Does this place exist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.. Thanks for all of the feedback. I am thinking we should try to stick it out in our 1 bedroom for as long as possible & try to save, and then try the Chevy Chase route.

OP, if your max budget is 650k right now, you can buy into Town of Kensington (Kensington-Parkwood Elem school) and be in walking distance to the Marc train station for 550-650k NOW, why wait?

[Anonymous]

Does it take 20- 30 minutes after you get on the MARC? What is the actual door to door to some of the downtown areas?

[Anonymous]

The Marc train is great IMO only if you work near Union Station/the Hill. Otherwise, you have to transfer. You could also drive/park at Wheaton or Forest Glen and take red line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.. Thanks for all of the feedback. I am thinking we should try to stick it out in our 1 bedroom for as long as possible & try to save, and then try the Chevy Chase route.

OP, if your max budget is 650k right now, you can buy into Town of Kensington (Kensington-Parkwood Elem school) and be in walking distance to the Marc train station for 550-650k NOW, why wait?

though you seem to be an out of synch booster given the OP parameters- this wouldn't cut the definition of close-in for people currently in Logan Circle by any measure- as others said, close-in Arlington sounds like where you want to be, but your budget will constrain you, especially if you want to be walking distance to a metro.

The train ride alone from Ballston to Farragut West, for example, is under 15 mins, but a lot depends on how you're getting to the metro...with all in my commute by metro still ends up being around 40 mins door to door with walking/waiting etc.

[Anonymous]

It's tough to find something really good in North Arlington under $700K, but it can be done. I just got a SFH there for $560K. It needs some minor updates, but it's a great house, in great school boundaries, and pretty close-in to DC. I did see some other places under $650K that looked pretty nice. At that price, you can get 3 bedrooms, sometimes 4, and 2 bathrooms, sometimes renovated, and often a finished basement on about 1/8 of an acre. It won't be a big house (mine is 1,500 aboveground), but if you get a good layout, you don't need a ton of space, and a lot of Arlington is very walkable to shops and parks.

Kensington is very nice too, and may be a better commute since you don't have to cross bridges to get into DC. I have friends who live there and really like it.

I saw some cute places in Falls church, but as you get farther out West, the commute definitely gets longer unless you can leave before 7.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you absosmurfly require a SFH?

Please tell me you're not one of those people who wants new construction, within 30 minutes of DC, and at least 2500 square feet for under $600k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.. Thanks for all of the feedback. I am thinking we should try to stick it out in our 1 bedroom for as long as possible & try to save, and then try the Chevy Chase route.

I think this is your best option. Chevy Chase is an awesome place for young families. You get the quick commute, all the parks and a great community. If you are thinking you might be in your house long-term and want to consider schools beyond elementary, you might be able to find something in your budget in the non-ritzy parts of CC MD. It would tack on on an extra 5 minutes (or less) to your commute, but you get great schools through high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think this is your best option. Chevy Chase is an awesome place for young families. You get the quick commute, all the parks and a great community. If you are thinking you might be in your house long-term and want to consider schools beyond elementary, you might be able to find something in your budget in the non-ritzy parts of CC MD. It would tack on on an extra 5 minutes (or less) to your commute, but you get great schools through high school.

There is lots of angst right now about a new middle school in the area, so make sure you do your due diligence. You could end up paying CC prices and getting SS schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.. Thanks for all of the feedback. I am thinking we should try to stick it out in our 1 bedroom for as long as possible & try to save, and then try the Chevy Chase route.

I think this is your best option. Chevy Chase is an awesome place for young families. You get the quick commute, all the parks and a great community. If you are thinking you might be in your house long-term and want to consider schools beyond elementary, you might be able to find something in your budget in the non-ritzy parts of CC MD. It would tack on on an extra 5 minutes (or less) to your commute, but you get great schools through high school.

What is the commute from Chevy Chase to Metro Center or so? How does metro compare to driving? It doesn't seem like it would be THAT short to me, but I don't commute from that direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I think this is your best option. Chevy Chase is an awesome place for young families. You get the quick commute, all the parks and a great community. If you are thinking you might be in your house long-term and want to consider schools beyond elementary, you might be able to find something in your budget in the non-ritzy parts of CC MD. It would tack on on an extra 5 minutes (or less) to your commute, but you get great schools through high school.

There is lots of angst right now about a new middle school in the area, so make sure you do your due diligence. You could end up paying CC prices and getting SS schools.

Ummmmm.....you should do a little more research on this issue. I don't really think there's any actual angst among Chevy Chase residents whose kids would be attending the new school. BTW, there is no such thing as "Silver Spring schools." Silver Spring is Montgomery County. Behtesda, Chevy Chase and Silver Spring children all attend MONTGOMERY COUNTY schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Ummmmm.....you should do a little more research on this issue. I don't really think there's any actual angst among Chevy Chase residents whose kids would be attending the new school. BTW, there is no such thing as "Silver Spring schools." Silver Spring is Montgomery County. Behtesda, Chevy Chase and Silver Spring children all attend MONTGOMERY COUNTY schools.

You have your work cut out for you, since pages have been devoted to that very topic:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/169846.page

The same house in CC goes for much more than it does in SS. If MCPS decides to send CC students to new schools in SS, that will change overnight.

[Anonymous]

is chevy chase only 20 minutes to downtown, though? most of DC isn't even 20 minutes door-to-door to a downtown office. commutes here suck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:is chevy chase only 20 minutes to downtown, though? most of DC isn't even 20 minutes door-to-door to a downtown office. commutes here suck.

driving commutes from CC to central DC (Farragut/K St etc.) are notably longer than from most parts of N Arlington given the need to travel on clogged traffic light laden streets. Even in prime rush hour from Arlington, I can do door to door in the AM leaving b/w 8:30-9am from the 50 starting at Glebe in 15 mins on a good day, and up to a max of 40 mins on the absolute worst day (to Farragut West area). The distance from my home garage to parking lot is 5.2 miles. The drive home at 6 (e st. expressway, to 50) is almost always 12-15 mins. On weekends I've made it in as little as 8/9 mins...

Just drove the other day up to Chevy Chase from central DC on a Saturday, and it took me 25 mins with little traffic! The lights, cross-walks etc. really slow things down...

[Anonymous]

I'm not the PP from CC, but also live in the same area and commute to DC every day (Dupont area.) With a daycare stop, my commute generally takes 1/2 hour to maxx 40 mins depending on how clingy my child is at drop off. I leave at 8am; coming home in the afternoon at 430pm, it's almost always 25 minutes including daycare pickup. FWIW, to the VA PP and other PP who doubted that timing, I'd tell you that rush hour traffic patterns on Conn Ave are a big help - the weekends can actually be slower, particularly at midday on Saturday. And at least for me, I have figured out a few shortcuts to avoid some of the stop-and-go on Conn Ave. All that said, I always assume it will take me 45 minutes to get to daycare and then the office; if I have an important meeting, I budget an hour just to be safe.

OP, this isn't just a sidetrack - you can find houses in the $650k range in East Bethesda, CC MD, and North CC. The lower end stuff actually sells more quickly, and there's less of it, so you'd have to be patient and of course be willing to accept a house that is imperfect (old, small, etc etc etc.) I think there are other parts of Bethesda where you could stretch your $650k and still have a decent commute to DC. Caveat, I'm not saying any of this is better than VA or Arlington in particular - I don't know those areas - but just giving you other food for thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:is chevy chase only 20 minutes to downtown, though? most of DC isn't even 20 minutes door-to-door to a downtown office. commutes here suck.

driving commutes from CC to central DC (Farragut/K St etc.) are notably longer than from most parts of N Arlington given the need to travel on clogged traffic light laden streets. Even in prime rush hour from Arlington, I can do door to door in the AM leaving b/w 8:30-9am from the 50 starting at Glebe in 15 mins on a good day, and up to a max of 40 mins on the absolute worst day (to Farragut West area). The distance from my home garage to parking lot is 5.2 miles. The drive home at 6 (e st. expressway, to 50) is almost always 12-15 mins. On weekends I've made it in as little as 8/9 mins...

Just drove the other day up to Chevy Chase from central DC on a Saturday, and it took me 25 mins with little traffic! The lights, cross-walks etc. really slow things down...

Chevy Chase is SO much more attractive than Arlington. If that's the choice, why not suck it up and spend the extra time on the road to live in a nicer neighborhood?