New Job at CPC (Camp Springs -> College Park) - Where to Live? (Silver Spring: real estate)

[wxjay]

I have an offer for a job working for the Climate Prediction Center which is located in Camp Springs, MD - for now. The unit is planning on moving to a new research facility near the University of Maryland, College Park campus sometime in 2011 (I think the address is technically Adelphi, MD, but not 100% sure).

I am new to the area (grew up in New England, currently getting my Ph.D. in Atlanta). I am 29, single, male, and I wanted to try to find a good area to get an apartment (even if it is shared) to accommodate a good commute to Camp Springs for a while and then accommodate the move in 2011. I have a car, but being along/near the Metro would be probably be ideal for commuting or getting into the city for some fun. I would prefer to live in a low-crime, "nice" area (I know that is subjective...) but still close enough to shopping, bars, restaurants, etc. to get out and enjoy the city.

Does anyone have suggestions? I have heard Arlington, VA is a great spot for young single professionals, but the commute might be a bit much (?). Is there anything on the northside of the Beltway that would be good?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[jayman1981]

Hmmmm..... Lets see how I can address this. Couple of things. You can find plenty of places to rent in Prince George's County (Known as P.G. to the Locals). With that being said, P.G. doesn't have many places that scream hang out spot for young professionals. For that type of living, I would suggest Silver Spring, Rockville and Bethesda in MD and Arlington (Ballston, Crystal City, Pentagon City, Rosslyn) and Alexandria in Virginia. With the exception of Silver Spring, most of the areas mentioned will face a good amount of traffic plus there expensive. Based on your wish list I would suggest Silver Spring. It's not far from College Park or Adelphi at all, it is a diverse area and they have a nice downtown area, which is metro accessible. In P.G. I would suggest Largo near the Caps BLVD shopping center and it's metro accessible. Also we have Greenbelt, Laurel and parts of Hyattsville and College Park. While PG cities are not considered high profile urban meccas, they are close to metro and shopping. Also realize that P.G. is a majority black county. If your not comfortable with that then Montgomery County, MD, Fairfax, Arlington Counties will probably better serve you. I forgot Alexandria as well.

Originally Posted by wxjay

I have an offer for a job working for the Climate Prediction Center which is located in Camp Springs, MD - for now. The unit is planning on moving to a new research facility near the University of Maryland, College Park campus sometime in 2011 (I think the address is technically Adelphi, MD, but not 100% sure).

I am new to the area (grew up in New England, currently getting my Ph.D. in Atlanta). I am 29, single, male, and I wanted to try to find a good area to get an apartment (even if it is shared) to accommodate a good commute to Camp Springs for a while and then accommodate the move in 2011. I have a car, but being along/near the Metro would be probably be ideal for commuting or getting into the city for some fun. I would prefer to live in a low-crime, "nice" area (I know that is subjective...) but still close enough to shopping, bars, restaurants, etc. to get out and enjoy the city.

Does anyone have suggestions? I have heard Arlington, VA is a great spot for young single professionals, but the commute might be a bit much (?). Is there anything on the northside of the Beltway that would be good?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[nelumbo]

NCEP is an easy walk from the Branch Ave terminus of the green line, and the College Park tech campus is likewise close to the College Park station at the other end of the green line. You may wish to consider areas along the green line in the city, such as Petworth, if you are interested in taking metro to work.

Silver Spring has more of a range of urban/suburban to chose from, and might be what you are looking for. However, while it is close to the College Park area, it is a haul to Camp Springs in bad traffic, and the metro takes 45 min-1 hr. You may want to talk to some people at CPC about how realistic the move-in timetable is, as I have heard that things are in limbo following bankruptcy of the builder at the tech center site in College Park. You can read a short snippet halfway down this page: Commercial Real Estate: Beltsville apartments sell for $60.5 million

[dcareagirl]

The commute from Arlington, VA to Camp Springs isn't bad. Its about 15-20 min without traffic. With traffic 30-45 min. Arlington and even Alexandria are great for young professionals. Since you are just renting you could live in Arlington now than move to MD in 2011.

[Cheasare]

Originally Posted by nelumbo

NCEP is an easy walk from the Branch Ave terminus of the green line, and the College Park tech campus is likewise close to the College Park station at the other end of the green line. You may wish to consider areas along the green line in the city, such as Petworth, if you are interested in taking metro to work.

Silver Spring has more of a range of urban/suburban to chose from, and might be what you are looking for. However, while it is close to the College Park area, it is a haul to Camp Springs in bad traffic, and the metro takes 45 min-1 hr. You may want to talk to some people at CPC about how realistic the move-in timetable is, as I have heard that things are in limbo following bankruptcy of the builder at the tech center site in College Park. You can read a short snippet halfway down this page: Commercial Real Estate: Beltsville apartments sell for $60.5 million

I thought I might throw in SW in DC, specifically the Waterfront and Navy Yard Metro stations. There are many apartment/condo buildings in the area--several are new and others have been renovated. The half-street development near the baseball stadium is not complete but it will be a mixed development with shopping/bars/condos. The new Safeway next to the DC government office buildings at the Waterfront station is new and really nice. The Arena theater is almost complete and then you have some options on the waterfront--Cantina Marina is a local watering hole for people in the area. It would work well as a jump off point for commuting to CS and then a possible reverse haul out to College Park.

Google Southwest--the little quadrant that could--it's a great blog with all sorts of information about SW DC as well as upcoming and ongoing development in the area.

C.