Moving to DC with 2 Kids HELP!

[Anonymous]

I agree with 10:25! Lots of families live in apartments here. There are also plenty of neighborhoods where cars aren't required at all.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the Silver Spring suggestion-- a number of good elementary schools over there although I don't know the boundaries for all of them (Forest Knolls, Oakland Terrace, Rock Creek Forest, Rosemary Hills).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should definitely join us in Downtown Silver Spring (by the way, no "S" on the end). We are liberal, extremely diverse, and can meet your budget. Very walkable, great housing stock and rental stock as well. Montgomery County Maryland schools are excellent.

You may want to join Silver Spring Mom List Serv to find out about rentals and get inside scoop on elementary schools. For instance Sligo Creek Elementary has French immersion -- it may be important to you

SS Mom List Serv --

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ssmoms_2003/


(If I see you there, I'll introduce myself -- people tend to stay anonymous on here!)

I agree, Silver Spring is the ticket - housing is reasonably priced for this area, and the red line is a straight shot to work for your DH.

Don't listen to those who say the schools aren't good - they have no experience with them. We like SSpring, and the schools here too.

[Anonymous]

The $2k or less thing is the killer, especially the "near the Metro" thing.

We're the highest income metro area in the country, rents and prices will reflect that.

If your hubby works along the Red Line, an area around upper Silver Spring (zoning to Blake) would be preferable IMO.

Silver Spring is a mixed bag w/ schools and safety. Check greatschools.org and spotcrime.com (I think that's the site) for your area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The $2k or less thing is the killer, especially the "near the Metro" thing.

We're the highest income metro area in the country, rents and prices will reflect that.

If your hubby works along the Red Line, an area around upper Silver Spring (zoning to Blake) would be preferable IMO.

Silver Spring is a mixed bag w/ schools and safety. Check greatschools.org and spotcrime.com (I think that's the site) for your area.

It's Blair, not Blake. Yeah, you're a real expert.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The $2k or less thing is the killer, especially the "near the Metro" thing.

We're the highest income metro area in the country, rents and prices will reflect that.

If your hubby works along the Red Line, an area around upper Silver Spring (zoning to Blake) would be preferable IMO.

Silver Spring is a mixed bag w/ schools and safety. Check greatschools.org and spotcrime.com (I think that's the site) for your area.

It's Blair, not Blake. Yeah, you're a real expert.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hubert_Blake_High_School

300 Norwood Rd.,
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States

That's "upper Silver Spring" isn't it? Wow, to think there's two schools in MoCo, one named "Blake" and the other "Blair."

[Anonymous]

I have seen houses for rent in that range near the Forest Glen Metro. School is Oakland Terrace and it's a very good elementary school. Since you are renting I wouldn't worry about middle or high school yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm fairly certain as far as taxes and cost of living, it's going to be cheaper than Vancouver. If you've ever visited Canada, you'd know clothes are more expensive, gas is more expensive and obviously we have a lot of taxes.

I wouldn't be too sure. Healthcare, for example, is a huge cost in the US. you actually get something for all those taxes you pay....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm fairly certain as far as taxes and cost of living, it's going to be cheaper than Vancouver. If you've ever visited Canada, you'd know clothes are more expensive, gas is more expensive and obviously we have a lot of taxes.

I wouldn't be too sure. Healthcare, for example, is a huge cost in the US. you actually get something for all those taxes you pay....

Taxes are probably about the same. Except in Canada, it's called "Medicare" on the paycheck stub and here it's called "Health Ins."

[Anonymous]

OP, if you are going to look in Silver Spring, you should try to find someone that knows the neighborhoods (even if just looking for a rental). Silver Spring is huge - there's downtown Silver Spring, which is a little more urban; there are actually three metro stops that serve neighborhoods with a silver spring address, the furthest being Glenmont - big difference in a commute to Chinatown from Glenmont vs. from Silver Spring. I'd be willing to bet that any house you find on the market for >$400k is in the farther parts of Silver Spring, and may/may not be walkable to the metro. (Often adds will say "close to metro", but what they mean is close driving distance, or they're close to the metro bus, not train). Anyway, Silver Spring is a great area (I live there), you just have to get familiar with it so you can tell what you're getting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all for your replies. We are not specifically moving to DC to 'get ahead'. My DH got a great job opportunity and honestly, we'd be moving either way. We were just looking at housing prices, it seemed cheaper than Vancouver. There is simply more opportunity in his job here as opposed to Vancouver, which is a fairly small market.

We are not opposed to living in a townhouse, but we will not live in an apartment. We'd like some space and from what I've heard we would be better off living in the surrounding areas of DC instead of within the district. My DH's office will be off the Red Line at Chinatown.

I am a little confused though about rental prices, considering I've been looking on Craigslist and have seen houses for rent in our price range. Silver Springs is on our list for sure as it is close to the metro. Currently, my DH drives, parks, takes a bus, then a train into the city. It takes him over an hour to do this everyday. He does not want such a long commute and I don't blame him. We'd really like to find a place that suits our needs as close in as we can get. If that means we don't rent a house and have a townhouse instead, that's fine. As for the rent price, I'm sure we'll be open to raising that.

I'm fairly certain as far as taxes and cost of living, it's going to be cheaper than Vancouver. If you've ever visited Canada, you'd know clothes are more expensive, gas is more expensive and obviously we have a lot of taxes.

Question about housing costs...are the listed price on houses for sale the final price? or does it goes to auction and the highest bidder wins? I know in certain places because it is so aggressive, people list their houses much lower than what they're worth hoping for bidding wars. Is that the idea here or does a $400K house sell for ~400K?

TIA again

OP, go to Redfin.com and you can see graphs comparing list prices to sales prices for any neighborhood in the area.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I can see this forum can get a little heated from time to time.

We are certainly looking in Silver Spring. It seems like it will fit our needs well (thank you 15:59 for the heads up on SS neighborhoods). DH is going down soon to check out places and hopefully find one. Even with google maps and all the technology these days, it's still better to see it in person. We may need to spend more than we had originally planned, but we will be saving some in many ways also.

Thanks again everyone!

[Anonymous]

We rent a very charming 2 BR 1940's colonial SFH in Old Town Takoma Park for $ 2000 month. FInished basement, driveway, small backyard and patio. It's a 0.8 mile walk to Metro. So yes, it is do-able. There were 4 other couples who wanted to rent the house we are in, so be prepared to fill out the application in a timely fashion and provide a check.

[Anonymous]

I live and rent in Silver Spring -- we love it!
Check out www.homesdatabase.com for rentals ..as well as www.realtor.com

[Anonymous]

I live in silver Spring and love it here, but you do need to be careful which schools your kids go to. Because you are talking about renting, I would only worry about the immediate need of elementary school. I did a quick homesdatabase.com search of rental homes for $1800-2000 in the 20901 zip code, and I am not sure you would want to send your kids to the elementary schools those homes are zoned for. There could be more available in 20910, but that is closer in, so perhaps more expensive. Elementary schools in relatively close in SS that I hear good things about are Rosemary Hills, Sligo Creek, Woodlin, Highland View and Forest Knolls. Oakland Terrace is good too, but I don't know if it is considered Silver Spring or Kensington. I don't know enough about East Silver Spring to comment. I would probably avoid New Hampshire Estates.