Best tradeoff income taxes, fun and work distance between DC, MD and VA (Silver Spring: apartments, leasing)

[MGS999]

Dear,

I am going to work for the government as soon as I get my H1B visa. I am from Europe. My work will be located in Silver Spring, MD. I will make around 100K and I want to save at least 30K per year. I am single 29 man with no kids. I will rent and apartment and I am thinking on leasing a car.
I am ranking different points based on my research but I am probably wrong. I would appreciate all kind of corrections if I am missing something or giving misleading information.

- Income taxes
1) Virginia range from 2-5.75% (I can save around 3000$/year only living at the other side or Potomac river??)
2) DC range from 4-8.75%
3) Maryland range from 2-5.75% (+3.2% if you live in Montgomery county)

- Nice and safe place to live
1) DC: U Street and Dupont Circle.
2) MD: Bethesda and Silver Spring seem to be very nice place to live. I read about nice single woman in Bethesda
3) VA: Maybe Reston or Tyson corner? (I saw some really nice apartments in Reston).

- Drive distance to work
1) MD: Ranging from 10 to 30 minutes (e.g. Silver Spring or Bethesda or Rockville).
2) DC: Ranging from 25 to 30 minutes (e.g. U Street and Dupont Circle).
3) VA: At least 40 minutes (e.g. Reston).

- "Fun level" of the residence area.
1) DC: U Street and Dupont Circle seems to be the best!
2) MD: Bethesda and Silver Spring seem to have a nice nightlife entertainment.
3) VA: Reston seems to be hell.

I think there are a lot more factors to consider but at least these 4 points are quite important. I would appreciate if someone could give their insight regarding my research or personal opinion about others issues to consider.

Thanks in advance,

[bufflove]

The tax issue a a bit more complicated since the brackets are different, e.g. for Maryland anything between $3K and $100K is taxed at 4.75% while in VA anything over $17K is taxed at 5.75%. In VA you also have to pay property taxes of about 4.1% on your car; for leases the car is registered in the company's name, but they usually pass the charge along to you. Overall, tax burden might be a little higher in MD than VA, depending on the car tax situation (both are lower than DC), but it's ultimately a pretty negligible difference of about $1K one way or the other. The cost of housing in MD is generally the lowest of the three and your transportation cost would also be lower living near the job, so that's the better "deal" either way.

Traffic is horrific in the region, so that'd be a major concern, along w/nightlife which I know is important to you. Generally, it sounds like you have a pretty good baseline understanding of situation.

Is the job in Silver Spring near the metro? That'd make Dupont Circle or Gallery Place/Chinatown in DC a good option since they both are on the metro Red Line and you wouldn't need a car. If you want a car either way, then just consider the cost of parking which will be high in DC.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by MGS999

My work will be located in Silver Spring, MD. I will make around 100K and I want to save at least 30K per year. I am single 29 man with no kids. I will rent and apartment and I am thinking on leasing a car.

Bufflove gave you good advice on the taxes. I'd suggest living in Silver Spring, near the job. Rent a studio apartment as close to the job as possible.

Do not lease a car if you want to save the maximum. Bicycles or local buses will get you to any shopping or night-life in Silver Spring. You can take the Metro to DC on the weekends. You can also rent a zip-car or something similar if you need one for a day.

Reston is a very bad option for single folks, as it is primarily families. It would be a terrible commute also. My second choice for you would be the Dupont Circle or U-Street area of DC. Once again a car in not necessary, and it is a big pain to find parking.

[DistrictSonic]

My advice, if you are working in Silver Spring, get housing in Silver Spring. The more you can walk to do anything around here, the better. Especially commuting.

Trust me, walking to work is one of the best ideas in this area. The more you can avoid driving, the better. Avoiding transit is good as well.

Likewise do not move to Dupont circle with the idea you will drive everywhere, DC is not a driving city. Do NOT lease a car if you are living in downtown area of DC. The area is walkable with decent transit. Some weekends you may rely on the bus or uber more, but in most cases you can walk.

My advice, if you are living in DC, especially around downtown like DuPont, U St. or Chinatown, ditch the idea of having a car. With that being said downtown Silver Spring is your best option. It has the best brewery/outdoor patio in the area with Denizens.

Likewise let me be very clear, a car is not a necessity in all of DC, just in Virginia. You can go car free in downtown Silver Spring if that is where your work is. There are buses that go from downtown Silver Spring right to the nightlife area of DC (U St/Adams Morgan, etc). This is in addition to the metro. Likewise there is grocery stores within walking distance.

Best Options:
1. Silver Spring
2. DC
3. Bethesda

Don't move to Virginia if you are working in Silver Spring.


The rule in the area, is if you don't have to drive don't. It is a pain here. Many of us pay a premium to live in an area where we don't have too. You can do without a car in downtown silver spring or dupont if your workplace is metro accessible. I should note, there is many other DC neighborhoods you may want to look into along the red line.

[bonnielisabeth]

Traffic and commuting here are difficult, so live in the most fun area (that you like) closest to your job. I think a lot of the previous advice assumes your job will be in "downtown" Silver Spring, but you have not said--Silver Spring is a very large non-incorporated place--there is a "downtown" Silver Spring that's very dense and then there is the "rest" of Silver Spring, which almost goes up to Howard County.

If your job is in "downtown" Silver spring you probably won't need a car and can get by without one, but if it's in an "outer" part of Silver Spring (like White Oak, for example), you may want to lease one anyhow or somehow have access to one even if you do lease something occasionally. Might be able to save more money by renting a room in someone's apartment or in a house, since you are single--Bethesda and Silver Spring are both nice spots. Housing is one of the most expensive things here, even more so than transportation, so finding an affordable housing solution that makes sense to you would be most important. You might need to calculate cost of transportation vs cost of housing.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by bonnielisabeth

I think a lot of the previous advice assumes your job will be in "downtown" Silver Spring, but you have not said--Silver Spring is a very large non-incorporated place--there is a "downtown" Silver Spring that's very dense and then there is the "rest" of Silver Spring, which almost goes up to Howard County.

If your job is in "downtown" Silver spring you probably won't need a car and can get by without one, but if it's in an "outer" part of Silver Spring (like White Oak, for example), you may want to lease one anyhow or somehow have access to one even if you do lease something occasionally.

That is true. I was assuming the OP would work at the NOAA building downtown. That is walking distance to a grocery store, restaurants and the Metro stop.

If the work location is at White Oak, a car would be helpful.

[MGS999]

Thank you everyone for your nice advices.

Unfortunately, my work place will be white oak I have checked and there are 4 miles from Silver Spring metro to my work.

The idea of leasing a car is because I would like to do random trips e.g. NYC, Philli, and all nice places I guess there will be in MD and VA. I thought leasing might be a cheaper option than buying a new car. I also think that the flexibility of having a car and be able to move around is mandatory for me to survive there (but this is just a personal opinion) I saw there are nice deals e.g. a Camaro for 39 months or Mustang for 36 months for around 300$/month. To this amount I have to sum up insurance and petrol (that it is ridiculous cheap )

Is it common leasing a car there in MD or people used to buy their own car?

Thanks again for all the comments.

Best

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by MGS999

Is it common leasing a car there in MD or people used to buy their own car?

It is fairly common to lease a car, especially if you will use it in business. There are many car dealerships just north of the White Oak area of Silver Spring, so you should find a good deal.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by MGS999

Thank you everyone for your nice advices.

Unfortunately, my work place will be white oak I have checked and there are 4 miles from Silver Spring metro to my work.

The idea of leasing a car is because I would like to do random trips e.g. NYC, Philli, and all nice places I guess there will be in MD and VA. I thought leasing might be a cheaper option than buying a new car. I also think that the flexibility of having a car and be able to move around is mandatory for me to survive there (but this is just a personal opinion) I saw there are nice deals e.g. a Camaro for 39 months or Mustang for 36 months for around 300$/month. To this amount I have to sum up insurance and petrol (that it is ridiculous cheap )

Is it common leasing a car there in MD or people used to buy their own car?

Thanks again for all the comments.

Best

If you're working at FDA in White Oak, there's a free shuttle that runs between Silver Spring metro and FDA campus, FYI. There are also buses and trains that run to other east coast cities regularly. But if you do still want a car, the lease/buy decision largely comes down to how long you'd keep the car/your visa and job situation. I think the White Oak job location will cement peoples' opinion - you should live near downtown Silver Spring so your commute will be in the 15 minute range. DC and VA would suck to commute from.

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by bufflove

But if you do still want a car, the lease/buy decision largely comes down to how long you'd keep the car/your visa and job situation.

It also depends on how new of a car and what type of a car you are comfortable with. For basic transportation a used several year old sedan may be more cost effective to buy than something you lease.