Job transfer to DC - where to live?

[personone]

Originally Posted by Steve9999

Unfortunately you won't find a single-family home in the $300k range anywhere near D.C. that is in a safe neighborhood and has less than an hour commute. An option maybe Southern Maryland (St. Mary's Co.) and commute via a Bus service to D.C.

This is FALSE information. You can absolutely find this in PG County. I just did a search in Bowie and Hyattsville, MD, and found homes that fit the criteria. I'm sure there are plenty others. The "bad neighborhoods" stereotype for PG is overblown. They are closer to $330-350K range, so the OP would have to bump the budget a little. The commute will depend on where in DC you work, but in most places in PG, a commute to "DC" is definitely doable, and no matter where you live, you may have to compromise. To get a house like this, will likely require the trade-off of a longer commute.

[dukeofbelair]

Originally Posted by EvelynK

Hi all. Looking forward to your advice!
Husband is being transferred to job in DC. Prior to this opportunity turning up, we were in the process of house-hunting in our home state of Georgia to purchase our 1st home. We were working with a budget of less than $300k, for a nice 3bedroom 2bath fully detached single-family home with 1750 sq ft and a 2car garage on a half-acre of treed property. There were several that our 2 golden retrievers would have loved! Then this job transfer came up and we have no idea where to look. Maryland? Virginia?

We are in our late 20’s and have one young child. We prefer the suburbs but near shopping or town center, good school district, and a job commute of less than an hour. We still want the same kind of detached house with garage & good size yard for the dogs to run, and we currently have the same budget. Is this do-able at all?

Internet searches of best places to live to commute to a job in DC all list very expensive areas like Arlington, Potomac, & Alexandria - so far out of our league! Any ideas on where we should start our Maryland-Virginia home search would be so greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much

Originally Posted by personone

This is FALSE information. You can absolutely find this in PG County. I just did a search in Bowie and Hyattsville, MD, and found homes that fit the criteria. I'm sure there are plenty others. The "bad neighborhoods" stereotype for PG is overblown. They are closer to $330-350K range, so the OP would have to bump the budget a little. The commute will depend on where in DC you work, but in most places in PG, a commute to "DC" is definitely doable, and no matter where you live, you may have to compromise. To get a house like this, will likely require the trade-off of a longer commute.

Yep. $355k in Bowie would get them almost 1900 sq feet in a 3br/2.5ba single family home on a quarter acre lot with good schools in a low crime neighborhood, with DC about an hour away in traffic and 30 minutes without, and about 10-15 minutes to mass transit if hubby chooses to go that way. It's 4 minutes away from shopping (supermarkets, restaurants, a few other retailers) 4 minutes from a swimming club (for those swim lessons and summer parties that having a little one will entail), etc.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...37498354_zpid/

[Jalux]

To be fair, calling Bowie HS a 'good school' is a huge stretch. I'd call it an 'underperforming school.'

[personone]

Originally Posted by Jalux

To be fair, calling Bowie HS a 'good school' is a huge stretch. I'd call it an 'underperforming school.'

Nobody called “Bowie HS” a “good school.” Assuming the original post is true, the OP said they had a young child, so HS is a ways off. Bottom line is that the OP (and anyone) has to make compromises when you have a lot of criteria.

[Jalux]

personone, my rebuttal to your statement:

1) Dukeofbelair linked a particular house for sale, and stated that it was located in an area with "good schools." Its servicing high school is Bowie High School, which is not a good school.

2) There isn't that many criteria. Reasonably affordable SFH in an area with good schools and is of decent distance to work and commerce is what virtually EVERYONE ACROSS THE NATION looks for at a minimum. You'd have to either be absolutely insane to qualify that as being a "lot of criteria" or working in the real estate industry.