I think it depends on your commute and how settled you are now. We previously lived in a small place in DC and had to move regardless so the VA university system was one factor in our decision to pick VA over MD. But if we were happily settled in MD I don't think it would have been worth it to move.

Anonymous wrote:We live in Virginia and neither of our kids attend college in Virginia. I wouldn't move just for colleges.

+1. We were deciding between VA and MD and VA colleges were a plus but not the big factor. I definitely would not uproot kids from a stable life in MD for VA colleges.

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there better states for this purpose? NC, Michigan, California. Florida has bright futures. Ohio has free dual enrollment at many four year universities, including OSU and CWRU, and a full ride to OSU for a 1600 or 36

This is kind of a weird suggestion. I would presume that OP is asking about Virginia because they live in the DMV, and this move means they can keep jobs, church, friends, and social circle if they like. Hauling off and moving 600 miles away is it completely different story.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there better states for this purpose? NC, Michigan, California. Florida has bright futures. Ohio has free dual enrollment at many four year universities, including OSU and CWRU, and a full ride to OSU for a 1600 or 36

Move to California to save money on college is the worst "save money" strategy ever, lmao. Then imagine going to all that effort and your kid is offered admission to UC Merced. 😭😭😭

Worst would be Florida because prices are unhinged from reality. And well, Florida. #Floridan

DP and I disagree. You have excellent choices in Florida. Many kids here apply to Florida schools because they are so good, IF they can get in, and our OOS costs are extremely reasonable even when compared to in state VA costs.

My relatives live in FL and it is a myth that their education is lacking. They are taking the same AP courses my kids are taking here. In FL, you have the Bright Futures program where students can get free or reduced tuition if you are a resident. FL would be my top choice over VA. We are looking at grandparent waivers since they also live there.

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there better states for this purpose? NC, Michigan, California. Florida has bright futures. Ohio has free dual enrollment at many four year universities, including OSU and CWRU, and a full ride to OSU for a 1600 or 36

Folks might be surprised, but it can be hard to get into any UC site (possibly excepting Merced) even as an in-state resident. Many are forced to go private (U. SoCal, Claremont) or to the Cal State system: SDSU, SJSU, CalPoly SLO, and so on. Income taxes in California are maybe 11% if a family makes at least maybe $100k/yr, which is double VA.

U. Michigan is well regarded, but honestly the rest of the Michigan public options are not that great.

NC is a viable option if OP is willing to move outside the metro DC area. Both UNC Chapel Hill (comparable to UVa) and NC State (comparable to VT) are well regarded. The other UNC sites compare with maybe the JMU tier in VA.

Very few states have a public university that truly is similar to William & Mary.

Moving from Montgomery Co. to Fairfax Co. or Arlington Co. would not require a job change, by contrast to the states PP mentions. VA has zero local income taxes and state income tax maxes at 5.25%.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there better states for this purpose? NC, Michigan, California. Florida has bright futures. Ohio has free dual enrollment at many four year universities, including OSU and CWRU, and a full ride to OSU for a 1600 or 36

I won't get into California schools - there is already a long thread dissecting them - but NC, Michigan, Ohio, Florida don't have three schools that compare to the top three Virginia options: UVA, W&M, Tech. No other state besides California does.

UF - UVA
UCF - VT
New College - W&M

Anonymous wrote:We live in Virginia and neither of our kids attend college in Virginia. I wouldn't move just for colleges.

I should add that our current hs senior was accepted to W&M, UVA, and VT. Our oldest only applied to VT and was accepted.

We live in Virginia and neither of our kids attend college in Virginia. I wouldn't move just for colleges.

OP, is your daughter a prodigy? It will have shown itself by now. If yes, probably doesn’t matter as she won’t go to a state school in either state. If your daughter is average to above average then VA offers a plethora of state school options while MD does not.

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there better states for this purpose? NC, Michigan, California. Florida has bright futures. Ohio has free dual enrollment at many four year universities, including OSU and CWRU, and a full ride to OSU for a 1600 or 36

I won't get into California schools - there is already a long thread dissecting them - but NC, Michigan, Ohio, Florida don't have three schools that compare to the top three Virginia options: UVA, W&M, Tech. No other state besides California does.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there better states for this purpose? NC, Michigan, California. Florida has bright futures. Ohio has free dual enrollment at many four year universities, including OSU and CWRU, and a full ride to OSU for a 1600 or 36

Move to California to save money on college is the worst "save money" strategy ever, lmao. Then imagine going to all that effort and your kid is offered admission to UC Merced. 😭😭😭

Worst would be Florida because prices are unhinged from reality. And well, Florida. #Floridan

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there better states for this purpose? NC, Michigan, California. Florida has bright futures. Ohio has free dual enrollment at many four year universities, including OSU and CWRU, and a full ride to OSU for a 1600 or 36

Move to California to save money on college is the worst "save money" strategy ever, lmao. Then imagine going to all that effort and your kid is offered admission to UC Merced. 😭😭😭

Aren't there better states for this purpose? NC, Michigan, California. Florida has bright futures. Ohio has free dual enrollment at many four year universities, including OSU and CWRU, and a full ride to OSU for a 1600 or 36

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we did this when our twins were in junior high and I ended up regretting it. Daughter got into UVA, which was great, so we’ll save $160k with in-state tuition. But our son decided he needed a gap year and moved to the Pacific Northwest for a volunteer program; his plan is to stay out there and gain residency for a Washington school. Meanwhile, I liked our Maryland house and locale better, and since the VA one cost $240k more, we’re not even financially coming out ahead and I miss my old neighborhood.

Listen, you are paying more taxes (those locality taxes are fierce in MD), and over time assuming you make a white collar income, the savings grow significantly.

Even more so if you make even higher income. Fairfax has higher real estate and car taxes, but you can buy a cheaper car or keep it a while, and real estate values generally don’t rise as high as your income hopefully will.

Here’s an example summary; if you invest the difference it can buy you an extra house.


When comparing the overall tax burdens of Fairfax County, VA, and Montgomery County, MD, for a household earning $400,000, Virginia emerges as the more financially advantageous location despite its higher real estate rates and annual vehicle taxes. While a $1,000,000 home and $50,000 in vehicles incur roughly $5,500 more in property-related taxes annually in Fairfax, Montgomery County’s maximum 3.20% local "piggyback" income tax creates an $11,500 income tax penalty that completely eclipses Virginia's property levies. This results in an annual tax savings of approximately $6,010 for the Fairfax resident. If this annual difference is consistently invested into the S&P 500 over a 30-year horizon, compounding transforms those localized tax savings into significant wealth. Assuming a conservative 7% inflation-adjusted return, the cumulative investment grows to roughly $600,000, while a historical 10% nominal return pushes the final portfolio value past $1 million—demonstrating how regional tax structures can heavily dictate long-term net worth.

Anonymous wrote:What is the problem you are trying to avoid by doing this OP? We are a UMD family and our kids (3) went to UMCP, and they all turned out great. My siblings live in VA, and their kids went to VA state schools - UVa, VT, and W&M. They also turned out very well. I don't know where you live really matters that much.

Virginia has over 40 public college and universities to pick from. And those 40 serve many different levels of student and differing financial needs. Virginia also has the guaranteed transfer program for all of its 4 year institutions. Your choice in Narylabd is much smaller.