Working in Falls Church, where can I afford to live in MD? (Bethesda: renting)

[AandD]

Hello!

My work will be taking me to the DC area late next year. I'll be working in Falls Church, Arlington, Bethesda, and perhaps Alexandria. I am not interested in living in Virginia.

My budget will make anywhere in this area tricky. I'm probably topped out at 400K, and will be eating beanie weanies 5 days a week at that price.

Here are my needs:
- Schools are top priority. I have a middle school son with Aspergers and a high school son with ADHD. I expect them to do fine in an inclusion setting with appropriate supports. I prefer a high school size somewhere south of 1500, but will adjust if I have too.
- Suburban setting. I need easyish access to speech/occupational therapists for weekly after school appointments.
- Reasonable commute. I'm good with 45 miles or so. I will be on the road early going in, and late coming home, so hopefully that will alleviate some of the congestion I have to suffer through.
- Not a townhome or condo community. One of my children screams often, to the point that it would be disruptive to anyone living adjacent to us.
- I'm ok with renting, if that's my only option.

I'm familiar with Rockville, Gaithersburg, Bethesda areas. Thats a bit too urban for me....
Poolesville, Damascus, and Clarksburg are too rural for easy access to therapists....


I'm looking for a needle in a haystack.... any ideas?

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by AandD

Hello!

My work will be taking me to the DC area late next year. I'll be working in Falls Church, Arlington, Bethesda, and perhaps Alexandria. I am not interested in living in Virginia.

My budget will make anywhere in this area tricky. I'm probably topped out at 400K, and will be eating beanie weanies 5 days a week at that price.

Here are my needs:
- Schools are top priority. I have a middle school son with Aspergers and a high school son with ADHD. I expect them to do fine in an inclusion setting with appropriate supports. I prefer a high school size somewhere south of 1500, but will adjust if I have too.
- Suburban setting. I need easyish access to speech/occupational therapists for weekly after school appointments.
- Reasonable commute. I'm good with 45 miles or so. I will be on the road early going in, and late coming home, so hopefully that will alleviate some of the congestion I have to suffer through.
- Not a townhome or condo community. One of my children screams often, to the point that it would be disruptive to anyone living adjacent to us.
- I'm ok with renting, if that's my only option.

I'm familiar with Rockville, Gaithersburg, Bethesda areas. Thats a bit too urban for me....
Poolesville, Damascus, and Clarksburg are too rural for easy access to therapists....


I'm looking for a needle in a haystack.... any ideas?

Just a question........why is VA off the table? There are better experts than me, but I think trying to stay north of the Potomac is going to make your search much harder.

You may want to try Frederick, MD.

- 45 miles away from D.C.
- a city of about 60k in its own right
- your budget should get you a SFH.
- Schools are pretty good.

I am not sure about getting into the heart of Northern VA from Frederick though.......it would be quiet the haul.

[AandD]

Without opening up too much debate, it centers around VA's special education system, and some pieces of it that are so unacceptable as to make living in the state impossible for me.

If my kids were on the other end of the continuum and in honors/IB classes, I would have an entirely different view.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by AandD

Without opening up too much debate, it centers around VA's special education system, and some pieces of it that are so unacceptable as to make living in the state impossible for me.

If my kids were on the other end of the continuum and in honors/IB classes, I would have an entirely different view.

Ok. Thanks for the explanation. Sometimes people have some false assumptions that unnecessarily limit their search.

Well, hopefully some more knowledgeable posters will chime in. But I would say Frederick is an option because of price point and the multiple ways to get to VA, beltway, Rt. 15, some public transportation.

[LynchburgLover]

Check into Loudoun. I know of one boy in Western Loudoun who is bused to Montgomery County for school. His mother told me Loudoun didn't offer the special needs program he needs, so Loudoun paid for a private school near Potomac.

Your budget is tough but maybe in Leesburg. Your commute to Falls Church wouldn't be great but it might work.

You could also look into Poolesville.

[dkf747]

When you say Gaithersburg is too urban for you, what exactly do you mean? North Potomac is just outside Gaithersburg, and might have something you can afford. Commuting home from Falls Church to MD before 7 pm will be awful most days, but you'll have to put up with it if you can't live in Virginia.

[AandD]

DKF - I have previously spent several months living in the Gaithersburg Holiday Inn across from that mall.... Lake Forest?. Going down towards the Rockville area was too populated. It seemed to be all townhomes and parking lots, and didn't seem overly safe. I did like the Kentlands area, seemed a bit more suburban, but again I saw mostly townhomes and I think I was priced out of even those.

[J_Lurk]

It would be too much of a commute for me, but have you considered northern Montgomery County (maybe Burtonsville) or southern Howard County (Laurel). From a pure academic supports point-of-view, both are well regarded. Some people have a preference for one county school system over the other for ASD, but I only have personal experience with Howard County and it is good. As long as you are willing to buy an older house, there are ones to be found in your price range.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by AandD

DKF - I have previously spent several months living in the Gaithersburg Holiday Inn across from that mall.... Lake Forest?. Going down towards the Rockville area was too populated. It seemed to be all townhomes and parking lots, and didn't seem overly safe. I did like the Kentlands area, seemed a bit more suburban, but again I saw mostly townhomes and I think I was priced out of even those.

Okay. I was referring to North Potomac though, which generally means the area west of Darnestown Rd, or North of Quince Orchard Rd. It may be more than you can afford though.