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relocating to dc area
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Anonymous
| P. 23:20 here. And remember, "Virginia Is For Lovers" as the slogan says. What we like about driving to and from DC for 35 min. is that it helps us to disconnect from work. |
Anonymous
| If you can spend mid-600s, you might be able to find a rowhouse in the Glover Park area of D.C. Some of those have small yards, plus lots of parks nearby for walking the dogs. Your DH could probably walk to Rosslyn in 1/2 hour, or take the bus down to Georgetown. |
Anonymous
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Del Ray. Great neighborhood in Alexandria, very family friendly, dog friendly. close to everything. walking to shops, etc. walk to metro from parts of Del Ray. Love this area. very close to Old Town.
Welcome to DC, I moved here a few years ago, love it. so much to do, especially with children. Don't listen to the negative. |
Anonymous
| I would look in Arlington. There are many houses around 600K in N. Arlington. They will not be huge and they might need a little work (mostly cosmetic), but the schools are excellent and Arlington is very family friendly. Tons of parks, walkable areas, etc. I would look at zip codes 22203, 22205, and 22207. Many of these areas are along the Lee Highway corridor, and your husband could take the bus down Lee Highway straight to Rosslyn. |
Anonymous
| Reston is nice, but to give a fair POV to the OP, the commute would be about an hour - an hour and a half to Rosslyn. |
Anonymous
| For $600,000 you could find a three-bedroom split-level in Vienna with about 1/4 acre lot. The commute to Rosslyn is about 35-40 minutes from the part near Tysons. I think you could also find a place in Falls Church for that, with a smaller yard and with a slightly shorter commute. |
Anonymous
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The income tax rate is lower in Virginia than in the District. Since your husband will be working in Rosslyn I would stick to looking for a place in Virginia. I would recommend renting in Arlington first and then get a feel for the area before you decide to buy. |
Anonymous
Glover Park is awesome! There are all kinds of people, many families, and many dogs. You can walk to a Whole Foods and a few restaurants. There are adult softball games during the week and , little league games and kids soccer games going on over the weekends. There is a "Glover Park Day" every June with food and music. Great area for families. The zip code is 20007. I just left Glover Park and I really miss it. We moved to the Virginia 'burbs this year since my DH took a job in Manassas. Welcome to DC, and good luck where ever you end up. |
Anonymous
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If you want to be in the District, and aren't worried about schools (planning on private school, or relocating in less than 5 years) 16th Street Heights has houses with yards in that price range. Not sure how the commute would work.
Another idea is the area around Fort Totten. It's not chi-chi enough for most of the crowd on this board, but there are nice houses with great yards, and the Ft. Totten metro station has red, green and yellow lines. Bear in mind, neither of these has much walkable commerce. To get that, you need to live without a yard, or spent a LOT more money. In short, call a realtor. Find one who works in DC and VA, just to be safe. |
Anonymous
| I think Arlington is great (and I live in Rosslyn) but there are very few single family homes for 600k and they will need work - particularly if they are located in Rosslyn, Courthouse, or Clarendon. Most of what is available for 600K are two bedroom condos. If you move further back in North Arlington and off the metro line, you may have a few more single family home options but they will still be small/require work. South Arlington may be a good bet for you. From what I hear, the schools are not as good as those in North Arlington (I do not have any direct knowledge on this) but you have more housing options in the 600K range. |
Anonymous
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Here is a very nice house in N. Arlington in a great neighborhood (my own!). You can walk to shops (Starbucks, Tree Top Kids toy store, wine shop, 2 restaurants) and the neighborhood is very family friendly - we just had our annual Halloween parade on Sunday at the local park. Yes, the house is smallish, but the schools are good and the location is great. There is also a bus straight to Rosslyn within walking distance from here.
http://homepage.mac.com/barryreich/.Public/2000NWoodstock.pdf |
Anonymous
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I'd rent. DC home prices dropped 16% over last year (Case-Shiller), so your 600K budget will worth about 700K next year if the trend continues.
and if you don't HAVE to walk to metro don't buy near metro. the premium is close to 100K for N Arl homes btw 400K-800K from what i see. |
Anonymous
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I'll add to a previous poster's comments. For 600k you could get a house in DC with a yard in many neighborhoods next to a metro depending on your comfort with city living.
Like previous poster said--variable factor of schools and your time here is an issue. 16th St Heights Takoma (DC) very close to metro Brookland--big houses, BIG yards for 600k |
Anonymous
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I'm the PP. case in point on paying a premium to be close to metro:
compare this $529K home: http://franklymls.com/AR6895210 to the $610K home 14:07 PP recommended: http://franklymls.com/AR6884178 i'd say they're comparable. family oriented neighborhood; have direct buses to Rosslyn; walk to lots of shops. but, the cheap one is over 2 mi from Ballston metro so not walkable; the expensive one is just over 1 mi so could be walkable for some. the 80K difference in listing prices is what i called metro premium. just my 2c. |
Anonymous
You often have to factor in the cost of private schools and higher taxes as well over many years. This add significantly to your TCO. |