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Schools and Education General Discussion
If you had $450k to spend, wanted a decent commute to Metro Center, good public schools, suburbs,
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Anonymous
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From someone who lived in NY and now lives in DC - the difference between Virginia and Maryland is the civil war.....
Until 2000, the State of Virginia celebrated Lee-Jackson King day. Simultaneously celebrating the lives of Confederate generals and a civil rights icon I have a bit of an issue with. This was one of the reasons I decided not to live in Virginia. |
Anonymous
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As someone that has lived in both VA and MD since moving here from NJ, I would say both have nice communities for young families and good schools. What I noticed when I went house shopping back in the heyday of the real estate market is that my money went further in just inside/outside the beltway VA than in MD. The money that bought the 1950's house with the tiny kitchen, tiny bath, and no closet space in MD right inside/outside the Beltway in Montgomery County was maybe a 1960's or 1970's (bigger kitchen, master bedroom) in Fairfax County in the Woodson cluster. As far as taxes - my husband who has also lived both places says MD gets it fewer places in bigger chunks, VA gets it in more places in smaller chunks. The tax on our cell phone bill was higher in VA and the property tax ended up being higher ( Montgomery County homestead credit has phased in/capped our property tax increase at 10% per year if you have been in the house at least 1 year - and the property tax assessment are in a 3 year cycle). However, in MD I pay a higher percentage for state income tax and I pay a locality tax.
Kensington in the BCC and Walter Johnson cluster (the Parkwood neighborhood for example) has the convenience of being close to D.C with very good schools, but is slightly less expensive than Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Other places to look - Rockville - 20852 zip near White Flint mall there may be townhouses in that price range. It's close to the Grosvenor Metro station and feeds into the Walter Johnson cluster. I guess one question is how far out do you want to be? If you want more suburban lifestyle with more space then for example Reston, VA might fit the bill. If you are willing to give up space to be closer in but with access to parks and things to do etc. then for example Kensington would meet your needs. You also mentioned having a young family. If the family is still growing you may want to be further out in a bigger space. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks for the advice.
I am not sure how far out I want to be. DH is a lawyer at a big firm and if the hours in DC are anything like the hours in NYC, then we want to keep the commute down. I guess that means moving on the metro line. Reston would be too far out, I imagine. Fairfax City looks really nice and there seems to be some inventory in our price range. Can someone give me the lowdown on what a commute from there actually entails? Do people walk to the metro if they live close? Is the traffic absolute hell? What is Vienna like? I am not seeing anything in Falls Church city under $500k. |
Anonymous
I'm not that PP, but I don't find any more sense of place in the "true" Reston. The housing tracts and strip malls are just as generic as the office parks... with some woods in between. Not that the MD suburbs are any better. In fact, to me, they look a lot like Reston or Phoenix or someplace. |
Anonymous
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Folks, we should not be leading the OP astray. There is no place -- NO place -- in Reston, Fairfax City, and thereabouts that will get her DH to Union Station in 45 minutes.
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Anonymous
| Fredericksburg. & take the VRE. |
Anonymous
That may not be work very well for someone who's going to be working late hours at a law firm-- he's got to be able to commute during rush hour and late at night. I would look for somewhere near a metro station, but not too far out in any case. I am thinking Kensington, Silver Spring, Takoma Park. but I don't have a good sense of the inventory and I have a MD bias (I would never want to commute, or even run errands, on a lot of those congested roads in NoVa). |
Anonymous
OP, Vienna is very nice. We have friends who live there and it is very suburban with good schools. Not sure about the areas within walking distance to metro though. As for your DH, if he is really working late, by the time he leaves work the traffic might not be so bad if he was to drive. I know some firms pay for cabs when you work later than a certain hour, too. You might also look in the Fairfax County part of Falls Church (zip: 22043). Prices tend to be a little less than Falls Church city, but it is closer in than Vienna. Schools are good, too (I teach at one!). Good luck! |
Anonymous
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I live in PG county (not as scary as folks would have you believe), and it takes me all of 30 minutes to get downtown via public transit.
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Anonymous
| We are near the Forest Glen metro and we are 35 minutes door to door to Metro Center. Houses are all around 450k or even less now. |
Anonymous
Last week, a friend of mine got into a minor traffic accident in PG (where I grew up by the way). He was beaten to a pulp by the other driver and is now in a coma. I would not recommend it to someone moving here cold from out of state. I would recommend parts of it for people living here for several years. They know the neighborhoods -- which vary, in some cases, street by street. |
Anonymous
| Ditto Kensington but around St. Paul Park on the east side (Walter Johnson cluster). Streets to look at: St Paul, Oberon, Wheatley, Dupont, Farragut, Perry, Lexington. Make sure the address around here falls within the WJ cluster (check the schools website). |
Anonymous
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To the op. I am an ex-NYC gal. I have 2 kids and I am shopping for a house in the same range and looking for good schools. I have been here for 7 years now so I am pretty up to date on the real estate. I live in PG ( greenbelt ) I LOVE IT!!!! Now it is time to move and we have looked in all the MONT County areas for months ( SS, CC, Parkwood etc...)
e-mail me and I can give you the lowdown hipyeladim@comcast.net Good luck we are in the same boat ( there are possibilities!!) |
Anonymous
Sorry for the digression but, heck, what scares me in PG are the cops! They seem to keep shooting people and dogs who aren't out to do them any harm (1) Prince Jones, 2) the furniture delivery guy murdered by the County Exec's former driver and security guard, and 3) the Berwyn Heights mayor's dogs). And I read just today or yesterday about a detective who did such a bad job collecting evidence on a robbery suspect that the jury let the suspect go. (Didn't interview the witness, look at the store security tapes, or run the fingerprint left behind.) It's pretty bad when you live in SE DC and PG makes you nervous because of the police who shoot first and ask questions later. That said, OP, I can tell you (because I live in SE DC) that the first pp is no doubt correct. I'm sure that there are perfectly nice parts of PG County just like there are perfectly nice parts of SE DC. And the 2nd pp is correct, just like in parts of DC, I'm sure there are parts of PG where you can get beaten to a pulp. You just have to do some research on neighborhoods and decide what your priorities are. (But watch out for the police as well as the criminals!) |
Anonymous
I'm the PP you quoted. The police culture scares me too. I went to law school with a PG County police officer years ago, who bragged about beating up suspects accused of hurting cops. I won't even get into how racist he was (he was white). Fortunately, he's not practicing law in the state. |