MD vs VA

[Anonymous]

It really is mostly about where you will work.

Living in one state and commuting across any bridge to the other state during rush hour each way on each work day is very painful - something to avoid. IF MetroRail works for your job, and that is a big IF, then living near a Metro stop might be an option, but depending on the start/end points, Metro can be much slower (albeit less painful than driving across a bridge).

Taxes are mostly a wash for typical families. VA has personal property tax (i.e., the car tax) but the MD income taxes are noticeably higher than VA.

From a public school perspective, understand that no school system is perfect and that there are quality variations between schools within each school district. Montgomery, Fairfax, Arlington counties are generally considered to have good school systems. Falls Church City (VA) is small and also is considered to have good schools. Alexandria City (VA), DC, and PG County public schools are a kind of tragedy, and to be avoided, IMHO.

In VA at least, the Post Office official postal addresses and ZIP codes do not follow the actual borders of incorporated towns and cities. So an address which says “Alexandria” might be in Alexandria City or might be in an unincorporated part of Fairfax County. Ditto for Falls Church City, Town of Clifton, Town of Herndon, or Town of Vienna. When home buying perform diligence to understand which county or city one is actually buying into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where will you be working? Some places are much quicker to get downtown by Metro or express bus than others.

Also as others have mentioned, the tolls in VA can be super high. Your mode of commuting is important to consider in this area.

In VA, most tolled highways (e.g., Beltway = I-495 or I-66) offer separate toll/express/HOV lanes and also non-toll lanes. The Dulles Toll Road (i.e., VA Route 267) is free only for trips to/from Dulles Airport. I do not consider the Dulles Toll Road to be super-high, YMMV, and the other toll routes also have regular non-HOV/non-Toll lanes. So one can trade-off cost vs time driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The biggest decider is/are the commute(s) and where are the potential commutes.

Also, what is your housing budget?
What are the ages of children (if any)?

It is easier to make recommendations with more information.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northern Virginia is a concrete jungle. I hate it.

The farther you move west in Northern Virginia, the more you get away from the concrete jungle. Much of N. VA and Maryland, especially that closest to DC, was developed in the 1990s and early 2000s (or earlier) with little consideration for open space and green space.

Presently, in the DMV, one largely has to pick between metro access and parks and green space. That is changing with the expansion of the silver line. Fairfax County and Loudoun Country are requiring that higher density development, including higher density development around metro stations, include more suitable amounts of parkland and green space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA has the crazy expensive tolls

MD doesn’t have good freeways. Commute is quite a pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northern Virginia is a concrete jungle. I hate it.

The farther you move west in Northern Virginia, the more you get away from the concrete jungle. Much of N. VA and Maryland, especially that closest to DC, was developed in the 1990s and early 2000s (or earlier) with little consideration for open space and green space.

Presently, in the DMV, one largely has to pick between metro access and parks and green space. That is changing with the expansion of the silver line. Fairfax County and Loudoun Country are requiring that higher density development, including higher density development around metro stations, include more suitable amounts of parkland and green space.

NP. Vienna has a wonderful park, Nottoway Park, very near the Vienna metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm an outsider considering moving my family to the DMV. I want to live somewhere family friendly and affordable on $300k income. Can someone run down the differences between MD and VA? Is one going to be cheaper?


Why are you moving here? Just pick whichever gives you a better commute because traffic here is a nightmare and will make you miserable.

+1 It's really not a MD vs VA choice. You can find various types of neighborhoods in either state here in the DMV. Consider your commute as a high priority. Then think about other factors like schools and park areas. I don't think the tax difference is so great that it would move a decision. You can't buy your time. I live in VA, but my son lives in MD so we visit there. I like my neighborhood here in VA, but he also lives in a nice area up there. I think people who live in MD may have a bit more pride in their state (just what I have noticed), but that might not matter. I feel like MD has lots of access to outdoor activities (the bay, mountains) if that matters to you. The universities might matter, but it is not a shoe in to get into W&M or UVA. And UMD College Park is a very good school. Plus you are close to PA which has many good colleges. Virginia does not have a robust private school system at the college level. PA does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northern Virginia is a concrete jungle. I hate it.

The farther you move west in Northern Virginia, the more you get away from the concrete jungle. Much of N. VA and Maryland, especially that closest to DC, was developed in the 1990s and early 2000s (or earlier) with little consideration for open space and green space.

Presently, in the DMV, one largely has to pick between metro access and parks and green space. That is changing with the expansion of the silver line. Fairfax County and Loudoun Country are requiring that higher density development, including higher density development around metro stations, include more suitable amounts of parkland and green space.

Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Takoma Park, all in MD on the border with DC, were definitely not developed in the 1990s and early 2000s. More like early 1900s through 1950s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northern Virginia is a concrete jungle. I hate it.

The farther you move west in Northern Virginia, the more you get away from the concrete jungle. Much of N. VA and Maryland, especially that closest to DC, was developed in the 1990s and early 2000s (or earlier) with little consideration for open space and green space.

Presently, in the DMV, one largely has to pick between metro access and parks and green space. That is changing with the expansion of the silver line. Fairfax County and Loudoun Country are requiring that higher density development, including higher density development around metro stations, include more suitable amounts of parkland and green space.

You must not really live in the DMV. There are tons of parks, starting with Rock Creek Park (right on the Red Line), which makes NY's Central Park look pedestrian. Greater DC is one of the more green metros in the country.

[Anonymous]

A lot of MD hate on here, geez! It isn't that bad.

BTW some MD colleges rank higher according to QS World Rankings. I graduated from a VA school and feel the whole VA system is overrated. I now live in MD and people definitely have more pride and local culture here. So far I have spent 15 years in VA and 7 years in MD.

QS World ranking of VA/MD universities:

28.) Hopkins
169.) UMD College Park
260.) UVA
302.) VA Tech
711.) UMD Baltimore
761.) VCU
901.) William and Mary
951.) GMU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has many more, and generally better regarded, state colleges and universities, and those give admission preference to state residents along with lower in-state tuition. That might be a consideration in your decision if you expect to have one or more children applying in the future.

This is patently false. Maryland has a significantly better top-10 public (leagues better than UVA).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has many more, and generally better regarded, state colleges and universities, and those give admission preference to state residents along with lower in-state tuition. That might be a consideration in your decision if you expect to have one or more children applying in the future.

This is patently false. Maryland has a significantly better top-10 public (leagues better than UVA).

Only Virginians think UVA is a top school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has many more, and generally better regarded, state colleges and universities, and those give admission preference to state residents along with lower in-state tuition. That might be a consideration in your decision if you expect to have one or more children applying in the future.

This is patently false. Maryland has a significantly better top-10 public (leagues better than UVA).

But it only has one major public university. Virginia has several.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has many more, and generally better regarded, state colleges and universities, and those give admission preference to state residents along with lower in-state tuition. That might be a consideration in your decision if you expect to have one or more children applying in the future.

This is patently false. Maryland has a significantly better top-10 public (leagues better than UVA).

Only Virginians think UVA is a top school.

Talk about patently false.

And US News rates Maryland below even Rutgers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has many more, and generally better regarded, state colleges and universities, and those give admission preference to state residents along with lower in-state tuition. That might be a consideration in your decision if you expect to have one or more children applying in the future.

This is patently false. Maryland has a significantly better top-10 public (leagues better than UVA).

Literally nobody thinks U. Maryland is better than U. Virginia.