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I'm an attorney who is considering pursuing a federal government job and relocating to the DC area. I've read a lot of posts about cost of living and various neighborhoods, but it's been hard to glean advice that applies to my situation.
I'm married with 2 young kids. If I'm looking for a 3 BR home (or if I dare to dream, 4 BR) in the low to mid $300s range, are my choices pretty much limited to living way outside of DC proper (Fairfax County, Silver Springs, or even farther out)? If so, does this gaurantee me a 2 hour commute every day? Schools will be a big consideration, as well. I'd appreciate any advice you can provide.
I'm an attorney who is considering pursuing a federal government job and relocating to the DC area. I've read a lot of posts about cost of living and various neighborhoods, but it's been hard to glean advice that applies to my situation.
I'm married with 2 young kids. If I'm looking for a 3 BR home (or if I dare to dream, 4 BR) in the low to mid $300s range, are my choices pretty much limited to living way outside of DC proper (Fairfax County, Silver Springs, or even farther out)? If so, does this gaurantee me a 2 hour commute every day? Schools will be a big consideration, as well. I'd appreciate any advice you can provide.
Thanks so much.
Live in Montgomery County, you might have to live a further bit out than Shady Grove, but the schools are good. maybe germantown. You'd have a 15-20 drive to the metro, then it's another 40 minutes by metro to downtown.
Yes, you have to live a ways out of DC. However, if you want to minimize your commute pain you would do best to live somewhere with some form of public transportation to DC for commuters. Then you can at least spend your commute time doing some form of work or catching up on the day's news. There also is very little parking in DC.
I lived in NoVa just out of college and loved it, but I'm relieved we didn't move back there on this move. The traffic there is horrific 24/7. My guess is that Sterling would be a pretty painful commute to DC. You'd probably want to find a way to catch one of these buses: Commuter Bus Schedules (http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=969 - broken link)
Both Montgomery and Howard Counties in Maryland have excellent schools. We're in Howard County and plenty of people commute to DC. Using public transportation I think they are around 1 hr 15 min each way. Take a look at this site for commuter options in Maryland and try to get closer to one of them: Maryland Transit Administration (http://mta.maryland.gov/services/ - broken link)
I seriously doubt you can get a 3BR home anywhere near DC in the 300s. Living in the NOVA burbs is not cheap eaither, FFX County is extremely expensive. You can get a fixer type house in Anne Arundel County (MD), maybe even Severna Park, in the 400s. Severna Park has great schools and that would be an hour commute each way, on 50. (My parents raised me in SP, my dad commuted to DC....houses in their very nice hood fo from 450s to 2M)
Last edited by greeps; 08-27-2010 at 11:54 AM..
Reason: add
I seriously doubt you can get a 3BR home anywhere near DC in the 300s. Living in the NOVA burbs is not cheap eaither, FFX County is extremely expensive. You can get a fixer type house in Anne Arundel County (MD), maybe even Severna Park, in the 400s. Severna Park has great schools and that would be an hour commute each way, on 50. (My parents raised me in SP, my dad commuted to DC....houses in their very nice hood fo from 450s to 2M)
I'd jump off a bridge if a freaking townhouse costs more than 300k in Germantown, MD.. There's no way.
I'd jump off a bridge if a freaking townhouse costs more than 300k in Germantown, MD.. There's no way.
Maybe not, but he's spot-on about Fairfax County. When I see people on the DC forum recommending this place as being cheap I look around me at all of the BMWs and Audis in Reston sitting in the driveways of $500,000+ homes and scratch my head. If housing is this expensive out here, then I can only imagine how much worse McLean, Vienna, Falls Church, Arlington, and other more desirable closer-in 'burbs are.
300k doesn't buy much in the DC area. You could try Calvert County which has very good schools, but it is about an hour commute to downtown via commuter bus or car. No real public transit other than that (it's a rural county).
You could search around Dunkirk, Owings, Chesapeake Beach and North Beach as cities. Again it is very rural (take a look at google maps to get an idea).
Thanks everyone. This is a big help. Sounds like I either need to be prepared for very long commutes or save up a little more money before making the move. I really appreciate it.
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