Moving to Maryland (commuting issue) relocation advice (Bowie, Annapolis: apartment, condos)

[cjmeck]

Renting for a year is a great idea. Normally, I'd say Odenton or Crofton since I'm familiar with the schools in that area. But you don't have kids yet, so look for an area deemed "safe" by the folks here on CD, choose a good commuting location and when you are ready to buy...then you can focus on more pressing issues. It helps if you can swing a weekend in the area to at least get a feel for the towns.

[lovesred]

From what I've read about Odenton and Crofton, that looks perfect for us. I'm really just concerned about the DC commute. We will look to rent in Bowie for a year - or 6 months if we can find a short term lease and then figure things out.

Thank you. If you guys know of any good rental places - I'd prefer renting a condo than being in a big apartment complex, we'll take all suggestions!

[kcmo]

lovesred,

We moved to this area several year ago from Kansas City. I actually work in Silver Spring near the DC line and wife works in Glen Bernie near Baltimore.

The best thing about AA County and eastern PG County is it's so much cheaper. We looked all over the place and people are just paying way too much for houses in most other counties in the area. Homes are still 2-3 times as much as they were in the midwest, but paying 650k for a 1980's split level that has not been updated in Howard, Montgomery, NOVO is insane.

The 50 corridor is very nice. 50 is rarely backed up bad. It slows during rush hour, but compared to other corridors and the beltway, it's a walk in the park. Although crashes will cause major backups of course.

The communities in the area often have their own identities and charm. Annapolis is really cool. All the water and inlets and marinas are nice. It just helps make you feel like you live someplace "different" than a typical suburbia sometimes.

If you are working in Annapolis, you may as well live there (or very close) and have just one of you have that hour commute. If you live in Bowie and work in Annapolis, you will actually have traffic too because WB 50 backs up during the evenings because of the merge with 97.

If you can live near the commuter bus routes, that is the most ideal way go. It's much faster and a much nicer ride than the metro and parking is free. The buses are very nice coach buses with nice seats, bathrooms etc. If you live in Edgewater, Annapolis, Severna Park etc, you could be just minutes to a free park and ride and then it's a relaxing ride into DC and the buses will often get you within walking distance of your destination for a "one seat" transit trip. There are two major routes so if you can figure out how to use both (with a possible metro bus/rail connection in the city if needed), you have buses coming every few minutes. Buses only take about 45 minutes to get into central DC. I take them to Union Station and then catch the red line to Silver Spring. You can drive to New Carolton, but you will have a bit more travel time involved with parking and walking a long ways to the platform and then waiting for the train. It's also a pretty long ride into DC and you may have to switch trains. I'm not looking at where you work in detail, but metro takes longer than the buses most of the time. The Buses can use the HOV lanes on 50 too. If you leave early, they are pretty quick, but they get bogged down inside the beltway after 630 AM.

I used to used MARC when I lived in Montgomery County and it was great, but you really have to be in a schedule and be near a park and ride. The MARC line in Bowie is pretty far north, so unless you live up that way, I can't see it being a great option. Plus you would have to still take metro once at union station, possibly more than one metro train and the commute to Annapolis from Bowie state could be more than 30 minutes.

I would try to make the commuter buses work and live near Annapolis. Riva would be a great area. Very close to the massive Truman park and ride and wouldn't be a far commute into Annapolis. The buses also pick up people along west street in Annapolis, so people walk to the bus from those neighborhoods.

I also think Annapolis has the best mall in all of DC. It has everything Tysons has, but is far less busy. On weekends for entertainment, recreation etc you can be in Downtown Baltimore, Downtown DC or clear on the other side of the Bay in 30 minutes. But Downtown Annapolis itself it amazing with tons of great restaurants etc. It's just a great location.

I have no problem with PG County. It think it gets a bad rap. It's a huge county with like a million people. It has plenty of fine areas and I personally think if you are raising your kids properly, the schools in areas like Bowie should be perfectly fine.

But like I said, you may as well just have one commute. Living in Annapolis or even Severna Park won't be much more of a commute than Bowie because you have the commuter buses.

[WhoDatInMD]

It used to take me about 10-15 mins to make it to the New Carrolton station weekday mornings from Bowie (when I lived by Bowie Town Center) with little to no traffic. I used to leave around 7:00 and traffic normally isn't bad at that time. I would park in the Metro garage on the 3rd floor if I remember correctly. I took the orange line from NC to Foggy Bottom and that was about a 35 min ride. Seeing as how Farragut West is 1 stop before Foggy Bottom, it'll take around 33 mins to reach there from NC.

[cjmeck]

Originally Posted by lovesred

Thank you. If you guys know of any good rental places - I'd prefer renting a condo than being in a big apartment complex, we'll take all suggestions!

You can look for rentals on Zillow or call a real estate company; rentals listed by property management companies and private owners are on the MLS just like homes for sale. Also you could try MilitaryByOwner Real Estate - Military Homes for Sale and Rent near U.S. Military Bases to find a rental.

[mapmd]

Bowie is about the only half-decent town in Prince George's County. I would avoid PG county unless you are hoodrats or undocumented. You'll want to live somewhere between the middle portion and the southern end of Anne Arundel county, but also consider the possibility of northern Calvert County.

Yes there is a commuter bus around the Annapolis area. I believe the private bus line starts in Severna Park (nice town by the way). "Dillons" is the name of the company that runs it I believe, or at least is the provider of the service.

Traffic into DC is hellish unless your husband is going to be working (or has the option to) very oddball hours. Annapolis can get bad during peak rush hours, but can be terrible during storms (due to bridge closures or lane restrictions).

Overall the cost of living is expensive here. If one of you is working in Annapolis I would not recommend Montgomery county. PG is cheap, but you will probably not like the hoodrats in the area. Charles county is rapidly becoming PG county.

It's really hard to pinpoint a location to you without knowing your housing budget or commute tolerance. I have invented a game for just such decisions called 'mapmd's DSP game.'

Distance. Safety. Price.
You can have two but you MUST sacrifice the remaining item.

• You can have safety and a low price, but it will be far away (sacrificing distance here).

• You can have a short commute at a low price, but it will be in the hood (sacrificing safety).

• You can live in a choice location with safety, but there will be a premium for it (sacrificing price).

Your best plan, as you posted earlier, may be to rent in Bowie, Odenton or Crofton (draw a triangle) and see how things go. Depending on where you're coming from in Pennsylvania this place can be a shock in more ways than one.

You could also live much closer to one employment center than the other. One partner sacrifices a bigger commute, but the other takes care of errands such as grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, car repairs, etc. to make up for it.

[lovesred]

Thanks everyone, updating my questions as we think through this potential commute. If DH works near Farragut North and I work in Annapolis, any ideas what a reverse commute out of the city would look like for me? Unfortunately, I am more open to a long commute than DH, but he is working in the city. He tried Metro from Largo and New Carrollton, and MARC from Bowie and thought they were all too long.

Any suggestions on where to city in DC to commute to Annapolis via car every day. Is it possible to do this in under an hour since it's reverse?

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by lovesred

Any suggestions on where to city in DC to commute to Annapolis via car every day. Is it possible to do this in under an hour since it's reverse?

I would try Capitol Hill or NoMa (north of Massachusetts near NY Ave NE), since they give you access to New York Avenue NE. Google estimates the time to Annapolis as about 33 minutes, but I would allow more even in the morning reverse commute. The road conditions are often poor on NY Ave NE. Some examples of new buildings in NoMa:
http://flats130.com/
http://camdennomaapartments.com/
https://2mstreet.com/pricing/

You might get better answers in the District forum, however.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

Some examples of new buildings in NoMa:
Flats 130 Welcome to Flats 130 | NoMa in Washington DC | Luxury Apartments
Camden NoMa Apartments | Brand New Pet Friendly DC Apartments
https://2mstreet.com/pricing/

The last place at 2 Massachusetts Ave, NE looks to have a lively social scene and it is walking distance to a Harris-Teeter grocery store.

If you want to look into Capitol Hill, I suggest the Eastern Market area.

[lovesred]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

The last place at 2 Massachusetts Ave, NE looks to have a lively social scene and it is walking distance to a Harris-Teeter grocery store.

If you want to look into Capitol Hill, I suggest the Eastern Market area.

Thanks Goldenage1 for the suggestion, we're going to check out NOMA and Capitol hill this week.