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Washington, DC suburbs in Maryland Calvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
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Old 11-28-2008, 09:25 AM
 
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We are planning on a move in few months and we are considering several possible job offers. One of the areas we are considering is MD. The job will be with American University. We can afford a house around 600k. But we want a newer home, safe family-friendly area, at least 3000 sq ft and with excellent high schools and be within commuting distance. Is this even possible? Can anybody suggest areas/neighborhoods which we should look at? Looks like Montogmery county and Howard county are the 2 possibliities. As we are moving from a small town, I am just bewildered by the choices in the DC metro area and any pointers will be helpful.
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Old 11-28-2008, 10:40 AM
 
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You MAY be able to get something around 600K due to the current market but even now it is still going to be tough - since you want at least 3000 sq ft, excellent schools, and a NEWER home (what is newer - 5 years? 10 years?) Absolutely NEW construction? - forget it in that price range. Unless you plan to live in a TH and even some of those run over 600K in Montgomery County. Both counties have a lot of offer but Mont. Co is closer to AU. The closer you get to the Mont. Co/DC line, the more expensive everything is.

Some areas you can consider are Chevy Chase (Md side), Bethesda, Woodside, Silver SPring, ROckville, Potomac, North Potomac -- all these have excellent schools available and in relative commuting distance. However, I think that you are going to be looking at 700 and up if you are sticking with the criteria you are looking at above. You may have to modify what you want - do you want good schools or 3000 sq ft? Can you live in something that is 20 instead of 10 years old?
Commuting can be absolute h*ll around here - is location the most important thing?

Troll these boards and you start to see patterns in comments about all the things you mentioned.
Good luck!
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Old 11-28-2008, 12:39 PM
 
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Yes, I do start seeing the pattern. So much so we are wondering whether we will be able to afford this move. We have family in the area and would love to live here but it is hard to compromise on the house and schools. What about Howard county? I have seen newer houses (defined loosely as built in the 2000s) for this price range in North Laurel, Columbia, ellicott city etc. Is it absolutely a nightmare commuting from these areas? BTW, we dont mind townhomes.
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Old 11-28-2008, 01:03 PM
 
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Howard county is a good county; we looked in the areas you mentioned as well. School system is good too. And let me also state that within any school system you have the "good" and the "bad." I work for MoCo schools and I have always taught in the impoverished areas where you have a 50% or higher free and reduced lunch rate. This is right on track with the levels I taught at when I was in PG county schools and the performance of the students is about the same. While ideally all schools are equal, the property tax base of the area around your school is directly related to the involvement of parents in the school and the lobbying for more "goodies" that each school is supposed to get. I'm saying all this b/c people get so caught up in the "good school districts". . .The areas you mentioned I think you may be able to find something. Please also realize that property taxes here are quite expensive - no matter WHAT county (MoCo/Howard/PG/Anne Arundel) surrounding the immediate DC area. So you will be looking at about 500+ a month and up escrowed with your mortgage just for property taxes depending on what your final sales price is. Prices may have come down but anything built around 2003/4 that you may be looking at now is going to have very high taxes b/c assessments were just going through the roof (artifically). And while prices have come down, of course the tax assessments have not reflected this (you CAN petition if your home is overassessed). Also, please be aware that there are numerous properties in that price range that are under short-sale status around here because in this area people went with all the crazy crappy exotic mortgage programs just to get into a house around here, because historically the cost of living and property prices are above the average. . . I don't know what your desire is to tangle with a bank over a short sale offer but there are plenty to be had if you so desire (we avoided them like the plague - why be at the mercy of a frickin' banks decision and most we were tracking with our realtor ended up going to foreclosure, just so you know).I am not familiar with public transport from Howard into DC (i.e., commuter bus, rail, MARC train, vanpool, etc) but regardless if you do it that way or drive yourself you are probably looking at a minimum 1 1/2 hour commute in and out, unless you are leaving before 6 AM in the morning, then it may be better. It may even be 2 hours to AU, I'm trying to remember exactly where Tenleytown and the main campus is. . . someone else can probably better address that question.It may be helpful to know where you are coming from -- if you're coming from an urban area some of these things may not be as shocking as coming from Peoria, per se.
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Old 11-29-2008, 07:42 AM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
15,436 posts, read 25,818,588 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jandee View Post
Yes, I do start seeing the pattern. So much so we are wondering whether we will be able to afford this move. We have family in the area and would love to live here but it is hard to compromise on the house and schools. What about Howard county? I have seen newer houses (defined loosely as built in the 2000s) for this price range in North Laurel, Columbia, ellicott city etc. Is it absolutely a nightmare commuting from these areas? BTW, we dont mind townhomes.
The commute from Howard county is horrible. No question about that. You should be able to find what you want in Montgomery County. Check out the Kentlands, for instance. The commute from there to AU wouldn't be so bad, other than 270, but since you're only going as far as AU, it should be okay.
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Old 11-29-2008, 08:57 AM
 
Location: UK
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Why not rent first? I had a girlfriend who moved here and was outta here in a year. Get a feel for the areas, it's nothing like living and breathing your surroundings and you might find something better you like.
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Old 11-29-2008, 09:50 AM
 
42 posts, read 117,043 times
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We are not at the stage of life where we can rent. Or if we rent we have to stay put for years till the kids finish high school as we wouldn't want to change schools midway. So we have to get it right. We would love to move to the DC area but might have to decide against it if we have to compromise on too many things. That is why we have to do the research and homework upfront.

Thanks for the response and let me take another look at Montgomery county. If anybody has any more suggestions, I really appreciate it.
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Old 11-29-2008, 10:02 AM
 
42 posts, read 117,043 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkf747 View Post
The commute from Howard county is horrible. No question about that. You should be able to find what you want in Montgomery County. Check out the Kentlands, for instance. The commute from there to AU wouldn't be so bad, other than 270, but since you're only going as far as AU, it should be okay.
Dumb question: How do I search for Kentlands in realtor.com? Thanks!

Also how about the commute from Clarksburg?
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Old 11-30-2008, 02:03 PM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
15,436 posts, read 25,818,588 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jandee View Post
Dumb question: How do I search for Kentlands in realtor.com? Thanks!

Also how about the commute from Clarksburg?
On the first question: I don't know, but a Google search will find it's site where you can get whatever info you need for realtor.com.

Clarksburg to AU would be much worse because you will be on 270 even longer. If they ever build the Corridor Cities Transitway then you could use that, but that is way off into the future.
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Old 11-30-2008, 06:29 PM
 
Location: Southern Maryland
21 posts, read 87,728 times
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Have you considered Southern Maryland? The commute to DC is a little tough, however, there are public transportation options. And, if you are considering Clarksburg and traveling down 270, Charles County, AA County or Calvert County might interest you. Additionally, home prices and real estate taxes are more affordable in Southern Maryland, especially in Charles & St. Mary's, and your $600K budget will buy you a very nice home. Concerning schools, you can check out the areas test scores / rankings / # students receiving reduced lunch / etc. and you might be surprised at how Southern Maryland schools rank, overall, compared to more metropolitan areas.

Best of luck with your decision! Where are you moving from?

Last edited by 7th generation; 12-01-2008 at 03:17 PM.. Reason: no advertising on this site! Use DM feature to contact other members.
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