Reply to Crossing the border - moving to VA from MD

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[quote=Anonymous]I moved to Silver Spring from out of state and lived there for about 10 years.  Then we moved to Northern Virginia and have lived here for about 4 years.

Here are my observations between two counties (Montgomery County vs Fairfax County) mainly from a financial perspective in no particular order:
 - Gas is, on average, cheaper in VA by 5-10 cents (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States)
 - MoCo has a bag tax, Fairfax does not
 - Homeowners Insurance tends to be cheaper in Fairfax as compared to MoCo (even with a bigger house and the same coverage, we pay less in Homeowners insurance in VA)
 - No difference in Car insurance but Fairfax has a car tax (our cars are beaters so this cost was negligible at a couple hundred dollars for both cars)
 - Property taxes are smidge lower in Fairfax than MoCo
 - Regarding taxes, I remember in 2015 when MoCo Council unanimously raised property taxes without a vote of any kind whereas Fairfax allowed its citizens to vote on increasing sales tax on food to fund education in 2016.  I'm not a big political person but it was an interesting observation to see.  
 - I don't have much commentary on schools because that's neighborhood dependent but both counties spend a large portion of their budget on education
 - There are more ways to get into DC from Fairfax (Orange & Silver lines, 66, Route 50, George Washington Pkway) than MoCo (Red line, 16th street, Cabin John, maybe even George Washington Pkway)
 - There are more toll roads in Fairfax (267, 66) than MoCo (ICC)
 - Traffic is horrible in both
 - MoCo is filled with red light cameras and speed cameras (local roads and highways).  Very few in Fairfax County
 - Fairfax seems to have more parks but they are smaller in size compared to MoCo which may have fewer parks but they are bigger 
 - MoCo has an income tax (3.5%) and Fairfax does not any income tax.

All in all, none of the above financial differences between the counties are individually debilitating but collectively, they add up in favor of Fairfax (overall cost savings).  That allowed us to buy a little bigger of a house, save a little more, and enjoy eating out a little more.

Overall though, the people are the same on both sides (you got nice people and crazies in both), restaurants are about the same, the temperature and air are the same (lol), etc.

Good luck on your decision OP and hope this info helps you!

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