How to tell the difference between close-in suburbs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to the area. Close-in bethesda, rock creek forest, glen echo, arlington.  What are the differences in character/vibe?  We are a family with 2 under 2 so family-friendliness is important.  Unlikely to afford mclean or chevy chase.  Elementary schools are a consideration but don't really care about MS or HS, not looking for our forever home.  Work commutes not a consideration.

FYI, northern Arlington more expensive than southern McLean and has been for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Coming from washington state. Haha yikes to the first poster! We have driven around of course but to be honest it's hard to tell much difference from the outside. I am willing to be corrected on this. Just looking for any reflections people are willing to share who have been in the area a while.

You'll find that the dc area doesn't have quite the neighborhood feel like the Seattle area (if that's where your from), we recently moved from Falls Church to the Eastside, and its hard to make comparisons between the two but can try.

[Anonymous]

A lot of people who are priced out of Arlington go to Alexandria. If you’re not staying past elementary school, parts of Alexandria could be a good option for you.

[Anonymous]

NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

PP, we also don’t care about schools, and need to be within 25-30 mins max of American Law School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

I don’t think N Arlington has 10,000SF lots walkable to metro. Anyone else know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

I don’t think N Arlington has 10,000SF lots walkable to metro. Anyone else know?

Yeah not that I know it with a lot that big. unless you don’t mind walking for 20 mins. And It’d be over 2m

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

I don’t think N Arlington has 10,000SF lots walkable to metro. Anyone else know?

Yeah not that I know it with a lot that big. unless you don’t mind walking for 20 mins. And It’d be over 2m

Agreed if that existed in N Arl it wouldn’t be close to 2M.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thanks for the replies. We do want to be in a good school district but only elementary matters, if that makes sense. Preferably single family home. Budget 1.2Mish. Would be nice to be able to walk to a few things (coffee shop, etc.) but I think more important is proximity to other young families and activities to do with young kids.

Glen Echo will likely be too isolated for you. The others all seem to match what you're looking for, and are all pretty comparable.

Glen echo has a little shopping center with some food options right by it. It just isn’t adjacent to downtown Bethesda … which can be a good thjng

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

PP, we also don’t care about schools, and need to be within 25-30 mins max of American Law School.

Why don’t you care at all about schools if you aren’t yet admitted to a k-12 private?

[Anonymous]

Forest Glen is wonderful and has some houses with larger lots. Very family friendly. Kensington is adorable. Maybe even Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

I don’t think N Arlington has 10,000SF lots walkable to metro. Anyone else know?

Yeah not that I know it with a lot that big. unless you don’t mind walking for 20 mins. And It’d be over 2m

There are a handful of 10,000-20,000sf lots in Lyon Park/Ashton Heights that are <1 mile from metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

PP, we also don’t care about schools, and need to be within 25-30 mins max of American Law School.

Why don’t you care at all about schools if you aren’t yet admitted to a k-12 private?

It sounds like they plan to move to better schools when kids are older. I caution about that because the time goes fast, kids don’t want to leave friends, and you may find your forever home has appreciated faster than your starter home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, I’d like in on this. We want everything that OP wants but would also like a close-in commute to capital hill (45 mins or under), would prefer walkable to a metro, would love to be able to walk to some restaurants, but also would like a decent yard. Like a 10,000 sf lot or larger ideally. Our budget is $2m and we need at least 4 bedrooms. Where should we be looking ideally?

I don’t think N Arlington has 10,000SF lots walkable to metro. Anyone else know?

Yeah not that I know it with a lot that big. unless you don’t mind walking for 20 mins. And It’d be over 2m

There are a handful of 10,000-20,000sf lots in Lyon Park/Ashton Heights that are <1 mile from metro.

Get out of town. Really??? Can you share an example?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forest Glen is wonderful and has some houses with larger lots. Very family friendly. Kensington is adorable. Maybe even Bethesda?

I'm in Forest Glen, and agree, although more for OP than someone working on Capitol Hill.

It's not exactly close-in, but more close-in than Glen Echo for sure!