Buying a House/Raising Kids/Education in DC vs. MD vs. VA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We picked Maryland because you get better value for money for a home purchase and you get to live in pretty leafy historic neighborhoods

UMD is better than UVA if your kid wants to study STEM instead of becoming a lawyer or something

Sorry, but Va Tech is better.

But your kids have to live in the sticks, 4 hours away from DC, and go to school with the same kind of people who nominated Corey Stewart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were in exactly the same boat. We moved a bit earlier because we got tired of the routine sketchy stuff in the alley and street - drug deals, kids being noisy really late at night, occasional violent crime. We weren't scared off by this (I'd lived in DC for 25 years in EOTP NW) - but we knew we weren't going to stay because of schools & indoor/outdoor space. So we decided to just move and not have to explain the crack for sex deal in the alley which they would eventually see.

We chose Arlington, for some reasons like OP - family closer than in MD, but also the housing seemed like a better value than MoCo for similar commutes to DC. That is, Chevy Chase & close-in Bethesda were well over $1M for anything we could live in, which was out of our price range. We stayed under $1M in N. Arlington without too much trouble.

We've been very happy with the choice. Though we occasionally miss some things like better dining options & walkability in DC, honestly, once you have kids you don't spend all that much time at restaurants and bars. They'd rather be hanging out with the other neighborhood kids -- and you'd rather they were doing that too.

We can now walk to several amazing parks, we live in a community that has very low crime, nice neighbors and plenty of open space, we have a much bigger house, and we can walk to our kids' excellent elementary school. Driving commute to downtown DC is under 30 minutes. Commute home from downtown on a really bad day might be 45, but it's usually less. This isn't all that much longer than our door-to-door metro commutes when we lived in DC. One of us now works in VA and has a much shorter commute too.

Sure, Arlington has plenty of its own local problems (as anywhere does) but the quality of life is much higher for us overall. We've been happy with the schools, we love having a neighborhood school & no lottery so children go to school with other neighborhood kids, love the community.

What neighborhood in Arlington is this?

[Anonymous]

If you really cared about your kids college education you would move to Baltimore, where Johns Hopkins will pay for your child's tuition if they get accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We picked Maryland because you get better value for money for a home purchase and you get to live in pretty leafy historic neighborhoods

UMD is better than UVA if your kid wants to study STEM instead of becoming a lawyer or something

Sorry, but Va Tech is better.

But your kids have to live in the sticks, 4 hours away from DC, and go to school with the same kind of people who nominated Corey Stewart.

Except that the areas surrounding Blacksburg all voted for Clinton: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/upshot/election-2016-voting-precinct-maps.html#11.80/37.240/-80.388

Do some research before you post stupid things on the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We picked Maryland because you get better value for money for a home purchase and you get to live in pretty leafy historic neighborhoods

UMD is better than UVA if your kid wants to study STEM instead of becoming a lawyer or something

Sorry, but Va Tech is better.

But your kids have to live in the sticks, 4 hours away from DC, and go to school with the same kind of people who nominated Corey Stewart.

Except that the areas surrounding Blacksburg all voted for Clinton: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/upshot/election-2016-voting-precinct-maps.html#11.80/37.240/-80.388

Do some research before you post stupid things on the internet.

Sorry, still hickville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We picked Maryland because you get better value for money for a home purchase and you get to live in pretty leafy historic neighborhoods

UMD is better than UVA if your kid wants to study STEM instead of becoming a lawyer or something

Sorry, but Va Tech is better.

But your kids have to live in the sticks, 4 hours away from DC, and go to school with the same kind of people who nominated Corey Stewart.

Except that the areas surrounding Blacksburg all voted for Clinton: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/upshot/election-2016-voting-precinct-maps.html#11.80/37.240/-80.388

Do some research before you post stupid things on the internet.

Sorry, still hickville.

And College Park is a gem? I wouldn't expect DC to move to Blacksburg permanently. Presumably, he would be on campus studying most of the time anyway, and not traveling far enough away to hang out with the hicks.

You remind me of the idiots I run into when I go back home to NY. Last time I was there, a guy on Long Island told me how much it must suck to live in the south and showed me a lot of pity. Dude looked like he could've starred in some show about the Jersey Shore, and though he'd never been to D.C., he claimed to know a lot about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you really cared about your kids college education you would move to Baltimore, where Johns Hopkins will pay for your child's tuition if they get accepted.

I guess I don't care about my kid's education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you really cared about your kids college education you would move to Baltimore, where Johns Hopkins will pay for your child's tuition if they get accepted.

I guess I don't care about my kid's education.

+1 What a dumb comment!

[Anonymous]

Virginia has multiple strong schools for kids at every level, including an excellent community college feeder to the public universities if your children need more time to mature academically after high school. If your child is outstanding in the college process UVA or William and Mary are top notch schools. If they are into science or engineering Virginia tech is another great option. If they are a bit less academic schools like George Mason, JMU or VCU are decent schools and could be a good fit. Your inlaws are completely correct about the breadth and depth of instate university options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of four (two kids ages 4 and 1) who own a house in Petworth, Washington, DC. Our 4-year-old is at a charter that we've been happy with for PK, but is having administration drama. It also doesn't have any feeders and our in-bound schools for Middle and High get low GreatSchools scores. We own our house, but it is a starter home and not the house we want to be in forever. We want to have more space for our children and also want the house to have good public schools. We love DC, but the housing costs keep getting higher for neighborhoods with better schools, which is making us looks at Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Kensington neighborhoods. However, my in-laws are stressing that Virginia suburbs would be better because of all the public universities once our kids are college-aged. My in-laws happen to live in VA, go figure. I really like Maryland, but it does seem like the only great public university option is UMD. With tuition costs rising and rising, I do think they make a good argument. Anyone else having these debates or have any words of wisdom to provide to me? Even with DC's DCTAG program, that's a little promising, but hard to know if it'll still be in place 20 years from now or what the state of higher ed will look like.

We were in this boat, and luckily could afford to buy a house in DC, 2,000+ square feet and zoned for a good elementary school. We may choose to move after elementary school or we may see what our private options are, but that's 8 years away. Not sure how you can be thinking about college already. You don't even know what kind of students your children will be or what they will want. They may choose to take out a loan in order to afford the school of their dreams, and that school may not be UVA or UMD. They may get a scholarship somewhere. They may start a business and not go to college at all. They may have an interest in marine biology and choose to go to a school with access to the ocean. You literally have no idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We stayed in DC. We valued the shorter commute and were happy with our IB school. Who knows what higher education is going to look like in 15-20 years, so it didn't seem to make sense to make housing decisions based on that. As we get closer to college, we can re-evaluate if necessary, but in the meantime, we like the short commute (walking to school and taking Metro to work) and our neighborhood.

Enjoy UDC, assuming the qualify after DC high School

Bonus--I don't have to live near stupid people like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leaving DC for MD. Did not even consider VA.

1. Commute crosses water. Bottlenecks inevitable. The end.
2. All the fine VA institutions mentioned here (or even pointed to from a distance) are residential party campuses. No thanks.

Oh the ignorance on this forum! Let's see, any good real estate agent will tell you the commute from McLean to D.C. or Arlington to D.C. is preferable over anything in Maryland because VA has the George Washington Parkway which has no lights. You get on, speed into town )yes I see you Marylanders breaking the speed limit there daily because you figured it out) - the rest is a mess dowtown but that isn't due to Virginia. There is no "crossing of water" unless you consider that blip on the Roosevelt bridge to be a problem, which it rarely is. On the Maryland side you have to do a mess of a commute involving Conn. Ave., Wisconsin, the Clara Barton - all huge messes in the mornings with lights. You couldn't pay me to commute from Potomac or Bethesda into D.C.

Which Va institutions are "residential party campuses"? What a weird phrase! Do you even know how many public colleges and universities there are in Virginia? Did you know that UVA routinely now ranks 1, 2, or 3 against Berkeley and UCLA for best public university in the United States? (always above Michigan now) Did you know Virginia and California have the two best university systems in the United States and serve students from all walks of life? (no you don't because you are an elitist snob). Did you know that the median top 25% students at UVA and William and Mary have 4.44 GPAs? That it is becoming almost impossible to get in even if you are Ivy material (and especially from Nova). Do you even know about the terrific guarantee of admission to the top Virginia universities if you attend a community college, maintain a certain GPA and fulfill all the requirements? How many states offer that? Maryland certainly doesn't. And I'm dying to know which Virginia public universities are "residential party campuses" because I've taught on several of them and have had children attend. Maybe the private Wash. & Lee but I wouldn't pay to send my kid there anyhow.

To OP - you don't know how long you will be settled in your new home before you have to move again for whatever reason. One of the most important factors in resale value is public school system. Even if you go private, you will reap the benefits of being in the "Langley pyramid" or "McLean Pyramid" or any of the other xlnt public school systems in Virginia. Do your homework and find out where they are when you purchase because that WILL be a big issue when you go to sell.

Really? I live and work in DC, but am attending a conference in VA this week. I saw tons of traffic heading towards what I believe is the Key Bridge into DC. And it’s August—I’m sure it’d be a lot worse in the fall.

Yeah, I commute on the GW Parkway DC-McLean four days a week, or at least I used to. Waze has steered me away from the Parkway for the last several months. It is horrible right now--undrivable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Let's see, any good real estate agent will tell you the commute from McLean to D.C. or Arlington to D.C. is preferable over anything in Maryland because VA has the George Washington Parkway which has no lights.

I don't commute by car. Trains only. Lights are irrelevant. Actual geographic impediments like water are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We picked Maryland because you get better value for money for a home purchase and you get to live in pretty leafy historic neighborhoods

UMD is better than UVA if your kid wants to study STEM instead of becoming a lawyer or something

Sorry, but Va Tech is better.

But your kids have to live in the sticks, 4 hours away from DC, and go to school with the same kind of people who nominated Corey Stewart.

Except that the areas surrounding Blacksburg all voted for Clinton: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/upshot/election-2016-voting-precinct-maps.html#11.80/37.240/-80.388

Do some research before you post stupid things on the internet.

Sorry, still hickville.

And College Park is a gem? I wouldn't expect DC to move to Blacksburg permanently. Presumably, he would be on campus studying most of the time anyway, and not traveling far enough away to hang out with the hicks.

You remind me of the idiots I run into when I go back home to NY. Last time I was there, a guy on Long Island told me how much it must suck to live in the south and showed me a lot of pity. Dude looked like he could've starred in some show about the Jersey Shore, and though he'd never been to D.C., he claimed to know a lot about it.

That poster can yell “STEM” until he’s blue in the face, but Maryland is a generic campus in a ratty suburb in a trashy county. Going there is like four more years at a high school in Rockville, just in a worse location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of four (two kids ages 4 and 1) who own a house in Petworth, Washington, DC. Our 4-year-old is at a charter that we've been happy with for PK, but is having administration drama. It also doesn't have any feeders and our in-bound schools for Middle and High get low GreatSchools scores. We own our house, but it is a starter home and not the house we want to be in forever. We want to have more space for our children and also want the house to have good public schools. We love DC, but the housing costs keep getting higher for neighborhoods with better schools, which is making us looks at Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Kensington neighborhoods. However, my in-laws are stressing that Virginia suburbs would be better because of all the public universities once our kids are college-aged. My in-laws happen to live in VA, go figure. I really like Maryland, but it does seem like the only great public university option is UMD. With tuition costs rising and rising, I do think they make a good argument. Anyone else having these debates or have any words of wisdom to provide to me? Even with DC's DCTAG program, that's a little promising, but hard to know if it'll still be in place 20 years from now or what the state of higher ed will look like.

One thing to consider is that being close to parents can be helpful when they hit the phase of life when the need help - often at a moment’s notice. Being closer to them is golden at that point. We hit these years with our parents when our children were in upper elementary then MS and HS.