Anonymous wrote:My house hunting budget is 800K. In MoCo, for this money I am able to get an updated home in a cul de sac in a family neighborhood in the Churchill cluster. In VA, that budget will not get me into an equivalent home in an equivalent school district. So why on earth would I move there? My commute downtown wouldn't be THAT much better at my budget.

you'll want to budget another 50k for a saferoom, guns, bullet proof windows, body armor and top of the line security system for when MoCo death spirals into another baltimore in the next 10 years.

Anonymous wrote:Do people really sit around fretting about living in MD vs. VA for things like job growth? I don’t think so.

Just transplants and people whose sole investments are their homes and who are banking on lil Johnny going to an Ivy

My house hunting budget is 800K. In MoCo, for this money I am able to get an updated home in a cul de sac in a family neighborhood in the Churchill cluster. In VA, that budget will not get me into an equivalent home in an equivalent school district. So why on earth would I move there? My commute downtown wouldn't be THAT much better at my budget.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Chevy Chase Md and love it - nice commute to downtown DC on the CCT, we have been pretty happy with the public schools. Lots of development going on in downtown Bethesda, great amenities.

I couldn't care less what is going on in VA. Every time I have been there it just seems like a sprawling exurban hellhole, but if they are doing well then good for them. I don't think it is coming at the expense of places like Bethesda.

Oh, but it is darling. The above PP who summed up the fiscal challenges that MoCO is facing hit the nail on the head. Think of it this way, MoCo is where the rich Baby Boomers settled. NoVa is where the rich millennials are settling. Which would you pick?

Guys, guys. Come on. You're both as$holes!

--Silver Spring

Anonymous wrote:I live in Chevy Chase Md and love it - nice commute to downtown DC on the CCT, we have been pretty happy with the public schools. Lots of development going on in downtown Bethesda, great amenities.

I couldn't care less what is going on in VA. Every time I have been there it just seems like a sprawling exurban hellhole, but if they are doing well then good for them. I don't think it is coming at the expense of places like Bethesda.

Oh, but it is darling. The above PP who summed up the fiscal challenges that MoCO is facing hit the nail on the head. Think of it this way, MoCo is where the rich Baby Boomers settled. NoVa is where the rich millennials are settling. Which would you pick?

I live in Chevy Chase Md and love it - nice commute to downtown DC on the CCT, we have been pretty happy with the public schools. Lots of development going on in downtown Bethesda, great amenities.

I couldn't care less what is going on in VA. Every time I have been there it just seems like a sprawling exurban hellhole, but if they are doing well then good for them. I don't think it is coming at the expense of places like Bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:as a fiscal conservative, I agree with the doomsday predictions of MoCo (or really any political jurisdiction run by liberals)*, but I bought in close-in MoCo because it's where my job is and the houses are nice and more affordable than elsewhere.

I expect 0 appreciation over time. Think being in Chevy Chase entitles me to not depreciate, but we'll see.

*CT, NJ, Illinois, Westchester County, Chicago, etc.

It's almost like people don't believe others can drive 30-60 minutes to a job in Virginia or something. Fact: People can get to work in Virginia and live in Maryland.

Yes, but then why put up with the crappy commutes, lack of jobs, deteriorating schools

Because if the housing prices in Arlington rise at 10 percent a year like the NoVa boosters claim, then Bethesda's 2% annual increase (and superior schools) makes the extra 20 minute commute more tolerable.

Said no investor ever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a good job and like where you live why would you move? I don't get this.

yea, why would someone make investment decisions by considering future returns that involve hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars?

You’re treating were you live primarily as an investment, which is a big problem. If it was all about investment and appreciation, you would by a house in close in PG or move to Houston like PP said.

Close-in MoCo is just objectively nicer than NoVA, one of the reasons being precisely that growth has been limited and it’s more open, greener and has more pre WW2 homes with character. If people chose “job growth” as the lone metric on where to live, Dallas would be more desirable than Laguna Beach...

This. When we were looking in 2014, Bethesda/Chevy Chase seemed more expensive than McLean/Arlington, but we chose Chevy Chase because it was in a totally different league in terms of neighborhood quality and character, beauty, etc. I'm sure we would have made more money had we bought an Arlington house, but I would have made the same decision today. Now that Bethesda/Chevy Chase appear to be cheaper than Arlington/McLean, it would actually be an even easier decision!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a good job and like where you live why would you move? I don't get this.

yea, why would someone make investment decisions by considering future returns that involve hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars?

You’re treating were you live primarily as an investment, which is a big problem. If it was all about investment and appreciation, you would by a house in close in PG or move to Houston like PP said.

Close-in MoCo is just objectively nicer than NoVA, one of the reasons being precisely that growth has been limited and it’s more open, greener and has more pre WW2 homes with character. If people chose “job growth” as the lone metric on where to live, Dallas would be more desirable than Laguna Beach...

Anonymous wrote:If you have a good job and like where you live why would you move? I don't get this.

yea, why would someone make investment decisions by considering future returns that involve hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars?

If you have a good job and like where you live why would you move? I don't get this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:as a fiscal conservative, I agree with the doomsday predictions of MoCo (or really any political jurisdiction run by liberals)*, but I bought in close-in MoCo because it's where my job is and the houses are nice and more affordable than elsewhere.

I expect 0 appreciation over time. Think being in Chevy Chase entitles me to not depreciate, but we'll see.

*CT, NJ, Illinois, Westchester County, Chicago, etc.

It's almost like people don't believe others can drive 30-60 minutes to a job in Virginia or something. Fact: People can get to work in Virginia and live in Maryland.

Yes, but then why put up with the crappy commutes, lack of jobs, deteriorating schools

Because if the housing prices in Arlington rise at 10 percent a year like the NoVa boosters claim, then Bethesda's 2% annual increase (and superior schools) makes the extra 20 minute commute more tolerable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:as a fiscal conservative, I agree with the doomsday predictions of MoCo (or really any political jurisdiction run by liberals)*, but I bought in close-in MoCo because it's where my job is and the houses are nice and more affordable than elsewhere.

I expect 0 appreciation over time. Think being in Chevy Chase entitles me to not depreciate, but we'll see.

*CT, NJ, Illinois, Westchester County, Chicago, etc.

It's almost like people don't believe others can drive 30-60 minutes to a job in Virginia or something. Fact: People can get to work in Virginia and live in Maryland.

Yes, but then why put up with the crappy commutes, lack of jobs, deteriorating schools

Anonymous wrote:as a fiscal conservative, I agree with the doomsday predictions of MoCo (or really any political jurisdiction run by liberals)*, but I bought in close-in MoCo because it's where my job is and the houses are nice and more affordable than elsewhere.

I expect 0 appreciation over time. Think being in Chevy Chase entitles me to not depreciate, but we'll see.

*CT, NJ, Illinois, Westchester County, Chicago, etc.

It's almost like people don't believe others can drive 30-60 minutes to a job in Virginia or something. Fact: People can get to work in Virginia and live in Maryland.

Definitely a lot of jobs in VA, but it hasn't made us want to move. I have a job in VA, live in Mont County, and WFH 2-3 days a week. Sometimes I go into DC if I have meetings and don't go into VA. DH goes in more but he works in DC and I feel like getting to his office is much easier from close in MD than VA. And I think we have a nicer house given Arlington prices.

If I get another job, it will most likely be in DC. There are still more jobs in my area of work in DC then either MD or VA. So we'll be staying. The VA job is an outlier for me, but the flex and WFH make it work.