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If you had $1M to spend on a house, where would you live?
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Anonymous
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I know the best neighborhood, MD/VA, suburb v. city debate has been discussed ad nauseum on this board, so I'll try and ask as specific a question as possible. We currently live in Woodley Park (zoned for Eaton). We live in a small (very small) townhouse, love being in the city, I metro to work on the Hill. We are thinking of having another kid, which would necessitate a move. Like many others, we are struggling with the whether or not to buy a bigger house in the city or move to the close-in suburbs of MD (hubby works in Bethesda, so we've ruled out VA.) We would like to send DS to public school for elementary school, but wouldn't rule out private for MS & HS, although it would be a real stretch to send one (and possibly two) kids to private school, especially with the type of mortgage we're looking at. It is very important to me not to be stuck in a car for an hour to and from work each day -- I would sacrifice the big house for the better commute. But is living in CC DC or AU Park (we could likely not afford a bigger house any closer in) really that much more convenient than Wood Acres? If we stay in the city, would we just be revisiting this decision in 8 years? Honestly, the idea of leaving the city makes me so sad -- I love our ability to walk to the zoo, proximity to metro, museums, etc. Also, I'm nervous about criticisms I've read about the Montgomery County schools, emphasis on testing, soul-killing worksheets, and on and on. It would be my nightmare to pick up and move to the suburbs for the schools, be unhappy, then end up putting the kids in private school anyway.
I would love to hear thoughts from people who have grappled with this decision and what you ultimately decided to do. |
Anonymous
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I'm not in your position, but I do know that if I was, I'd do everything in my power not to move out of DC. I moved to the burbs ten years ago, before I even had my daughter, and I've spent a lot of time since then wishing I hadn't. I have never really felt settled in my home county, and I find myself going into DC and Arlington every chance I get (I work in DC, despite the painful commute, and come in most weekend too.) I'm in close-in Fairfax, but I'd definitely pick a teeny house in DC or Arlington over a bigger one out here.
I think Chevy Chase has gorgeous houses. Bethesda is awesome too, if you're pretty close to the heart of things. Could you maybe confine your search to houses close enough to walk to shopping/restaurants, and be willing to accept a house that isn't super-spacious but that technically has enough bedrooms for your kids? (There's also that area above Georgetown - Burleith, etc. - that might be worth looking into because there are little shops off of Foxhall/MacArthur and it seems like a homey neighborhood.) |
Anonymous
| We are in your position and just decided to buy a house in AU Park. Actually, we were surprised how much we could buy for that amount - it's a good time to buy. However, we have already decided that we are doing private for MS & HS or we will have moved on by then. For us, having short commutes and therefore getting home quickly was paramount. |
Anonymous
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Commute is our my top factor, so I'd by a smaller house in a close in suburb, and spend the money on private school in middle and high school. It is worth if for the commute. You can spend less than a million and save money for private, that is what some of our neighbors have done.
That is essentially what we are doing too - we can't do a million $ home but have a cute house in Silver Spring, great commute (DH also works in Maryland like your husband and my commute to penn quarter or the hill is not bad). We are tentatively planning on private school for two down the road, and would rather invest there than buying a small house in Bethesda no where near the metro. That said, if I had a million I might consider Chevy Chase. |
Anonymous
I just posted this and I will clarify - I was just basically saying that if you have a great commute, not sure why you would kick yourself for then doing private (if you could afford it). I could see having a crappy commute and paying for private, and kicking yourself, but I feel like this area is trade offs. We traded in closeness/convenience for not as great schools, thinking we can do private. Then again, many of our neighbors think good things are happening in our local schools, so who knows. Yes, it is aggravating to pay a ton of money and not be able to rely on public schools, but you are paying for other things. Trade offs is how I see it! |
Anonymous
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We were in your shoes a couple of years ago and bought in chevy chase, MD. We are very glad we did. We are walking distance to Bethesda metro, shops, restaurants etc - to my mind there is much more to walk to in Bethesda than in NW DC - farmers markets etc. We are 5 minutes drive in rush hour from the DC border.
For us this 10 minutes per day extra commute was worth it for better schools all through high school, plus the benefits of being close to Bethesda. For you I would have thought it would be a no-brainer - your hubby could walk to work! |
Anonymous
| One factor to consider is that $30k/year privates are not the only alternatives to DCPS if you decide you want to leave DCPS after 5th grade. There are some good charters (Latin), less expensive privates (St. Anns, St. Johns), and even paying MCPS to send your kids there (I think the charge is around 12K right now). |
Anonymous
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Why not just stay in Woodley Park and look for a larger townhouse? Cleveland Park and Forest Hills might be options, too.
You might also want to think about hiring an architect to work with your existing townhouse to see if you can reconfigure your space to make it more efficient. |
Anonymous
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There are certainly parts of AU Park and CC DC that are not at all convenient. I live in CC MD and think it is much more convenient than parts of the city - we are about 1.5 miles from both the Bethesda and Silver Spring Metros and can get to either easily via bus. Plus 16th St and Rock Creek Park make communting into DC relatively easy - I think a lot easier than from AU Park.
As for MCPS and the testing and soul-crushing worksheets, you are absolutely correct. My child is in Kindergarten and I am not at all pleased with it. But I have no idea of how it compares to private. I moved some years ago from Cleveland Park to Chevy Chase and still miss the neighborhood. Being able to walk everywhere is so nice and long commutes can also be soul-crushing. That said, I like living in Chevy Chase and have gotten used a more car-centric life. If I had a million to spend on a house, I would buy in DC but only if I had the funds to also pay for private. Good luck. |
Anonymous
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We'd go to Chevy Chase MD. Close enough that the commute isn't markedly different from that of Chevy Chase DC, but over the line so we could go to montgomery county public schools!
It's going to be another 5 years until we get there. Hopefully Lafayette will serve us well for the 4 years we'll have people there. If you do opt for Chevy Chase DC, that's where we are now and we really do like it. Definitely not as walkable as Woodley Park (at least our area), but a lovely area with enough space for the kids to run around and not feel like city mice while letting us have easy access to the city amenities and really reasonable commutes. $1 mil would get you a nice house. Not your fantabulous dream home, but nice and comfortable. The reason we're plotting our departure is because I'm unsure about the middle schools and dead set against DC public high schools, and tuition for 3 kids is just overwhelming when you combine it with the fact that our house will be too small when these 3 kids get much bigger.... |
Anonymous
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We are in CC DC in a house that would still, in this blood bath, sell for somewhere between 1.1 and 1.2. We are doing private all the way through. Some of it depends on what you want house-wise. Our house is no jaw dropper - close in Chevy Chase, MD or even in CC DC "big" start at 2 if you're lucky. It depends on what bigger means to you.
We looked across the line to have the public option but could not find the kind of house we would want for something we could afford, so we went with this with the understanding that meant private all the way through. Our local public was not a good fit for our kids. You might look at the schools carefully (on both sides of the line) before choosing, or stay where you are and plan on private (with the possibility that you will have the happy coincidence of public working out. SOmeimtes kids have a way of needing someting different than the local public provides, so I would not get in a situaiton where it would be financial armageddon if you spent everything on the house and then had someone who really needed private. |
Anonymous
| Crestwood - it's right off Rock Creek |
Anonymous
| I am not sure I would pay a million dollars to live in crestwood: it is not at all walkable, and the schools aren't great either. I think the crime is a little worse than on the other side of the park too (though not really bad). |
Anonymous
| woodley/adams morgan/kalorama (zoned for oyster). no question. would LOVE it if i had this option. would sacrifice space (and do) for all of the things you list as important/valuable to you. |