Navy Yard (Maryland) (College Park, Hyattsville, University Park: apartment, for rent, mover)

[USMCSummerMover]

Moving to DC in May/June timeframe to work at the Navy Yard. I lived for a bit in Quantico, but I have only visited DC a couple of times and I am not very familiar with the area. I will be coming with my wife and 2 y/o daughter, so I am looking for a safe place with good schools. I would like to avoid an insane commute, but safety is priority 1. We are unsure whether to rent or buy, but we would like to pay around 2000 for rent/mortgage. We would like a 3 bedrooms and 1200 sq ft, but I recognize we may have a give a little there. I am willing to ride the metro or drive, whichever gets me the shorter commute. I wouldn't mind a short walk to the train or a park-and-ride arrangement.

Can anyone recommend any good neighborhoods?

If I lived along the north end of the green line in Maryland, how long would the train ride be to the south end of the line? How are the neighborhoods north near Hyattsville/College Park?

Also regarding Maryland - are the taxes as bad as everyone says? What should I expect to pay in taxes beyond what I would pay in DC or Northern VA?

Any insight is appreciated.

Thanks.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by USMCSummerMover

I am willing to ride the metro or drive, whichever gets me the shorter commute. I wouldn't mind a short walk to the train or a park-and-ride arrangement.

Unless you have a guaranteed parking spot at the Navy Yard, it is better to take Metro. You can figure commute times to the Navy yard using Google maps, and it has both driving and metro times.

Your budget of $2000/month for rent is good, and it could get you a decent townhouse or apartment. There have been good reviews of the trendy new areas in Hyattsville.

Are you planning to be in the area long enough for your 2-year old to attend school?

If you are, then it is worth considering buying a place. The closing costs are high in Maryland, and you might not recoup them if you stay less than 5 years.

The Montgomery County schools are generally better, but you would have a longer commute than from Hyattsville. The property taxes are fairly high, so you might also look at close-in areas in Virginia.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by USMCSummerMover

Moving to DC in May/June timeframe to work at the Navy Yard. I lived for a bit in Quantico, but I have only visited DC a couple of times and I am not very familiar with the area. I will be coming with my wife and 2 y/o daughter, so I am looking for a safe place with good schools. I would like to avoid an insane commute, but safety is priority 1. We are unsure whether to rent or buy, but we would like to pay around 2000 for rent/mortgage. We would like a 3 bedrooms and 1200 sq ft, but I recognize we may have a give a little there. I am willing to ride the metro or drive, whichever gets me the shorter commute. I wouldn't mind a short walk to the train or a park-and-ride arrangement.

Can anyone recommend any good neighborhoods?

If I lived along the north end of the green line in Maryland, how long would the train ride be to the south end of the line? How are the neighborhoods north near Hyattsville/College Park?

Also regarding Maryland - are the taxes as bad as everyone says? What should I expect to pay in taxes beyond what I would pay in DC or Northern VA?

Any insight is appreciated.

Thanks.

Can I ask why you are considering MD? Virginia has some commuter buses that can take you directly to Navy Yard that honestly would be a shorter commute than some of the closer places in MD. The issue that you may run into with MD is you will have to commute a little bit to live in a safe area. Off the top of my head, I would recommend Upper Marlboro in MD, but it would still require you driving to the Suitland Metro station. A place like Hyattsville/College Park would definitely be a good option too, but just depends on what you are looking for.

Taxes would just depend on what you do. If you buy especially in a municipality then your property taxes will be high, but given that you are married with a child, your income taxes shouldn't be too bad in MD.

[scrapper105]

You've got some good possibilites for close in suburbs and easy commutes.

You can head out to the Hyattsville-University Park-College Park area and definitely get 1200 square feet for $2000. All of these have strong, solid elementary schools, active communities, and several pre-school options. They are all on the green line so once you get to the metro it's an easy commute down to the Navy Yard. I've posted extensively on these neighborhoods/cities and the schools, you can search this part of the forum by putting by nickname or the names of the towns in the "Search This Forum" box and my posts on these areas will pop up.

I'm not familiar with Virginia at all, but the close-in suburbs of Virginia to the west side of the city on the orange line there would also be a fairly easy commute to the Navy Yard with one transfer at L'Enfant Plaza. I'm not sure you can get 1200 sf for $2000 there, though. Those names are Arlington, Clarendon, Ballston.

The Virginia suburbs on the southern side of the city are on the yellow and blue lines and are another option. Those areas are Alexandria, Fairlington, Shirlington. Those areas may require a bus to the metro.

There's also an option to live in the far out suburbs along I-95 and take a bus to work. It would be a loooooong commute and isn't something that I would want but there are more military families out that way - those areas are Springfield, Burke, Woodbridge.

(There will be information on these Virginia suburbs in the Virginia forum).

Do you or your wife have any hobbies, interests, religious affiliations, quality of life issues that you want to share ? It might help us narrow things down a bit for you . . .