How did you pick between MD and VA?

[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.

Didn't want to be governed by Youngkin

[Anonymous]

Maryland is boring, there's a huge gap between the few snooty, rich areas left in MoCo and everything else, and PG is lame and has terrible schools (so bad the realtors don't even bother noting them on PG listings).

It's not a hard choice, really.

[Anonymous]

We found neighborhoods/schools/commutes we’d be happy with in both states and bought when we found a house we liked. Ended up in MD. I work in VA, DH works in DC. We’re happy where we landed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maryland is boring, there's a huge gap between the few snooty, rich areas left in MoCo and everything else, and PG is lame and has terrible schools (so bad the realtors don't even bother noting them on PG listings).

It's not a hard choice, really.

Realtors may not steer people to or away from schools. Schools are not hyped as a selling feature in ANY real estate listing.

https://www.nar.realtor/articles/steering-schools-and-equal-professional-service

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a wash. Arlington county and Montgomery county are both politically the same. They do not enforce/prosecute property crimes so if you are ok with that mentality of both very liberal educational and judicial system you will really not notice a difference other than lower taxes in VA.

Once you go farther west in VA or north in MD it becomes more purple/red for both.

Grew up in MoCo now in Fairfax (inside the beltway), not much difference politically until get close to the edges of Fairfax (which is practically West VA commute-wise).

[Anonymous]

Jobs, taxes, regulation. Pretty easy choice comparing otherwise similar cities but technically a different state.

There are certainly livable places in Maryland, and unlivable places in Virginia, but for example, a report on region commuter rail might as well have said “how to not leave Maryland behind”, the reasons of which aren’t actually about rail, but a symptom of Maryland’s uncompetitiveness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a wash. Arlington county and Montgomery county are both politically the same. They do not enforce/prosecute property crimes so if you are ok with that mentality of both very liberal educational and judicial system you will really not notice a difference other than lower taxes in VA.

Once you go farther west in VA or north in MD it becomes more purple/red for both.

Grew up in MoCo now in Fairfax (inside the beltway), not much difference politically until get close to the edges of Fairfax (which is practically West VA commute-wise).

What a dumb comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Both NoVA and MoCo have extremely boring housing stock.

My Arlington neighborhood is full of 1920s charming bungalows. So I suppose some people find historic looks boring and prefer the McMansion look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a wash. Arlington county and Montgomery county are both politically the same. They do not enforce/prosecute property crimes so if you are ok with that mentality of both very liberal educational and judicial system you will really not notice a difference other than lower taxes in VA.

Once you go farther west in VA or north in MD it becomes more purple/red for both.

Grew up in MoCo now in Fairfax (inside the beltway), not much difference politically until get close to the edges of Fairfax (which is practically West VA commute-wise).

What a dumb comment.

Reflective of the morons who think everyone who lives in northern Virginia must work in the District.

[Anonymous]

Do yourself and stay away from MD. Its so blue that while I am a democrat I get worried sometimes. Its just too much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do yourself and stay away from MD. Its so blue that while I am a democrat I get worried sometimes. Its just too much!

At least the governor isn’t about to ban abortion after 15 weeks. Not only will I never move to VA, I will also never go there on vacation or send my kids to school there.

[Anonymous]

Housing may be better in VA, but if you’re a woman you sacrifice your right to chose.

[Anonymous]

Simulated a commute from a place in MD and one area in VA. VA immure was 10 mins, MD would add another 20 mins, so we chose VA. As you can guess both our jobs were in VA

[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.

I can’t think of anywhere near metro that will not have its share of break-ins, sadly, and that applies to both jurisdictions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once I was freed from forced Maryland residency I turned south and never looked back. It wasn't even a choice it was so obvious (DC was an option but never made it work).

As someone from the west coast, I could not make myself go further south of the river.

West Coast transplants are more likely to live in Virginia than Maryland. People moving to Maryland generally are coming from either DC or the Mid-Atlantic. Better bagels & Chinese food is about the most that can be said for suburban Maryland these days. NoVa is nicer and has a stronger economy, and the prices reflect that.

Nicer? Far more greenery in close-in MD and less traffic hell, less car-dependent. That said, like most people I imagine, we looked at both Arlington and Bethesda. There are simply not enough single family homes in NoVa that are close to metro.