DMV Sticker Shock Advice

[Anonymous]

OP, the entire area has state income taxes not just Maryland. I’ve lived in VA, PG County, and Montgomery County and I can tell you I prefer MoCo. Also be aware, if you live in DC you get no Congressional representation. It is not a state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just FYI: my kids are in DCPS at a school that a lot of people like. There’s no TAG/whatever but I’d say nearly all the kids would have been in the GATE program I attended in elementary. These are all bright kids whose parents care about their education. People’s expectations here are just SO different from where I grew up that I think you could send your kids to many schools without an explicit AAP program and expect them to be challenged.

And FWIW, your husband’s commute from here (we are on Capitol Hill) would be a breeze by Metro, car, or bus.

Since you’re willing to live in less that 2000 feet, DC might not be a bad fit at all.

OP, this PP is right that there are a couple of elementary schools that people like on the Hill, but most people move, go private, or play the lottery for charters before middle school. I have a friend who recently moved from the Hill due to the low-performing middle and high school on the horizon.

If considering DC, you may want to check out the upper NW DC neighborhoods zoned for Deal or Hardy middle schools, and Wilson high school. These neighborhoods are more suburban in feel, so not as drastic in transition from Jacksonville ( I have family there). $3000 won’t go very far for rent, but if you spend closer to $4-4500 you could get a row home or even a SSH in some areas. People generally like the schools in these neighborhoods and while the commute will be a bit longer to downtown, they don’t have the worry of having to stress about middle school.

I also have a 6.5yo and live in one of these neighborhoods, and commute downtown.

[Anonymous]

When you say N St can you be more specific? What’s commutable to Georgetown would be a very annoying commute to the Shaw area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just FYI: my kids are in DCPS at a school that a lot of people like. There’s no TAG/whatever but I’d say nearly all the kids would have been in the GATE program I attended in elementary. These are all bright kids whose parents care about their education. People’s expectations here are just SO different from where I grew up that I think you could send your kids to many schools without an explicit AAP program and expect them to be challenged.

And FWIW, your husband’s commute from here (we are on Capitol Hill) would be a breeze by Metro, car, or bus.

Since you’re willing to live in less that 2000 feet, DC might not be a bad fit at all.

OP, this PP is right that there are a couple of elementary schools that people like on the Hill, but most people move, go private, or play the lottery for charters before middle school. I have a friend who recently moved from the Hill due to the low-performing middle and high school on the horizon.

If considering DC, you may want to check out the upper NW DC neighborhoods zoned for Deal or Hardy middle schools, and Wilson high school. These neighborhoods are more suburban in feel, so not as drastic in transition from Jacksonville ( I have family there). $3000 won’t go very far for rent, but if you spend closer to $4-4500 you could get a row home or even a SSH in some areas. People generally like the schools in these neighborhoods and while the commute will be a bit longer to downtown, they don’t have the worry of having to stress about middle school.

I also have a 6.5yo and live in one of these neighborhoods, and commute downtown.

PP again. Wanted to quickly mention that the middle school situation could change by the time your kids get to middle school, if there is more buy-in from families for the Hill middle school options. However, if that’s not something you want to risk than my above suggestions still stand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just FYI: my kids are in DCPS at a school that a lot of people like. There’s no TAG/whatever but I’d say nearly all the kids would have been in the GATE program I attended in elementary. These are all bright kids whose parents care about their education. People’s expectations here are just SO different from where I grew up that I think you could send your kids to many schools without an explicit AAP program and expect them to be challenged.

And FWIW, your husband’s commute from here (we are on Capitol Hill) would be a breeze by Metro, car, or bus.

Since you’re willing to live in less that 2000 feet, DC might not be a bad fit at all.

di you have rent range for your school area? Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just FYI: my kids are in DCPS at a school that a lot of people like. There’s no TAG/whatever but I’d say nearly all the kids would have been in the GATE program I attended in elementary. These are all bright kids whose parents care about their education. People’s expectations here are just SO different from where I grew up that I think you could send your kids to many schools without an explicit AAP program and expect them to be challenged.

And FWIW, your husband’s commute from here (we are on Capitol Hill) would be a breeze by Metro, car, or bus.

Since you’re willing to live in less that 2000 feet, DC might not be a bad fit at all.

OP, this PP is right that there are a couple of elementary schools that people like on the Hill, but most people move, go private, or play the lottery for charters before middle school. I have a friend who recently moved from the Hill due to the low-performing middle and high school on the horizon.

If considering DC, you may want to check out the upper NW DC neighborhoods zoned for Deal or Hardy middle schools, and Wilson high school. These neighborhoods are more suburban in feel, so not as drastic in transition from Jacksonville ( I have family there). $3000 won’t go very far for rent, but if you spend closer to $4-4500 you could get a row home or even a SSH in some areas. People generally like the schools in these neighborhoods and while the commute will be a bit longer to downtown, they don’t have the worry of having to stress about middle school.

I also have a 6.5yo and live in one of these neighborhoods, and commute downtown.

This. Check out zip codes 20016 and 20015.

[Anonymous]

Don't move here, there's already too many people.

You will most likely have a diminished quality of life here - longer commute, more crowded schools, smaller housing, more expensive bills. I hope you and DH are getting a big raise.

[Anonymous]

Look in the 20007 zip code. There are a few houses between 2700-3500 for rent. Nice family friendly area, good schools all the way through high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would avoid moving here if I had a choice, I can't emphasize that enough. Going from a $900 mortgage to $4,500 is killer unless your salary is shooting up, which I don't know, maybe it is. I wouldn't avoid Maryland because of taxes, that seems pretty dumb unless you have already done the math and it's some sort of huge difference (I wouldn't know because I have never considered VA) but it's your life and your choice. If I had 1.5 million I would choose a modest home in Bethesda or Chevy Chase or Arlington, depending on where my job was and where would get me the easiest commute. Everything is very commute-dependent here. Some parts of DC are harder to access from within DC than from suburbs. I have a friend who lives in DC and has the same commute to her job as I do, and I live in a suburb. YMMV.

While I agree that avoiding moving here might be best. What you are saying about md taxes is not true. 1) it was my understanding that Florida has no individual income tax 2) Montgomery county has objectively very high taxes. The county income taxes in MoCo are almost as high as the state income tax. If you have a high income that is real money. My DH and I moved from Montgomery county to Arlington, Virginia because of the taxes. That said, if we had kids perhaps access to the Montgomery county schools would have been worth it because there seems to be more schools with good test scores and slightly more diversity in MD than VA.

OP, I grew up in Tallahassee so am somewhat familiar with Jacksonville and I think the housing stock/type of house you are looking for and vibe is probably most similar to Burke, especially if you are used to driving everywhere.

[Anonymous]

If your kids will be in daycare and school after care, make sure you run the numbers on those before you commit to a rent budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would avoid moving here if I had a choice, I can't emphasize that enough. Going from a $900 mortgage to $4,500 is killer unless your salary is shooting up, which I don't know, maybe it is. I wouldn't avoid Maryland because of taxes, that seems pretty dumb unless you have already done the math and it's some sort of huge difference (I wouldn't know because I have never considered VA) but it's your life and your choice. If I had 1.5 million I would choose a modest home in Bethesda or Chevy Chase or Arlington, depending on where my job was and where would get me the easiest commute. Everything is very commute-dependent here. Some parts of DC are harder to access from within DC than from suburbs. I have a friend who lives in DC and has the same commute to her job as I do, and I live in a suburb. YMMV.

While I agree that avoiding moving here might be best. What you are saying about md taxes is not true. 1) it was my understanding that Florida has no individual income tax 2) Montgomery county has objectively very high taxes. The county income taxes in MoCo are almost as high as the state income tax. If you have a high income that is real money. My DH and I moved from Montgomery county to Arlington, Virginia because of the taxes. That said, if we had kids perhaps access to the Montgomery county schools would have been worth it because there seems to be more schools with good test scores and slightly more diversity in MD than VA.

OP, I grew up in Tallahassee so am somewhat familiar with Jacksonville and I think the housing stock/type of house you are looking for and vibe is probably most similar to Burke, especially if you are used to driving everywhere.

What is your HHI and what is the tax difference if you do not mind me asking?

I have only lived in MD since moving to the DMV, so like I said, I don't know about the tax situation. The amount of money one would save is highly dependent on the HHI, I guess. Maybe for a high HHI, it is a really significant difference. It seems pretty silly to avoid a place entirely because of taxes.

[ikornika]

Anonymous wrote:
Coming from Florida, Jax is a nice place to leave, what is the impetus.

Headhunter found my husband. Base salary for new position is almost three times current salary.

I work as a medical technologist with a degree in statistics and background in research and technical writing and a desire to move into the non-profit sector so DC seems like a no brainer.

HHI before figuring in (what would become) four rental properties' income will double if I don't continue to work and likely to triple, possibly quadruple, if I do.

[Anonymous]

It seems kind of crazy to leave a nice house with good schools at $900/mo to move here.

[Anonymous]

ikornika wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Coming from Florida, Jax is a nice place to leave, what is the impetus.

Headhunter found my husband. Base salary for new position is almost three times current salary.

I work as a medical technologist with a degree in statistics and background in research and technical writing and a desire to move into the non-profit sector so DC seems like a no brainer.

HHI before figuring in (what would become) four rental properties' income will double if I don't continue to work and likely to triple, possibly quadruple, if I do.

Looks like you can easily afford to increase your rental budget.

[ikornika]

Anonymous wrote:When you say N St can you be more specific? What’s commutable to Georgetown would be a very annoying commute to the Shaw area.

Ha! Didn't know it would matter.

Near the Mexican Consulate, I believe.