Thinking through staying in a condo in Arlington or moving to a SFH in Silver Spring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. The houses in Kensington look nice! One of my co-workers said that if we move there, a lot of our neighbors would go to Catholic school rather than the neighborhood schools, which he finds to be a negative (as far as making friends). Is that generally true?

The ones in your budget are in Homewood, and most of the families there send their kids to the neighborhood school. Your co-worker is thinking of the part of Kensington that is in the same neighborhood as Holy Redeemer church and school. Yes, most people in that particular neighborhood don’t go to the public school. That neighborhood is well over your budget. You’ll want to focus on the neighborhoods in 20895 zoned for Oakland Terrace and Rock View. It’s a trope, but there are literally train tracks that separate the wealthiest part of Kensington from the rest of Kensington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And it’s also just true that places like Bethesda and Silver Spring are way older than a place like Arlington. You see 20 and 30 somethings in Arlington while MoCo is increasingly becoming a retirement community. And with that comes a resistance to development, change, and economic progress.

I always wonder why the Arlington folks make these sorts of generalizations which are backed by nothing -- no data, no evidence, nothing. What's the "development, change, and economic progress" they think Arlington has that Bethesda and Silver Spring don't? They never say. OP, please be skeptical of stuff like this, and as a PP said, visit the areas in MoCo you're interested in and judge for yourself. Northern Virginia lost jobs compared to last year, and threw out the "change" and "development" that were Missing Middle. And MoCo's school system is growing rapidly (some would say too rapidly), including in the affluent Whitman pyramid, which makes no sense if it's a "retirement community."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. We wouldn’t be living in downtown Silver Spring. I don’t know which neighborhood we’d be living in, because it depends on where a house pops up, but not downtown. What the first poster says is helpful. From the outside it’s hard to tell if what some folks are saying is overblown. I will say that we live in the Ballston neighborhood in Arlington now, which actually has shootings from time to time.

Would you move to South Arlington? If no, then you also probably would not enjoy Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

What about another location in Virginia? There are plenty of nice places on the metro line and you’d have the option of Virginia colleges and universities as a resident when the time comes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about another location in Virginia? There are plenty of nice places on the metro line and you’d have the option of Virginia colleges and universities as a resident when the time comes.

If there were any SFH under $650, that would be a great option. But there are not. Well, that's not true. There are occasionally SFH in Lorton, but not many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. We wouldn’t be living in downtown Silver Spring. I don’t know which neighborhood we’d be living in, because it depends on where a house pops up, but not downtown. What the first poster says is helpful. From the outside it’s hard to tell if what some folks are saying is overblown. I will say that we live in the Ballston neighborhood in Arlington now, which actually has shootings from time to time.

Would you move to South Arlington? If no, then you also probably would not enjoy Silver Spring.

This is OP. Yes, I absolutely would, and I have lived in South Arlington before. I am picky about not living too close to a highway or dry cleaner or power plant or other things that I think are hazardous to my family's health, and that is hard in both North and South Arlington, but if I could satisfy my requirements on that stuff and find a SFH in budget, I would LOVE to live in South Arlington. That would be ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about another location in Virginia? There are plenty of nice places on the metro line and you’d have the option of Virginia colleges and universities as a resident when the time comes.

You haven't looked at the cost of those "nice places on the metro line" recently, have you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it’s also just true that places like Bethesda and Silver Spring are way older than a place like Arlington. You see 20 and 30 somethings in Arlington while MoCo is increasingly becoming a retirement community. And with that comes a resistance to development, change, and economic progress.

I always wonder why the Arlington folks make these sorts of generalizations which are backed by nothing -- no data, no evidence, nothing. What's the "development, change, and economic progress" they think Arlington has that Bethesda and Silver Spring don't? They never say. OP, please be skeptical of stuff like this, and as a PP said, visit the areas in MoCo you're interested in and judge for yourself. Northern Virginia lost jobs compared to last year, and threw out the "change" and "development" that were Missing Middle. And MoCo's school system is growing rapidly (some would say too rapidly), including in the affluent Whitman pyramid, which makes no sense if it's a "retirement community."

This is OP. Where I live in Ballston, the whole mall has been renovated from being a run-down, crappy mall area to being a nice, walkable area they call Ballston Quarter with lots of restaurants and stores. I assume that's what the PP means about development. They've done the same thing in Crystal City. But here's the thing -- I'm not at a stage of life where I use much of that. I care much more about a yard, schools, a pool, availability and cost of summer camps, sidewalks, libraries, having neighbors with young kids, etc. I get it that the new restaurants affect my property value, but I'm buying a place to live in it and raise my family, not primarily for resale value, so I'm not sure that that stuff matters that much to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it’s also just true that places like Bethesda and Silver Spring are way older than a place like Arlington. You see 20 and 30 somethings in Arlington while MoCo is increasingly becoming a retirement community. And with that comes a resistance to development, change, and economic progress.

I always wonder why the Arlington folks make these sorts of generalizations which are backed by nothing -- no data, no evidence, nothing. What's the "development, change, and economic progress" they think Arlington has that Bethesda and Silver Spring don't? They never say. OP, please be skeptical of stuff like this, and as a PP said, visit the areas in MoCo you're interested in and judge for yourself. Northern Virginia lost jobs compared to last year, and threw out the "change" and "development" that were Missing Middle. And MoCo's school system is growing rapidly (some would say too rapidly), including in the affluent Whitman pyramid, which makes no sense if it's a "retirement community."

This is OP. Where I live in Ballston, the whole mall has been renovated from being a run-down, crappy mall area to being a nice, walkable area they call Ballston Quarter with lots of restaurants and stores. I assume that's what the PP means about development. They've done the same thing in Crystal City. But here's the thing -- I'm not at a stage of life where I use much of that. I care much more about a yard, schools, a pool, availability and cost of summer camps, sidewalks, libraries, having neighbors with young kids, etc. I get it that the new restaurants affect my property value, but I'm buying a place to live in it and raise my family, not primarily for resale value, so I'm not sure that that stuff matters that much to me.

It's good that you're being open minded about this. Just know that if you are looking for something similar in MoCo, you can find it -- Pike & Rose (probably the most recent one that uses to be a crappy, run-down area and IMO it is now much nicer than Ballston Quarter), Rockville Town Center, downtown Bethesda, and yes even Downtown Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

What you want OP — if you are thinking of Maryland — is Frederick.

And I’ve lived in both Alexandria (condo) and Silver Spring (20910) SFH - albeit small.

Walkable. Solid schools. Still have the university issue but St Mary’s College of Maryland is a gem.

You didn’t mention your work location but Frederick is the best of both worlds- and more affordable than either.

[Anonymous]

How about a tiny SFH in South Arlington for $560k?

https://redf.in/Or4PGd

There's also a 1989 townhouse in South Arlington coming soon for $572K.

https://redf.in/CMwIuc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about a tiny SFH in South Arlington for $560k?

https://redf.in/Or4PGd

There's also a 1989 townhouse in South Arlington coming soon for $572K.

https://redf.in/CMwIuc

Neither of those satisfies what I'm looking for (more space than we have now, neighborhood, yard, sidewalks to ride bikes on, etc), but, yes, those are both available.

[Anonymous]

Could you stretch and get into Fairlington or Shirlington?

[Anonymous]

OP why not rent an airbnb for a week in a neighborhood? It will give you live experience on the ground and won't disrupt your day to day too much for work commuting at least.

It would be hard with kids, especially if they are in elementary school. Potentially a weekend getaway? Wont' simulate everything but you can practice a commute and see the feel while keeping your job.

Silver Spring is a fine area. Not as upscale as Bethesda but hardly run down. Have you thought about living in Alexandria? It is also much cheaper than Arlington, not as nice, but keeps you somewhat close to where you are today. I imagine it is similar to Silver Spring in terms of quality of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to live near Wheaton and you could not pay me to move back to Maryland. I’m in Arlington now. Of course a place that’s cheaper is going to have more crime. MD has a lot more Ms 13 than Arlington does. Taxes are a lot higher too if that matters to you.

When you say taxes are higher, do you mean state income taxes or property taxes or both? I want to calculate how much that will impact me each year.

DP. It’s the county income tax which they don’t have in VA. You’ll get some delulu posters who live in uber expensive houses and drive range rovers that will argue that it’s actually worth it to be in MD. But if you are in a condo that likely won’t apply to you.