Fairfax, Va v. Potomac, MD

[AlexandriaVa11]

You've gotten lots of great advice so far. I would pay particular attention to michgc - she knows what she's talking about!

[household61974]

With your budget, are you against living in DC for a year? Personally, I'd rent there for a year and enjoy the city life for a bit and get your bearings prior to buying.

MD has excessive taxes. Saw something at one time about the rain water being taxed. Check into that before you think about MD.

I live in the area across the street from the JCC. It, and Mantua is extremely family oriented. While I wouldn't foresee any issue with you being "accepted", I think you may have a time finding your niche.

There are some nice high-rise condos/apt in the city of Fairfax - across from Twins Ace Hardware. Or maybe Crystal Ciity, although I can't attest to the parks nearby (but they seem to be ev.ery.where. here).

There is a community in Alexandria that centers around green space. Has a very nice feel to it. And you could enjoy the night life there too, with great access to the metro. Sorry can't think of name of it.

[Poodlelover415]

Originally Posted by household61974

With your budget, are you against living in DC for a year? Personally, I'd rent there for a year and enjoy the city life for a bit and get your bearings prior to buying.

MD has excessive taxes. Saw something at one time about the rain water being taxed. Check into that before you think about MD.

I live in the area across the street from the JCC. It, and Mantua is extremely family oriented. While I wouldn't foresee any issue with you being "accepted", I think you may have a time finding your niche.

There are some nice high-rise condos/apt in the city of Fairfax - across from Twins Ace Hardware. Or maybe Crystal Ciity, although I can't attest to the parks nearby (but they seem to be ev.ery.where. here).

There is a community in Alexandria that centers around green space. Has a very nice feel to it. And you could enjoy the night life there too, with great access to the metro. Sorry can't think of name of it.

We are now actually considering living in DC proper for the first year. Can you (or anyone on the thread) recommend a nice neighborhood within DC? The safer the better, and the more greenery/parks the better too.


Thank you everyone on this thread for being so helpful! We're really looking forward to this move.

[RamblingMan]

There are a lot of great places for a young couple in the District. If you like greenery, I'd suggest starting with Cleveland Park or Woodley Park. You'd be close to Rock Creek Park which would give you the green space you want with access to a very extensive network of running and biking trails in the District, Maryland, and Virginia. Woodley Park would also give you most of the major amenities within walking distance and keep you close to Metro. Depending on where on 19th street your husband works, he might be in reasonable walking or biking distance.

Renting in the District while taking your time to check out the details of other specific neighborhoods is your best bet. A lot of factors like schools, taxes, and commute are going to be very specific to your own specific circumstances and address. Don't get misled by generalizations. For example, a previous poster mentiond tax. There are differences in taxes between DC, VA, and MD, but the degree of difference will depend substantially on how much you earn and how you live. I've lived in DC, MD, and VA over the years and have always found the tax differences between the three to be less significant than other factors (like commute and lifestyle).

Good luck in finding a place you love!