WFH - Rank These DMV Neighborhoods -$1.5M Budget

[Anonymous]

I live in Lyon Park which we adore, and paid under $1.5m for a SFH here last year. Here’s the thing: you can do any of these neighborhoods on your budget, it will just be a question of how many homes available at that price and if you need to do any updating. Sure there are also new builds $2-3m but honestly that isn’t what we want (modern farmhouse stuff) and we are thrilled with our renovated 1950s home. But while the new builds are sitting and there are plenty of those (over supply) the lower priced original homes move less often and fast. So any of these neighborhoods work but it’s all about inventory and how much time you have to stalk the market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Old Town or Del Ray? Get kid friendly and much much more walkability and an actual WFH community so you're not too isolated.

I WFH and looked at these neighborhoods for that reason. The schools aren't as bad as DCUM makes it out to seem (they've gotten better in the past 3 years maybe) and if you're truly upset (which I actually doubt) put the kiddos in private.

+1. Easy decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Old Town or Del Ray? Get kid friendly and much much more walkability and an actual WFH community so you're not too isolated.

I WFH and looked at these neighborhoods for that reason. The schools aren't as bad as DCUM makes it out to seem (they've gotten better in the past 3 years maybe) and if you're truly upset (which I actually doubt) put the kiddos in private.

OP wants good schools.

For UMC kids from educated parents, AC is arguably the best HS in the region, barring TJ. It's OK to not know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moving here and have a $1.5M budget. Looking for good schools, kid friendly neighborhoods, and walkability. Want to be close enough to DC in case we have to commute in the future, so not looking in Ashburn or far out counties.

I’ve found these neighborhoods with great school scores close to the Beltway that might fit my budget. Can you please help rank them?

Falls Church zoned for Meridian
Falls Church zoned for Marshall
North Arlington zoned for Yorktown
Bethesda zoned for Bethesda Chevy Chase
Kensington or Garrett Park zoned for Walter Johnson

How did you end up with Walter Johnson skipping over MCPS Whitman?

Millennials that grew up here in DC/MD/VA top target is Yorktown. Unless they have other relatives and convenient babysitting types nearby ... Arlington or Meridian completely avoid the slop, boundary issues, programming issues that are ongoing in FCPS and MCPS.

[Anonymous]

1.5 million in Bethesda will ge a house falling apart. I wanted to buy in Bethesda a nice house and on a 1.1 to 1.4 budget was very hard in 2017. Reason I bought in Potomac close in.

Ironic part Seven locks is dividing line Bethesda and Potomac and literally houses a few hundred feet apart had different price points as DCUM people like to live in Bethesda even if one foot over Potomac or Rockville border.

[Anonymous]

Getting off at Grosvenor metro is underrated and the drive to Potomac along tuckerman is breezy. Bethesda metro doesn’t have its own parking and it’s a traffic mess. If you live in Bethesda you better work in Bethesda or live close enough to walk to metro. Otherwise is a painful commute bc of how dense it is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$1.5M will get you a SFH in Bethesda zoned to Walter Johnson.

This is a good option. Given the boundary studies, I would not trust a Kensington or Garrett Park zoned for Walter Johnson purchase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do Bethesda zoned for Walter Johnson. It's not very walkable but not any less walkable than the other options.

The only places that are super walkable are along the western leg of the red line out to Bethesda, and Rosslyn-Clarendon-Ballston.

Town of Kensington is walkable to MARC, restaurants, parks, playgrounds, a farmer’s market, multiple drug stores, and a Safeway. I don’t know how it doesn’t meet the definition of walkable.

Cute, yes, but northbound Conn Ave. traffic is a bear. Inside the beltway far better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving here and have a $1.5M budget. Looking for good schools, kid friendly neighborhoods, and walkability. Want to be close enough to DC in case we have to commute in the future, so not looking in Ashburn or far out counties.

I’ve found these neighborhoods with great school scores close to the Beltway that might fit my budget. Can you please help rank them?

Falls Church zoned for Meridian
Falls Church zoned for Marshall
North Arlington zoned for Yorktown
Bethesda zoned for Bethesda Chevy Chase
Kensington or Garrett Park zoned for Walter Johnson

How did you end up with Walter Johnson skipping over MCPS Whitman?

Millennials that grew up here in DC/MD/VA top target is Yorktown. Unless they have other relatives and convenient babysitting types nearby ... Arlington or Meridian completely avoid the slop, boundary issues, programming issues that are ongoing in FCPS and MCPS.

Whitman: #130 in US News Rankings
Yorktown: #496

Kind of a joke to act as though they're comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Old Town or Del Ray? Get kid friendly and much much more walkability and an actual WFH community so you're not too isolated.

I WFH and looked at these neighborhoods for that reason. The schools aren't as bad as DCUM makes it out to seem (they've gotten better in the past 3 years maybe) and if you're truly upset (which I actually doubt) put the kiddos in private.

OP wants good schools.

For UMC kids from educated parents, AC is arguably the best HS in the region, barring TJ. It's OK to not know this.

ACHS?? You have to be joking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1.5M will get you a SFH in Bethesda zoned to Walter Johnson.

This is a good option. Given the boundary studies, I would not trust a Kensington or Garrett Park zoned for Walter Johnson purchase.

If your house gets rezoned to Einstein, you'll immediately lost $250k in house value, maybe more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving here and have a $1.5M budget. Looking for good schools, kid friendly neighborhoods, and walkability. Want to be close enough to DC in case we have to commute in the future, so not looking in Ashburn or far out counties.

I’ve found these neighborhoods with great school scores close to the Beltway that might fit my budget. Can you please help rank them?

Falls Church zoned for Meridian
Falls Church zoned for Marshall
North Arlington zoned for Yorktown
Bethesda zoned for Bethesda Chevy Chase
Kensington or Garrett Park zoned for Walter Johnson

How did you end up with Walter Johnson skipping over MCPS Whitman?

Millennials that grew up here in DC/MD/VA top target is Yorktown. Unless they have other relatives and convenient babysitting types nearby ... Arlington or Meridian completely avoid the slop, boundary issues, programming issues that are ongoing in FCPS and MCPS.

Whitman: #130 in US News Rankings
Yorktown: #496

Kind of a joke to act as though they're comparable.

+1. Unfortunately, while this board pumps Arlington, the truth is that it's a very small school system and doesn't compete well with Montgomery and Fairfax counties:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/district-of-columbia/rankings/washington-dc-47900

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at Falls Church zoned to McLean as well.

This + Arlington (Yorktown)!
Walter Johnson is good too, I don't know much about BCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving here and have a $1.5M budget. Looking for good schools, kid friendly neighborhoods, and walkability. Want to be close enough to DC in case we have to commute in the future, so not looking in Ashburn or far out counties.

I’ve found these neighborhoods with great school scores close to the Beltway that might fit my budget. Can you please help rank them?

Falls Church zoned for Meridian
Falls Church zoned for Marshall
North Arlington zoned for Yorktown
Bethesda zoned for Bethesda Chevy Chase
Kensington or Garrett Park zoned for Walter Johnson

How did you end up with Walter Johnson skipping over MCPS Whitman?

Millennials that grew up here in DC/MD/VA top target is Yorktown. Unless they have other relatives and convenient babysitting types nearby ... Arlington or Meridian completely avoid the slop, boundary issues, programming issues that are ongoing in FCPS and MCPS.

You’re not going to get anything other than a teardown for $1.5M in Whitman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1.5M will get you a SFH in Bethesda zoned to Walter Johnson.

This is a good option. Given the boundary studies, I would not trust a Kensington or Garrett Park zoned for Walter Johnson purchase.

If your house gets rezoned to Einstein, you'll immediately lost $250k in house value, maybe more.

The boundary study is finalized and the superintendent voted to keep Kensington in WJ. I can’t imagine another zoning battle fight is going to take place anytime soon.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/boundary-study/

If you’re going to be making decisions because you fear a zoning change in the next decade that is preposterous. Anything could happen 10-20 years from now that would be much more impactful to real estate prices than a zoning change.