Northern Virginia is a concrete jungle. I hate it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VA has more confrontational, aggressive drivers. Just keep that in mind.

MD has some bad drivers but they are not as angry as VA drivers.

I am a Virginian and agree that VA has aggressive drivers. Also agree that MD drivers are sh*t and the reason VA drivers get aggressive.

We also have a lot of fake Marylanders in Virginia. They move to VA but keep their cars registered in VA and I hate every one of those crappy drivers on our highways in the morning.

Meant to say they keep their cars registered in MD. We have a ton of "Maryland" drivers that actually live in Virginia to avoid the car tax. It is insane. They don't want to pay income tax in MD or the personal property tax in VA.

Anonymous wrote:VA has more confrontational, aggressive drivers. Just keep that in mind.

MD has some bad drivers but they are not as angry as VA drivers.

I am a Virginian and agree that VA has aggressive drivers. Also agree that MD drivers are sh*t and the reason VA drivers get aggressive.

We also have a lot of fake Marylanders in Virginia. They move to VA but keep their cars registered in VA and I hate every one of those crappy drivers on our highways in the morning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently had friends leave Bethesda for Oakton, Virginia. They did it because their kids are getting older and the Universities in Virginia (UVA, GMU, Tech, JMU, William &Mary, etc.) are a great deal for in state and preference is given. There are a lot of schools and it will give their kids a good place to land.

As for green space in Virginia - in Fairfax County there are trails, streams and wildlife that are protected all throughout the County. Which I prefer to traditional parks. We have running/biking trails everywhere that are easy to get to from so many neighborhoods. The W&OD trail is amazing if you are Vienna/Oakton area.

UMDCP, UMBC, ST Mary's of MD, Towson, Salsbury, Frostburg...

Not even close to the rankings or prestige of Virginia schools. Most of those names are not recognized outside of MD.

MD is cheaper, but generally has more crime and worse schools. I think parts of Maryland are prettier than NOVA. MD has more of the bay and waterfront accessible to people who live closer to DC. MD is a quicker drive to Philly and NYC which is cool.

VA has a great public university system as compared to MD, better performing schools, and more jobs especially if you are in tech. Virginia is better for agritainment and outdoor sports.

I’ve never had to commute nor has my DH we work in tech and have always mostly WFH or had to “commute” on planes to our home offices in CA. So I cannot common ton traffic and commute times. Being next to a major airport for us is a must.

VA has more confrontational, aggressive drivers. Just keep that in mind.

MD has some bad drivers but they are not as angry as VA drivers.

Commute is King. Op, you have GOT to tell us where you will work.

There are many ways "in" to DC. There are trains, busses, subways. We know them all. Into DC or getting-to somewhere else. Your commute matters more than anything else. Then, consider schools. Then, consider your politics.

Anonymous wrote:-MD deep blue and you feel it
-VA more in the middle

OP, if you notice, all the posters writing extreme posts about MD's blueness being "intolerable" or making them "throw up" identify as living in Virginia. They've basically called themselves out. So take that "VA more in the middle" with a grain of salt.

Anonymous wrote:VA is less pedestrian and transit friendly in many places than MD which has better bus routes, side walks overall although neighborhoods can vary

Every other news story on WTOP seems to be about a pedestrian injury or fatality in MD. But, yes, Maryland is mostly more compact, so walkability is just easier, even if the infrastructure is not great.

If you have to commute, buy on the same side of the Potomac as your job. Life is way too short to deal with that regularly!

Anonymous wrote:-MD deep blue and you feel it
-VA more in the middle

Not anymore. VA is trending more conservative. It's always been a case of the blue NoVa vs the red RoVa, but since the pandemic, the number of conservative NoVans has increased significantly, hence the governor and House of Delegates swinging red. And the current trending is that the Democrats stand to lose seats in the Senate. That said, the Democrats hold a large enough majority that it is unlikely to turn the chamber, but it will get much closer.

VA politics tends to threaten personal freedoms and safety more. There are far more gun problems in Virginia. Virginia is currently trending towards abortion bans. Virginia is also becoming less protective of protected classes. So, Virginia is very good for white, cis-gendered, straight males and becoming less protective of everyone else.

If liberal social issues are important to you, then you need to seriously look at the trend of politics in Virginia before you opt to move there. If you tend to be rather apolitical, then look for the one that will give you the better commute because around here, the amount of time you spend commuting can make or break your life.

You really need to tell us where you are working. You probably know this, but traffic in this area is insane. For instance, it takes me an hour to commute home a little under 9 miles. Sometimes it is more than that. So around here you can’t just look at 10 or 15 miles from your house to work.

I would take Virginia over Maryland.
I would avoid Arlington in VA as it is not realistic on 300k for a decent area/house.

Anonymous wrote:Where will you be working? Some places are much quicker to get downtown by Metro or express bus than others.

Also as others have mentioned, the tolls in VA can be super high. Your mode of commuting is important to consider in this area.

Where will you be working? Some places are much quicker to get downtown by Metro or express bus than others.