The thread for the, "buying under $600,000," crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's hoping you have better neighbors than I did during my time in South Arlington (02-08).

Between the boarding houses, the drug dealer across the street, the immediate neighbors getting into screaming matches at 1am, and the people who didn't seem to like anyone further out than their first cousins ...

Yeah, stuff's changed. I guess.

And the S. Arlington hater is back! I was waiting to see how long that would take.

So you're saying you'd have stayed put with neighbors like mine, all for the sake of a short commute?

No, what I'm saying is that I've heard your tale of S. Arlington woes numerous times. What you had were crappy neighbors in apparently what was a crappy part of S. Arlington. But every single time you post, you imply your bad experience is applicable to all of S. Arlington. What you fail to acknowledge is that there are also really nice parts of S. Arlington. You just chose poorly. Your sweeping statements that S. Arlington is terrible are simply inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Schools, nice neighborhood, accessible to Fairfax/Vienna metro, nature trail in neighborhood, community pool, close to downtown historic Fairfax. Fairfax City has a small town feel, lower taxes than the County and better services. Often appears on lists of the "best places to live".

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3810-Richard-Ave_Fairfax_VA_22031_M55517-36622?row=23

Owner?

I live city of Fairfax too. This neighborhood is ok. The further away from main st, the better.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Love all the suggestions and all of the friendly, 'come join us!' posts! I work in DC, husband in VA, but he works from home some days and we both work off-hours. DC and VA are options, but all of our friends live in SS. They mostly live in 20910 and love it, btw. Really solid homes and nice neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Schools, nice neighborhood, accessible to Fairfax/Vienna metro, nature trail in neighborhood, community pool, close to downtown historic Fairfax. Fairfax City has a small town feel, lower taxes than the County and better services. Often appears on lists of the "best places to live".

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3810-Richard-Ave_Fairfax_VA_22031_M55517-36622?row=23

Owner?

I live city of Fairfax too. This neighborhood is ok. The further away from main st, the better.

We live in Fairfax City and are moving soon, but I've really enjoyed my time here. OP, you might consider Country Club Hills/Old Lee Hills/Fairfax Country Club off Old Lee Highway (zip 22030). It's a quiet, safe area with relatively large lots. The houses are older (late 50s-early 60s), and most lack garages, but they are solidly built and usually go for much less than $600K.

[Anonymous]

20910 and 20901. Great options in great neighborhoods, easy access to the city. Not so much if commute takes you to NoVa though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Love all the suggestions and all of the friendly, 'come join us!' posts! I work in DC, husband in VA, but he works from home some days and we both work off-hours. DC and VA are options, but all of our friends live in SS. They mostly live in 20910 and love it, btw. Really solid homes and nice neighbors.

We work in DC and VA and live in 20901. DH commutes to near Dulles, with a schedule shifted super early--and we're close to the Beltway for his commute. Depending on where you're commuting to specifically, or with the flexibility your schedules afford, it might be possible. Being near friends is pretty great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20910 and 20901. Great options in great neighborhoods, easy access to the city. Not so much if commute takes you to NoVa though.

Eh, depends where in NoVa. I commute to Rosslyn from 20901 and I have a co-worker in 20910. I leave on the early side and it take 45-50 mins. But I understand some are looking for less than 30 mins (which seems tough around here unless you can walk).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in the same boat- first time buyer. i was the poster looking previously at the comstock townhomes at the hampshires.

I looked at those. Ended up going with one of the Dakota Crossing Townhomes though.

We considered both of those, and Brightwood, and Ft. Totten. I know it's rough out there and compromises must be made, but we are still looking and hoping. . .

[Anonymous]

I can also recommend Silver Spring 20910. If OP's DH work is metro-accessible, you could consider SS. I would really hesitate to consider SS if you are locked into a car commute.

This house in SS is in the BCC cluster schools (right at your limit @ 599k):
http://www.redfin.com/city/26038/MD/Silver-Spring/real-estate#!min_price=500000&max_price=1250000&num_beds=1&v=8&sst=&lat=38.99499357079175&long=-77.04451757708808&zoomLevel=14®ion_id=26038®ion_type=6&market=dc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, when will the high cost of living in the DC metro area finally encourage talented people and their employers to relocate elsewhere. Six hundred thousand can buy you a very nice life (house, school district, extras) almost anywhere outside this area.

I am on your side (and probably at or below your price range!) but this isn't really true. Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and NYC are all less affordable than here, yet people still want to buy there (and here). That's why we feel OK about spending nearly half a million, which used to seem like SO much money, on a little rowhouse in an up-and-coming neighborhood. In the six years we've owned it, it has increased in value by about 60%. Our HHI is under $200k, but we would earn way less than that elsewhere. So it makes sense to pay more for a house here.

Only if you're including places like western Loudon, Waldorf and most of PG County in "here" when saying these cities are more expensive than "here."

The District and closest MoCo and Arlington suburbs have a much higher per-sq-ft price than anyplace other than parts of NYC and SanFran and the Peninsula. A duplex in Astoria Queens costs less than the same-sized house in Bethesda.

As you were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's hoping you have better neighbors than I did during my time in South Arlington (02-08).

Between the boarding houses, the drug dealer across the street, the immediate neighbors getting into screaming matches at 1am, and the people who didn't seem to like anyone further out than their first cousins ...

Yeah, stuff's changed. I guess.

And the S. Arlington hater is back! I was waiting to see how long that would take.

So you're saying you'd have stayed put with neighbors like mine, all for the sake of a short commute?

No, what I'm saying is that I've heard your tale of S. Arlington woes numerous times. What you had were crappy neighbors in apparently what was a crappy part of S. Arlington. But every single time you post, you imply your bad experience is applicable to all of S. Arlington. What you fail to acknowledge is that there are also really nice parts of S. Arlington. You just chose poorly. Your sweeping statements that S. Arlington is terrible are simply inaccurate.

Then, it might be super helpful to people that the better parts of South Arlington are mentioned. I suspect you won't find much below $600k in what you think of as the "really nice parts," but I could be wrong. What do you think the "crappy parts of S. Arlington" are, so you can help others who might make the same mistake I made?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Schools, nice neighborhood, accessible to Fairfax/Vienna metro, nature trail in neighborhood, community pool, close to downtown historic Fairfax. Fairfax City has a small town feel, lower taxes than the County and better services. Often appears on lists of the "best places to live".

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3810-Richard-Ave_Fairfax_VA_22031_M55517-36622?row=23

Owner?

I live city of Fairfax too. This neighborhood is ok. The further away from main st, the better.

Where are the bad parts of Fairfax City?

[Anonymous]

Warwick Village in Alexandria 22305

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't live there, but there are pockets of homes around Fort Hunt and Mt. Vernon that are below six. Maybe not a lot of them, but they are there. Silver Spring has a pretty good selection, as well.

We just bought in that pocket. 525K, 5 bed, 3 bath, .75 acre lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WE just bought for 455K in S. Arlington (in Nauck). We can walk to Shirlington and the restaurants on Columbia Pike. There is a lot of bus options to take.

House is 4 bed, 2 bath, 2K square feet, good size yard.

but we had to do work (paint, new floors). And well I live near minorities and poor people which according to this board is not acceptable

.

This PP is us, too, except we are in Seminary Valley in Alexandria. Spent $475k 2 years ago. You can take the bus from right outside our house and be at the Pentagon in 10-15, then metro to downtown, Foggy Bottom, on Yellow or Blue in 5-10. You can walk to the library, Harris Teeter, Chipotle, and a park on some nice trails. Most houses in our neighborhood are now going for around $550k.

The school is supposedly "terrible" because there are brown children there. Our neighbors, who are attorneys at DOJ, agents at FBI, school teachers, nurses, Federal contractors, are happy with the neighborhood and the schools (mostly elementary, though...imagine a lot of people upgrade to larger homes later).