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My wife and I are moving to the DC area this summer and I will be working out of Suitland. We can afford anything up to 600,000 comfortably and are looking for a neighborhood with houses, a garage, and a backyard. I am trying to avoid townhomes and condos.
I am interested in driving to work. Less than an hour commute is the limit. An hour is pushing it. My wife intends to work for a year or so before we decide to have kids. But those plans can always change
Are there any areas that fit this discription in Arlington, Alexandria, or Montomery County. I am trying to avoid Prince George County, and want to stay close to DC, but live in a somewhat urban area. Hopefully this does not contradict what I have written in the last paragraph.
I have done some research and was interested in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, and Kensington. I would like to know what it is like living in those areas.
I am not to familiar with Arlington or Alexandria.
I would vouch for Alexandria particularly Kingstowne. The problem with VA is that there are only like a couple of bridges that can be used to get to PG county. I would not recommend Arlington because the traffic on 395 is horrible. With Alexandria you could take 495/the beltway to Suitland and basically go against traffic. Although they are doing a lot of construction on the beltway so there still might be issues.
Calvert County would give you good schools and a good sized house for $600,000, but not the urban "life" you are looking for. Wouldn't be a bad commute to Suitland though. Look for towns like Dunkirk, Owings, Chesapeake Beach / North Beach or Huntingtown.
I missed urban requirement which Kingstowne wouldn't exactly fit in the criteria. Althought the city of Alexandria would kinda fit. Have you thought about the city itself? Capitol Hill to Suitland would be a short commute, 15-20 minutes. Either way a lot of house for $600K and urban don't usually mix in this area. I second the above recommendation of Calvert county where $600K will get you a lot of house compared to anywhere inside the beltway.
I agree with the other respondents. Northern Calvert County MD is a logical choice for commuting to Suitland, and you will get much better housing value there than comparable square footage in the Alexandria area. Calvert County public schools are excellent. You will find many giant estate homes around Dunkirk as well as more modest homes in Chesepeake Beach. The downside is you will be quite a distance from shopping Malls which are no closer than Bowie, Annapolis, Waldorf. (although Dunkirk has a WalMart).
On the other hand, "Old Town" Alexandria has great upscale charm and is a major tourist destination. And now that the (Beltway) Wilson Bridge has been widened to 12 lanes, the previous horrendous traffic backups I would assume are basically eliminated. And by commuting from VA to MD, you will traveling opposite from the prevailing flow of traffic, plus the sun glare won't be in your face while driving. You will find the Alex. area has every imaginable various size, type, and age of housing. Schools both in Alexandria City and Southern Fairfax County have many more multi-ethnic immigrants than you will find in Calvert County.
Last edited by slowlane; 03-03-2010 at 12:17 PM..
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