house rental in NW question (houses, public schools, income)

[raznan]

We will be moving to DC next summer. I will actually be working in Baltimore so we will need to live close to the red-line (connecting to Union Station) and we want in the NW b/c I hear that the schools there are good, which is pretty much the most important consideration for us [we have 11,8,4,1.5 (the 1.5 will stay home)].

My question is: is it realistic to expect to find rental houses there (3-BR) for less than $3K? any other advice about expenses there? (will annual income of around $105k be sufficient to "live"?). any other areas perhaps in MD that we might want to consider?

thanks!

[saganista]

Why do you want to live in DC when you work in Baltimore? There are indeed a handful of good public schools in NW, but they are all in the most upscale and expensive areas. The DC school system in general is not something to volunteer for. There are better schools that are a lot closer to Baltimore...

[raznan]

I am thinking of DC because my two older kids are joint custody and my ex-wife and her husband will have jobs in DC and proximity. [and I would prefer keeping this arrangement]. Anyway it will be temporary [1-2 years].
However I will be very interested to hear about other areas closer to Baltimore that are good. [actually another reason for the NW idea is that I much prefer public transportation to driving]. thanks.

[saganista]

Ah, I see. Makes sense, except Metro from NW to Union Station and then MARC to Baltimore would not be a fun trip to make everyday. Might consider something in between like Bowie. Penn Station is about 35 minutes from there via MARC. Union Station is about 25 minutes away. Laurel would another option. It's sort of at the intersection of four different counties, so you could pick which school system by living a couple of miles down the road this way or that. MARC service to BAL and DC from there also...30-35 minutes to either one. Below is a link to the Maryland Transit Administration homepage...you can get an idea there of what sort of rail and bus options there are to help keep you connected to two cities without killing yourself with the commute...

Maryland Transit Administration Home Page

[raznan]

thanks! Bowie and Laurel - what kind of places? hows the education there? if I put public transportation aside - any nice / affordable / good education places between BAL and DC?