If I had $5MM:
My primary house would be one of the largest houses in Leesburg/Frederick. Better to be a huge fish in a small pond that one of many sharks in the tank. I'd have a maid and a nanny there.

I'd have a farm out in western Frederick/Loudoun that could double as a mountain retreat. There'd be a couple of outside staff there of course.

I'd have a nice condo or small TH in DC, so I could stay there when needed. I might have a half staffer here, split between here and my primary house.

I'd have a beach house in Rehoboth. Staff would simply travel with me.

I'd manufacture some ancestral holdings of hundreds, if not thousands, of acres in West Virginia that could be tenanted. I'd only show up there once a year or so, though.

I think I've got all my bases covered here -- I'd spend maybe $750k on the DC and Rehoboth places, and $1.25MM on my ancestral and primary places.

I'd live near the Crescent Trail and Norwood Park (or the largest park I could find), and be near the metro's red line (pref Bethesda or Friendship Heights b/c living in Georgetown doesn't mean you can get downtown quickly in traffic!)... Spend $2.5M on one of these and put the rest towards a house in Annapolis or at the beach: http://www.trulia.com/for_sale/Chevy_Chase,MD/2475000-2595000_price/

kenwood. your perfect match.

Burke, West Springfield, OR, wait...

Pimmit Hills

Edgemoor or Kenwood

Kalorama or Georgetown (but only if your manse comes with off street parking).

don't even, that is. You can afford to get a great house in DC. You can afford private school. You can get a spectacular house on that budget and be close to all the conveniences that you desire.

OP, don't eve consider Maryland. DC all the way.

Anonymous wrote:I assure you this is "real". Private school and would like shops (supermarket,etc..) to be no more than 10 min away.

H commutes now over an hour but would like to be able to cut it down if possible but is open.

You would be a total fool by being so rich and still having to commute for an hour.

So OP have these suggestions been helpful?

Anonymous wrote:I would move to Virginia so I would have access to state universities for my teenagers. Then I would move to the Langley portion of McLean or to Great Falls.

Something like this:
http://www.mrishomes.com/homes-for-sale/VA/GREAT-FALLS/22066/470-RIVER-BEND-RD-87674504

If you can afford a $5M home, you can afford out-of-state tuition. We live in a $1.5M house and in-state tuition never crossed our minds as a factor for where to live. I think kids from private schools and MoCo have an easier time getting into UVA than kids from NOVA these days any way. I'd never live in Great Falls (or anywhere in VA for that matter) if DH was commuting to DC. NWDC or close-in Montgomery County (Chevy Chase).

Anonymous wrote:I would move to Virginia so I would have access to state universities for my teenagers. Then I would move to the Langley portion of McLean or to Great Falls.

Something like this:
http://www.mrishomes.com/homes-for-sale/VA/GREAT-FALLS/22066/470-RIVER-BEND-RD-87674504

I'm guess that most people in $5 million homes can afford out of state tuition.

Anonymous wrote:I would move to Virginia so I would have access to state universities for my teenagers. Then I would move to the Langley portion of McLean or to Great Falls.

Something like this:
http://www.mrishomes.com/homes-for-sale/VA/GREAT-FALLS/22066/470-RIVER-BEND-RD-87674504

Please tell me this was all tongue-in-cheek. That house? Public high school? Great Falls?

I would move to Virginia so I would have access to state universities for my teenagers. Then I would move to the Langley portion of McLean or to Great Falls.

Something like this:
http://www.mrishomes.com/homes-for-sale/VA/GREAT-FALLS/22066/470-RIVER-BEND-RD-87674504

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is a real question, then the answer is simple. There are very few homes in this area for more than $5M, and the only place you will find them are select areas of NWDC, McLean, Great Falls, Potomac, and Bethesda.

Wrong. Forest Hills, Kalorama, Kent and Spring Valley. All have houses that would go for 5 mil. Very few, but there are many in the 3-4 mil range.

Aren't these select areas of NWDC?

Yes. I suppose the assumption is that OP's DH will work in DC. If that's not the case, other options would work. Also, OP, there's Mass Ave Heights/Embassy Heights, which is probably the most exclusive of all neighborhoods. It doesn't seem terribly cozy, though. Would pick Kalorama or Gtown or Wesley Heights over it.

I think it's a pretty good assumption that OP's DH will work in DC, given that she said so in her original post.

I'd buy this house:

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Montgomery-County-MD/pmf,pf_pt/37167980_zpid/2975_rid/39.461114,-76.755981,38.826336,-77.66098_rect/9_zm/2_p/

and, I guess, put the other 1.5 Million in the bank or something.

A short commute, a neighborhood where kids play outside, things within walking distance, and a good public school system for a back up would all be priorities for me, and this has them all, unlike someplace like Dupont Circle, or Potomac, or Great Falls.