Anonymous wrote:OP, i too looked for all that too once but you won't find a small downtown in any of the burbs around here, it's all sprawl. Downtown SS, Bethesda, the Arlington sprawl and Old Town do not count. You'll have to compromise.

Yes this. We had the downtown feel where I'm from in NJ. I've been looking around DC for a while now. It is just different down here. In some ways this is good, but in others it is lacking. Having said this, I like the Rockville, MD area. It has a town center and schools are good. Good housing is available in the 600k range. It's maybe 15 miles from DC but accessible by Metro, so not too bad.

Anonymous wrote:Since we are talking about "towns" in the NE sense, I live in one in the metro area - Laurel. It is on the MARC so lots of people commute in to DC, it has a main st plus all the chain stores, a new ice cream shop, parks and library and a few parades of cute little kids and Shriners etc each year, and every December Santa comes around on his firetruck. But. The elementary school in the old town area isn't great, and the middle school and high school really are not good. And it is a middle income town without a lot of pretension or fancy stores, so doesn't feel like the commuter towns around Boston like Weston and Newton with their oh-so-understated wealth.

Um, no. Laurel is not a New England-type town. Not like Weston, not like Newton, not even like Medford, Somerville, or Arlington.

Not even close.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - OK, what are the "good schools" in SS and Takoma park? I'm totally overwhelmed by Montgomery County schools because ALL of our friends live in Virginia.

OP - If you live in Takoma Park, MD, you'll want to likely keep it within walking distance of the metro to be near transit and the "main street." The schools would be Takoma Park Elementary, Takoma Park Middle, Blair High, I think. All good. For the DC Takoma, you're at Takoma Education Campus and Coolidge. I'd be ok with Pre-K at TEC because it's a great program, but after K I'd be wanting to move to another school.

If the choice is between say Leesburg and Frederick, I bet commuting costs would be a bigger factor than taxes ever would be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MA and NJ also have insane property taxes to support those schools.

Actually, since towns do not charge any income tax, when you factor that in, the taxes are about the same.

The housing stock is a lot nicer, too.

Remind me why I moved here again?

Tax Environment
Delaware is by far the most tax-friendly state for retirees among this group. Delaware is ranked as having the 24th highest tax burden in the nation. It has no sales tax. It does have several pieces of good news for retirees: it is the 43rd highest for per capita property taxes; social security income is not taxed; and $12,500 of pension income is not taxed. DE does have an estate tax.

Maryland is a high tax state with the 4th highest tax burden in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation. It has a top income tax rate of 6.25%; sales tax is 6%. On the plus side for retirees, it is the 26th highest for property taxes, and does not tax social security. MD and NJ are among the few states that have both an estate and an inheritance tax.

New Jersey has the dubious distinction of being the #1 highest state for state/local taxes, according to the Tax Foundation. Its top income tax rate is 8.97%; sales tax is 7%. Particularly hurtful for retirees, NJ has the highest per-capita property taxes in the nation. Fortunately, social security is not taxed. It has both an estate tax and an inheritance tax.

Virginia could be considered tax-friendly, at least compared to NJ and MD. It has the 18th highest state/local tax burden. The top income tax rate is a relatively modest 5.75%; sales tax is 5% (plus localities must collect an additional 1%). It is ranked 18th highest in per capita property taxes. Social security is not taxed, nor are there any inheritance or estate taxes.




Virginia is a better option than NJ or MD

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MA and NJ also have insane property taxes to support those schools.

Actually, since towns do not charge any income tax, when you factor that in, the taxes are about the same.

The housing stock is a lot nicer, too.

Remind me why I moved here again?

MD does (hence their taxes are almost double VA's - but it's worked into the one state tax form - I think Frederick's are the highest in the state)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park all the way. It's an awesome community.

+1

BUT, it's pretty much an extension of DC (like, very urban vibe) - so I'm not so sure about the schools - I would double check their standardized test stats on the school website. Also, Takoma Park sprawls across PG, Montgomery County, and DC - I am thinking (without checking) that the better schools are definitely in the MoCo part, but I'm not sure if that is where the main street area is.

You might want to check out Del Ray in VA too - it's sort of reinvented itself as urban chic or I don't know what the right adjective is, but you might want to check it out. And there's like target, movies, etc. not even a mile away. It's really close to Old Town too (like the next town over) so you have access to that whole area too without having to pay millions to live there.

All of Takoma in MD has been in MoCo for a long time. The part in PG bailed on that county years ago.

Really? I didn't know that Takoma Park succeeded.

Since we are talking about "towns" in the NE sense, I live in one in the metro area - Laurel. It is on the MARC so lots of people commute in to DC, it has a main st plus all the chain stores, a new ice cream shop, parks and library and a few parades of cute little kids and Shriners etc each year, and every December Santa comes around on his firetruck. But. The elementary school in the old town area isn't great, and the middle school and high school really are not good. And it is a middle income town without a lot of pretension or fancy stores, so doesn't feel like the commuter towns around Boston like Weston and Newton with their oh-so-understated wealth.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am from Chicago and had the same issue when I moved out here! I will probably get flogged by DCUM posters, but I decided to move to Bethesda within walking distance of the downtown. It is no Chicago (or any of the Chicago suburbs), but we have loved access to parks, paths for walking, schools, libraries, restaurants, shops, etc. I looked all over DC and couldn't find anything similar. (We did not want to live in VA b/c of the commute for our jobs - we would have to take the beltway and didn't want to).

Why would you get flogged? I think there are a lot of DCUM posters in Bethesda. The problem is the amount you have to spend to be within walking distance to the town and Metro. $700+ for small, or on a big road or totally not renovated.

OP, I am not sure what you are looking for, there are plenty of places in DC area that have walkable shopping/downtown/main street type of things. I would say pretty much every single suburb or residential area of DC has this in some shape and form. It's just seems like you have some sort of specific criteria? In VA, you have Del Ray, Alexandria (PPs already mentioned), but you also have Falls Church, Vienna, various parts of Arlington, Mclean (which has its own little downtown), Pimmit Hills (very promising area for what you are looking for and in your price range). Bethesda, Silver Spring in MD and other place I probably don't even know about as I don't venture there quite often. I am not sure whether your problem is with the fact that many of these places developed with car use in mind and hence have more strip mall (overload of parking lots) type of arrangement that may not be pleasing to the eye. FWIW, we live near downtown Mclean, it's not your cute little main street, but we have all we need on daily basis within walking distance from grocery shops to pet stores, dry cleaners, banks, bakeries, coffee shops and restaurants, bus stops.

The problem is that most of these close to DC suburbs are very expensive if you want to live near the amenities and especially Metro, but this is just the reality of this area and any other expensive metro area in the US. Anywhere in any small town or a suburb that has good connectivity to a large metro area with jobs you will find very expensive housing.

If you are on a tight budget and want to be close to the city and some major employment centers in VA, I would also take a look at the Pimmit Hills area, some parts will be walkable to the new East Tysons metro and there will be new shopping/entertainment center around there too. Plus it has a bit of a strip mall main street options with Whole Foods and Trader Joes. It is not a cute area in terms of what houses look like, but nature wise, it's pretty, lots of trees and rolling hills, great parks nearby and community events. It's inexpensive and very well connected and convenient, plus it's changing and it may evolve into something you want without crazy prices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MA and NJ also have insane property taxes to support those schools.

Actually, since towns do not charge any income tax, when you factor that in, the taxes are about the same.

The housing stock is a lot nicer, too.
Remind me why I moved here again?

Yep, this. In the end, not much more expensive (sometimes not at all).

Ok. So what? I wouldn't have a job (and definitely not one that pays what mine does here in DC) if I lived in NJ or MA. I'm just not sure of the point of pointing out that in other states there are cheaper, nicer houses. Duh.

The original question was about whether a feature which is common in other areas is available here.

Unless you have job-hunted in NJ or MA (where the job market is robust actually), I don't know how you could know that you couldn't find one that pays what yours does here in DC. Those three places are comparable vis-a-vis cost of living and pay scales.

Except distances in NYC to such places from actual places of employment are not the same really comparing with DC area, you have to go at least 30 miles out from manhattan and your commutes will be to the closest suburbs at least 1 hour each way on PT. I don't know many people in NYC who commute less than 2 hours a day and this is pretty much guaranteed if you want suburban living. Most employment is in very dense areas of Manhattan and Jersey city, some in Connecticut, not much in between, at least this has been my experience job hunting. In DC you can have much shorter commutes and still live in a small town/suburb, plus lots of jobs are in the burbs. Not saying traffic is great in DC, but overall distances are just smaller and this makes things easier and just gives people more options other than raising your family in an apartment if you want to be close to your job or commute 2-3 hours a day.

I can't speak to NYC vs. DC, but I can tell you that my sister, who lives 8 miles from downtown Boston, lives in a town like the one described above and her commute is a breeze. Her DH bikes to work in Cambridge. There are jobs in the Boston 'burbs (which are towns) just as there are here - with the added benefit of living in a bona fide town/community built on a human scale.

In the DC area, there are very few towns. There are suburbs, but they are counties, not towns. The words "town" and "suburb" are not interchangeable in this respect.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MA and NJ also have insane property taxes to support those schools.

Actually, since towns do not charge any income tax, when you factor that in, the taxes are about the same.

The housing stock is a lot nicer, too.
Remind me why I moved here again?

Yep, this. In the end, not much more expensive (sometimes not at all).

Ok. So what? I wouldn't have a job (and definitely not one that pays what mine does here in DC) if I lived in NJ or MA. I'm just not sure of the point of pointing out that in other states there are cheaper, nicer houses. Duh.

The original question was about whether a feature which is common in other areas is available here.

Unless you have job-hunted in NJ or MA (where the job market is robust actually), I don't know how you could know that you couldn't find one that pays what yours does here in DC. Those three places are comparable vis-a-vis cost of living and pay scales.

Except distances in NYC to such places from actual places of employment are not the same really comparing with DC area, you have to go at least 30 miles out from manhattan and your commutes will be to the closest suburbs at least 1 hour each way on PT. I don't know many people in NYC who commute less than 2 hours a day and this is pretty much guaranteed if you want suburban living. Most employment is in very dense areas of Manhattan and Jersey city, some in Connecticut, not much in between, at least this has been my experience job hunting. In DC you can have much shorter commutes and still live in a small town/suburb, plus lots of jobs are in the burbs. Not saying traffic is great in DC, but overall distances are just smaller and this makes things easier and just gives people more options other than raising your family in an apartment if you want to be close to your job or commute 2-3 hours a day.

OP, I am from Chicago and had the same issue when I moved out here! I will probably get flogged by DCUM posters, but I decided to move to Bethesda within walking distance of the downtown. It is no Chicago (or any of the Chicago suburbs), but we have loved access to parks, paths for walking, schools, libraries, restaurants, shops, etc. I looked all over DC and couldn't find anything similar. (We did not want to live in VA b/c of the commute for our jobs - we would have to take the beltway and didn't want to).

There is one Tiny Tiny area of Takoma Park that remained in PG county, so be aware. It is east of NH Ave., Erskine Ave and the area of Carole Highlands.

This information is incorrect. The totality of the city of Takoma Park, MD, is in Montgomery County. There is a tiny area that has a Takoma Park POSTAL ADDRESS/ZIP, but is in PG County. Realtors LOVE to mislead people about that tiny area, always advertising it as "Takoma Park, MD." That is true for the post office, but not for the school district (PG) nor for the municipal gov't (PG, not the City of TP).

I'm sorry - I'm seriously not interested in starting a fight. I wish I hadn't said anything at all. I think I get sensitive on here about all these people being down on DC and lamenting all the cheap beautiful housing and lovely unstressed people everywhere else. Sorry.