where in PG county to live commute to West Bethesda? (Germantown: to move, town)

[bowian]

Originally Posted by dkf747

For the amount he wants to pay where else can he go? 270 is bad, but Germantown to W.Bethesda is going to be much easier than getting there from PG County. Germantown is not all bad. It's much better than PG though, especially the schools.

I'll have to disagree with you on that. Germantown is most definitely not better than PG County as a whole. I'd much rather live where I am now than to live in Germantown. I used to live in Germantown, so I am basing my views on my experience. Just because it's in MoCo doesn't mean it's better. And I haven't been hearing a whole lot of great things about most of the schools in Germantown, either.

[mrsfancypants]

wow wee is this house hunt/area hunt a full time job thank u all for the great info

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by bowian

I'll have to disagree with you on that. Germantown is most definitely not better than PG County as a whole. I'd much rather live where I am now than to live in Germantown. I used to live in Germantown, so I am basing my views on my experience. Just because it's in MoCo doesn't mean it's better. And I haven't been hearing a whole lot of great things about most of the schools in Germantown, either.

Welll, I live in Gaithersburg, and go to Germantown a lot. I also lived and worked in PG for 7 years. Germantown (most of it) sure looks much nicer than most of PG. The bad parts of Germantown aren't all that obvious. PG, where I lived (Beltsville and College Park - worked in Lanham), was okay, but does not appear anywhere near as nice as Germantown does. You're not one of those that calls Gaithersburg and Germantown "ghetto" are you? Wait! You couldn't be, because you are saying PG is better! That is confusing.

If you're saying the schools in Germantown are not as good as the rest of Montgomery, then I have no argument. However, if you're saying PG schools are better than Montgomery schools then..... Nahh, forget it, it's not worth it.

Anyways, our opinions about Germantown aside, Germantown is the better choice for someone commuting to West Bethesda. There is no comparison. 270 is bad, but the Beltway is worse. As for public transportation: A bus from Germantown to Shady Grove, and Metro to Bethesda, and another bus to W. Bethesda is going to be faster than riding a bus and Metro combo from anywhere in PG County. I think there are express buses running to Bethesda from Germantown or Gaithersburg as well.

I only suggested Germantown because of the OP's low budget. If they can raise their budget then they should look at North Potomac or Rockville.

[TrippingJay]

I would actually think about renting a house for the time being and then take your time searching for a home.

For $1800-$2200, you could find a townhome or single family for rent in Rockville, Silver Spring, or Gaithersburg that would not be bad commutes to Bethesda. Germantown is not all bad and if you could find something in the Northwest High School Cluster, the schools are better.

I have a feeling that home prices on the MD side are still declining, so there's no incentive to buy a home just yet.

[bowian]

Originally Posted by dkf747

Welll, I live in Gaithersburg, and go to Germantown a lot. I also lived and worked in PG for 7 years. Germantown (most of it) sure looks much nicer than most of PG. The bad parts of Germantown aren't all that obvious. PG, where I lived (Beltsville and College Park - worked in Lanham), was okay, but does not appear anywhere near as nice as Germantown does. You're not one of those that calls Gaithersburg and Germantown "ghetto" are you? Wait! You couldn't be, because you are saying PG is better! That is confusing.

I lived in Germantown for a couple of years and have lived in PG for about 8 years now. We'll have to agree to disagree on aesthetics, because when I look at Upper Marlboro, Bowie, Brandywine, parts of Lanham, Beltsville, Glenn Dale, Greenbelt and Laurel, these areas look just as nice and in many cases better than what I saw in Germantown. Now, Germantown could have changed since I moved from there. And I don't mean to put the area down, because much of it looks very nice. But again, just because it's in MoCo doesn't mean it's better than PG across the board. As for schools, I checked out schooldigger.com and looked at the top 200 elementary schools in Maryland.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by bowian

I lived in Germantown for a couple of years and have lived in PG for about 8 years now. We'll have to agree to disagree on aesthetics, because when I look at Upper Marlboro, Bowie, Brandywine, parts of Lanham, Beltsville, Glenn Dale, Greenbelt and Laurel, these areas look just as nice and in many cases better than what I saw in Germantown. Now, Germantown could have changed since I moved from there. And I don't mean to put the area down, because much of it looks very nice. But again, just because it's in MoCo doesn't mean it's better than PG across the board. As for schools, I checked out schooldigger.com and looked at the top 200 elementary schools in Maryland.

Fair enough. However, I still can't see the OP wanting to put up with the Beltway twice everyday to get to W.. Bethesda. I'm sure some people do it though.

[Cristis0]

Originally Posted by dkf747

For the amount he wants to pay where else can he go? 270 is bad, but Germantown to W.Bethesda is going to be much easier than getting there from PG County. Germantown is not all bad. It's much better than PG though, especially the schools.

100% Germantown to Bethesda. Forget PG county. Avoid it if possible. Anything up 270 is better than PG county. Montgomery County is where you want to be. I lived in Potomac my entire life and all my friends moved out that way after gratuation from college starting out because of prices. I could be wrong about the prices now but PG county to Bethesda is silly. There are cheaper prices than PG county in Montgomery County that you can find if you look hard.

[Cristis0]

Originally Posted by Cristis0

100% Germantown to Bethesda. Forget PG county. Avoid it if possible. Anything up 270 is better than PG county. Montgomery County is where you want to be. I lived in Potomac my entire life and all my friends moved out that way after gratuation from college starting out because of prices. I could be wrong about the prices now but PG county to Bethesda is silly. There are cheaper prices than PG county in Montgomery County that you can find if you look hard.

Woops I phrased that ending wrong. What i meant to say was, If I had a choice between PG county and Gaithersburg/germantown, I would with out a doubt go to Gaithersburg area. The drive from gaithersburg to Bethesda is not that bad. It has to be better than PG to Bethesda. As far as prices, I think you can find something in Gaithersburg area reasonably priced. Higher than PG county, yes, however, it is worth it. If you look hard I believe you can afford it. Good Luck and I hope no PG folks get mad at me. I probably should have just stuck to the commuting facts.

[jayman1981]

Greatschools.net is a good place to start. I would suggest living in Gaithersburg and Germantown in Montgomery County and in P.G. Laurel, Beltsville, Calverton, parts of Hyattsville and Greenbelt. Either way it's going to be a ruff ride. Realistically you can get a single family house in a nice neighborhood in P.G. for less than 350,000 now a days. Try to find that in Montgomery county without having to go all the way to Clarksburg. Now schools, I'm not sure. To second the notion of a previous poster just because it's in Montgomery County doesn't mean jack. Check it out for yourself.

[eponena]

From east to west, some neighborhoods in your price points/requirements include:

University Park (very good elementary school) and an incorporated town in Hyattsville (though directly next to Univ. MD, so closer to College Park); Calvert Hills in College Park (backs to Metro and parkland); Woodside in Silver SPring (off of 29); Ashton/Sandy Spring (though low inventory at the prices you mentioned); Wheaton; and Kensington. In the last three, finding a single family home in the 400s probably means a fixer or reo....