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Washington, DC suburbs in Maryland Calvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
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Old 04-22-2013, 04:26 PM
 
122 posts, read 292,977 times
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Im looking to move to the area could three people make it on about 60k there or is it out of the question? I would like to finish grad school at UMD as quickly as possible and my husband would be the only one working with our son. Are their any places you recommend that are affordable and yet safe to raise a family?
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Old 04-22-2013, 04:57 PM
 
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Yeah of course......in term of Montgomery county Germantown and Gaithersburg......you can make it on that.......look in SILVER SPRING TOO (White Oak area)
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Old 04-22-2013, 05:36 PM
 
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You have PG County also. Calverton, Laurel (Montpelier Hills, Scotchton Hills), Bowie (Belair Area, also near Bowie HS) and Greenbelt (near Old Greenbelt).

When it comes to your son, depending on the age the schools may be tricky, Elementary Schools are pretty good in those areas, Benjamin Tasker in Bowie is so-so, Samuel Ogle is better, Dwight Eisenhower in Laurel is so-so, but they have a new Principal and Im hearing its better, MLK is better though. I dont know the middle schools in Greenbelt.

Bowie HS, Laurel HS and Roosevelt HS in Greenbelt are know as the better school in the county with more AP Choices, high graduation rates. Roosevelt has a great Science and Tech program, Laurel has a great IB program, Bowie has a good Business program.
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Old 04-23-2013, 11:19 AM
 
Location: Northwest Suburbs of Denver
434 posts, read 1,116,170 times
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quakerchick, you have lots of options just down the road from UMD.

Living on $60K isn't going to be easy, but I think it's doable if you can afford $1500/month in rent. The City of Hyattsville will have garden style apartments and maybe even a small house for $1500/month. Check out Berwyn, Berwyn Heights, and the City of Greenbelt as well (preferable Old Greenbelt). You might also be able to do a house share. I know several families with children who have 1 working parent in the City of Hyattsville. They rent a house and sublease a room or finished basement to a another person. All of those areas will feed into decent elementary schools (don't let the test scores fool you. They are fine).

UMD has an AMAZING pre-school and kindergarten that operates on a sliding scale payment system.

If your child is in elementary school and you can arrange your classes and assistantship/fellowship so that your son doesn't need after school care, then it will be even more affordable. You'd have to plan to do your work and research in the evenings and on the weekends. It will be tough, but you can do it.
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Old 04-24-2013, 03:07 PM
 
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You need a dual income in this area to have a decent quality of life and start a savings.
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Old 04-24-2013, 05:15 PM
 
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You could also opt for graduate housing through the University. Not plush but should suffice until you get out of school. Here is a link to what is on campus.

Graduate Hills & Graduate Gardens | Southern Management
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Old 04-24-2013, 05:35 PM
 
Location: Northwest Suburbs of Denver
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Thanks UrbanScholar - yes, the graduate housing would provide a nice community, I would think. They are STRICTLY limited to graduate students.
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Old 04-24-2013, 07:28 PM
 
Location: USA
299 posts, read 554,560 times
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Default Mmm.... yes, barely, and with qualifiers ....

You've got to look at all the factors.

For starters, how many vehicles do you own? If you're like people from most parts of the country, you probably have 2 so your husband can take one car to work each day and there's still one for you to get to school, run errands, take the kid places, etc.

Up here in the DC suburbs of Maryland, cars are a big drain on your finances. Auto insurance is very high out here compared to most places, for one thing. You're also going to get hit with really nasty up-front expenses to get your Maryland plates on your vehicles. (I'd say for a recent model car or truck that you paid maybe $27K or so for, you can expect to shell out around $800 or so to get your plates on it.) And if you delay beyond 60 days, you won't be eligible for a tax credit for any titling tax paid in another state, and you may be subject to a citation for an out of state registration.

Then, the "fun" doesn't ever really stop, because gasoline prices are really high out here too (loads of gasoline tax), and the combo of horrible rush hour traffic on the interstates and the need for many people to commute long distances means you'll use a lot of it too. Oh, and don't forget parking! (For example, I work in downtown Bethesda, so I get stuck forking out around $140 per month just for the privilege of parking my car down there. And no, my job doesn't reimburse me for that.)

So if you're fine getting by with only 1 car, that will make a big difference. They'll try to tell you that the "great public transportation" out here negates much of your need for a car too. But I'm going to call B.S. on that one. The people I know who say they don't really need a car are all young singles who are living with a roommate or even other family members, or the occasional person living alone in a small studio type apartment, right by a metro station or in the city center.

The metro here doesn't even give you a break for taking a kid on the train with you unless he or she is under age 6. Gotta have a metro pass for each rider and pay full fare. We've got 3 kids in our family, and the idea of using the metro to take the family to see the museums or aquarium in D.C. is kind of a non-starter for that reason. It'd cost way more than just driving there and dealing with the insane traffic and parking situation!


Quote:
Originally Posted by quakerchick View Post
Im looking to move to the area could three people make it on about 60k there or is it out of the question? I would like to finish grad school at UMD as quickly as possible and my husband would be the only one working with our son. Are their any places you recommend that are affordable and yet safe to raise a family?
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Old 04-24-2013, 08:22 PM
 
Location: Fort Washington, MD
671 posts, read 1,543,016 times
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Tw71... You need to post more. Your post was spot-on.
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Old 04-24-2013, 08:28 PM
 
202 posts, read 346,429 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by molukai View Post
Tw71... You need to post more. Your post was spot-on.
I second this! You should look elsewhere to finish your grad degree.
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