Moving to DC

[Anonymous]

DH and I are planning a move to DC area next year. We are looking to live in either Montgomery County or Northern VA. I am stumped about where to begin - we are looking for an area fairly close/accessible to the city, with good public schools, and houses in the 400-500k range. Any ideas about where to begin looking?

[Anonymous]

What kind of community of people are you looking for? Progressive, conservative, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of community of people are you looking for? Progressive, conservative, etc.?

Sorry! That would have been good to include - progressive, for certain! We are really open to NOVA or MD at this point. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

For a start, see previous threads:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/3283.page#14889
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/3342.page#15123

[Anonymous]

We're researching Montgomery County schools. The county as a whole has very good schools, but the elementary schools we hear the most good things about are in Chevy Chase, Kensington, Bethesda and further north and west (which would be too far for our circumstances). Unfortunately, in those best districts we're looking at, it's rare to come across many houses in the 400-500k range. 500-600k, maybe, 600-700k, definitely.

I've found http://www.city-data.com/forum/ an interesting site for learning about different areas.

Once you're looking at specific houses, you can get the school zoning information (if not available through the realtor) at http://gis.mcps.k12.md.us/gis/PublicLocator.asp.

We've gotten lots of good information about specific schools at http://www.greatschools.net/. The site assigns each school a score, with 10 as the highest, based on test scores and the like. Then there are also parent and student comments.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by fairly close? That makes a big difference. And everyone's definition is different, especially coming from another city. It's all relative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by fairly close? That makes a big difference. And everyone's definition is different, especially coming from another city. It's all relative.

op here - you are right. i think either montgomery county - like takoma, ss, bethesda, cc; or arlington...at least from what i can gather!

[Anonymous]

That's helpful. I can tell you about Arlington. N Arlington has the "good" schools, but you won't find houses in that price range. South Arlington has better prices, but even there, that price range will be difficult if you want a SFH. But in Arlington, there are several magnet schools you can apply to regardless of where you live. Arlington is a great place to live, but pricey and unless you have big bucks, you have to settle for smaller, older home.

[Anonymous]

Houses in Montgomery County are in your price range in North Potomac/Gaithersburg and north....you'll have a hard time in Bethesda/CC for that. There isn't good metro access here. You may be able to get a townhome in your range though in Kensington? I don't really know. I think Silver Spring is a good option, but research the hell out of it. It's a very big area and the neighborhoods are sometimes really nice or not so nice. North Arlington is a fortune! I would love to live there but we'd have to spend at least $200K more for a house 1/2 the size of the one we have in Gaithersburg. Plus, it would be 50 years older, although many of them are renovated.


Personally, I think all the areas you are looking at are fairly progressive.

[Anonymous]

PP here....check around Rockville too but it has the same issues as Silver Spring with different neighborhoods, so research them and don't be fooled by only going during the day. Just check the crime reports in the Montgomery County Gazette to get a good idea of your area. I think it's www.gazette.com and you have to select the one for here.

[Anonymous]

Arlington may be progressive, but it is still part of VA which is not.

[Anonymous]

$400-500K and close in? Tough tough tough. Would you consider a condo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$400-500K and close in? Tough tough tough. Would you consider a condo?

not a condo, but a th would be ok...sounds like maybe i need to think about going further out?

[Anonymous]

The furthest you need to go is Gaithersburg. Look in 20878 area code....you don't need to worry about the neighborhood, they are all pretty nice. The best school in the zip code is Wooton.

You can get a TH in Rockville. I've heard those on the Rockville/Gaithersburg line (around Shady Grove hospital) are even hitting the 300K's now....they are in the Wooton District but it's not within walking distance to a Metro.

Look where you want. There are great deals to be had now. I saw a good-sized (2000/sq ft) SFH in Potomac (no where in Potomac is near a Metro) near the Potomac/Bethesda line.....it was something like $639K. A couple of years ago it would have been at least $100K higher. When we were looking you couldn't even think about a house in that neighborhood for anywhere near that price. I'd look in the best neighborhoods and bid aggressively. If you don't get the house you bid on, bid on another one.....this is the market to really get a great deal.

Good luck and try to have fun with it. Looking at houses is only fun when you're not buying!

[Anonymous]

To give you an idea of what you can get:

www.homesdatabase.com

Type in these MLS #s

Rockville:
MC6567086
MC6473930
MC6528972
MC6546984

Kensington:
MC6604256

Gaithersburg (just to see what you get further out):
MC6525145
MC6631778

Arlington:
AR6412746
AR6584592

I only know about the Gaithersburg neighborhoods....someone else will have to let you know about where is nice in the others although I went by names of places I knew were good or High Schools I know are more desirable.