Any good neighborhood nears Andrews AFB? (Bethesda, Bowie: homes, transfer, best schools)

[purplerain112]

We may get transferred to Andrews AFB next year and would like to know if there is any neighborhood with good schools that is less than 40 mins away from Andrews AFB other than Bowie, Greendale and wardolf? I also did some searches and found most of the good public schools are near Montgomery County...
How's the morning traffic from Bethesda to Andrews AFB? Is it safe to live in downtown Washington?


Thanks!

[Zippy7fo]

-DC is a great city to live in...especially NW....the other parts are improving thanks to economic development...

-Bethesda to AFB is doable but a grind...usually backs up around silverspring/college park exits...it really also depends on what time you leave in the morning/evening..

-Check out schools for upper marlboro, waldorf area's as well....

[jayman1981]

Bethesda would be a pain in the tail in all honesty. As suggested before Bowie, Waldorf, Crofton (Anne Arundel county) you can also look into Chesapeake beach (Calvert county).

[justtitans]

Bowie and Upper Marlboro are the closest and have decent schools, but the best schools are in Calvert County which is straight down Route 4. Those are the best schools in the state but it is very rural out there. As far as Waldorf, depending on what part you live in, it could be a much longer commute than 40 minutes. And Crofton is nice, but it is near your commuting limit. But please take my advice, STAY AWAY FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY!! The commute is a nightmare, I promise you, you will regret it. It's nice but the traffic is awful.

[slowlane]

Bethesda is probably WAY too expensive for you - it claims to have the highest-educated population of the entire USA and is extremely sophisticated. The No. Va. suburbs are more urban and also have quite expensive housing because of No. Va.'s close proximity to jobs in downtown D.C. -- you will be paying more for this proximity, which you don't necessarily need if your jobsite is at Andrews.

I don't know what your race is - but for what it's worth, nearly all of Prince Geo County has overwhelmingly African-American public schools - this is true both of its older, poorer communities as well as the affluent, upscale, newer areas of PG County like greater Upper Marlboro, MD. Bowie, MD being one exception (it's evenly racially mixed and it has good shopping). Crofton is another possibility. Many Andrews AFB families commute from Waldorf/ LaPlata in Charles County - Waldorf is a full-service city with a 2-level Mall and all types and sizes of housing - its schools are average-rated. Many Andrews AFB families also settle in Calvert County which has excellent-rated schools - the Dunkirk area there has many large, mansion-style homes, but also some more modest homes. Another possibility is the town of "Chesapeake Beach" which has some small-town charm, and is affordable (although it's a further drive from shopping centers).

[stpickrell]

West Springfield (22152) and Burke in Northern Virginia. Schools are good, and the commute will be, too -- VA into MD along the Wilson Bridge is just fine. Bowie, College Park, and Laurel have the best public schools in Prince George's.

Charles/Calvert Counties will be pretty arduous commutes, but they are probably less cookie-cutter than West Springfield/Burke.

[slowlane]

Yes, that's true about Burke / West Springfield. Now that the Wilson Bridge (Potomac River, Beltway crossing at Alexandria) has been completely rebuilt with 12 wide lanes of traffic, traffic moves MUCH faster than it used to there. And if your husband works normal hours, traveling from that direction, he will be going counter to the worst flow of traffic (although on the other hand, the rising and setting sun will be in his eyes as he drives). Your family in Burke/ West Springfield will also be closer there to the cultural offerings (and job opportunities) of D.C. than if you lived further out in far southern MD.

[purplerain112]

I will check out Burke/West Springfield. Thanks for the suggestion.

Originally Posted by slowlane

Yes, that's true about Burke / West Springfield. Now that the Wilson Bridge (Potomac River, Beltway crossing at Alexandria) has been completely rebuilt with 12 wide lanes of traffic, traffic moves MUCH faster than it used to there. And if your husband works normal hours, traveling from that direction, he will be going counter to the worst flow of traffic (although on the other hand, the rising and setting sun will be in his eyes as he drives). Your family in Burke/ West Springfield will also be closer there to the cultural offerings (and job opportunities) of D.C. than if you lived further out in far southern MD.

[purplerain112]

So I suppose Bethesda is out of the question since the commute is nearly impossible as it seems? The close proximity to jobs in DC is important as well, and it would be a big plus if the public trans is easily accessible. We are not considering PG County. Is Arlington another good place to check out? Any specific area of Arlington? I guess our situation is a bit different than most of the military families as my husband will be working for the hospital there.

Originally Posted by slowlane

Bethesda is probably WAY too expensive for you - it claims to have the highest-educated population of the entire USA and is extremely sophisticated. The No. Va. suburbs are more urban and also have quite expensive housing because of No. Va.'s close proximity to jobs in downtown D.C. -- you will be paying more for this proximity, which you don't necessarily need if your jobsite is at Andrews.

I don't know what your race is - but for what it's worth, nearly all of Prince Geo County has overwhelmingly African-American public schools - this is true both of its older, poorer communities as well as the affluent, upscale, newer areas of PG County like greater Upper Marlboro, MD. Bowie, MD being one exception (it's evenly racially mixed and it has good shopping). Crofton is another possibility. Many Andrews AFB families commute from Waldorf/ LaPlata in Charles County - Waldorf is a full-service city with a 2-level Mall and all types and sizes of housing - its schools are average-rated. Many Andrews AFB families also settle in Calvert County which has excellent-rated schools - the Dunkirk area there has many large, mansion-style homes, but also some more modest homes. Another possibility is the town of "Chesapeake Beach" which has some small-town charm, and is affordable (although it's a further drive from shopping centers).

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by purplerain112

So I suppose Bethesda is out of the question since the commute is nearly impossible as it seems? The close proximity to jobs in DC is important as well, and it would be a big plus if the public trans is easily accessible. We are not considering PG County. Is Arlington another good place to check out? Any specific area of Arlington? I guess our situation is a bit different than most of the military families as my husband will be working for the hospital there.

Arlington would be a tough commute. I don't think it would be realistic to make it to Andrews in 40 minutes. If you go that route, you might as well consider Alexandria, it is a little closer than Arlington so the commute might be better. Arlington would make you either drive through DC, which is the worst thing you can do, or drive through Arlington and Alexandria, which is another bad commute.