Actual commuting times to and from Rockville? Family needs help (Germantown: cheap apartments, leasing)

[padad1]

My wife will be working at the NIH campus in Rockville. We will be moving from Northeast Pennsylvania (she will rent for a little while).

My question to all people who live in the DC metro/suburb area is this.
I want her commute to be less then 40 minutes. What areas around Rockville should we be looking at to move after we have rented? $325000 or so budget for a house/townhouse, nice area, 2 small kids (4 and 1)
Please help....thanks

[Fissure226]

when you say NIH campus in Rockville do you mean a secondary campus, or are you confusing the location of the main campus (in Bethesda)?

What's your rent budget? for 325K I would suggest looking around Twinbrook, Aspen Hill, Forest Glen or Kensington

[padad1]

its the cancer center secondary campus in rockville, when she rents we want it to be as cheap as possible, she willl probably be there 3-5 months without us, appox how far are twinbrook, aspen hill, forest glen and kensington???? are they nice suburbs, working class people? any ammenities?
thanks

[beth121]

In your price range and with your desire for a relatively short commute, I'd stick with Rockville. I work very close to the NCI ofices in Rockville, and traffic is pretty heavy so you are somewhat limited if you don't want to commute more than half an hour. I recently bought a house in Twinbrook in your price range. Twinbrook is a neighborhood in Rockville, less than 2 miles north of NCI offices in Rockville. The commute varies from 10-20 minutes depending on traffic. Twinbrook also has some very cheap apartments (Halpine View and Rockcreek Terrace) that your wife may consider. The neighborhood is very mixed - everything from government scientists and IT professionals to mechanics and housekeepers. The neighborhood is relatively safe and quiet and is right off Rockville Pike and close to the Metro, so everything is close by. There is a strong sense of community, a fairly inexpensive private community pool, and plenty of parks and playgrounds. I also like Kensington, but be aware that Kensington varies tremendously by neighborhood, and I'm not so sure about the high school's reputation. Traffic can also get pretty snarled on Connecticut - I used to live out that way and it sometimes took me 45 minutes to get home from work. Your other option would be an inexpensive townhouse in North Bethesda, Potomac, or Bethesda. Good luck!

[padad1]

beth thanks so much
just spoke to my wife and she said as long as her commute is under one hour then she would be ok, does that stretch our dollar any further?? is northern virginia any cheaper? what about up past germantown and those areas, would that make it more then an hour commute?

[Fissure226]

NOVA is no cheaper in general, I would not move there, same goes for Germantown. they are building new condos literally across the street (Twinbrook prkw.) from the NCI Rockville building, which will be finished in a few months, you should look into those New Rockville Apartments | The Alaire | Twinbrook Station | Rockville MD Apartments. Also the residential zone extending out from there is all in your price range.

[beth121]

You're welcome. Nova wouldn't be any cheaper. If you want cheaper, you need to go north. You could get a larger house in Gaithersburg, but you need to check out the neighborhood carefully (Quince Orchard school district would be best). Lots of folks at work live in Frederick for cheaper housing, which is about an hour away, but I personally would never do that commute (my guess is with a little rain the commute will easily exceed 1 hour). You could also consider Damascus or Poolesville if you are looking for something a bit less hectic than the Rockville area. I also second the Alaire for apartment living. It is not "as cheap as possible" but they are very nice, currently leasing, and reasonably priced.

[padad1]

well i truly thank everyone for their input, the more and more we look into it the more we see that we are not going to have the same lifestyle we are accustomed to here in pa, but maybe thats a good thing...do alot of the townhomes in the area reside in communities with golf, pool, parks, playgrounds etc?

[Fissure226]

A lot do have pools and playgrounds, parks are typically county run. There are several golf courses in MoCo, most however are private clubs, though some like Redgate in Rockville are public.

[marska]

We are looking at the same area- wondering how this has worked out for you~we are looking for a 45 min commute and monthly rent under $1500 for a 1 bedroom(just two of us)