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

[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.

Ballston is much much nicer than silver spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They literally call it the other side of the tracks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I ran the numbers and it looks like it’s only a couple thousand dollars more per year to live in Maryland, which isn’t nothing, but it’s not a dealbreaker either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silver Spring is a big place. Certain parts are popular with young families on DCUM and are likely to meet your parameters. I advise looking into those. Search by elementary - e.g. Woodlin, Flora Singer, Oakland Terrace.

Thank you. Are you able to give me a list of the elementary schools that are popular with young families? Is it the three above, or are there more?

Just no. You want to stay in Arlington. I moved from Arlington and regret it. Real estate (even condos) appreciate faster there, taxes are lower, public safety is better, law enforcement seems to follow-up, Arlington is a small school system vs MCPS large urban district, bike trails in Arlington can’t be beat, I could go on….

Make sure to study up on Arlington schools before believing that APS is a good school system. Here's the forum where you can read more:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/show/83.page

This is OP. I live in Arlington now! It's honestly a great school system. But our condo is 750 square feet with a condo fee that just cracked $800 per month.

Could you look in Fairlington/Shirlington?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is OP. I’m counting on the Silver Spring high schools being better than Alexandria High School. I wouldn’t send my child there. If anyone has knowledge of both and thinks they are comparable, I’d be interested in hearing that, but I can’t see my coworkers choosing Alexandria High School if they had options, so I don’t think they are comparable.

Respectfully, no one is going to come up with some miracle stay-in-Virginia solution that I just haven’t thought of. I know Virginia. I’ve lived here for 40 years. I started this thread to gather more information about Silver Spring, which I don’t know at all. I do appreciate the helpful responses that people have written! It’s given me a lot to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is OP. I’m counting on the Silver Spring high schools being better than Alexandria High School. I wouldn’t send my child there. If anyone has knowledge of both and thinks they are comparable, I’d be interested in hearing that, but I can’t see my coworkers choosing Alexandria High School if they had options, so I don’t think they are comparable.

Respectfully, no one is going to come up with some miracle stay-in-Virginia solution that I just haven’t thought of. I know Virginia. I’ve lived here for 40 years. I started this thread to gather more information about Silver Spring, which I don’t know at all. I do appreciate the helpful responses that people have written! It’s given me a lot to think about.

DP. I would maybe send my kid to some of the high schools in SS but not in Alexandria. Only thing to keep in mind is if your kid has an iep MD they can do certain things without consent. The other thing is that MCPS is a large school system so has a much more substantial layer of bureaucracy than you’re used to in APS.

[Anonymous]

Also I would stay in the condo in Arlington if it were me!

[Anonymous]

How do you feel about Alexandria outside the beltway? Are you comfortable with FCPS? This house is slightly above your budget: https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/5503-Helmsdale-Ln-22315/home/9786831

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you didn’t give your budget, but this is a great house, zoned for Flora Singer ES and Blair HS, not in a “high crime” part of SS, and within an easy drive to anything you will need.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1000-Dennis-Ave-Silver-Spring-MD-20901/37292079_zpid/

+1 that actually is a great house. It’s cute and has the deck. Priced like a townhouse

I think the elementary and high school are probably wrong on this listing. Sligo is zoned to Einstein, not Blair. This is also I think beyond the Flora Singer zone. I could be wrong. But the areas zoned to Singer/Sligo/Einstein are amazing for families. We love it here and have loved all three schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is OP. I’m counting on the Silver Spring high schools being better than Alexandria High School. I wouldn’t send my child there. If anyone has knowledge of both and thinks they are comparable, I’d be interested in hearing that, but I can’t see my coworkers choosing Alexandria High School if they had options, so I don’t think they are comparable.

Respectfully, no one is going to come up with some miracle stay-in-Virginia solution that I just haven’t thought of. I know Virginia. I’ve lived here for 40 years. I started this thread to gather more information about Silver Spring, which I don’t know at all. I do appreciate the helpful responses that people have written! It’s given me a lot to think about.

DP. I would maybe send my kid to some of the high schools in SS but not in Alexandria. Only thing to keep in mind is if your kid has an iep MD they can do certain things without consent. The other thing is that MCPS is a large school system so has a much more substantial layer of bureaucracy than you’re used to in APS.

This is OP. By "they can do things without consent" do you mean that there is no state law (like there is in Virginia) requiring parent consent for changes to the IEP, so there are no stay put rights?

[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?

Yes, Kensington is very Catholic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re not married to a SFH, there are 3br condos in great school districts like this one that are less than $500k. You can get cheaper 3br condos in this school district, but they won’t be as nice.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/North-Bethesda/5812-Inman-Park-Cir-20852/unit-100/home/167005069

OP, I am the pp who moved from Arlington and urged you not to do so. If you are set on moving, these condos look like a really great deal. I did not know these existed; I think they are pretty under the radar still, although the one listed is already under contract. I think this is as good as you will do in MoCo for your budget. The schools you are zoned for are good and “North Bethesda” has more cachet and opportunity for appreciation than the other areas mentioned. It is frequently listed in articles about the best places to live in MD and the US. You are not far from metro there, close to great shopping and good schools. It will not be the “walk everywhere” vibe you wanted, but that would be twice the price at least. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What about Shirlington? They have cute TH there. I think you are priced out of SFH, I’m sorry.

[Anonymous]

Any of the Woodsides or Four Corners and you will find a nice community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silver Spring is a big place. Certain parts are popular with young families on DCUM and are likely to meet your parameters. I advise looking into those. Search by elementary - e.g. Woodlin, Flora Singer, Oakland Terrace.

Thank you. Are you able to give me a list of the elementary schools that are popular with young families? Is it the three above, or are there more?

Just no. You want to stay in Arlington. I moved from Arlington and regret it. Real estate (even condos) appreciate faster there, taxes are lower, public safety is better, law enforcement seems to follow-up, Arlington is a small school system vs MCPS large urban district, bike trails in Arlington can’t be beat, I could go on….

Make sure to study up on Arlington schools before believing that APS is a good school system. Here's the forum where you can read more:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/show/83.page

This is OP. I live in Arlington now! It's honestly a great school system. But our condo is 750 square feet with a condo fee that just cracked $800 per month.

I’m biased b/c I like Arlington (went from renting in Courthouse to buying a home near East Falls Church).

What is your budget and how old is your DD (I assume she is your only)? How much space do you realistically need? Is there a way to get more space in Arlington, but not necessarily a SFH? An $800 condo fee is a lot, I feel like that could put a big dent in a monthly payment somewhere else. Do you own now or rent?