Anonymous wrote:I would look in 20901, and 20910 Silver Spring, if you want to be in a MoCo area, close to College Park. But otherwise I would look at Howard County schools in Ellicott City and Columbia to make the commute better for each of you.

You need to familiarize yourself with "Schools at a Glance" in both counties.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/

http://www.hcpss.org/schools/schools_elementary.shtml

Inventory is very low right now. I would look for a rental where you think you might like to live and spend the next year really looking for the place you want to settle.

I live in 20901 and my husband commutes to north Baltimore and he loves going against traffic. The commute to college park is about 20 minutes tops from that neighborhood

I would look in 20901, and 20910 Silver Spring, if you want to be in a MoCo area, close to College Park. But otherwise I would look at Howard County schools in Ellicott City and Columbia to make the commute better for each of you.

You need to familiarize yourself with "Schools at a Glance" in both counties.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/

http://www.hcpss.org/schools/schools_elementary.shtml

Inventory is very low right now. I would look for a rental where you think you might like to live and spend the next year really looking for the place you want to settle.

Flora Singer & Oakland Terrace school districts. The MS and HS options are improving. There's a highly committed and involved group of parents coming up through the ranks.

It's 40 miles from the beltway in Ktown to city limits in Bmore, so you aren't factoring in driving to the hospital and parking. No way it's 40 minutes door to door. And the reverse commute isn't much of a factor anymore....there's traffic on the beltway between Ktown and CP and on to Bmore.

My husband is at UMCP and he and several colleagues live in 20901 SS which is just 5 miles up University Blvd- including Woodmoor/Four Corners (Blair boundary) and neighborhoods feeding in to Highland View/Sigo Creek. This part of the county benefits hugely from diverse comunities and magnet programs including language immersion K-8 and humanities/cap and math/science 8-12 if you believe it is the right option for your kids and can get beyond the school-within-a-school dilemma. Both cap and the math/science magnet are extremely well-regarded. We have commuted all over the region including Baltimore, Bethesda, and Northern VA. Very central.

I'm the PP in Kensington. We are right by the Beltway and regularly get to Baltimore in 40 minutes - my husband has court appearances there all the time. If OP is commuting from Kensington to College Park it is a reverse commute, just like if she's commuting from Kensington to Baltimore.

To PP: what part of Kensington do you live in? And how long would it take you to get to Baltimore? What about College Park during rush hour (and back to Ktown from CP)? I think 20 mins is a stretch. And Baltimore would be well over an hour.

Olney to CP is 20 mins. To Baltimore, it's 40 minutes. Olney is however further from DC (but it sounds like the op isn't commuting to dc).

PS - Re: rush hour in this area, it's between 630am and 930am, and 330pm and 7pm. And 495/beltway is a bitch. Period. Plus, if you have a budget between $500 and $600, then Olney/Brookeville wins again. That money buys you a nice home out there, whereas it buys you a shoebox in the good part of Kensington or a slightly larger and old house in a crummy part of Ktown.

Anonymous wrote:20895 is gret, but your commutes will be brutal. You don't want to take the beltway to cp. And Baltimore would be ridiculous.

Compare stats for Kensington Parkwood Elem and Greenwood in Brookeville....strikingly similar, but you will get more bang for your buck with a better commute in brookeville.

This makes no sense. I'm in Kensington and be in College Park in 20 minutes and as the PP said, you're going the opposite way of most everyone else. Olney is a LOT farther.

My husband takes the beltway to UMD from Connecticut Ave. (near Kensington) and doesn't mind the commute. It is a reverse commute so traffic isn't so bad. It takes about 20 min from that exit.

Anonymous wrote:Olney (20832) or brookeville (20833). My DH commutes to CP everyday....easy with back roads. I commute to DC....longer commute, but doable. Silver Spring would be easy. Baltimore would be easy as well thanks to the ICC. Excellent schools in Olney and Brookeville.

This.

Thanks everyone! These are great suggestions.

My dad worked at UMCP for 35 years. We lived in North Laurel part of Howard County. Check our Hammond Village 20723. Hammond Elementary and Middle, then Atholton High. Easily in your budget for an older, but large single family home. Hammond Village itself is very nice. Other areas of the 20723 zip code have to be looked at on a case by case basis though. Across Route 29 is Maple Lawn, which is new construction. Not sure which schools it goes to though.

Anonymous wrote:http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/19106-Starkey-Ter_Brookeville_MD_20833_M65714-42650

Low inventory right now, but this neighborhood in brookeville is wonderful...Manor Oaks. Excellent schools (greenwood elem, rosa parks middle, Sherwood has).

I know this house. Good neighborhood and schools. You could stay put here for a while.
My husband commuted from this area to CP for three years. Very realistic commute.
Neighborhood has a pool, swim team, tennis courts, and playground.

20895 is gret, but your commutes will be brutal. You don't want to take the beltway to cp. And Baltimore would be ridiculous.

Compare stats for Kensington Parkwood Elem and Greenwood in Brookeville....strikingly similar, but you will get more bang for your buck with a better commute in brookeville.

You may want to check out area code 20895. It includes Kensington and Garrett Park and other locations as well. The schools for both areas are really good for elementary through high school. Finding something under 600 will be tough but some do come up. They are just small homes and need some work. There are homes in Garret Park Estates that are within that price range and Garrett Park Elementary is walkable and it was recently re-done. I have not been in it but it looks nice from the outside.