Best Washington D.C. suburbs (best suburbs, sales, real estate)

[holloway1010]

What are Washington, D.C.'s best suburbs. By best, I mean lowest crime, the most bang for your buck, best commute into the center of town, etc.

[McOctopus]

I think that is an almost impossible question to answer. Also, some of these things often go in opposite directions (e.g. price and crime). For commutes, any place by a metro is good, but I always want to avoid transfers so if you work by an orange or yellow line, VA would better. If you work by a Red Line, Montgomery County MD is better. I would add criteria like schools, parks, pedestrian-friendly/urban feel. For crime and schools, a great tool is the Washington Post's local explorer Crime, Home Sales and Schools in DC, Maryland and Virginia - Local Explorer (washingtonpost.com). Enter any zip code and you see amenities, crimes, schools and recent sales. I only know MD zips, but Silver Spring 20910, Takoma Park is 20912, Wheaton 20902, Bethesda 20814, Rockville is 20850. I like the dense, urban suburbs like Bethesda & Silver Spring (the later is more affordable), but if you like the less cookie-cutter, less chain-dominated and more affordable (also worse crime and schools) Wheaton is an interesting choice. If you want small-town, crunchy college town feel, try Takoma Park. Rockville is farther out and less urban. All have metro stops. The VA suburbs, at least the ones by metro stops, are often pricier and more Bethesda-like (upscale chains, etc) to me. Another useful tool for finding walkable neighborhoods is called Walkscore (Walk Score - Helping homebuyers, renters, and real estate agents find houses and apartments in great neighborhoods.).

[vanyali]

Yeah, people value such different things (urban vs suburban, walkability vs lot size) that there is no "best" overall. You have to tell us what you're looking for.

[vistordc]

hello, i'm relocating to the dc area. however, I don't want to live in the city. i'm looking for a nice neighborhood, with excellent/good school system. I have a son that will be starting elementary school, and I want a place that the entire school district is good from elementary to highschool. This is where I live currently, its the best in the county, and I hope to live in the same kind of area when I move to VA. the only town I know is McLean, VA., however not sure of the school system in the district. Can someone assist.

[BKmachine]

Originally Posted by vistordc

hello, i'm relocating to the dc area. however, I don't want to live in the city. i'm looking for a nice neighborhood, with excellent/good school system. I have a son that will be starting elementary school, and I want a place that the entire school district is good from elementary to highschool. This is where I live currently, its the best in the county, and I hope to live in the same kind of area when I move to VA. the only town I know is McLean, VA., however not sure of the school system in the district. Can someone assist.

Besides Mclean, VA

-Bethesda, MD
-Potomac, MD

[MacUser85]

Arlington is pretty hard to beat. A national model. The biggest issue with Arlington (and this is true of most nice DC suburbs) is the cost.

[boreatwork]

I say somewhere across the bridge in alexandria or arlington but I prefer pg

[BKmachine]

Originally Posted by boreatwork

prefer pg

stamp

[mississippimagnolia]

We've lived in several areas in Northern Virginia and Maryland. This is the third time we've lived in the area.

We are actually getting ready to move again, but I think we'll be back. And we'll come right back to Burke (Fairfax County), Virginia. I won't even look outside this area. We love it!

[slowlane]

Originally Posted by -.-

Besides Mclean, VA

-Bethesda, MD
-Potomac, MD

I agree with those places. Also, Great Falls, VA and Vienna, VA (Vienna was rated the #1 town to live in USA by Money Magazine).