If the school situation really doesn't bother you (or if you know in no uncertain terms that you'll be moving before middle school), I'd look into CC DC. There aren't tons of houses in that price range, but you should be able to find something on a tree-lined, charming street in walking distance to parks if you look for long enough. Find a realtor who specializes in that area if that's where you want to look.

If you want good schools, I'd look in CC MD (North Chevy Chase & Rock Creek Forest are two neighborhoods that come to mind as having houses in your price range). You could also look into parts of Bethesda, but I think you'd find the commute from CC to be better.

I personally agree with 10:32 about North Arlington. I find it completely lacking charm and the commute is terrible if you try to drive during rush hour. However, you should check it out to see if you feel differently.

I would definitely rule out Capitol Hill. No matter what people on these boards may say, the crime is still high (just pull up the stats from the crime map MPD website) plus the schools are awful. I know tons of people who lived on the Hill and moved right before or after having kids b/c they didn't think it was a good place for kids.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone- I am more depressed now than when I wrote the original post, but I guess I can't create a neighborhood that doesn't exist!

Don't be depressed! DC area is a great place to live and one of the few places we could live that wasn't an hour or more commute. Plus it sounds like you are in an apartment so don't have to worry about selling. There are many good neighborhoods. just do a map search on a realtor website and scroll from CC to Bethesda and N Arlington to Mclean.

http://www.wfp.com/propertySearch/prop.asp?mlsid=MC7649730

http://www.wfp.com/propertySearch/propMap.asp?mlsid=MC7681705

Wait a year or two, and things will be more affordable. The DC market has been by far the hottest market in the whole country because this is the one place with a healthy job market. But the federal budget cuts are going to change that (not so much through effects on federal workers, but more through effects on contractors). Prices won't drop the way they have some places (you'd have to be crazy to think we'll get a drop like the 60% drop Las Vegas has had). But prices will probably drop 10-20% in good neighborhoods in DC and close-in areas.

There are many places in close-in Silver Spring that meet all of your requirements. No, you won't get Bethesda/CC schools -- however, it IS all MCPS and particularly for elementary school, there are Silver Spring schools that are very good, so you buy yourself some extra time before having to figure out middle school. (FWIW, also, I know lots of kids at our local SS middle school who are very happy.) Woodlin and Forest Knolls are both elementary schools with high degrees of parent satisfaction.

Silver Spring can be very walkable, depending on where you move, and has a couple of metro stops. It's incredibly friendly and family-oriented. There's diversity and cultural activity and you are close to Takoma Park, should you want something with more crunch. There are really pretty, treelined, safe streets with cute and cozy houses near parks, etc. I'm thinking particularly of the area near Holy Cross Hospital and the Forest Glen metro, and also parts of my own neighborhood, Four Corners. Woodside is also very nice, and a bit more expensive.

For your budget and the size house you want, you could buy a nicely renovated house in a cute neighborhood and have money left over.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone- I am more depressed now than when I wrote the original post, but I guess I can't create a neighborhood that doesn't exist!

Hey, OP, don't be too depressed. You just need to finish going through the stages of grief, familiar to all of us buying real estate in this area, which will eventually end with acceptance of the limitations. I'm a pp who talked about compromise. Your baby really will be fine in a 1-bedroom for a while, so you have time to explore your options. Visit a bunch of houses in your price range. Find out what school districts they're in, and read up on (or ask about) those schools. Figure out what sort of a commute you would have from different neighborhoods.

One way to do it is to explore 6 examples in your price range: 2 in DC, 2 MD suburb, 2 VA suburb, focusing on some of the places that people have suggested to you. What would each one give you in terms of specific school, commute, neighborhood feel, house amenities? I think that having a concrete set of more tangible alternatives will help you narrow down your search to a neighborhood/school district that you are most interested in. And then you can keep your eyes open for the house with the least frustrating compromises for you.

OP here. Thanks everyone- I am more depressed now than when I wrote the original post, but I guess I can't create a neighborhood that doesn't exist!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$700k for a house on a tree-lined street? In a good close-in school district? Keep dreaming.

I live in one in AU Park. Bought 2 years ago..

Agree that it's possible, but PP you have to admit that these are few and far between. Most need updating and/or are smaller than other homes in the neighborhood and/or are on a busy street. My friend bought a SFH two years ago in the $600s (bidding war for an estate sale), but someone had died in the house, which turned off a lot of would-be buyers.

I tend to agree with 22:07, depending on where in DC you're commuting. We found a charming 4BR cape cod in 22207 that needs very little work, on a nice lot, walkable to a playground and shops (incl grocery store) for under $600K, and we love our neighborhood. Sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian signals on all the major streets so I can actually run our daughter to preschool (2.7 miles away) in the jogging stroller safely. I drive 8-10 minutes to the parking garage and hop the metro into the city.

Anonymous wrote:I really can't say enough good things about North Arlington. To me it has the best of all worlds - green space, parks - but also has city features ("urban villages" Ballston, Clarendon, Courthouse, Westover, etc) and is close to downtown.

Arlington used to be part of the District, that is why it is in the "square," but you don't get the extra local income tax, with the marginal schools and the lamentable local government.

We absolutely love living here for the past several years - really the best of all worlds.

There are many great neighborhoods. You can find something in your budget, it may not be the most pristine, but something you could be happy with long term.

I also like the advice of waiting a bit -- 1 BR is enough(!) A baby doesn't need too much space. Think about where you really want to live, and buy when certain. Enjoy everything!

To me, North Arlington is the worst of all worlds, not the best. It doesn't have the energy of the best parts of DC, or the space and elan of the nicer suburbs in Montgomery or Fairfax. It's one big testament to the idea of compromise.

Anonymous wrote:$700k for a house on a tree-lined street? In a good close-in school district? Keep dreaming.

I live in one in AU Park. Bought 2 years ago..

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I think that a 3 bedroom can definitely be a forever home, even with two or three kids, depending upon your perspective, good space-efficient design, and the ability to not live with so much stuff. Coming from NYC, I am constantly amazed by urban Washingtonians who aspire to suburban standards in space and aesthetic. Also, once your kids leave the nest, it makes far more sense to live in a smaller home, than a larger one, ie, a small home within walking distance to amenities is truly more likely to remain your forever home rather than a larger one in the burbs. Also, with teens, I feel far safer living in the city where they can walk or metro to various places with their friends, rather than drive.

I'm amazed by urban New Yorkers who move to Washington and don't realize it's a different city. I don't want stray bullets entering my house, as just happened to a family on Capitol Hill. And the DC police aren't to be confused with the NYPD. They are typically nowhere to be found when groups of unruly teens go on wilding sprees at Gallery Place or L'Enfant Plaza.

I don't understand what the danger of certain neighborhoods and unruly teens has to do with the concept of living in a smaller home?

Anonymous wrote:
I think that a 3 bedroom can definitely be a forever home, even with two or three kids, depending upon your perspective, good space-efficient design, and the ability to not live with so much stuff. Coming from NYC, I am constantly amazed by urban Washingtonians who aspire to suburban standards in space and aesthetic. Also, once your kids leave the nest, it makes far more sense to live in a smaller home, than a larger one, ie, a small home within walking distance to amenities is truly more likely to remain your forever home rather than a larger one in the burbs. Also, with teens, I feel far safer living in the city where they can walk or metro to various places with their friends, rather than drive.

I'm amazed by urban New Yorkers who move to Washington and don't realize it's a different city. I don't want stray bullets entering my house, as just happened to a family on Capitol Hill. And the DC police aren't to be confused with the NYPD. They are typically nowhere to be found when groups of unruly teens go on wilding sprees at Gallery Place or L'Enfant Plaza.

$700k for a house on a tree-lined street? In a good close-in school district? Keep dreaming.

Anonymous wrote:I would not look in Chevy Chase, DC if you are looking for a single family home. It would be really tough on that budget, and tougher still if you ended up wanting to send your child to private school, which half of all the kids in the neighborhood attend. I would try to find a school district you can be happy with all the way through. Bear in mind that if you buy at the top of your budget, you will have less flexibility to swing a private school tuition, even if your child really needs to go private for some reason (like a learning disability or some other issue). The other thing is that the houses in the neighborhood are small by today's standards (although very nice by 1920s and 1930s standards, whch is when most of them were built). We bought a 3 bedroom when we moved here many years ago (pre-kids) that would probably be at or just over the top of your budget now. We outgrew it as soon as child #2 came along, and spent an additional amount equal to your whole budget to add on to it. Unless you know for sure you are stopping at one kid, I would not view a small Checy Chase 3 bedroom as your "forever" house.

I think that a 3 bedroom can definitely be a forever home, even with two or three kids, depending upon your perspective, good space-efficient design, and the ability to not live with so much stuff. Coming from NYC, I am constantly amazed by urban Washingtonians who aspire to suburban standards in space and aesthetic. Also, once your kids leave the nest, it makes far more sense to live in a smaller home, than a larger one, ie, a small home within walking distance to amenities is truly more likely to remain your forever home rather than a larger one in the burbs. Also, with teens, I feel far safer living in the city where they can walk or metro to various places with their friends, rather than drive.

I do agree with PPs, though, who think that if you are wedded to the idea if a home that will last through the high school years, that you look into N Arlington, Falls Church City, and Kensington.

I would not look in Chevy Chase, DC if you are looking for a single family home. It would be really tough on that budget, and tougher still if you ended up wanting to send your child to private school, which half of all the kids in the neighborhood attend. I would try to find a school district you can be happy with all the way through. Bear in mind that if you buy at the top of your budget, you will have less flexibility to swing a private school tuition, even if your child really needs to go private for some reason (like a learning disability or some other issue). The other thing is that the houses in the neighborhood are small by today's standards (although very nice by 1920s and 1930s standards, whch is when most of them were built). We bought a 3 bedroom when we moved here many years ago (pre-kids) that would probably be at or just over the top of your budget now. We outgrew it as soon as child #2 came along, and spent an additional amount equal to your whole budget to add on to it. Unless you know for sure you are stopping at one kid, I would not view a small Checy Chase 3 bedroom as your "forever" house.