Moving from St. Louis to take a job in downtown D.C....where in NoVA,MD, D.C to live?

[Anonymous]

There is a large Korean community in Annandale.

Yes, there are many locations near Annandale that may fit the bill for you. In addition to the Longfellow-McLean pyramid, there are neighborhoods in the area that feed into the Frost-Woodson school pyramid, which is considered a good pyramid. It is not walking distance to metro, but you could drive to the metro if need be and a commute into the city from there (on Highway 50) would be about 30-40 minutes by car most days. (We live in this area.)

Also, close to the Vienna metro there are many townhomes and condos, some of which are very definitely walkable. You'd be mainly in the Madison or Oakton HS pyramids in those areas. You can also access Highways 29 and 50 from these to commute in by car is need be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you asked about Reston - it's about 23-25 miles from downtown. So on a Saturday morning, that's a 35 minute drive (maybe 30 if lucky). No way would it be under 1 hour in rush hour, and that's only if you can go in HOV lanes.

PP here again. I realized that you might not yet be familiar with HOV lanes (I remember this being a foreign concept when my family moved here from FL many years ago).
Here is the description for I-66, which is one of the main highways linking VA and DC, and the one you would take if you were coming in from the western suburbs (such as Reston).

http://www.commuterpage.com/hov.htm
Inside the Beltway (I-495), all lanes of I-66 are restricted to vehicles with two or more people (HOV-2) on weekdays, eastbound (toward D.C.) in the morning and westbound in the evening. Outside the Beltway, there is one lane in each direction marked with diamonds; these lanes are also restricted to HOV-2 eastbound in the morning and westbound in the evening.

Weekdays, Inside the Beltway

6:30-9:00 a.m.
HOV-2 eastbound

4:00-6:30 p.m.
HOV-2 westbound

[Anonymous]

I'm the 13:46 poster. Baltimore would be about an hour drive on the weekend from Annandale (or Reston for that matter). Toll road to Beltway is very quick on the weekends. We drive this way often (family in Philly).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, first of all, if you want a short commute you need to live inside the beltway at the very least! When we moved here 3 years ago we decided that there were too many choices and went for renting a great condo in Arlington directly across from a metro station. By doing this we really got a feel for the neighborhoods and were able to make a well informed decision about where we wanted to live. From there, Virginia Square Metro, my husband had a 20 min. metro commute door to door. But he decided that he didn't like how crowded the orange line was (it is nicknamed the orange crush . So we bought a house in Old town Alexandria where we are a couple of blocks from the Braddock Road metro and are even closer to the Bus line that goes down the George Washington Parkway (this is a really nice bus route). By bus he has a 15 min. commute plus a 5 min. walk to his office.

It really matters where his office is in relation to the metro, and obviously the housing budget matters. But realize that while the housing is cheaper the farther out you go, your transportation costs and time costs just sky rocket!! Also, realize that the housing market is not in great shape the farther out you go, so if you are looking outside the beltway, realize you might have to hold onto the house for a while.

Another tip... If you look at a Google map during rush hour and turn on the traffic setting, you can get a pretty good idea of the driving conditions from different places. You can also listen to the traffic conditions on our local radio stations via the internet, they sometimes tell you how long the commute is from a certain area. Oh, and if you are considering driving, find out how much parking is at his office (be prepared to be shocked). Many employers pay for metro but don't pay for parking.

Oh, and restaurants, many of the towns inside the beltway have great restaurants (as well as outside but I’m always looking for walkable or metro access). If you haven't already, get a copy of the Washingtonian magazine, it has a top 100 and a cheap eats issue each year, it will give you some good ideas for areas with great food. Also just a great magazine in general… HTH, and good luck with the move!

Just a caveat - we live JUST outside the beltway (literally about a mile) in Silver Spring and so there are some exceptions. My commute is actually so much better than neighborhoods in SS inside the beltway. We are looking for houses now because we want more space, and are looking in Woodmoor and other inside the beltway neighborhoods, and are not willing to move there because they would add AT LEAST 15 minutes if not more to my commute which I'm not willing to do. Have to get on at least one or two major roads before Georgia, no where near a metro, etc. We are less than a mile from a metro and don't have to get on Colesville, etc. to get there.

[Anonymous]

If you have $1million to spend either do Chevy Chase MD (just over DC line in good school district) or downtown Bethesda near metro.

Personally I would do Vienna, which is a bit farther out but your husband can commute on the metro in about 45 minutes which is not a bad commute for DC. Its also closer to the larger Korean communities in DC.

MD I think has better parochial schools.

[Anonymous]

VA (Alexandria) has 2 great parochial schools, Blessed Sacrament and St. Mary's, both blue ribbon schools.

I just asked my husband, who's filipino, where in the area is a large korean population, and he said Annandale. So Annandale it is!

[Anonymous]

Definitely VA for the Korean community/food. You don't have to be in Annandale--there are lots of good Asian/Korean markets in NoVa although they are centered in Annandale. (Not to say there are none in MD or DC). If you live in Arlington/Falls Church, the rent will be higher but the tradeoff is that the public schools are good and the commute is shorter (so save on costs of schools and commuting). I would rent small/close in and see how it goes, and then move further out if you decide the tradeoffs are worth it. Alexandria is close-in as well and has many fine qualities, but the public schools generally are not as well regarded (although I think many of them are fine, particularly for elementary school).

30 minutes is a very short commute. I live in Arlington, and my commute is about 8 miles. It can easily take me a half hour to get to work/home during rush hour.

[Anonymous]

From what I understand "parochial schools" in some cities are often identified as among the best in the area. But not in DC. Keep options open -- there are excellent Montgomery County and Fairfax schools, for example... and many private non-denominational schools (e.g., The International School) are truly top notch.

You don't have to "Think Catholic" to get your child a really great schooling.

[Anonymous]

In case you were worried, there is a place you can get real frozen custard. It's not quite as good as Ted Drewe's -- they make it a little too sweet. But it will do.

You can always get tickets to see the Cards games when they come to DC.

I have not found a suitable St. Louis style pizza, however.

[Anonymous]

You had to say it-Ted Drews frozen custard! So STL. My husband has yet to try it-my family lives in west county and it's a hike. Where do you get frozen custard in this area? I'm in Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oh.....and I also forgot to add that another thing that might make a difference as to where we might want to live is where there might be a larger concentration of Koreans. My husband is Korean and we frequent Korean markets, shops, etc.

Thanks again for all the helpful info. This forum is a wonderful source!

Greenbelt, MD poster again. There is a house on the rental market that is $2300 a month. It is in a great neighborhood where many of my friends live, most of them with mixed race children. http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-LAKECREST-GREENBELT-MD-MRIS-PG7013792 The elementary school and high school are really good here. The middle school is a little iffy but that seems to be the case in most of the area. Someone once told me that it was because of all the social and emotional changes that take place during the middle school years that make the scores drop a bit. I see some truth to this.

There is a great Korean market ten to fifteen minutes from me that has everything you could want, and more. There is also a small restaurant there and between here and there (the long way) you can find two other good Korean restaurants. In a pinch there is a small, more expensive market, that's a little closer. Oh, and a Korean restaurant opened up in that shopping plaza too.

I wouldn't make any choices before you come out here. We moved here a few years ago and stayed in various hotels, in various areas, before making a decision on where to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oh.....and I also forgot to add that another thing that might make a difference as to where we might want to live is where there might be a larger concentration of Koreans. My husband is Korean and we frequent Korean markets, shops, etc.

Thanks again for all the helpful info. This forum is a wonderful source!

Greenbelt, MD poster again. There is a house on the rental market that is $2300 a month. It is in a great neighborhood where many of my friends live, most of them with mixed race children. http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-LAKECREST-GREENBELT-MD-MRIS-PG7013792 The elementary school and high school are really good here. The middle school is a little iffy but that seems to be the case in most of the area. Someone once told me that it was because of all the social and emotional changes that take place during the middle school years that make the scores drop a bit. I see some truth to this.

There is a great Korean market ten to fifteen minutes from me that has everything you could want, and more. There is also a small restaurant there and between here and there (the long way) you can find two other good Korean restaurants. In a pinch there is a small, more expensive market, that's a little closer. Oh, and a Korean restaurant opened up in that shopping plaza too.

I wouldn't make any choices before you come out here. We moved here a few years ago and stayed in various hotels, in various areas, before making a decision on where to live.

This is a LONG commute to downtown DC.

[Anonymous]

It's 13 miles from Greenbelt to Downtown DC. It can be a long car trip during rush hour but it isn't that long on the train.

I stand behind everything I have said and suggest that the OP stay in various hotels in different areas and see what would be a good fit for her. This is what we did and we found Greenbelt to be an Oasis of sorts. It had everything we wanted, diversity, schools, location, strong community, walk-ability, and affordability. Things I wouldn't have known if I didn't check this area out.

[Anonymous]

There's a private school here in suburban MD that had a Montessori-inspired Korean Language and Culture and serves as a "lab school".

http://www.newhopeacademy.org/KLCC.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You had to say it-Ted Drews frozen custard! So STL. My husband has yet to try it-my family lives in west county and it's a hike. Where do you get frozen custard in this area? I'm in Alexandria.

I think there is a place in Del Ray that sells custard. We usually go to the Frozen Dairy Bar on Rte. 50 in Falls Church. I had never heard of frozen custard before I moved here (from New England), so I have no idea if it would be considered good or not!