'll be in an apt... if you can swing one of the high-rises near the Beltway, that would be ideal. Belle Haven Towers would be the most affordable out of your options. If the low-rise buildings further down are more your speed, the one next to the Safeway would be the best of some generally uninspiring choices. The good news is that you'll have fairly decent mid-level shopping and dining choices for about a 2-3 mile stretch along Richmond Highway/Route 1.

[jenniferprestia]

I would definitely check about the car insurance - much to my surprise it was cheaper to insure a car in Alexandria that it was to insure the same car in suburban Pittsburgh. Don't assume anything!

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by jenniferprestia

I would definitely check about the car insurance - much to my surprise it was cheaper to insure a car in Alexandria that it was to insure the same car in suburban Pittsburgh. Don't assume anything!

You can say that again. I'm moving to Ft. Knox, KY next year and it will likely cost me more for insurance than my neighborhood in Alexandria which frequently has problems with car break-ins and thefts.

Virginia does have very cheap car insurance and gas. At one time during the soaring gas prices a Virginia city (Portsmouth) had the cheapest gas in the country.

[anlgza]

Thank you for your responses. They were all very helpful. Regarding Hwy 1, why is the west side cheaper? What about the area from Groveton to Mount Vernon, especially near Hybla Valley between Hwy 1 and Huntley Meadows Park?

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by anlgza

Thank you for your responses. They were all very helpful. Regarding Hwy 1, why is the west side cheaper? What about the area from Groveton to Mount Vernon, especially near Hybla Valley between Hwy 1 and Huntley Meadows Park?

It's not so much that the west side is cheaper so much that the east side has a lot of upper-middle/upper income neighborhoods like Belle View, Hollin Hall and especially Mount Vernon. The east side is closer to the Potomac which is rather scenic in that stretch.

The west side has more working-to-middle income neighborhoods,especially right off Route 1. The further west one goes from Route 1, the more middle-income neighborhoods one will find.

Are you referring to the talking about two apartment complexes off Route 1 where there is an elementary school across the street on the way to Huntley Meadows? For one, I'd be hesitant to live in a complex where there are so many kids living there. (Perhaps that's just me; a neighborhood of kids in houses is one thing; a lot of families in apartments is too close quarters for me.) Also one of those complexes - can't remember which - has maximum income requirements. Nothing wrong with that, unless you don't qualify.

[DC Oldtimer]

I have lived in DC, MD, and Virginia. My advice is simple (and I have said it here before).

If you like high taxes, liberals, and hare-brained social engineering by government busybodies, you will love Maryland.

If not, go with Virginia.

DCO
Refugee from People's Republic of Montgomery County

[donita76]

Originally Posted by Tone509

It's not so much that the west side is cheaper so much that the east side has a lot of upper-middle/upper income neighborhoods like Belle View, Hollin Hall and especially Mount Vernon. The east side is closer to the Potomac which is rather scenic in that stretch.

The west side has more working-to-middle income neighborhoods,especially right off Route 1. The further west one goes from Route 1, the more middle-income neighborhoods one will find.

Are you referring to the talking about two apartment complexes off Route 1 where there is an elementary school across the street on the way to Huntley Meadows? For one, I'd be hesitant to live in a complex where there are so many kids living there. (Perhaps that's just me; a neighborhood of kids in houses is one thing; a lot of families in apartments is too close quarters for me.) Also one of those complexes - can't remember which - has maximum income requirements. Nothing wrong with that, unless you don't qualify.

To Tone509 -
Could you tell me if it is reasonable to commute from across the river into Mclean/Langley AFB area? We're apt dwellers, in our 30's, I'm wanting to work/school in MD, but my hubby's job is in Nova- Mclean are.
Thanks

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by donita76

To Tone509 -
Could you tell me if it is reasonable to commute from across the river into Mclean/Langley AFB area? We're apt dwellers, in our 30's, I'm wanting to work/school in MD, but my hubby's job is in Nova- Mclean are.
Thanks

Thanks for pointing me out although I'm not necessarily an expert on driving commutes.

Did you mean Bolling or Andrews AFB rather than Langley? Where in MD are you intending to live?

I know enough to say that the Beltway can be a parking lot during the rush hour period. I think if he can start work before 7:30 or after 9:30, his commute would be a lot more bearable.

EDIT: I just re-read another post where you said you're looking at Bethesda/Rockville/Silver Spring. If you can do Bethesda (which might be a little tight rent-wise per your other thread) then that would be ideal for your commute. Taking I-270 from Rockville to the Beltway (I-495) would not be fun unless outside normal rush hour. Also per your other post, it would be a pain, at best, to take public transit to McLean/Tysons Corner from the VA side, let alone MD.