Good Place to Live 1 to 1 1/2 hours from DC (Frederick, Gaithersburg: to rent, houses)

[delafuv]

Hi,

My husband may be offered employment in the DC area. We are looking for a nice, affordable, horse friendly, place to live that is 1 to 1 1/2 hours from DC. We have a 2 year old, so good schools are a priority. Can anyone recommend a few places where we can begin our search?

Thanks for your help!

[tercel95]

Northern Calvert County puts you about 1hr from DC and Southern puts you closer to 1.5hrs... Calvert county is a great place to live, the public school system is top notch, some of the best schools in the state. There are numerous stables throughout the county and still a number of farms with horses...

[tonyc]

Originally Posted by delafuv

Hi,

My husband may be offered employment in the DC area. We are looking for a nice, affordable, horse friendly, place to live that is 1 to 1 1/2 hours from DC. We have a 2 year old, so good schools are a priority. Can anyone recommend a few places where we can begin our search?

Thanks for your help!

Start here.. Maryland Horse Directory - O Horse! Poolesville, parts of Howard County..etc..

[Marilyn Emery]

I don't know what your financial considerations are but you might look in Damascus, Poolesville, Darnestown, Boyds and Potomac.

[delafuv]

Originally Posted by Marilyn Emery

I don't know what your financial considerations

Right now we are thinking of renting, (3 bedroom up to $1200 if possible) and down the line buying a modest 3 bedroom home under $280,000 if possible. Are those counties still doable for us?

Thanks for your input

[CMPX2]

Northern Frederick Co, Near the Pa line, or even Carroll Co on the North side. They are straight shots down Rt 15/I-270 w/plenty of commuter train stops along the way.

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by delafuv

Right now we are thinking of renting, (3 bedroom up to $1200 if possible) and down the line buying a modest 3 bedroom home under $280,000 if possible. Are those counties still doable for us?

Thanks for your input

You can find houses in Calvert county for that price, but there isn't too much to rent in Calvert....

[PunkGuy]

I'm originally from MD (Gaithersburg...and my parents still live there) but it's too expensive.
If you're looking for an area 1hr to 1 1/2hrs from DC, that could actually be Gaithersburg/Rockville.
Those areas are only about 20 miles or so, but with Beltway Traffic, would proabably take that long.
My parents live in a fairly expensive area (East Village, Montgomery Village) and their house costs around $600k +
My wife and I looked a year or so ago, and a decent house (2200 sqft) in a decent neighborhood ran at least, $450k...
You could look in Frederick (which when I grew up was, "ew...that's redneck-y" but now is quite nice) but that even is fairly expensive.
I don't know any of the areas east of 270, so maybe it's cheaper there.

[cool rob]

One of the most important things to remember is: Traffic can be a nightmare, so the further away you live, the longer your commute and the worst traffic will be. That 1.5 hour drive can easily turn into 3 on any given morning/evening (bad accident, weather, etc). Personally I wouldn't want to be that far away with a 2 year old. You can plan to leave at 5:00, and not make it home until 7 or 8

If you are going south (Calvert, Charles, Saint Mary) you may be able to do it during the week in under 2 1/2 hours, but if you are doing deep Virginina or Maryland, you may really spend most of your time on the road to and from work (which really blows BTW).

However on a good note, generally the further out you go, the cheaper property usually becomes.

[Tom Lennox 70]

If your willing to drive 1.5 hours I would suggest upper Montgomery County or Frederick County....or across the bridge on the Eastern Shore, around Kent Island or Queen Annes County.