Safe Neighborhood on $300k budget?

[Anonymous]

Good grief. We bought in Takoma Park for $315k.

When?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Good grief. We bought in Takoma Park for $315k.

When?

I'd also like to know because I haven't seen anything in Takoma Park listed for under $450k recently

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Good grief. We bought in Takoma Park for $315k.

When?

I'd also like to know because I haven't seen anything in Takoma Park listed for under $450k recently

Well do a search at Realtor.com and put in 0 - 300000 for amount and I found 57 properties which are between those prices.

[Anonymous]

All but 15 of those are not single-family homes (which I think is what this thread has been focused on, correct me if I'm wrong.) Of the 15 SFHs, 8 are under contract. Not such a big selection, after all.

[Anonymous]

Good grief. We bought in Takoma Park for $315k.



When?
[Report Post]

In 2009.

[Anonymous]

Burke Centre. You can find a small townhome/condo and there are excellent schools and a real community feeling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Closer to Baltimore (Anne Arundel, Howard) might give you some better options. Fredrick County in MD also.

Forget Howard cuz it ain't cheap!

[Anonymous]

Here's one in Rockville for 279k and it's close to the Metro.

http://www.sawbuck.com/property/DC_Metro/Rockville,MD/9124902-1804-Lewis-Avenue

[Anonymous]

If you need to be in the metro area and not right in DC, look at Stafford. You could take the VRE into the city and the Stafford schools are pretty great.

[Anonymous]

Loudoun and PW have some nice areas - Bristow will get you in to a SFH vs a TH in the 300s. If you aren't going to DC very often, you can go as far out as Winchester and get a boatload of house for 300k, it would be about 75 min to DC with little traffic.

FFX and Loudoun both have excellent school districts, you could find some condos/THs in FFX Cty in this price range, maybe in Burke? FYI - Loudoun schools cancel at the first snowflake because they have so many rural roads, transportation is an issue, but they pad every school day with 20 min to allow for a significant pool of snow days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you need to be in the metro area and not right in DC, look at Stafford. You could take the VRE into the city and the Stafford schools are pretty great.

This is not a practical plan, unless you live in Stafford right by the VRE station, and work in DC right by Union Station. (Otherwise, you will spend an enormous amount of time driving to the VRE station, parking, waiting at the platform, taking the VRE, transferring to Metro at Union Station, taking the Metro, walking to your office, etc. Not to mention the cost and the potential delays.)

Check out today's Washington Post real estate section. Bottom line, there are PLENTY of places you can live with a $300k budget. You will have to prioritize/compromise like everyone does with the DC real estate market. But there are plenty of places you can live with your budget.

My advice to you is, live where is best for you and don't limit yourself from certain areas of the city, or certain suburbs, due to unspoken "redlining" due to racial issues. Many people do this, and don't admit it to themselves-- and then suffer the consequences (miserable commute, worse schools, bought in Loudon and house value dropped precipitously, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Va is much more right wing and conservative than Md.

This may be true of the State as a whole but really isn't an up-to-date picture of the closer-in suburbs. Fairfax County has been trending increasingly democratic for years. Not only did the county support Obama in the most recent presidential election, but Democrats now control the majority of Fairfax seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. Arlington County has, of course, been heavily democratic for years. The more far-flung areas such as Loudoun County remain solidly conservative.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're interested in Maryland, you might take a look at the Columbia area, located between DC and Baltimore (a bit closer to Baltimore) in Howard County. The schools are good, I know they have town homes in your price range and we have friends who live there and love it. In general, as you get closer to Baltimore, housing prices will be lower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Va is much more right wing and conservative than Md.

This may be true of the State as a whole but really isn't an up-to-date picture of the closer-in suburbs. Fairfax County has been trending increasingly democratic for years. Not only did the county support Obama in the most recent presidential election, but Democrats now control the majority of Fairfax seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. Arlington County has, of course, been heavily democratic for years. The more far-flung areas such as Loudoun County remain solidly conservative.

Can't highlight this enough. Arlington County is a very unusual combination of highly affluent, and extremely progressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you need to be in the metro area and not right in DC, look at Stafford. You could take the VRE into the city and the Stafford schools are pretty great.

This is not a practical plan, unless you live in Stafford right by the VRE station, and work in DC right by Union Station. (Otherwise, you will spend an enormous amount of time driving to the VRE station, parking, waiting at the platform, taking the VRE, transferring to Metro at Union Station, taking the Metro, walking to your office, etc. Not to mention the cost and the potential delays.)

You didn't read the entire thread. OP had these two posts:

Anonymous wrote:We're moving from another state. I know $300k isn't much for the DC area and it's barely enough for a condo in the city. We're looking for a safe neighborhood with good schools for an child that will start K next year. Townhouse or house, if possible. Commute time to DC isn't a factor. I'd appreciate suggestions for where to start looking? TIA

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad that there are safe neighborhoods in my price range. We have an internet business, obviously not one dealing with high finance or anything. We're going to make a few visits between now and next summer, which is the latest we're hoping to move. Is there a difference in lifestyle between MD and VA or is it just personal preference?

which means that OP is not concerned with commuting to downtown, so that shouldn't be a factor in practicality of the plan.