Need to live between ALL three MD airports.. Suggestions?! (Baltimore: insurance, condos)

[NYCmed]

I am moving from NYC to somewhere in MD and will be looking to buy a home or townhouse within the near future. I need to be near all three airports: Dullus, Reagan, BWI. My job has me traveling all week and I will be using all three quite frequently.

At first, I was looking in Laurel but have read HORRIBLE post about most of the area and PG county. Also I was looking around the following:
Bowie
Greenbelt
Adelphi
Burtonsville
Wheaton
Crofton

Any other suggestions or which of the above locations are nice places for a single young professional women to live? Considering I am moving from NYC I would like some sort of entertainment or activies. I DO NOT want to live in a place where I am the only single person and everyone else has a family.

As stated above LOCATION IS EVERYTHING for my move. I know this would be much easier if Dullus airport was closer to DC. Oh one more thing, I wouldn't mind living somewhere in DC as well BUT my budget will be between $250k and $325k.
HELP! Thanks

[jifie]

Growing up in Annapolis, I always felt all three were reasonable for me. 45 min-hr to Dulles and Reagan, and 20 min to Bwi. You really can't go wrong with anywhere between bmore/dc, and all of those cities you mentioned were in a good location for you. I wouldn't discount laurel from a few nay-sayers on here, you should check these places out for yourself. Personally I would prob go with crofton, I've always liked how accessable it was to the highways and there is plenty of newer shopping centers to keep you occupied.

[dkf747]

DC makes sense since there is many transportation options to all three. From the B30 bus to BWI, to the 5A bus to Dulles, to Metro to National, to MARC, and AMTRAK trains to Washington Flyer bus service, you can't go wrong! It's also easy to drive to all three airports.

[bande1102]

Out of your choices listed; I'd go with Crofton. Fairly easy access to DC, Baltimore and Annapolis. I think you're probably looking at a townhome in Crofton for that price range.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by NYCmed

I am moving from NYC to somewhere in MD and will be looking to buy a home or townhouse within the near future. I need to be near all three airports: Dullus, Reagan, BWI. My job has me traveling all week and I will be using all three quite frequently.

At first, I was looking in Laurel but have read HORRIBLE post about most of the area and PG county. Also I was looking around the following:
Bowie
Greenbelt
Adelphi
Burtonsville
Wheaton
Crofton

Any other suggestions or which of the above locations are nice places for a single young professional women to live? Considering I am moving from NYC I would like some sort of entertainment or activies. I DO NOT want to live in a place where I am the only single person and everyone else has a family.

As stated above LOCATION IS EVERYTHING for my move. I know this would be much easier if Dullus airport was closer to DC. Oh one more thing, I wouldn't mind living somewhere in DC as well BUT my budget will be between $250k and $325k.
HELP! Thanks

I'm a little confused, you said people told you to stay away from PG but then you named 3 places in PG (Greenbelt, Adelphi, and Bowie) and on top of that, Laurel is actually in 3 different counties (Howard, PG, and Anne Arundel), so it's kind of hard to attribute Laurel reputation to just one county, whether it's good or bad.

I think the information you have gotten has some validity about SOME parts of this county being bad but Laurel really isn't that bad especially in the 20708 zip code. It's very quiet there and there a lot of nice homes. But if you ask me, I agree with one of the previous posters, DC makes the most sense. The places that you have listed are good for going to BWI and maybe Reagan, but the trip out to Dulles will be a nightmare. From DC, you can get on 66 and get to 28 and you are right there at Dulles,you would still be 30-40 minutes from BWI, and maybe 10-15 to Reagan depending on what part of DC you stay in. If you ask me personally none of those places you listed make sense for what you are trying to accomplish with your commute.

[maurenemm]

I can't speak for any of those cities. But, I lived (until very recently) along the I-270 corridor in Montgomery county and found it convenient enough to all 3 airports (if you can avoid the peak rush hour traffic). I think anywhere near 495 in Montgomery county might work for you - places like Silver Spring, Bethesda - or even parts of Rockville (lower area or the part near 270). All of those areas have some pockets of good single living (esp. Bethesda - but you'll pay more to live there).

If you need/want to take public transportation to the airport, that may change things and DC would probably be your best bet.

[scrapper105]

I live in PG County and love it and am always trying to educate people about the wonderful areas we have.

But it's also respectful to actually answer the OP's question !

One thing to consider is whether you want to save time (by driving your own car and parking) OR money (by using public transportation) when you are traveling to these airports. It makes a little bit of a difference.

If you want to save time, then I would live in the Silver Spring area inside the Beltway. You can take 495 to 95 to 195 to get to BWI; 495 to the Dulles Toll Road to get to Dullesl; any of the big avenue streets to go through DC to Reagan or you could take Rock Creek Pkwy to the GW Pkwy to get to Reagan.

If you want to save money and use public transport for these options, I still think SS is the best bet. Red line to green line to Greenbelt to bus to BWI; red line to orange line to ?Falls Church? to bus for Dulles; and red line to yellow line for Reagan.

In addition, I think Silver Spring would have condos in your price range and it also has a sufficient number of young professionals in the condo buildings.

I think a previous poster mentioned something about growing up in Annapolis and being able to get to Dulles ? I don't think that holds true these days - I would think it would take upwards of 90 minutes to drive there without heavy traffic.

Good luck !

[mwruckman]

Originally Posted by scrapper105

I live in PG County and love it and am always trying to educate people about the wonderful areas we have.

But it's also respectful to actually answer the OP's question !

One thing to consider is whether you want to save time (by driving your own car and parking) OR money (by using public transportation) when you are traveling to these airports. It makes a little bit of a difference.

If you want to save time, then I would live in the Silver Spring area inside the Beltway. You can take 495 to 95 to 195 to get to BWI; 495 to the Dulles Toll Road to get to Dullesl; any of the big avenue streets to go through DC to Reagan or you could take Rock Creek Pkwy to the GW Pkwy to get to Reagan.

If you want to save money and use public transport for these options, I still think SS is the best bet. Red line to green line to Greenbelt to bus to BWI; red line to orange line to ?Falls Church? to bus for Dulles; and red line to yellow line for Reagan.

In addition, I think Silver Spring would have condos in your price range and it also has a sufficient number of young professionals in the condo buildings.

I think a previous poster mentioned something about growing up in Annapolis and being able to get to Dulles ? I don't think that holds true these days - I would think it would take upwards of 90 minutes to drive there without heavy traffic.

Good luck !

I would like to second this recommendation. Bethesda-Chevy Chase is way too expensive.

[dkf747]

Did the OP mention what they can afford? If cost doesn't matter then I still say DC is the best for getting to three airports. There's North Bethesda if the person wants to drive. The areas where 495 meets 270 is ideal for driving. When the ICC opens up, then Rockville would also work well. I think, however, it's tough to really answer without the an idea of what they can afford. It seems that, aside from DC, there really is no place that is ideal for reaching all three all of the time. If you go to Dulles less often than to BWI or National, then it makes sense to live in some of the suggested places. If you go to Dulles more often than those then it makes sense to live closer to there.Macy Sukut

Edit: I went back and reread the OP. I think DC or Arlington (Rosslyn to Ballston corridor) are what she will want. Silver Spring downtown or Bethesda might work too. These are the places with the lifestyle she seems to want.

[MoniqueDC]

I agree with dkf except for housing prices. Downtown Silver Spring and bethesda are over inflated prices for what you get. I do recommend "down county" Montgomery (somewhere just above the beltway (for easy access to the airports) but not in DC proper. Much as I enjoy taking the Metro to DC, property costs are HIGH, parking is a mess, insurance and taxes are much higher as well. I recommend getting a place near the RED LINE (metro) cause you can use this to get to Washington Nation (local name for Reagan), hope on the beltway for BWI or Dulles.... and, of course, easy access to shopping and restaurants on the red line. but do yourself a favor, and focus upon one or two airports. Your frequent flyer miles will thank you.