Where to live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess you sre fixated on trying to replicate Hoboken. And you are going to CH. But please please please do mot sign a multiyear lease or buy until after your second winter here.
You are condemning DH to a hellish commute which in his and your innocence he is willing to do to get you the lifestyle you want for your family. Ok. But the reality is he will not have much quality time in the family during the week. The anxious weather watching wrt snow or wintery mix an the DC area version of snow removal is wearing. I wager most of the CH cheerleaders do not commute to Ft Meade daily. And if he needs to be there on weekends he is driving.

Same PP. Marc may not run or have very reduced service if there is much snow or ice. The driving skills of locals in any wintry conditions are notoriously poor compared to farther north. Snow clearing is not the same either.

I had a commute from Arlington to Howard County for 6 years. It was stressful. I was wiped out by the time I got home. It was an hour in the morning and 75 to 120 minutes in the afternoon. It was a blight on my marriage. Your DH may think oh it's easy on the train...but it will stil be a long slog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd focus on Capitol Hill which is dense, historic and beautiful with cafes and galleries. The elementary schools are excellent and a number of kids stay public through high school since there are many strong middle and high school options accessible via Metro rail or bus. Totally doable for a family.

Or focus on Baltimore, but I'd don't think the public school options are as strong as D.C.'s. Bolton Hill, Canton, Federal Hill, Hampden, etc are all wonderful neighborhoods you'd like.

Baltimore’s nicer neighborhoods feel a lot safer than Capitol Hill. I would walk around Locust Point, Riverside, Canton and Hampden late at night without a worry. Not so much Capitol Hill. Baltimore has very rough neighborhoods but the crime isn’t as spread out as it is in DC in my experience.

[Anonymous]

Measured by time, NASA Goddard is maybe half way from CH to Ft Meade. The CH -- Fort commute is accurately described as hellish.

Also, all of metro DC is inept at snow management. Most people do not have snow tires. Roads become a disaster even in conditions NJ considers mild. The Federal Government sometimes will close for even 3-4" of snow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your jobs are a really poor location combo.

Making DH use Marc every day is bad. He will have a horribly long commute counting the shuttle and Marc and shuttles are badly affected by wintery mix.

He will come to hate it.

+1. Neither MARC nor the shuttles are very timely - and also they are not reliable in foul weather or when Amtrak randomly has a bad day.

+2. Do not rely on MARC as a regular form on transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Measured by time, NASA Goddard is maybe half way from CH to Ft Meade. The CH -- Fort commute is accurately described as hellish.

Also, all of metro DC is inept at snow management. Most people do not have snow tires. Roads become a disaster even in conditions NJ considers mild. The Federal Government sometimes will close for even 3-4" of snow.

I remember about 10 or so years ago the entire DC region was paralyzed with 1/2" of snow. Cars were spinning/stuck and people were trapped in DC and Arlington overnight. We just don't have the snow removal or snow melt infrastructure of states and cities to the north.

[Anonymous]

anywhere but not in MD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - also adding that my husband’s job provides shuttles from the train station in Ft Meade hence the comment about living near union station. Also, we would rent because we don’t know if this is a short term move or longer term. We would prefer a condo or row home or something that is NOT a house with all the yard maintenance etc. We currently rent a first floor condo that has a small yard which would be ideal.

we lived in the apartments on Mass- 400 or 410 with young kids for 5 years - you could def apply to Thompson - we sent ours to one of the close by charters b/c I commuted to Baltimore those years (so passed by the bllomingdale charters) . I loved the school community and living in that area- we moved overseas which is why we left. we also had one car that I used for that bw pkwy commute while my husband walked to work (it was near the Carnegie library). that worked really well for us so I'm recommending it. we also had friends who lived closer to north capital street and to Kennedy playground, closer to north capital makes it easier to get to the parkway but its not a walkable area, if you only want the one car & no commutes and want to walk to your office & union station then I'd look on mass and north of Mass b/c that is a nice walk to union station but you can still drive out there if the trains/metro is being wonky & a super short commute to city center which has a really good coffee shop and food shops. There are a bunch of apartment buildings around the Safeway & Baked Joint (excellent breakfast spot & coffee) and a lot of kids there as well so built in playdates in the same building plus some buildings have really nice roof terraces and pools which was a very nice amenity to have with the kids in the Dc heat. our building had a lot of Georgetown law students so it could get a bit stressful around exam times but we found good babysitters that way as well.

good luck! Hoboken is really fun and im sure you'll miss it but it's possible to live in Mt. Vernon with those commutes and have really good childhood/time as a young family. the preschools are good enough and there are a lot of young families there. its when kids get older that people start moving for schools and more space and you want to rent to see if you like the area.

[Anonymous]

Embrace this phase of life and move to Severna Park. Get a boat!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - for those of you suggesting MD or somewhere closer to Ft Meade, is there anywhere similar to Hoboken in terms of lifestyle and density? I’m nervous about the move in general and even more terrified if it would involve a change to a very suburban lifestyle. I think we would feel very isolated.

That is why I had looked at the Hill, as it seemed most similar to what we have now. My husband absolutely will drive an hour each way if it gets us the lifestyle we would like to live with young kids.

I posted the above book- dont listen to these people- they are forcing you into suburban hell. odenton!! Live in Mt. Vernon/chinatown but make sure you have a car as back up b/c the public transport is not reliable. I did the commute while doing drop off for years, it's perfectly doable and you can stop off at the Costco on the way! there are plenty of condos/apartments on MASS ave.

[Anonymous]

The MARC is a good option for your husband so I agree somewhere near Union Station makes sense. I have known several people who live in DC and commute to Baltimore or, more common because it’s cheaper, live in Baltimore and commute to DC via MARC. It’s a substantial commute (90 min to 2 hours) and a lifestyle choice but it’s doable. I’d probably drive most days instead, frankly (that would be closer to an hour unless there is an accident), but the MARC is an option. And it is kind of nice to zone out on a train instead of driving.

Given that you’ll work downtown and living somewhere denser is important to you, I think your choice of neighborhoods makes sense.

[Anonymous]

OP you or DH should try the Marc from Union station. I don’t think it’s as “hellish” as people are making it out to be. It’s reliable enough, and snow days are what like 3 - 10 a year depending on the year…not really enough to make it a consideration. CH seems like a good choice given your priorities. I live in NWDC and commute to Baltimore 4 days a week driving. NWDC has a suburban feel though. My commute is 50 min in the morning and 70-80 min in the evening. I wish Amtrak or Marc were closer to me so l could work or read on the commute. But it would take me 2 hours each way because l don’t live close to a station and my office in Baltimore also isn’t close to a station.

[Anonymous]

If your husband can handle MARC, northeast DC near Union Station is a good choice. You'll probably be in-bounds for Ludlow-Taylor or JO Wilson; the latter has lower test scores but a newly renovated building next year and better lottery odds.

If you want to be closer to Fort Meade, Columbia is nice. The older parts are more walkable but the bigger newer houses are more car-dependent. I have several friends who grew up there and are raising kids there now. It's definitely suburban, but diverse and family-oriented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you or DH should try the Marc from Union station. I don’t think it’s as “hellish” as people are making it out to be. It’s reliable enough, and snow days are what like 3 - 10 a year depending on the year…not really enough to make it a consideration. CH seems like a good choice given your priorities. I live in NWDC and commute to Baltimore 4 days a week driving. NWDC has a suburban feel though. My commute is 50 min in the morning and 70-80 min in the evening. I wish Amtrak or Marc were closer to me so l could work or read on the commute. But it would take me 2 hours each way because l don’t live close to a station and my office in Baltimore also isn’t close to a station.

Yeah for all the to-do about snow and everything in this thread…it’s like a handful of days a year where snow is a problem. Yeah, people are idiots and don’t know how to drive around here, but it’s also not New England, so we’re not regularly getting tons of snow. I have also known a few people who regularly take Marc and they didn’t seem horrendously depressed. They knew it was a longish commute and it was just part of their life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - for those of you suggesting MD or somewhere closer to Ft Meade, is there anywhere similar to Hoboken in terms of lifestyle and density? I’m nervous about the move in general and even more terrified if it would involve a change to a very suburban lifestyle. I think we would feel very isolated.

That is why I had looked at the Hill, as it seemed most similar to what we have now. My husband absolutely will drive an hour each way if it gets us the lifestyle we would like to live with young kids.

Look at Silver Spring or Takoma Park.

[Anonymous]

I've lived in both Capitol Hill and Takoma Park and you would be perfectly happy in either. cute shops, farmers market, cool people, metro accesssibility, good elementary schools (with TP schools good all the way to high school).