Relocating to North Bethesda area

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by ARFJ

Yes, it is Democracy. Would Olney be too far? We like the feel of the suburbs and would probably not be happy in a metropolitan area.

Check out the commute time from Democracy BLVD. to Olney. It's 21-33 minutes, and you should double that for bad days. That's longer than the 30 minutes you said you wanted. IMHO, the less crowded nature of Olney is not worth it. Look around Derwood and you can find a similar feel. Especially look for an older house with a larger lot, and you find a more country feel.

[karate626]

Bethesda is a great area but tends to be pricey. Olney is a nice town. Southern Howard County (highland, Scaggsville/North Laurel, Clarksville, Fulton) is about 20 miles away from North Bethesda and has great schools and the amenities in the area are great.

[ARFJ]

Thanks for the information. How about the Lakelands, Kentlands, North Potomac areas? Also, are there any great areas in Rockville we should check out? Great schools and a 30 min commute (40 mins on bad days) are our top priorities. We like a suburban feel as well with a friendly community. We love our current neighborhood since many people are very social and everyone looks out for each others kids. I would love to find something like that again.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by ARFJ

How about the Lakelands, Kentlands, North Potomac areas?

Lakelands and Kentlands are planned communities which feature smaller lots to promote walkable and close-knit communities. I call them "neo-urban" areas. Personally, I like Kentlands very much, but it is pricey for single-family homes. I'm not sure if they are what you are looking for, since you said you liked suburbia.

Most of North Potomac is more conventional cookie-cutter development, with large homes on large lots. It is certainly worth looking there.

If the schools are your top priority, why not just pick what is the elementary top school within 30 minutes of the husbands' job, and pick the house based on the school. Look for a neighborhood with other families with elementary school age kids, and I think you will find friends.

For example, Travilah Elementary School is a 10 rated school on greatschools.org . The parent reviews are decent. The address is North Potomac on DuFief Mll Road. The homes around there are $500-600K for 4-bedroom colonials, and there are high-end townhomes for less than $500K. The commute for your husband would be 9 miles and 20 minutes. It is the kind of nice, suburban neighborhood I think you would be comfortable in. As an alternative, try the Jones Lane Elementary school nearby. The rating is not so high but the parent reviews are more enthusiastic.

[goldenage1]

Another point about Lakelands and Kentlands: the limited supply. I searched in your price range on Zillow.com, and found only one house. It was an SFH on a tiny lot. I suggest you concentrate of other parts of the North Potomac zip code of 20878.

[dkf747]

Quince Orchard High School which is in North Potomac, is a very good school, as are the elementary and middle schools that feed into it. I'd say Kentlands, Lakelands and North Potomac, as well as parts of Gaithersburg in 20878, are definitely worth looking at.

[ay jayy]

Kentlands/lakelands is a great area if you can find something you like.

[macroy]

My .02 as a 'native' of Potomac/Bethesda (moved away five years ago....)

In that price range, you're looking at small condos or post-WWII fixer uppers (~1800 sq ft) in the Bethesda area. And even that will be in the high end of the range. I agree with the others that you would get a much better value in areas like Gaithersburg, North Potomac. Areas like Kentlands, Lakelands will get you more house. That said, the commute CAN be an issue. You have two planned communities with leisure/entertainment so ingress/egress is definitely noticeable during rush hour - especially near I370/Great Seneca. I had a relative that lived in the Lakelands and worked at NIH... and he felt the commute was brutal (albeit NIH is a bit further in than Democracy/Rockledge area). You do have the option of taking the back roads through Potomac (Piney Meeting house to Glen to Democracy).

Your best bet is probably find a realtor (not to push anything, but I can give you the realtor that sold my TH in Potomac. PM me if interested), and have them drive you around the area to scope it out. Maybe start with where work is.... and fan out from there. School wise, MD has the best schools in the nation. And the schools in Bethesda/Potomac have some serious reputation (Wootton, Churchill, and Whitman are the three that are normally mentioned), but the others are no slouch either. It really comes down to what you're looking for.

[opequon]

There has been a mini-boom in this area of North Bethesda, zip 20817 during 2013. If you can not find a place within your budget here, I suggest slightly north in Rockville 20852 or 20850. Unfortunately, compared to Nashville, there will be lots of traffic and congestion but the older homes are well built in this area and there is a lot to do nearby, even if you must coordinate your trips to avoid rush hour driving for pleasure events.

[swishplace]

as far as i'm concerned, north bethesda is one of, if not, the best location in this area due to convenience. but you really pay for it...literally. i would consider further up montgomery county. i'd look at maybe gaithersburg/germantown, or even clarksburg (which i think is a newer community up there). if you're working right near the 270 split then that helps with the commute. i don't know exact times, but i know that with light traffic, gaithersburg/germantown are probably 20 mins or so to the 270 split. with traffic, probably 40 mins. there's some really nice parks/amenities in northern montgomeryand you're further away from dc so you get the feel of more breathing space/elbow room, if that's important to you. you also have the ICC that takes you from gaithersburg to i95 towards baltimore, so you won't feel closed off to that part of town.