Moving to Montgomery County from Central Texas

[Anonymous]

and our budget is relatively small right now, due to the giant gap in property values between Texas and Maryland. That was a good question. Glad to know there are other Texas ex-pats! I am anticipating culture shock, especially when it snows for more than an hour!

[Anonymous]

If your budget is tight, the Olney area is quite nice and you will get more for your dollar. In general, housing gets pricier the further south (toward DC) you go. You may want to also check out Laytonsville 20882. What's the actual budget? Are you looking only at singel family homes, or are you open to townhouses?

As far as snow, well, we've been waiting for a couple years to get some "real" snow again. There are haters for every area, but I've lived in Montgomery County most of my life, and it is a wonderful place to raise your family. The housing market can be tough to get into, but a good thing is that it has remained relatively stable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I work in the assessment and accountability office for a public school district here in Texas, so I did look over the schools at a glance and other information like the course guides and graduation plans (impressive!). Just from my perspective, having worked at poor and middle class schools, and now as a data analyst for a very mixed, albeit small, district, it's generally easier for affluent schools to post great scores, so we're looking for big gaps--if a school is very affluent, but not doing significantly better than a school with a much higher FARM population, I have to wonder about the true overall quality of the more affluent school. I really do appreciate all the different perspectives, and we went over them last night on the phone.

My husband is going to look at a house located at 5550 Burnside Drive, and one on Parkvale right around the corner, both condos. We currently live in a very old house on an acre of land and we need a break from maintenence. Old houses eat their young! Also, it's my understanding that there is a great deal of choice when it comes to high schools, and that our son is not obligated to go to Rockville HS if he can get into a magnet program, so we are more concerned about safety and proximity right now (husband is working for HHS near the Twinbrook station).

Yes there is some other opprtunities for HS but it is not that easy to get in. The programs are very competitive to get in. Many kids are rejected so wherever you choose to live be sure you like the HS because it is most likely that's where you'll go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I work in the assessment and accountability office for a public school district here in Texas, so I did look over the schools at a glance and other information like the course guides and graduation plans (impressive!). Just from my perspective, having worked at poor and middle class schools, and now as a data analyst for a very mixed, albeit small, district, it's generally easier for affluent schools to post great scores, so we're looking for big gaps--if a school is very affluent, but not doing significantly better than a school with a much higher FARM population, I have to wonder about the true overall quality of the more affluent school. I really do appreciate all the different perspectives, and we went over them last night on the phone.

My husband is going to look at a house located at 5550 Burnside Drive, and one on Parkvale right around the corner, both condos. We currently live in a very old house on an acre of land and we need a break from maintenence. Old houses eat their young! Also, it's my understanding that there is a great deal of choice when it comes to high schools, and that our son is not obligated to go to Rockville HS if he can get into a magnet program, so we are more concerned about safety and proximity right now (husband is working for HHS near the Twinbrook station).

Yes there is some other opprtunities for HS but it is not that easy to get in. The programs are very competitive to get in. Many kids are rejected so wherever you choose to live be sure you like the HS because it is most likely that's where you'll go.

You are getting good advice from this PP. For what it's worth, the area around Parkvale and Bauer Drive, that you are looking at, is not great. Since you are open to a condo or town house. I agree with PPs who have suggested looking in Olney. Much better schools and easy commute to DH's job. I know tons of people who commute from Olney to HHS at Twinbrook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I work in the assessment and accountability office for a public school district here in Texas, so I did look over the schools at a glance and other information like the course guides and graduation plans (impressive!). Just from my perspective, having worked at poor and middle class schools, and now as a data analyst for a very mixed, albeit small, district, it's generally easier for affluent schools to post great scores, so we're looking for big gaps--if a school is very affluent, but not doing significantly better than a school with a much higher FARM population, I have to wonder about the true overall quality of the more affluent school. I really do appreciate all the different perspectives, and we went over them last night on the phone.

My husband is going to look at a house located at 5550 Burnside Drive, and one on Parkvale right around the corner, both condos. We currently live in a very old house on an acre of land and we need a break from maintenence. Old houses eat their young! Also, it's my understanding that there is a great deal of choice when it comes to high schools, and that our son is not obligated to go to Rockville HS if he can get into a magnet program, so we are more concerned about safety and proximity right now (husband is working for HHS near the Twinbrook station).

Yes there is some other opprtunities for HS but it is not that easy to get in. The programs are very competitive to get in. Many kids are rejected so wherever you choose to live be sure you like the HS because it is most likely that's where you'll go.

You are getting good advice from this PP. For what it's worth, the area around Parkvale and Bauer Drive, that you are looking at, is not great. Since you are open to a condo or town house. I agree with PPs who have suggested looking in Olney. Much better schools and easy commute to DH's job. I know tons of people who commute from Olney to HHS at Twinbrook.

There are some options in Olney with your budget, OP, but they are all short sales so they will take time and you'll need to have temporary housing lined up. I have heard good things about Flower Valley, the ES for the Burnside house, though. Would you consider Poolesville? 17510 Hoskinson might be worth taking a look at. It is far but if you were on more than an acre before you might like the vibe - very small town and the middle and high school are small and well-regarded.

[Anonymous]

OP again, just to say thanks for the good advice. My husband started his new job and is figuring out the lay of the land and checking out the areas everyone has suggested. Lots of possibilities!

[Anonymous]

So what is your price range? Is it max $280K because I might suggest moving a little further out if that is the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what is your price range? Is it max $280K because I might suggest moving a little further out if that is the case.

We ended up with a little more money than we thought after the sale of our Texas house, so my husband was able to put a contract down on a small house near downtown. Olney was looking pretty great, though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what is your price range? Is it max $280K because I might suggest moving a little further out if that is the case.

We ended up with a little more money than we thought after the sale of our Texas house, so my husband was able to put a contract down on a small house near downtown. Olney was looking pretty great, though!

Near downtown DC? What downtown?