Commute to Columbia, MD. (Richmond, Reston: renting, house, transfer)

[Lindsay1126]

Hello everyone,
So my husband is being transferred to Columbia for his job, and after doing some research we do not want to live in MD. Is a commute from maybe the Leesburg area going to be miserable? He will have a little flexibility in his schedule, but may have appointments from time to time putting him in rush hour traffic. We are from NC, so it would put us closer to family so that's a plus (as we are in WA state now, so we haven't been able to see our family much at all for 6 years).
We are not big city people, we like having amenities close by, but don't want to live in a big city. I want all your typical family shopping areas (we are not fancy, so your typical costco, target and mall are fine). We do have 3 kids, but I homeschool so schools aren't uber important (except for resale value and for a nice community feeling). My son is special needs, so I will need access to either john Hopkins or national children's hospital as he sees several specialist frequently. He will also need access to physical, occupational and speech therapy weekly. He is still young so that is usually covered by the early intervention program, but I want to look ahead also. I would love a nice YMCA nearby, as we love ours here. A good library system would be wonderful too.

Are there any areas that I'm not aware of that we should look into? I've looked into WV too, but I'm concerned about the healthcare access for my son (I will post there at some point if we can't find anything in VA)He really needs a good day to day pediatrician to help get him to the other docs he needs.

Our budget is $350k-400k for a single family home with a decent yard (doesn't need to be acreage or anything) in some kind of family friendly neighborhood. Would consider more rural setting as long as it's in budget too.

Are we reaching too much, wanting to live in VA?

Thanks in advance!

[OotsaPootsa]

I commuted from Fall Church to Odenton for 4 months. It was miserable. If I left by 5 AM I beat most of the traffic but the drive home never took less than an hour & a half.If there was an accident or bad weather it took around 2 hours.

The corridor from the 495/270 merger across the American Legion bridge all the way to Reston was bumper to bumper stop and go every single time.

From Leesburg you could take the Great Circle route via I-70 but it's probably no better.

DC-NoVa-MD traffic is some of the worst in the world.

I ended up taking another job because I could not handle commuting by car anymore.

P.S, your housing budget will not get you much here.

http://www.zillow.com/leesburg-va/

[snowdenscold]

Whatever advantages you think Virginia has over Maryland, they're not great enough to make a Leesburg to Columbia commute worthwhile.

I would look for somewhere in the general Columbia area and that way you'll be fairly close to JH as well. There's enough decent neighborhoods I'm sure you can find something and your family will probably be better off for it.

[Lindsay1126]

I had a feeling it would not be good news. �� We are looking for a home to buy so when he retires in a 6 years from the military, we will be happy and we just don't feel MD is that for us. i was really hoping it would be closer to a little over an hour. Where we live now, it's about that Bc the military transferred him a month after we got settled here, but it wasn't far enough for a PCS (military move). We are so tired of renting, and just want to own a house a again ��.

As for our reasons we have conservative values, and though we are fine being around the other side, (we live near Seattle so we are familiar), we hate living in a state that is being consumed (in every aspect of life, from politics to general life) with the opposite values we have. If it was just more moderate it wouldn't be as big of a deal, but it looks like MD is more progressive than here and that is saying something.

[JfromReston]

Sorry duplicate post

[JfromReston]

I agree with the others - Columbia to Leesburg is insane!

Given your preferences I would be looking for something in the New Market area. Close enough for shopping in Frederick and 30-40 minutes from Clolumbia. I had a friend who used to live on Lake Linganore and it was very nice and reasonably priced. Here are a few options near where she used to live.

6611 LAKERIDGE WEST RD, NEW MARKET, MD 21774 | MLS FR9532613 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
6433 LAKERIDGE DR, NEW MARKET, MD 21774 | MLS FR9664237 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
6673 COLDSTREAM DR, NEW MARKET, MD 21774 | MLS FR9598868 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
6804 OAKRISE CT, NEW MARKET, MD 21774 | MLS FR9783309 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

[snowdenscold]

Check out Carroll County, MD. The southern part of it isn't that far from Columbia and it went very solidly for Romney in 2012.

Yes, Montgomery County is really blue, but since you don't need to be close to D.C. or going to VA a lot, there's no need to look there.

[Lindsay1126]

It's not as much the area that's an issue, like I said we live near Seattle and even have some liberal friends. It's the way the state is ran that our issues come into play. Here in WA most of the state is not actually liberal, but Seattle and Olympia are so they run the state that way. It is infuriating when we deliberately lived outside of king county (where Seattle is) and they pass a bill that basically taxes all of WA to provide an amenity for Seattle. I have a very strong feeling the same will be he case in MD.

[snowdenscold]

Well, you're free to do what you want, but my 2 cents are that whatever frustration you may feel at the State of Maryland will be dwarfed by the frustration of a soul-crushing commute from Western Loudoun out to Columbia.

And speaking of getting taxed to pay for special stuff for the rest of the state - be aware that's exactly what will happen in Northern Virginia. The lawmakers down in Richmond give us about 20 cents back on the dollar. We subsidize most of the rest of the Commonwealth. The parties might be switched, but the end result's the same...

[airjay75]

It is so weird to me how some people allow the politics in their county, state, or country consume them to the point that it affects their happiness. I've lived in ruby red states and bright blue states. Are there political decisions made in both types of states with which I completely disagree? Absolutely. Does it typically have any affect on my daily life or general happiness level? Very little, if any. At the end of the day, what matters most to my happiness is my family and my career, and the commute can be a big part of that. There is no way I'd want to commute to Columbia, MD from anywhere in VA. Just my two cents.