re-locating to Rockville/Gaithersburg (Germantown, Bethesda: apartments, rentals, condos)

[jalmontev]

Hi Everyone! So, I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of insight on apartments in the Rockville/Gaithersburg area? My boyfriend and I are looking to move there later this year. I just got a job in Bethesda and he in Rockville. We're from DC so the suburbs are a bit tricky for us. We'd like someplace close to the metro as I would be commuting via that, but he would be driving. Our budget is somewhere around 1600, but we're willing to go a tiny bit higher if absolutely necessary...probably no more than 1750, though.

If there are any other threads you could direct me to with similar requests that'd be great too! I've been looking through and couldn't really find anything, so I figured I'd start a new one.

thank you!

Jess

[dkf747]

Near the Metro means Rockville. I live in Gaithersburg near a bus route that goes to Metro. Is that near enough?

[brettwasbtd]

There are a lot of commuter options north of rockville that will get you to the red line. Depends on how much time you want to spend commuting. Gaithersburg or even Germantown will allow you to get more bang for your buck!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by jalmontev

So, I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of insight on apartments in the Rockville/Gaithersburg area? .....
Jess

There are many rental listings on Realtor.com . Many of them are individually owned condos, which are often quieter and better built than buildings designed to be rentals. So, I'd look there first, before using Craigslist or the apt. rental sites.

If you can't find a place in walking distance to metro, the Ride-on buses are decent but less convenient. You might want to narrow down the neighborhood you want to live in before you start looking. You could decide whether you want to be in a high-rise or prefer a low-rise building, and decide which amenities are essential. For example, do you want a washer and dryer in the unit, or can you live with a common laundry.

[John13]

Check craigslist for the best deals. I see the previous poster mentioned that and realtor.com. I am not familiar with the latter. However you will be surprised on what you may find on craigslist as far as living space is concerned. Maybe you'll find something private in a house at a good price. Maybe something like the King Farm area where you can walk to the Metro.

If you are interssted in Germantown beware that it will add a lot of time to your commute. Traffic on I 270 is murder. Not worth the savings, IMO.

Feel free to send me a PM if you want if you have any questions on the area as I have been living up this way in Montgomery County for 19 of the last 21 years.

[wattpad48]

How about Rockville? Its alot cheaper than Bethesda and Gaithersburg is just to out if you ask me. Rockville has a nice metro to get to Bethesda too! A one bedroom cost about 1300+ pretry cheap x

[runbean009]

I found a 900 sq foot 1BR in a condo in Rockville, literally right next to the Rockville metro, $1600 a month inclusive. It's a great little town, and super accessible to everything you could want. I found it using condos.com but there were comparables listed on craigslist. The condo community I'm in is called Americana Center if you want to look that up for ideas.

I second the idea to rent a condo from a private owner if you can snag one...I looked at tons of places including high-rises and must have read 1000 reviews online before I settled on the place I got. The condo buildings fare better in terms of reviews about things like maintenance, noise, and building management in general. Of course this is just my experience but I wanted a gym, parking, nice clean place and metro access - so I'm really happy being in Rockville and just a few metro stops from my own job in Bethesda.

[nileshpatel22]

you will like the place : Huntington at King Farm in Rockville - For more info, you can google it.

rent for apt is within your range. King Farm is planned and safe community with safeway and mini town center. near shady grove metro and off exit 8.

I am now renting apartment in this community and happy and satisfied with neighbourhood.

I bought the house and planning to move out buy 9/30/12. pm me if you need more info.

[Terps10]

Originally Posted by John13

If you are interssted in Germantown beware that it will add a lot of time to your commute. Traffic on I 270 is murder. Not worth the savings, IMO.

I agree here, I used to live in Germantown right off of 270, across from Milestone Shopping Center, and worked in Gaithersburg. Door to door for work was 7 miles and regularly took me 30 minutes in the morning (around 730am) and at least 20 minutes in the afternoon if I took the back roads. Forget about fridays. We paid around 1200 for a 750sf apartment. Great amenities but would have taken higher price for less commute and more things for the younger crowd.

Also for a young couple Germantown/Gaithersburg is not very fun. Plenty of restaurants and small walkable areas, but you need to drive to get there and Shady Grove is still pretty inconvenient to get to. I would say try and stick around Rockville or even better is Bethesda if you can afford it. It has its own night life and is even easier to get to DC and points south.

[Joykins]

Depending where you are in

Gaithersburg: J-9/J-7 Express Bus to Bethesda

Germantown: Ride on 70 express bus to Bethesda

Express bus to Shady Grove Metro

both more palatable options commuting to Bethesda than driving.

You can also park at Shady Grove and take metro in but it's pricey.