Help husband and I settle a huge argument over where to move!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: A middle-of-the-road smallish kitchen renovation is going to be $50K at a bare minimum, much more for nice appliances or other bells and whistles. .

we did a middle-of-the road smallish kitchen renovation for half that...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While I agree that McMansions are scary, at 700K even in Ashburn the OP is not talking about a McMansion. The term McMansion for me means those huge houses that fill every inch of lot in Bethesda overshadowing the nice well designed rambler someone is about to tear down.

We did move further out, not Ashburn, but an area with very big lots and more house for the money. I do love the big lot and it is peaceful. The kids can play outside for hours. I also like having a more open house layout with larger rooms that accomodate comfy furniture. Its nice that everyone can be in the kitchen when we cook or the kids can be doing something at the table.

where did you move where the lots are big? I keep finding newer houses with yards that are SO small, and I'm interested in finding a newer house with a larger yard.

see--when I hear McMansion I also think of suburbs where every home is one of the 3 models...cookie-cutter developments where everything looks the same and then in 5 years looks very dated, new construction, etc.

[Anonymous]

I did a shoestring kitchen renovation for less than $5k 2 years ago, FWIW

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did a shoestring kitchen renovation for less than $5k 2 years ago, FWIW

I'm the PP who threw out the $50K number. I said it in the context of general feedback about OP's situation. I wasn't trying to start an argument about the costs of renovation, I was just giving OP some food for thought. Perhaps I overestimated a bit, but in my mind a full kitchen renovation includes appliances, cabinets, countertops, fixtures, plumbing, floors, lighting/electric, sometimes windows, and often a reconfiguration of the space. (I'm assuming no addition.) $5K MAY get you a cosmetic refacing of a tiny kitchen using the lowest-end products and materials, but that's not going to help much with resale value in Arlington or Mclean where people are looking for at least mid-range if not better kitchens.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP,

Our situation was a little different, because in our case, we both worked in Reston, not DC, so a small close-in suburb didn't make too much sense for us.

We were moving from a small condo in DC, and we loved city living, but it was just too small once the baby was here. DH at first, wanted to move out to Ashburn too, because to his way of thinking, a suburb is a suburb, and who cares if it's Arlington, Fairfax or Ashburn, so you might as well get the most house you can for your money.

I did NOT want to be out in Ashburn, even though I have family out there. Rt 7 and the toll road are both very congested, and the Greenway is so expensive. It's not just commuting -- even on the weekends, Rt 7 is a pain.

Also, traffic in NOVA is really, really bad. Ashburn to Tysons might just be 15 miles, and that doesn't sound so bad, but that will easily be over 1 hr. We ended up buying a house in western Fairfax, a traditional Colonial style. It's not very big, but at least the bathrooms and kitchen were newish. It's only 6 miles from our house to work, and that takes over 30 mins some days, and never less than 20, in traffic. (W/o traffic, it's 10-15 mins.)

Not that Fairfax is any less soulless than Ashburn...but I'm very relieved I was able to talk my DH out of Loundon country.

[Anonymous]

OP why do you think a huge house in Ashburn wont require any maintenance? Because it's new? The bigger the house, the more it's a money pit. Please don't kid yourself into thinking that if it's new it won't require work.

[Anonymous]

Another poster who thinks the OP should take this board's opinion with a grain of salt... I would say there is a very very small number of people on this board living in Ashburn/Loudon to weight in and 90% living near or inside the beltway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you move to Ashburn, all of the negatives fall on you. (1) Who is going to clean and maintain said "enormous" house. YOU. If you think a new home won't require any maintenance, you are dreaming. (2) Who is going to have to develop and entirely new set of acquaintances, friends, social support, babysitters etc. not only for yourself but for your children? YOU. (3) Who is going to be separated from immediate family members? YOU.

Meanwhile, he gets to keep his life as before, hang out with HIS buddies after work, and get to feel all proud of him manliess for buying you granite countertops (whoop dee doo.) In all ways you lose and he comes out on top.

This. You should just print this out and show it to your DH.

Another poster to support this argument.

I'd stay closer in for so many reasons - all have been mentioned in this thread already.

[Anonymous]

Just to play the other side of this argument, some people are really happy in Ashburn. The communities there have a lot of ammenities (pools, tennis, etc) that are enticing. We live in ffx county but I can see why people move there...especially if you work in Reston or the Dulles Corridor.

[Anonymous]

Ashburn/Sterling does have Wegmans, which is one big advantage over close-in suburbs.

But I much prefer being closer in. We live in Arlington so my husband's commute is short. Totally worth the trade-off in house and yard size to have him home for dinner!

[Anonymous]

If it was me, I'd stay in the close in location. I just see Ashburn as another Gaithersburg. Gaithersburg was the new thing 20-25 years ago, and now it's basically a slum. Ashburn is cheap, and there is a reason why it's cheap.
It will always be a better financial decision to buy a house in a central location that a lot of people want to live in, especially when gas prices go up to $4 or $5 a gallon. Bethesda and McLean are close in, and will always be popular. If you wanted to go a bit further out you could look in Vienna which has good schools as well. Also remember that VA has much lower taxes than MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it was me, I'd stay in the close in location. I just see Ashburn as another Gaithersburg. Gaithersburg was the new thing 20-25 years ago, and now it's basically a slum. Ashburn is cheap, and there is a reason why it's cheap.
It will always be a better financial decision to buy a house in a central location that a lot of people want to live in, especially when gas prices go up to $4 or $5 a gallon. Bethesda and McLean are close in, and will always be popular. If you wanted to go a bit further out you could look in Vienna which has good schools as well. Also remember that VA has much lower taxes than MD.

PP, what do you mean by Gaithersburg is a slum? Did the property values go far down since 20 years ago? Is it a low income type of place now? Please explain. Or do you just mean it's not the "it" place to be anymore?

I'm also wondering if I should buy in one of these new far away places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it was me, I'd stay in the close in location. I just see Ashburn as another Gaithersburg. Gaithersburg was the new thing 20-25 years ago, and now it's basically a slum. Ashburn is cheap, and there is a reason why it's cheap.
It will always be a better financial decision to buy a house in a central location that a lot of people want to live in, especially when gas prices go up to $4 or $5 a gallon. Bethesda and McLean are close in, and will always be popular. If you wanted to go a bit further out you could look in Vienna which has good schools as well. Also remember that VA has much lower taxes than MD.

PP, what do you mean by Gaithersburg is a slum? Did the property values go far down since 20 years ago? Is it a low income type of place now? Please explain. Or do you just mean it's not the "it" place to be anymore?

I'm also wondering if I should buy in one of these new far away places.

A NP here, curious to hear the same qualification. I'm currently renting in Gaithersburg, and do note that the demographics here are certainly not what they are in the recognized "higher class" areas like Potomac, Bethesda, etc. And, school zone quality is not as impressive in this region as well. So, I can understand that other poster's critique, but if you choose to, please provide a more informed description.

[Anonymous]

I also live in Gaithersburg, and wouldn't exactly classify it as a slum. Some parts are to be avoided at all costs, for sure, but others (Kentlands pops up here every now and again) are quite nice. Property values haven't dropped through the floor, at least not for us, and we aren't in new construction by any means.

I'm going to hazard a guess that what the PP meant was there are a lot of Hispanics here. There are. There are a lot of apartments that are not that expensive to rent, making this area attractive to folks with a lower income than your standard DCUM. Schools aren't as highly rated, no doubt due to the higher prevalence of poorer/immigrant children. But keep in mind that the latest break-in homicide (apparently) in the news happened in nice, white Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Places like Ashburn, Gaithersburg etc are in the outlying suburbs, or exurbs. The geographical fringe of the region. If you look at European development patterns, you will see that after a while, the desirable locations are closer in. The credit debacle taught us that the housing market, particularly for the new, pressboard housing developments in the outlying areas was mostly a bubble. Look at Prince William and Frederick Counties as two examples were there are high percentages of foreclosure sales.

I think that is what the previous posters are referring to. In time, you will see dramatic shifts in economic diversity in the outer suburbs.