Are you sure you want to move here? It's expensive and you don't get much for your money. Montessori school runs $1300-2000 per month per child. 4-bedroom homes with small yards are $3000+ per month and 5+ bedrooms are rare.

Anonymous wrote:So sorry for you, OP. I think most people in DC would be moving to Raleigh.

Funny, our realtor said the same thing! The majority of the people viewing our current home have been from the DC area. Come to think of it, in the majority of social situations, we typically meet more DC/MD folks than NC natives. Most love it here, mainly for the cost and weather and the fact people are generally pretty nice. Cary gets such a bad wrap (Containment Area for Relocated Yankees), but I think that's more in relation to the number of NY and NJ folks. Cary cares a lot about aethestics and their HOA's are a force like none other. I like it just fine, so Bethesda may be a winner. DH said Leesburg/Ashburn may be nice. Looks as though the Chevy Chase is close to Bethesda as well. I'll focus more on those areas and see how it goes. That sucks about green space, but again, I guess it's to be expected. DH is super excited to be close to DC so I won't go too far out in search of greenways and such. I can push a stroller anywhere until I link up with some mommy groups.

Anonymous wrote:So sorry for you, OP. I think most people in DC would be moving to Raleigh.

Not.

Chevy chase DC near rock creek. The wars 4 portion.

So sorry for you, OP. I think most people in DC would be moving to Raleigh.

not clarsburg - i meant clarksburg

Bethesda, Vienna, Falls Church City (22046 only), or McLean.

As far as green space goes though, not much green space in any close-in suburbs, and especially not in DC.

If you can go farther out to an ex-burb for the greenery if you like that sort of thing, try Clarksville, Clarsburg, or Leesburg.

What kind of travel does your husband have to do? If you don't need to be close to DC proper on a daily basis you may wan to live near Dulles Airport or maybe BWI.

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to stay below $5000, my husband may say more but I disagree and think that's a good price. I'd rather not break the bank. Right now I'm for private, but I'd go for public if it's good. She's only 2, but from what I can gather about the DC area you need to think about your education choices sooner rather than later. Traffic is a big deal for me, especially coming from a place with 70 mph highways and traffic jams lasting no longer than 15-20 mins. I'd prefer to be closer to wherever the school is. As I'm home during the day I can get a lot of errand type stuff done while most folks are working. As for my husband he flys a a lot so if it's a hassle to get back and forth from the airport he can use a car service. I've never used public transportation so I plan on sticking with my truck. No real deal breakers with the house. I understand that the DC area only has so much room to expand, while NC has a ton of room to grow. It would be nice to have a 2 car attached garage and a somewhat updated kitchen.

I don't know how well your budget will work for Bethesda, but there are very good school options in the Bethesda area, and ample shopping. The big problem is that you're not going to love the traffic. It's going to be a lot worse than an area of Raleigh where traffic jams don't last any longer than 15-20 minutes. To give you some perspective, Cary, where my relatives live, compares very favorably to Bethesda, although not so well with where you live.

I'd like to stay below $5000, my husband may say more but I disagree and think that's a good price. I'd rather not break the bank. Right now I'm for private, but I'd go for public if it's good. She's only 2, but from what I can gather about the DC area you need to think about your education choices sooner rather than later. Traffic is a big deal for me, especially coming from a place with 70 mph highways and traffic jams lasting no longer than 15-20 mins. I'd prefer to be closer to wherever the school is. As I'm home during the day I can get a lot of errand type stuff done while most folks are working. As for my husband he flys a a lot so if it's a hassle to get back and forth from the airport he can use a car service. I've never used public transportation so I plan on sticking with my truck. No real deal breakers with the house. I understand that the DC area only has so much room to expand, while NC has a ton of room to grow. It would be nice to have a 2 car attached garage and a somewhat updated kitchen.

You are being way too vague. There are safe parks and grocery stores near almost everywhere.

Where are you moving to be near? Traffic is a real issue and you will want to take that significantly into account when deciding where to live.

For $10,000 a month, you can basically rent anywhere. I'd suggest Edgemoor in Bethesda.

Be more specific about your budget and whether you will want public or private for your children, and you will get better recommendations. Also, do you need to be near public transportation? What are deal-breakers for you re: the house? In general, you need to lower your expectations when moving to the DC area, <sigh.>

Hello all, we're relocating from Raleigh, NC to DC in the Spring of 2013. I'm totally overwhelmed with how to guide our housing search. I know we want to rent as we purchased down here and while we love our home, the neighbors.....not so much. Next go round I'd like to have a trial period of the area before committing to a home. Anyway, I'm well aware of the sticker shock. But there are a few things I would like to maintain in how we live now. I'm a SAHM and we own a business so my husband is often out of town. I want to feel comfortable with where I'm at. We're often outdoors and such. Besides that we're expecting #2 in April. Our 2 yr old daughter currently attends a Montessori school which I would like to continue in DC area. Neighborhood wise we would love a place that is safe, near green space, close to a nice grocery store and where the neighbors are relatively friendly. I recognize there can be assumptions made when your a renter but oh well. Are ther particular areas that I should really focus on as well as areas to just avoid all together? In speaking for myself, I'm scared to death the traffic will be the end of me, but I'm sure with time I'll get over it. Budget wise.... we're flexible, not $10,000 a month flexible, but we're flexible. My husband has 2 kids from a previous marriage that we need to accomodate as well. His 14 yr old son is on the Autism spectrum so his needs are important as well. Any guidance is greatly appreciated.