Hubby working in W.Bethesda, MD we want to buy in VA where would be a good town to look (Arlington: short sales, foreclosures)

[mrsfancypants]

Hi,
My hubby will be working in W. Bethesda, MD We want to buy in VA he wants max of an hour commute 1 way in your opinion where should we look i.e town names please. He has fleaxable hours at work he can shoose what time he will be going in but must be there by 10am (knowing him he will work 6-3)

We are looking at 500K for a house and want great schools

Thank you

[VRE332]

Montgomery County has good schools, why not look in Rockville?

[FindingZen]

I agree that if schools are the deciding factor, there would be plenty of convenient options in Montgomery County. If taxes are the dealbreaker, then perhaps Virginia may have some slight advantages, depending on your situation.

Short sales and foreclosures notwithstanding, $500K will likely get you a newer SFH out in Loudoun County. Towns like Ashburn and Sterling may be a one-hour off-peak commute from Bethesda. As flex-time is popular around here, especially with early-risers, your husband may want to consider timing his ride to coincide with his 10am cut-off time.

If you can live in a TH, then that opens up a wealth of opportunities in Fairfax County. You can even save significant gas mileage by living in a community along the Metro Orange Line. There aren't any "bad" neighborhoods there IMO but the most family-friendly locations may be in Vienna and Falls Church (as opposed to trendy 20something havens in the Ballston-Clarendon corridor).

But again, I feel that living in Montgomery County MD will not only save you gas but increase your family time.

[vanyali]

If you're looking in VA for "political reasons", I can tell you that you wouldn't be the only Republicans in MoCo if you stayed there, and there's no guarantee you'd find too many like-minded conservatives in your neighborhood in any particular place in NoVA. You're not going to find better schools anywhere in the area than you have right there in MoCo. Why are you looking to move to VA?

[mrsfancypants]

The reasson for wanting to look at VA is the Realtor I spoke w/ on Friday for Montgomery County said that the property taxes will be going up each year to make up for the housing prices dropping. So we looked at a map and where he will be working is right across the river from VA. So light bulb we thought we should focus on VA but it's hard to tell what the commute would really be like.

We can't do a TH as we have a dog that needs a yard and I am disabled w/ MS so I can't do the walks.

Thank you

[claremarie]

Northern Virginia communities are facing the same property tax issues as Montgomery County. If that's the only reason for considering Virginia, and there is little chance of your husband's workplace location shifting to Virginia, then it makes far more sense to simplify your life and shorten your husband' commute. Stick to Maryland. $500K won't get you a SFH in Bethesda, but try Rockville.

[vanyali]

My tax assessment in MoCo is down over $100k this year. Rising tax rates + falling tax value = same tax bill, more or less.

[mrsfancypants]

Ok so what the Realtor said for Montgomery countypropert taxes isn't really as drastic as I took it she said every single year it will go up a % my fear I don't want to have to pay 10K in property tax .

The houses I saw online for NoVa had taxes around 5K but granted I don't know if they were in a doinable commute range.

? So everyone seams for Montgomery County vs NoVA is there a big difference aside from more family time without the commute?

Thank you it's soo nic eto get opinions from poele who live in the area
then doing this blindly. Whoo Hoo for this site.

[VRE332]

Originally Posted by vanyali

My tax assessment in MoCo is down over $100k this year. Rising tax rates + falling tax value = same tax bill, more or less.

Good answer Venyali!! That is absolutely true here in PWC

[claremarie]

Plenty of people live in one state and work in another. We have lived in Virginia for years, and worked in Maryland and DC. But we didn't plan it that way -- it sort of evolved over time. You COULD live in northern Virginia -- but the hitch is that many of the neighborhoods closest to Maryland are also the most expensive. That would be Arlington, McLean, Great Falls...where you would not get a SFH for $500K. Then you have to deal with the limited options for getting across the river every day.

There are some differences between Montgomery County and northern Virginia, which have been covered on this forum in the past. But there are many more similarities. Both have great schools, well-educated populations, considerable racial/ethnic diversity, great retail and restaurant options, extensive recreational opportunities, etc.