Relocating from NYC to DMV

[ipr]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Don't plan/expect to spend down savings, let alone home equity funds, for rent & groceries. Just don't.

Oh, we're definitely not planning on it. It would be the absolute last resort.

[908Boi]

Figure out where you will be working first because the traffic in this area is horrible.

[macroy]

Originally Posted by ipr

Thanks in advance for any information you all can provide.

My wife and I would like to relocate to the DMV with our 6 year old daughter. We would like to purchase a townhome (preferably new construction) in the $400-500K range and would like access to the usual (things to do, places to go to eat and shop, and a good school district. My wife is an Occupational Therapist and plans to work for the school district. I'm in IT and will be looking to get into the Information Security sector. I was spending an hour to an hour and a half commuting and would like to cut that down if I can't work remotely.

We are Black and in our early 40's and we would like a diverse area (everyone says this nowadays, we know lol) and when we say diverse, we mean diverse in race, religion, and all other facets of life. It's important for our daughter's world view. We have done quite a bit of research, but there's nothing like getting information from people who live in the area. Which places out of the ones listed below do you like based on our circumstances, and why?

In Maryland
Ellicott City
Columbia
Frederick
Rockville
Silver Spring
Elkridge

In Virginia
Arlington
Alexandria
Fairfax County (any that comes to mind for you that's closer to DC)

Again, thank you for taking the time to respond!

I'm in InfoSec and have lived in the bolded cities above. With Ellicott City and Rockville (Actually Potomac and Bethesda) making up most of my time.

That price range may be difficult in the more desirable areas.

In Ellicott City - a friend got a steal of a new construction for about $635K. This was when the original buyer failed to close on their loan. So he was able to grab it when the builders were trying to unload it. It was a steal as he got a bunch of upgrades.

What you may want to do is rent for a year or so if feasible. Given the market fluctuations (being such a sellers market at the moment), it may be beneficial if you wait. I'm hearing many houses going through bidding wars and some are even being sold without an appraisal/inspection. Not sure you want to be caught up in all that.

Having grown up in Montgomery County (where Rockville and Silver Spring is located), I feel they've reached their peak back in the late 80's early 90's. I feel it's a bit over crowded these days there. We loved Ellicott City when we first moved there (Howard County). And I feel the school system is like what Montgomery County WAS. This is both good and bad. Good in that it's probably THE best school system in MD (always up for debate). Bad in that the expectations and competition may be more than it needs to be - check out a book written back in the early 2000's called The Overachievers. An analysis of kids of Walt Whitman HS in Bethesda. I feel this is what Howard County is like - especially with the top schools (Centennial, Marriotts Ridge, and River Hill).

In the DMV area - the biggest issue is traffic. And Howard county has gotten progressively worse over the last 10 or so years.

The "dark horse" IMO is Frederick. I just moved here about a year ago. And this is NOT the same place I remember as a kid. We used to call this place "Fredneck" as it was considered to be out in the boonies. Now, it has a revitalized downtown area with some great main street feel. Lots of restaurants, breweries, and distilleries. I feel this place will be the next "in" place in 10 or so years (if not already). Of course, traffic is pretty bad. Part of it is because there is an area where you have 2 major Interstates (I270 and I70) and 2 major state routes that converge (Rt.40 and Rt 15).

Work wise - As someone who's been here for 30 years in the finance and Fed/contractor sector. the closer to DC, the more the opportunity. Unless you have a specific niche. Ft. Mead/National business Park area is where all the intelligence contracts are, and Ft. Detrick is in Frederick. But the bulk of contractors, etc. are closer to DC/NoVA. I'd say most are in the NoVA area. Of course, with what we've all gone through the last 12 or so months, your location may no longer matter as much.

All of this is just my .02. I'm sure there will be disagreements.