Good schools - $250K SFH - descent commute to Bolling AFB - HELP! (Bowie: real estate, foreclosures)

[koala33]

I posted this (similarly) in the VA forum also to try and get a perspective on things. I will be working at Bolling AFB in a couple of months, and I am trying to find a good place to live.

---Commute from MD to Bolling AFB in DC---

Help! I have spent TONS of hours trying to figure this one out (haven't moved yet). Looking for some good opinions - here are the facts. Base housing on Bolling (although I could walk to work) is going to be my last resort.

Looking for single family home (with descent schools) with at BARE minimum 2 bed 1 bath (preferrably 3 bed 2 bath) - no smaller than 1,000 sq. ft. Need garage. Compared to VA, I think I will be able to swing the preferred in MD.

I would like to have a yard and not be crammed next to my neighbor IF POSSIBLE (also much more feasible than VA)..

budget: $200,000-$250,000

I want to keep my total commute to right around an hour either driving or PREFERRABLY taking the MARC/METRO to Anacostia --> Bus to Bolling.

These could be the kickers for MD (please help me correct any incorrect data that I may have read):

I do not want my daughter to go to a predominately African American School. Mixed ethnicity is fine, but I do not want her to stick out.

I don't want her to go to a school that has low rankings based on the rest of the country.

Ideas:

Bowie, MD - seems like schools are better than the majority or schools in the DC suburbs. Can anyone chime in here?

Calvert County - ?? Seems like it may be too far of a commute although it would be nice to be by the beach..

Charles County (Accokeek/La Plata) - too far of a drive? How are schools? This seems like the place to be if you want to be away from things a bit.

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Commute time is a big thing. I need to keep it around an hour - less is better.

[JosephineBeth]

I'd be interested to see if anyone comes up with anything.

I've been looking and I have not seen any SFH in that price range at all that look normal (not major fixer uppers or foreclosures) even in Bowie which is not that cheap IMHO.

You could try Crofton but from my research a SFH is $300K and up

I personally (and I've been looking at the eastern areas of MD close to DC for several months) don't think you will find a SFH in that price range..maybe a tiny 2 bdr or 1 bdr + den...but I didn't look for those. For a 3 bdr/2ba I think this is not realistic at all.

You may need to change to a townhome or duplex or even condo to get within your price range. Everywhere I have looked that is the only option under $300K and actually many of the SFH are $400K and up. I agree VA seems more expensive.

I am looking at Greenbelt which is PG County. But I'm looking in your range for townhome only and a 2 bdr maximum. Not a ton to choose from but there were quite a few in Greenbelt Homes community - but that's a coop and may not be what you are looking for. It is close to the Metro which is nice. I really liked the community feel. I don't recall what the high school looked like as far as make up (I have a teen). My daughter is mixed (Arab/American) so we generally choose schools with a wide variety and/or one where there are other mixed families (doesn't matter what type in our experience) as my daughter always seems to gravitate towards other kids who have a mixed parentage - I am not sure why this is..I could guess..but it would be interesting sociologically to look at.

I have not looked at Calvert County though or all the way down in by Accokeek since the commute seemed relatively tougher.

In regards to the school make up - well that's a lot tougher from my research. I'd definitely say PG County has schools with an African American percentage that is very high where white is a small minority. Crofton MD had a school that was the opposite with mostly white and just tiny amounts of anyone else. I have no idea about Calvert County. MoCo seemed more evenly mixed when I looked but that is not the area you are looking in far as i can tell. You need to look at the individual schools and look at the makeup to really get an idea.

Hopefully someone will give advice. Do you have a realtor? I'd recommend getting one stat!

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by koala33

I posted this (similarly) in the VA forum also to try and get a perspective on things. I will be working at Bolling AFB in a couple of months, and I am trying to find a good place to live.

---Commute from MD to Bolling AFB in DC---

Help! I have spent TONS of hours trying to figure this one out (haven't moved yet). Looking for some good opinions - here are the facts. Base housing on Bolling (although I could walk to work) is going to be my last resort.

Looking for single family home (with descent schools) with at BARE minimum 2 bed 1 bath (preferrably 3 bed 2 bath) - no smaller than 1,000 sq. ft. Need garage. Compared to VA, I think I will be able to swing the preferred in MD.

I would like to have a yard and not be crammed next to my neighbor IF POSSIBLE (also much more feasible than VA)..

budget: $200,000-$250,000

I want to keep my total commute to right around an hour either driving or PREFERRABLY taking the MARC/METRO to Anacostia --> Bus to Bolling.

These could be the kickers for MD (please help me correct any incorrect data that I may have read):

I do not want my daughter to go to a predominately African American School. Mixed ethnicity is fine, but I do not want her to stick out.

I don't want her to go to a school that has low rankings based on the rest of the country.

That's understandable to want diversity, but I don't know how realistic it is to find a non-diverse school that is within an hour. I will tell you that you can eliminate most of PG County and almost all of the SE or NE parts of DC.

Originally Posted by koala33

Ideas:

Bowie, MD - seems like schools are better than the majority or schools in the DC suburbs. Can anyone chime in here?

Calvert County - ?? Seems like it may be too far of a commute although it would be nice to be by the beach..

Charles County (Accokeek/La Plata) - too far of a drive? How are schools? This seems like the place to be if you want to be away from things a bit.

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Commute time is a big thing. I need to keep it around an hour - less is better.

Bowie is good and is still diverse. The population is about 50/50, but it also depends on what part of Bowie you live in to determine what demographic is in that neighborhood. I think we have a few Bowie residents that can probably clarify this point.

Calvert County is too far. Great place, but you won't make it anywhere close to an hour.

Charles County is nice but again that's not realistic. Accokeek, which is actually in PG County is great, but usually the 210 traffic can be tough and once you get to the 295 exit, depending on the day it can be slow all the way to Bolling and beyond. Out of all the places south, it is probably the only realistic option that fits your criteria. Accokeek is still somewhat diverse but it's still a majority African American town. The school there is good, they are actually fighting to get a brand new school building for Accokeek Academy, which is K-8.

I also would suggest you look at Laurel. Laurel is very diverse, but the school quality would greatly depend on what part you stay in. Laurel is broken into three parts, the actually city (zip 20707, 20708), which is in PG, North Laurel (zip 20723) which is in Howard, and Laurel (zip 20724), sometimes called Maryland City or Russett, (has a subdivision with that name) which is located in Anne Arundel. Out of the three North Laurel has the better school and is the better area. You could conceivably catch the MARC train up there and go to Union Station and transfer to get to Anacostia. That is close to an hour commute. Just an option to consider. Good luck.

[missimplicity]

I would also ditto North Laurel, zips 20723 and 20724. $250k, may be pushing it a tad for a SFH, however the schools are great and leaving at 6 am, you should be able to make it to Bolling within an hour. Bowie is also another good choice, with the time you're leaving.

[koala33]

So let's change from SFH to townhouse.... I am thinking I will find more if I go for a townhouse. The problem has been... We have a dog and a 3 year old, so we need a small backyard (900 sq. ft. would be perfect). I think that is why the townhouse is out of the equation. I have been looking and can't find many with backyards.

Not to mention I won't have a garage.

[2rock]

Amusing.

[JosephineBeth]

Originally Posted by koala33

So let's change from SFH to townhouse.... I am thinking I will find more if I go for a townhouse. The problem has been... We have a dog and a 3 year old, so we need a small backyard (900 sq. ft. would be perfect). I think that is why the townhouse is out of the equation. I have been looking and can't find many with backyards.

Not to mention I won't have a garage.

So try looking at homes in Anne Arundel County. Crofton being one. If you are willing to do TH you might find something. Some have small yards -- but I rarely see garages. I don't want a yard with yard care myself so it's not something I've been actively looking for.

You can also try condo's - there are some I've seen with yards and garages. I don't know if that's normal or it is really a TH and they call it a condo or what..but I'd check.

[koala33]

Originally Posted by JosephineBeth

So try looking at homes in Anne Arundel County. Crofton being one. If you are willing to do TH you might find something. Some have small yards -- but I rarely see garages. I don't want a yard with yard care myself so it's not something I've been actively looking for.

You can also try condo's - there are some I've seen with yards and garages. I don't know if that's normal or it is really a TH and they call it a condo or what..but I'd check.

I will look there - thank you for the info! I have spent 10 or so hours looking on zillow.com and at other local real estate places online. There is property out there, even for only 250K, I think you just have to look for it.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by koala33

I will look there - thank you for the info! I have spent 10 or so hours looking on zillow.com and at other local real estate places online. There is property out there, even for only 250K, I think you just have to look for it.

If you want an hour commute, Crofton is not your place. It will be very difficult to get to 295 from there. US 50 gets backed up close to New Carrollton and at times 295 south can be congested. Not to mention it is a little bit of a drive to a MARC train (15 minutes just to get to the station at the least). There is no way you will have a realistically good commute from there.

[TechlawyerinPG]

Clinton, Fort Washington or Accokeek can get you everything you want in a home for $250k and then some. Your commute should be around 30 minutes tops I would think. Do a private (religious or non-religious) school for $8 to $10k a year like the rest of the non-black families that chose to live here for the homes/location but also did not want their kid to be 1-2% of the class in the public schools. Your children will have racial peers in neighborhood private schools of at least 10-40% of the class or you can send them across this bridge to the Alexandria private schools which do have bus service over here for $15-$25k a year if money is no object. School examples below:

Student Teacher Ratio Independent Baptist Academy - Clinton, Maryland - MD

Parent Reviews of St. Mary School - Clinton, Maryland - MD

Student Teacher Ratio Grace Brethren Christian School - Clinton, Maryland - MD

Student Teacher Ratio Beddow School - Fort Washington, Maryland - MD