Relocating from ATL to DC area- please help, lots of questions! (Arlington: house, safe area)

[autiger01]

We are going to be moving to the DC area from ATL w/ my hubby's job and are trying to narrow down an area before our house hunting trip since we really don't know much about the area. Here's what we are looking for:

-Preferably less than an hour commute/central to DC and also Beltsville, MD
-Safe area with young families
-Good schools (elementary)
-Quaint area, kid friendly, safe, nice shopping/restaurants
-Reasonable housing (single family home, 4-5 bedrooms) under $550k

Any counties or cities you could recommend, or also those to avoid, would be so very appreciated! Thanks so very much for your time!

[VRE332]

hahahaaha

[MacUser85]

I have not been following prices lately since they have been volatile, but I'm going to just list some areas below that I personally like. All of the below have good schools and are within 1 hour of the District. One thing to keep in mind is that a smaller home closer-in will serve you better in the long run as commuting here can be bad and once again commuting here can be bad.

Arlington: Anywhere in zips 22201, 22203 (mostly), 22205, 22207 and 22213. I live in Arlington and love it--you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who lives in North Arlington and doesn't like it. All of the zips provided are for N. Arlington.

Alexandria: Have to be more careful with schools here. First, Alexandria is part independent city and then part of Fairfax County. No part of the City of Alexandria goes outside the Beltway, but there are inside and outside Beltway portions for the Fairfax Co. jurisdiction. Confusing, yes. Kingstowne in zip 22315 is a great, newer community. 22307 is also a gem, see if you can find something in a neighborhood called Hollin Hills. Very close to DC, GW Parkway and everyone there seems to like it.

Vienna: Great town, there really is no bad part of Vienna so it becomes more of whether you can afford it and if you care to be in the town portion (zip 22180) or the Fairfax Co. portion (22181, 2)

There are other areas of course, but here are a few gems that hug or are inside the Beltway. Please try and drive around during rush hour so you can see exactly how bad the traffic can be here. 395 and 495 in Virginia seem to usually move better than 66 outside the Beltway and 95 from Springfield south to Woodbridge.

This area has some really nice things about it--please get out and enjoy. Some people stay in suburban enclaves like Herndon and Centreville and never get a chance to walk around Old Town Alexandria or enjoy the unique shops and restaurants of Clarendon. There's more to life here in Northern VA than just suburbs, which I absolutely love!!!

[JfromReston]

CaseyMac I think you missed the part about being central to both DC and Beltsville, MD. Most of the places you listed are more than an hour from Beltsville.

Autiger01 you will probably get a better answer on the Maryland Board. I don't know a lot about Maryland but start looking in the Silver Spring area.

Finding all the desireables in a house here seems to be next to impossible. Give your list some serious though and figure out which items are more important that others - you will most likely have to compromise on at least one or two items on your wish list. Good luck with your search.

[MacUser85]

Oops--yes if you need DC and Beltsville, Md., definitely look in Montgomery County, Md. They have done some great things in Silver Spring with the revitalization, and Bethesda is always nice, albeit very $$$.

[autiger01]

thanks so much. we've been to parts of fairfax before and really liked it, just worried that will be too far from beltsville. most of the time my husband will go to work it won't be during rush hour and he'll be splitting his time b/t DC, Beltsville and flying out of Andrews. really appreciate the opinions and welcome any more you might have....

[Flamingo13]

Did you post in the Maryland section? Laurel might be doable.

[Jessica32]

I suggest Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Silver Spring, and Olney. Laurel is a bit further out from DC and the traffic headed in that direction during rush hour is horrid.

[FindingZen]

Beltsville is NE of DC while NOVA is generally NW/SW of the District. So, a centralized place would definitely be over in MD. Besides Montgomery County as already mentioned, consider Prince Georges County (outside the beltway, that is) as well as Howard County.

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by autiger01

thanks so much. we've been to parts of fairfax before and really liked it, just worried that will be too far from beltsville.

It is - hopefully you will be able to find something in Montgomery MD that comes close to fitting your requirements.