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Is DC the best place to establish oneself as in buying a home to access both the NoVA and MD job markets? I see jobs in my career field in DC, NoVA and MD so I can imagine possibly working in all 3 throughout my career life. It would not be in our family's interest to be moving back and forth. Since DC is right in the middle between the two states, it seems like a good place but I would like the input of natives and long time residents. I drove from Arlington, VA to Beltsville, MD when I visited and it took 1.5 hrs. I would not want to be in a horrible VA to MD commute or vice versa like this experience. Is it possible to be situated in a reasonably commutable distance to these areas? Jobs in my field are posted for the following places:
Falls Church, VA
McLean, VA
Arlington, VA
Fort Meade, Maryland
Annapolis Junction, MD
Rockville, MD
Columbia, MD
Reston, VA
Fairfax, VA
Washington DC
Based purely on location, yes, DC would be best. Price may change your mind though. Consider future factors like schools and crime as well. Put it all together and your best options will be more obvious than now.
I would just choose Northern Virginia. Housing is cheaper than DC and has more jobs than MD while also being within easy commuting distance of DC. 1.5 hour drive from Arlington to Beltsville is not normal. During the average rush hour, it wouldn't take more than an hour at worst. On a Friday afternoon with rain or snow, yes, it might take longer.
Also, it's a lot easier to get around Northern Virginia because was have a lot more highways than Suburban Maryland does.
It depends how much you like driving. I hate it. DC is a good option if you can afford one of the better neighborhoods. You mentioned family, which means you have kids. Yeah...that complicates things. If you can afford west of the park (typical house over $1 million) then you are fine for schools. The rest of the city is a gamble, literally, as charters have a lottery, and DCPS Is hit and miss.
Also housing IS NOT CHEAPER in Northern Virginia, at least in the areas worth living in. The housing cost myth often does not consider transportation costs, and with the personal vehicle tax in Virginia the transportation costs are higher. In addition to that the cost of housing in NoVa, at least in the good areas, is just as, or sometimes more expensive, so it is just a myth. It is just as expensive and sometimes more so. Especially in any walkable community.
I should note, if you are driving an hour each way, you are basically losing that much of your life and time. Consider how valuable that is.
1. How much to you value your time?
2. How much do you value transit access?
3. How much do you value walkable communities?
4. How much do you value education (if you have kids)?
You are not going to find walkable communities in the exurbs, and your time is going to be stuck in your car commuting and driving. DC is great if the first three are critically important. Arlington, Bethesda, and Alexandria if the fourth, but the first three still matter, with west of rock creek park in DC as well.
If you have the money. Not everybody does. There is a premium now on good safe walkable communities which are centrally located.
It depends how much you like driving. I hate it. DC is a good option if you can afford one of the better neighborhoods. You mentioned family, which means you have kids. Yeah...that complicates things. If you can afford west of the park (typical house over $1 million) then you are fine for schools. The rest of the city is a gamble, literally, as charters have a lottery, and DCPS Is hit and miss.
Also housing IS NOT CHEAPER in Northern Virginia, at least in the areas worth living in. The housing cost myth often does not consider transportation costs, and with the personal vehicle tax in Virginia the transportation costs are higher. In addition to that the cost of housing in NoVa, at least in the good areas, is just as, or sometimes more expensive, so it is just a myth. It is just as expensive and sometimes more so. Especially in any walkable community.
I should note, if you are driving an hour each way, you are basically losing that much of your life and time. Consider how valuable that is.
1. How much to you value your time?
2. How much do you value transit access?
3. How much do you value walkable communities?
4. How much do you value education (if you have kids)?
You are not going to find walkable communities in the exurbs, and your time is going to be stuck in your car commuting and driving. DC is great if the first three are critically important. Arlington, Bethesda, and Alexandria if the fourth, but the first three still matter, with west of rock creek park in DC as well.
If you have the money. Not everybody does. There is a premium now on good safe walkable communities which are centrally located.
Thanks for the info. #4 (education) is most important to us and followed by #3 for myself as I enjoy walking to places and not driving everywhere. How would a commute from Arlington to Annapolis Junction or Fort Meade be though? Bethesda would probably be the better choice for those huh? But from what I am reading here it appears working professionals are just limited to VA/DC or DC/MD. You can't have all 3 without dealing with a ridiculous commute. I would not mind being DC based but I see there are so many jobs in Information Assurance in the MD and VA suburbs now. I will need to commute wherever I land a good opportunity so for DC I could do metro but to MD suburbs would need to do driving, probably for VA too. Is it a big hassle to own a car and possibly two in DC?
Thanks for the info. #4 (education) is most important to us and followed by #3 for myself as I enjoy walking to places and not driving everywhere. How would a commute from Arlington to Annapolis Junction or Fort Meade be though? Bethesda would probably be the better choice for those huh? But from what I am reading here it appears working professionals are just limited to VA/DC or DC/MD. You can't have all 3 without dealing with a ridiculous commute. I would not mind being DC based but I see there are so many jobs in Information Assurance in the MD and VA suburbs now. I will need to commute wherever I land a good opportunity so for DC I could do metro but to MD suburbs would need to do driving, probably for VA too. Is it a big hassle to own a car and possibly two in DC?
It completely depends on the specific neighborhood and your budget. With a big enough budget, you can get off-street parking. Renting a parking space is usually around $200 a month. Depending on the neighborhood, in many parts of town you can easily park on the street for free as long as you register your car in DC and get a residential parking permit. In the neighborhoods near downtown, like Dupont, Adams Morgan and U St, however, street parking tends to be extremely competitive. It's common to drive around for 20 minutes and not be able to find any spots. But it's also completely unnecessary to own a car in those neighborhoods because they are the densest and most walkable with the best access to public transit.
I've owned a car in DC for years and it's fine. Street parking is easy in my neighborhood (Capitol Hill). I can always find a spot on my block or at the worst a block or two away.
Thanks for the info. #4 (education) is most important to us and followed by #3 for myself as I enjoy walking to places and not driving everywhere. How would a commute from Arlington to Annapolis Junction or Fort Meade be though? Bethesda would probably be the better choice for those huh? But from what I am reading here it appears working professionals are just limited to VA/DC or DC/MD. You can't have all 3 without dealing with a ridiculous commute. I would not mind being DC based but I see there are so many jobs in Information Assurance in the MD and VA suburbs now. I will need to commute wherever I land a good opportunity so for DC I could do metro but to MD suburbs would need to do driving, probably for VA too. Is it a big hassle to own a car and possibly two in DC?
There are plenty of commuters from Bethesda that go into Virginia, and people in Arlington who commute to Maryland.
If your job is in Information Assurance though I would suggest getting a place in Virginia. If you want a walkable community Arlington and Old Town Alexandria are both good options. You should have been upfront about your career. While you may be seeing jobs in MD online, most jobs are in Virginia in the IT field. With that being said the field is decent in both DC and Maryland as well, but just not nearly as thick as Northern Virginia, especially for IA.
Again, your budget does matter a great deal. If you cannot afford a million dollars for a home you are kind of in a bind. That magical combination of a walkable community and great schools is very high value around here. Especially if one is looking to be more centrally located. One can find great schools without the walkable community, but they are also likely to be further out.
With regards to two cars in DC, in upper NW, it is not a problem at all. Downtown is were parking gets really tight. But most houses in the more residential areas have decent offstreet and onstreet parking. I now this is the case in upper NW on both sides of the park. If you were looking at Columbia Heights or U Street it would be a different story. But I really would not recommend locating to these areas of downtown if you have kids and have to commute regularly out of town.
Commutes can get insane, but people in the right professions if they locate to the right area can avoid the insane commutes entirely and keep it under 45 minutes pretty easily. You are in one of the right professions.
We are from South FL so we don't mind living in suburbs and commuting into the city when needed. The most important thing to us is schools and work. If we have that near us that is all that matters. My wife plans to start a Bachelors degree program as well so nearby university would be good. I am leaning towards MD because the University of Maryland is right there (please also suggest good schools in DC for Mgmt degrees). We don't want to pay more than 2,500 for either rent or mortgage. A walkable community is more of my own personal desire, to get an urban experience but we're all about working and education.
We are from South FL so we don't mind living in suburbs and commuting into the city when needed. The most important thing to us is schools and work. If we have that near us that is all that matters. My wife plans to start a Bachelors degree program as well so nearby university would be good. I am leaning towards MD because the University of Maryland is right there (please also suggest good schools in DC for Mgmt degrees). We don't want to pay more than 2,500 for either rent or mortgage. A walkable community is more of my own personal desire, to get an urban experience but we're all about working and education.
Please provide your housing budget, as it absolutely will influence responses.
There are many universities to choose from..UMD, Georgetown (DC), George Washington (DC), George Mason (VA), American (DC)...just to name a few.
Once again, knowing what you can afford will drive what people suggest.
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