Anonymous wrote:I will say Bethesda until college time, then I will say Tysons for VA instate tuition.

unless they want to study STEM then MD

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Anonymous wrote:Ask yourself why all of the traffic goes from MD to Tyson’s in the morning and the opposite in the afternoon. The jobs are in VA. Don’t limit yourself by living in MD

Ask yourself why people choose to live in MD, commute to Tysons for work, then get out of there at 5pm.

Boom.

Because it takes 1.5 hours to get back to Gaithersburg or PG?

I was born in Maryland but have lived in Virginia for years. In general, NoVa is more dynamic and less stuck-up than the nicer parts of Montgomery County, and it has fewer run-down areas. There's more new construction, you're closer to the airports, and the public education system is better. It also seems to skew more Asian in terms of the minority population, which is a plus for our family (we are part Asian). If we were Jewish, we would probably live in Bethesda. And if we'd gone into journalism rather than law and consulting, we might have looked at Chevy Chase.

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Anonymous wrote:Bethesda and Tysons look deceptively close on a map, but when I was commuting from Tysons to Silver Spring, it was routinely 90 minutes plus to get home.

OPs post was vague though. Is one parent working in Tysons and the other in Bethesda? Or is the job in Tysons, but you want to live in Bethesda. I would say to live on the side of the river where the parent who is going to handle kids activities will be.

OP here. To clarify I have the option to work in Bethesda or Tysons, so trying to figure out which location to choose to work/live. If I choose Tysons work location, we would live in Tysons area. If we choose Bethesda work location, we would live in Bethesda area. Hope that helps.

Great that you have the choice. I would definitely go with Bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda because Tysons has a commercial rather than community focus...but if you are commuting to VA, live in VA.

Yes, heavily commercial plus incredibly annoying traffic patterns would rule out Tysons for me. I never enjoy going there.

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Anonymous wrote:depends a lot on how much money you're making. 300K+??? 3% county tax over 20 years adds up.

This is OP. Yes the higher income tax in MD is pointing us towards Tysons for financial reasons, but I do like the feel in Bethesda/Chevy Chase for a family with little kids. It has been a while since I have been in Tysons Corner, but it just looks like a bigger, more congested version of what I saw over 5 years ago.

Seems there are more 3 bedroom apartments available for rent in the newer complexes in Tysons at a cheaper rate than the 3 bedrooms in Bethesda. So again, financially VA makes more sense, but for non-tangibles of raising a family I prefer Bethesda/Chevy Chase area.

Maybe it comes down to a coin flip unless there is something else I am missing.

OP, I think both locations are fine and each have lots to recommend them. I’m a little stuck on why you are limiting yourself to apartment complexes in Tysons (or perhaps I am misunderstanding?). In your position I would be comparing life in Bethesda against life in Falls Church City, Mclean or Vienna (each a pretty easy commute to Tysons). Good luck!

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Anonymous wrote:Ask yourself why all of the traffic goes from MD to Tyson’s in the morning and the opposite in the afternoon. The jobs are in VA. Don’t limit yourself by living in MD

Ask yourself why people choose to live in MD, commute to Tysons for work, then get out of there at 5pm.

Boom.

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Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is stuck in the 70s. Not much new construction and the jobs are going elsewhere.

Have you been to downtown Bethesda in the last 20 years. The development has been incredible. It used to be a sleepier town , now it’s a full fledged city.

Yes exactly. I'm so confused when people claim Bethesda is charming. Have you seen all the development? Sure the houses are charming but the surrounding area is pretty developed now.

It’s true Bethesda was a cow-town back in the 1970s, back when it used to be a place where government workers lived so they could send their kids to Whitman. Those days are gone. But unlike Tyson’s, Bethesda still isn’t webbed with massive highways and huge office and commercial buildings. The buildings around Bethesda tend to be a few stories high and house restaurants, Jo Malone and twee stationery stores.

And let’s not forget the bike trails!

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is stuck in the 70s. Not much new construction and the jobs are going elsewhere.

WTF? There are cranes all over Bethesda and have been for years. Marriott HQ? A dozen or so new mixed retail / high rises. Purple Line…list goes on.

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is truly awful. It’s all upscale chain restaurants, and there are zero jobs so you have nothing but children / teens and parents, zero young folks. MoCo is becoming a certified dump. Virginia is superior in every single way, and the only counterpoint you see on here is “Virginia has young kin and is less liberal” but it’s just vastly superior to the dump that is MoCo / Pg.

Have you been to Bethesda lately?

Bethesda because Tysons has a commercial rather than community focus...but if you are commuting to VA, live in VA.

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Anonymous wrote:If only renting an apartment for a year, Bethesda.

If looking to live in the DC for a longer period, Tysons area (Tysons/Vienna/McLean).

I don't understand this. Is it because anybody could do the 495 commute for a year, but a lifetime of that commute would be unbearable? Otherwise, a lifetime of looking at Tysons Corner would be unbearable.

Even the newly appointed head of the Tysons redevelopment group lives in Arlington and publicly stated she has no plans to move to Tysons.

How is this relevant? Has she stated why she has no plans to move?

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Anonymous wrote:Ask yourself why all of the traffic goes from MD to Tyson’s in the morning and the opposite in the afternoon. The jobs are in VA. Don’t limit yourself by living in MD

Ask yourself why people choose to live in MD, commute to Tysons for work, then get out of there at 5pm.

Mostly it’s due to cheaper housing in Maryland. Have you looked at how much an average SFH costs in MoCo now vs Fairfax or Arlington?

OP is looking at Bethesda, not across all of Maryland. Prices in Bethesda are certainly comparable to Fairfax or Arlington.

Bethesda is a nicer area to live than Tysons. If you are not needing to cross the river id probably lean that way. Generally they are both areas with educated motivated people with access to similar amenities. Tysons isn't as friendly or welcoming in terms of getting around though, traffic feels more stressful there and not as much has been built by the Metro stations. It'll be easier to travel to airport if that's a consideration. Schools might be better in Bethesda but they're still fine on Tysons, your kid won't become a junkie or miss their chance at a Rhodes scholar because you didn't live in the BCC pyramid.

OP have you ever visited the area? Any examples of areas on other metros that you like? People here have traveled a bit so can help if there is an analog.

I live in VA and am biased in my preference for Virginia as a better state but MoCo is actually a nice place and Bethesda is one of the nicest areas around. Don't let local banter sway your judgement

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda and Tysons look deceptively close on a map, but when I was commuting from Tysons to Silver Spring, it was routinely 90 minutes plus to get home.

OPs post was vague though. Is one parent working in Tysons and the other in Bethesda? Or is the job in Tysons, but you want to live in Bethesda. I would say to live on the side of the river where the parent who is going to handle kids activities will be.

OP here. To clarify I have the option to work in Bethesda or Tysons, so trying to figure out which location to choose to work/live. If I choose Tysons work location, we would live in Tysons area. If we choose Bethesda work location, we would live in Bethesda area. Hope that helps.