How did you pick between MD and VA?

[Anonymous]

I grew up in another part of Virginia so that’s why we chose Nova. We also wanted access to VA in state college tuition.

[Anonymous]

Easy. Less taxes in VA. Less government intrusion. Less of a welfare state. Value of real estate holds better. Great college system

[Anonymous]

Politics matters. I can't bring myself to move to VA, though the public college system is better (though who knows if kids' best options would be VA public colleges) and income taxes are lower. During COVID, masks in MD. Cross the river even in Arlington and no masks. The VA legislature does crazy things to me every now and then on social issues I really care about.

Of course, all this means someone else would prefer VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Politics matters. I can't bring myself to move to VA, though the public college system is better (though who knows if kids' best options would be VA public colleges) and income taxes are lower. During COVID, masks in MD. Cross the river even in Arlington and no masks. The VA legislature does crazy things to me every now and then on social issues I really care about.

Of course, all this means someone else would prefer VA.

And yet all of NoVa was masked up during COVID.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Politics matters. I can't bring myself to move to VA, though the public college system is better (though who knows if kids' best options would be VA public colleges) and income taxes are lower. During COVID, masks in MD. Cross the river even in Arlington and no masks. The VA legislature does crazy things to me every now and then on social issues I really care about.

Of course, all this means someone else would prefer VA.

Just stop. Arlington residents were very serious about mask wearing. You're being ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dislike using turn signals, so we chose Maryland.

+1. I enjoy reckless driving and speeding, so I too chose Maryland.

I live in NoVa but drive like I live in Maryland. Best of both states.

[Anonymous]

Jobs are.in MD, so bought in MD. I'm from VA, I consider all of this area much of a muchness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ MoCo defector PP again. Tell us your housing budget and how important school ratings are, and we will tell you where we think you should live.

OP here… Looking for a 4 bedroom house under $800K with a little yard. Safety is big… I’ve lived in other cities where I’ve actually caught intruders inside my house mid-break in. We’ll get an alarm system and have dogs now but it was still pretty traumatic. Schools are important, and bilingual/immersion would be our preference. We like going out to restaurants/happy hour. We need parking for 2 cars, but would love to be able to have metro as an option, especially when people come to town to visit.

OP, you should look at Reston.

[Anonymous]

VA = really boring housing stock. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA = really boring housing stock. No thanks.

Well it’s mostly developments where you pick if you want the garage in the left or right side. And you can select to get a bonus room above that garage. Hideous homes.

[Anonymous]

Maryland is too far south as it is, so there was no way in hell I was going to live in Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VA = really boring housing stock. No thanks.

Both NoVA and MoCo have extremely boring housing stock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ MoCo defector PP again. Tell us your housing budget and how important school ratings are, and we will tell you where we think you should live.

OP here… Looking for a 4 bedroom house under $800K with a little yard. Safety is big… I’ve lived in other cities where I’ve actually caught intruders inside my house mid-break in. We’ll get an alarm system and have dogs now but it was still pretty traumatic. Schools are important, and bilingual/immersion would be our preference. We like going out to restaurants/happy hour. We need parking for 2 cars, but would love to be able to have metro as an option, especially when people come to town to visit.

I can't speak for VA, but MoCo has a handful of two-way immersion programs at the elementary level that will extend into middle school: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/two-way-immersion.aspx

We are at Oakland Terrace and love the school and the community. Very safe, neighbors are friendly and down to earth, diverse, etc. It would be challenging to find four bedrooms, under $800K, though not impossible. There are also lottery-based immersion programs, but those are of course no guarantee.

I'm sorry about your prior experiences with break-ins. That sounds awful.

We are also at Oakland Terrace and echo the PP’s positive experiences. Safe, and we can walk to school and walk to metro (Forest Glen). Bilingual program has been great for our child. Walking to happy hour doesn’t really happen unless you count happy hour on neighbors’ patios. (Although technically we can walk just over a mile to the west to go to the restaurants in Kensington or to the north/east to the restaurants in Wheaton. Also can metro one stop to downtown Silver Spring within minutes.) 4 beds under 800 tough but not impossible (e.g. expanded Capes). If the 4th bed can be in the basement then it would be easy. Neighborhood is popular tho, especially since the rise in hybrid work has made outside the beltway more popular. If something nice comes up you’ll have to move fast, even in this slowing market.

We just moved from out of state and for some reason just liked MD a lot more than VA. Bought a place sight unseen in this very area and feel really fortunate - super quiet with great neighbors and are looking forward to sending our kids to OTES.

[Anonymous]

We bought is Moco since it was much cheaper than Fairfax or Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you moved to the DMV from somewhere else, how did you decide which state was the right place to buy? Are taxes that different? The commute? There are excellent schools in both VA and MD. Not asking about DC proper because budget/yard/parking struggles.

We moved here last year and it looks like our jobs are staying local remote, so that takes our commute concerns off the table. We’re primarily looking to buy in Montgomery County because that’s where we’ve been renting, but we’ve never lived in an area with so many jurisdictions so we’re not sure what to look for.

I chose DC and have no yard, budget or parking issues.