How did you pick between MD and VA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once I was freed from forced Maryland residency I turned south and never looked back. It wasn't even a choice it was so obvious (DC was an option but never made it work).

As someone from the west coast, I could not make myself go further south of the river.

West Coast transplants are more likely to live in Virginia than Maryland. People moving to Maryland generally are coming from either DC or the Mid-Atlantic. Better bagels & Chinese food is about the most that can be said for suburban Maryland these days. NoVa is nicer and has a stronger economy, and the prices reflect that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once I was freed from forced Maryland residency I turned south and never looked back. It wasn't even a choice it was so obvious (DC was an option but never made it work).

As someone from the west coast, I could not make myself go further south of the river.

West Coast transplants are more likely to live in Virginia than Maryland. People moving to Maryland generally are coming from either DC or the Mid-Atlantic. Better bagels & Chinese food is about the most that can be said for suburban Maryland these days. NoVa is nicer and has a stronger economy, and the prices reflect that.

I'm with the PP: can't live in the home of the confederacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ MoCo defector PP again. Tell us your housing budget and how important school ratings are, and we will tell you where we think you should live.

OP here… Looking for a 4 bedroom house under $800K with a little yard. Safety is big… I’ve lived in other cities where I’ve actually caught intruders inside my house mid-break in. We’ll get an alarm system and have dogs now but it was still pretty traumatic. Schools are important, and bilingual/immersion would be our preference. We like going out to restaurants/happy hour. We need parking for 2 cars, but would love to be able to have metro as an option, especially when people come to town to visit.

I can't speak for VA, but MoCo has a handful of two-way immersion programs at the elementary level that will extend into middle school: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/two-way-immersion.aspx

We are at Oakland Terrace and love the school and the community. Very safe, neighbors are friendly and down to earth, diverse, etc. It would be challenging to find four bedrooms, under $800K, though not impossible. There are also lottery-based immersion programs, but those are of course no guarantee.

I'm sorry about your prior experiences with break-ins. That sounds awful.

[Anonymous]

The vibe.

Not even joking. Once you get out of the DMV, the cultures are very different.

I'm not going to say which one I choose, because that just brings out the trolls, but spend some time in the state beyond just MoCo or Fairfax, and you can tell the difference

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once I was freed from forced Maryland residency I turned south and never looked back. It wasn't even a choice it was so obvious (DC was an option but never made it work).

As someone from the west coast, I could not make myself go further south of the river.

West Coast transplants are more likely to live in Virginia than Maryland. People moving to Maryland generally are coming from either DC or the Mid-Atlantic. Better bagels & Chinese food is about the most that can be said for suburban Maryland these days. NoVa is nicer and has a stronger economy, and the prices reflect that.

I'm with the PP: can't live in the home of the confederacy.

But you're OK living in Maryland, a former slave state that was home to the Supreme Court justice who penned the Dred Scott opinion?

Remind us again which state has had both a Black Governor and a Black Lieutenant Governor. Hint: It's not Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once I was freed from forced Maryland residency I turned south and never looked back. It wasn't even a choice it was so obvious (DC was an option but never made it work).

As someone from the west coast, I could not make myself go further south of the river.

South of the river?

You might want to look at the map a bit.

[Anonymous]

We chose Virginia for the public colleges and universities. Both kids now enrolled and we are paying in-state prices. I honestly think there isn't that much of a difference in housing, eating, lifestyle options between VA and MD. It's all "DC area Suburbia." I do think the number and quality of VA higher education choices is significantly higher in VA over MD. Not everyone will put as much weight on this as we did, but for us it was key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ MoCo defector PP again. Tell us your housing budget and how important school ratings are, and we will tell you where we think you should live.

OP here… Looking for a 4 bedroom house under $800K with a little yard. Safety is big… I’ve lived in other cities where I’ve actually caught intruders inside my house mid-break in. We’ll get an alarm system and have dogs now but it was still pretty traumatic. Schools are important, and bilingual/immersion would be our preference. We like going out to restaurants/happy hour. We need parking for 2 cars, but would love to be able to have metro as an option, especially when people come to town to visit.

I can't speak for VA, but MoCo has a handful of two-way immersion programs at the elementary level that will extend into middle school: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/two-way-immersion.aspx

We are at Oakland Terrace and love the school and the community. Very safe, neighbors are friendly and down to earth, diverse, etc. It would be challenging to find four bedrooms, under $800K, though not impossible. There are also lottery-based immersion programs, but those are of course no guarantee.

I'm sorry about your prior experiences with break-ins. That sounds awful.

We are also at Oakland Terrace and echo the PP’s positive experiences. Safe, and we can walk to school and walk to metro (Forest Glen). Bilingual program has been great for our child. Walking to happy hour doesn’t really happen unless you count happy hour on neighbors’ patios. (Although technically we can walk just over a mile to the west to go to the restaurants in Kensington or to the north/east to the restaurants in Wheaton. Also can metro one stop to downtown Silver Spring within minutes.) 4 beds under 800 tough but not impossible (e.g. expanded Capes). If the 4th bed can be in the basement then it would be easy. Neighborhood is popular tho, especially since the rise in hybrid work has made outside the beltway more popular. If something nice comes up you’ll have to move fast, even in this slowing market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We chose Virginia for the public colleges and universities. Both kids now enrolled and we are paying in-state prices. I honestly think there isn't that much of a difference in housing, eating, lifestyle options between VA and MD. It's all "DC area Suburbia." I do think the number and quality of VA higher education choices is significantly higher in VA over MD. Not everyone will put as much weight on this as we did, but for us it was key.

This is wrong. Go outside MoCo, PG, Fairfax and Arlington. The states have very different cultures.

You're talking about the suburbs of a city; its no surprise they seem alike.

But the rest of the state is very different. Maryland has a very different culture than Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a VA resident, you cannot beat the public, in-state options for college. That is nothing to sneeze at.

Except ZERO of my kids have any interest of going in state. I say vast majority of my oldest two kids HS did not go in state. Problem in state too many kids from in state. VA in particular overly favors in state so not much of a college experience. So a crap shoot to mover there for the schools. Unlike K-12 you where you pick a good school district kids go. You pick a state with good in-state options it is a good chance they wont get in or wont want to go.

I'm always amused by these responses. We had ongoing, age-appropriate discussions with our kids in which we made it very clear that we were fortunate to live in a state with such a wide variety of options for great college experiences, and that our budget could pay for one of those in-state experiences, and taking out big loans for undergrad was a no go. So, they always accepted and were comfortable with their options. (Yes, if they were some wunderkind getting full rides elsewhere that would have been fine. A trip to the college forum will quickly reveal that's not a sound strategy.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We chose Virginia for the public colleges and universities. Both kids now enrolled and we are paying in-state prices. I honestly think there isn't that much of a difference in housing, eating, lifestyle options between VA and MD. It's all "DC area Suburbia." I do think the number and quality of VA higher education choices is significantly higher in VA over MD. Not everyone will put as much weight on this as we did, but for us it was key.

This is wrong. Go outside MoCo, PG, Fairfax and Arlington. The states have very different cultures.

You're talking about the suburbs of a city; its no surprise they seem alike.

But the rest of the state is very different. Maryland has a very different culture than Virginia.

Um, yes? I don't see how this response is claiming otherwise? OP is specifically asking about moving to DMV, meaning the immediate DC metro area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Commute, bilingual school options through high school, and in state university options. Ended up in Arlington.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once I was freed from forced Maryland residency I turned south and never looked back. It wasn't even a choice it was so obvious (DC was an option but never made it work).

As someone from the west coast, I could not make myself go further south of the river.

West Coast transplants are more likely to live in Virginia than Maryland. People moving to Maryland generally are coming from either DC or the Mid-Atlantic. Better bagels & Chinese food is about the most that can be said for suburban Maryland these days. NoVa is nicer and has a stronger economy, and the prices reflect that.

I'm with the PP: can't live in the home of the confederacy.

But you're OK living in Maryland, a former slave state that was home to the Supreme Court justice who penned the Dred Scott opinion?

Remind us again which state has had both a Black Governor and a Black Lieutenant Governor. Hint: It's not Maryland.

Whatever happened in the past, currently, Virginia is the state that voted in Youngkin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is good info on taxes:

https://www.arlnow.com/2019/02/19/ask-eli-does-virginia-washington-dc-or-maryland-have-the-most-favorable-taxes/

People often reflexively say that VA taxes are lower, and that's true for income tax, but the money has to come from somewhere, and VA is higher on property tax. Plus VA is unique in taxing your vehicle at the rate of approximately 5% every year.

We drive beater cars for years and make $500k. Taxes in Va are so much lower than state + county taxes in MD.

Property tax rates are very similar.

[Anonymous]

It work in IT contracting. My company is in NoVa so we live in Arlington. I’m remote, but if I left for a competitor, they would also be based in NoVa. Husband works downtown, so we wanted to be close.