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My family, 2 five-year-old boys and husband, are moving to the DC area in approx 3 months time. We no nothing of the area. NOTHING. I'm doing my best looking up info on where to live, etc, but could use some advice.
We are used to an urban setting, one car family, walk to public transportation, diverse neighbors, great schools, etc. The one thing we're actually missing is a neighborhood full of 5 year-old kids.
and the only issue is, we're really scared of the word "subdivision." It's just an unknown area... unless someone can enlighten me...
We're looking at spending $400,000 for single family home.
The District would meet all of your criteria, except for the great (public) schools and $400K single family house. Think $800K and private schools.
If you want to buy a single family house for $400K in an area with great public schools, you will be living in a subdivision at least an hour from the District. Most likely, it won't be possible to live there with one car, unless one person is staying at home with the kids and willing to drive the other to a Metro station every day.
If you're wllling to consider a townhouse, you might be able to find something in Arlington VA, which is a semi-urban area across the river from DC with great schools, diverse neighbors, and public transportation, though you might need a car to get to the train station. But any SFH in that price range in Arlington will be a fixer-upper (or tear-down).
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who want the same things you do in a neighborhood, and that tends to drive up the prices.
HI. I have to agree with the above poster. To live in the most urban/walkable areas in a home that is big enough for a family of 4 you are looking at at least 700k and a home that needs some capital improvements. For 700 you can find something that needs a new kitchen and updated bath - but it will only be about 1700 sq feet, three small bedrooms and one bath usually. Old Town Alexandria is great as is Arlington but those areas are equally as expensive. You will have to consider going pretty far out of the city. In Springfield (which is not a GREAT area)...a small, older townhouse will run you the mid 300's (but at least you have good FFax CTY pub schools) Sorry for the depressing news. The subdvisions aren't bad though - head out 66 towards Fairfax, manassas, gainesville or up to Reston.
I too am from Chicago, and there is no doubt price-wise and for an urban environment you are better off in Chicago. The key here is to be as close as you can to a metro stop; at least if you don't want to rely on your car for everything. Arlington is more urban but VERY pricey; I would think about the eastern half of Montgomery County (Silver Spring or Forest Glen); you may be able to find a townhome or a small house somewhere near a metro with a decent school district for 400 to 500. Because of the glut, you might have better luck with condos--I found a 3BR condo for under 400 near the Metro in the Rockville area. If you are moving here, I strongly recommend renting something for awhile and figure out what will work for you best.
I used to rent an old townhouse in Arlington in college, walking distance to a little park. It was nice, and cheap. I don't know if those little nooks that I used to know have been gentrified away by now, but it's worth looking into.
You might want to look at Manassas. Your commute will be hell, but last time I saw it (granted, it was a while ago) it had a nice small-town downtown area, and an almost town-like feel.
Anyone have any opinion on the Bethesda/Chevy Chase area of Maryland? I'm moving to the DC area too, very soon, and I just saw some listings for nice looking townhouses in Bethesda/Chevy Chase in the $500k's. I'd love to live in the District itself, but I have kids, and they need to go to school (I've already struck out getting my oldest daughter into private school in the last 2 cities I've lived in, so for this move, I'm giving up and going with the public schools.)
What I'm hoping for in an area is walkability, as much of an urban feel as I can get, with friendly neighbors and lots of kids running all over the place (and good schools). What I'm afraid of is a place so high-strung that the streets and parks are empty and the neighbors never bother to talk to us.
I would doubt you could find nice townhouses in the walkable part of Bethesda/Chevy Chase for anything less than 650. At least if you want to be anywhere near the metro and capture that urban feel you mention. If you worried about what the neighborhood is really like, consider renting for a year. There was an article in the post about how renting is a comparative deal these days: Renters On Top - washingtonpost.com
Do you have to move to DC? Is it for a job or something? If not, perhaps you might consider other metro areas?
Either way, subdivisions are a huge piece of land bought by one person/company and then divided into sub-parts and resold to homebuyers. A subdivision is only something to be wary of if you're anti HOAs. A subdivision is simply a community of homes - usually built by the same builder - governed by an HOA, which of course means dues. Homeowners might enjoy some community amenities like a swimming pool, fitness centers, tennis courts, park, fishing pond, etc., depending on where you are. This can be nice if you can't afford to have your own pool or fishing pond. They can also provide extra security, if they're gated and/or manned.
They can increase the value of your home as well, provided the HOA does a good job and all the homeowners do their part in keeping the community together. The flip side to it is that the opposite is also true. If the HOA and homeowners don't do their part, it could adversely affect the value of your home. Likewise, if there are foreclosures, that could be a problem as well. However, keep in mind that all these things are true of any typical street or neighborhood.
I'm not sure what perception you have, but buying in a subdivision is really not much different from buying in an ungoverned community. I'd always prefer a sub.
I think what the OP might have against subdivisions has less to do with how they're governed, and more to do with how they're typically planned. Except for some odd-ball "New Urbanist" exceptions, subdivisions are just a big block of houses, with nothing else going on -- no commercial strip, no park, no subway access, nothing to walk to, no reason to get out and see the neighbors, and the streets are so convoluted that even residents can get lost (as opposed to a city grid). It's a different lifestyle from living in a city.
As for Bethesda-Chevy Chase, a $650k townhouse is OK. Are there parts to stay away from? Where are the commercial strips? Where is the area completely dead? How different is Silver Spring, Maryland? The $550k listings I saw were in a little corner of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rec Area, off of Little Falls Pkwy, right next to a railroad track. This isn't looking so good now that I'm looking at the map a bit closer.
I grew up in the VA suburbs, so I don't know Maryland much at all.
Last edited by vanyali; 01-24-2008 at 05:52 AM..
Reason: typo
I love Silver Spring; we lived there for a year--it has great diversity, lots of stores and restaurants, it's a little more downscale (though there were townhomes there going for 650). There is a great site you should use before you move anywhere: Walk Score - Helping homebuyers, renters, and real estate agents find houses and apartments in great neighborhoods. The apartment I had in SS was 90-something, almost as high as when I lived in Manhattan. It's a good proxy for how much stuff is closeby in the neighborhood, and therefore how urban it is.
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Think suburbs....
