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

[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.

In St. Louis there are options other than Ted Drewes but just as good. Your friends can tell you where to go.

In the DC area, the only place I have found that is good is this: http://www.thecustardstore.com/Site/Custard_1.html They use the old style Electro-Freeze machine just like at Ted Drewe's, where you scoop it out, and they make concretes. Don't be fooled by the silly pictures of cones. Anyway, it's a bit sweet for me but it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Woodmoor is outside the Beltway.

Your other comments are entirely commute-dependent. We used to live in Woodmoor, then moved to Woodside (which is truly inside the Beltway). That 2-mile move chopped 15 minutes off my commute to 19th & L downtown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

In St. Louis there are options other than Ted Drewes but just as good. Your friends can tell you where to go.

In the DC area, the only place I have found that is good is this: http://www.thecustardstore.com/Site/Custard_1.html They use the old style Electro-Freeze machine just like at Ted Drewe's, where you scoop it out, and they make concretes. Don't be fooled by the silly pictures of cones. Anyway, it's a bit sweet for me but it works.

I haven't even looked because I knew nothing could compare with Micheal's in Wisconsin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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!

There's frozen custard in Del Ray: http://www.thedairygodmother.com/

[Anonymous]

Annandale has a great Korean community and some really cute housing stock. My cousin lives there and commutes to Mass Ave off of Dupont (very close to your husband's office) and has absolutely no problem. There are streets in Annandale that have the feel of a more spread out Midwestern/mid-south neighborhood but are very convenient.

I also think that Falls Church is a great option because of metro, neighborhood feel, and fantastic schools.

However all of your initial recommendations were in MD. They were way too far out, but do those recs mean that you want to be near these friends in MD? If so, there are some nice neighborhoods in Silver Spring and in PG that are Metro accessible.

I'm a DC resident myself, but if you're looking for more like St. Louis, Annandale might really suit you.

Since you're renting for a year, you could get an apt right near husband's work and use your weekends to explore the entire metro area for the place that you will "land." Get a good realtor to help with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Annandale has a great Korean community and some really cute housing stock. My cousin lives there and commutes to Mass Ave off of Dupont (very close to your husband's office) and has absolutely no problem. There are streets in Annandale that have the feel of a more spread out Midwestern/mid-south neighborhood but are very convenient.

I also think that Falls Church is a great option because of metro, neighborhood feel, and fantastic schools.

However all of your initial recommendations were in MD. They were way too far out, but do those recs mean that you want to be near these friends in MD? If so, there are some nice neighborhoods in Silver Spring and in PG that are Metro accessible.

I'm a DC resident myself, but if you're looking for more like St. Louis, Annandale might really suit you.

Since you're renting for a year, you could get an apt right near husband's work and use your weekends to explore the entire metro area for the place that you will "land." Get a good realtor to help with that.

The commute from Annadale is no problem if you leave the house at 7 AM. During rush hour, you should expect an hour at least, each way. This also means that if you drive, you have to pay for parking downtown, which is very expensive (expect to pay at least $200/month).