Mount Airy to DC - doable commute?

[cjmeck]

We are really seeing pretty low inventory this year, and especially now that September is here its dropping off further. But what about the Fulton/Highland area? Its a nice rural area in Howard County, almost Montgomery County line. But its not so far out there, you will have amenities near by. If we stretch to the east of DC southern Anne Arundel County has lower prices and towns like Lothian/Edgewater may work. Montgomery County will likely have you going out to Damascus to get some land, and that will increase the commute. I completely get what you are looking for! We always buy fixer uppers with a bit of land; my husband hates my love of older homes--more projects for him

[DaveinMtAiry]

Originally Posted by kh396

4) most of the houses we've found and loved around Mt. Airy are fixer-upper farmettes, so extra brownie points to any area with these types of properties - we aren't big fans of the mega mansion construction

This is our house below and it fits your description of an old farmhouse fixer-upper. We put a lot of work into it but if you like this type of house you are in luck, they are everywhere in the area. And not all are fixers, many have been done already. Nor sure what your size requirements are but it's 2,000 feet with 5 acres and was recently assessed at $330,000. Bad news for me, good news for you. Since your budget is way higher you have the funds to add on. One caveat: no basement. Just a cellar that is not liveable.

[cjmeck]

Dave--LOVE your house but my heart was sold on your puppies! We have always had Shepherds Beautiful picture of both.

[kh396]

Love the house, Dave! The more I see around Mt. Airy, the more I think it's where we're meant to be.

Also funny that everyone on this chain so far has shepherds - mine is currently passed out on the floor of our 500 sq foot apartment (man, what he would do with 5 acres - he's been a trooper putting up with city life!) : )

It's great to hear from people living in the area now - as I mentioned, I know it mostly from passing through 5+ years ago so am not as familiar with its livability. I obviously always enjoy my time out there!

[DaveinMtAiry]

Thanks for the comments. That pic is years old, Jessie (on the right) is gone and now rests in the field behind our house. Here is a better shot of her in the area beyond the field, by the RR tracks. If you have dogs there are plenty of places like this around here to take them.





Jessie has been replaced with Terra who is now 2, a 100 pound long coat who loves Frisbee. Believe it or not she sheds way less than any other dog we've owned.

[LittleBlackDogs]

What beautiful dogs! Your house is charming, too.

Mt. Airy is a great area. The town has enough basic amenities, yet it's close enough to Frederick and other larger cities for other shopping and dining, and the location is really convenient if you need to go to DC/Baltimore/Columbia on a regular basis. Good luck with your search!

[DaveinMtAiry]

OK I'm done posting pics. Unless of course anyone is interested in seeing my pictures of our trip to Luray Caverns.

But you are right LBD. Some of the areas mentioned here were also areas we explored. Adamstown is one that comes to mind. It was just too far away from the basic necessities. We actually live in Woodbine, 7 miles east of Mount Airy, and we have a grocery, bank, etc. To go to dinner, or to get carry out (we do that a lot) we simply drive into town where there are 7-8 goof options. And really who goes out to dinner so often 8-9 good spots aren't enough? And as you said for a bigger assortment, or to go to the movies, we simply drive 20 minutes to Frederick.

[brettwasbtd]

I will throw out my commute for you to reference. I live in Damascus and it takes me a good 95 minutes each way to get to downtown D.C. I drive to the Germantown Marc Train Station and go all the way into D.C. - I then hop on the metro to go one-stop (glad my company covers this cost) to get to my office. I can leave my house as late as 6:35 in the summer cause traffic on rt 27 is not as bad, but now that school has started I have to leave by 6:25 to make my 6:54 train at Germantown. I hit my seat in the office right around 8am. Today I was running late and got out of the house at 6:27 and wouldn't you know it, just missed the train! Coming from mt airy you will need to add at least another 10 minutes. Strongly considering trying to catch an earlier train so I can save 10 minutes of driving

Marc trains follow closer to the potomac river after Germantown and the "Frederick bound" Brunswick line trains split right before or after Point of Rocks. So even if you were close to the Monocacy stop you'd be looking at 75+ minutes of train time. For example the train that picks me up in Germantown at 6:54 is a frederick train and departs Monocacy at 6:11am. Germantown to Union station on the train is about 45 minutes.



Here is the Marc Schedule Brunswick Line: https://mta.maryland.gov/sites/defau...ck_Jan2013.pdf

The commute its time consuming, but the train is great. I don't know how people drive everyday! There are also commuter buses that pickup in Urbana and go to Shady Grove Metro which could be an option. My main complaint about the commute is purely time based, its hard to do much of anything on the weeknights. I was doing roughly the same commute from Germantown where we rented, but we decided to buy in Damascus, and it has been great. People seem friendlier in Damascus.