Updated budget and wants. New job in Rockville/Gaithersburg, but looking at suburbs. Currently in PA. (Germantown: apartments)

[BCB75]

I have until Monday to accept this new job offer (and 99% sure I will). We will have 2-3 months to figure out where we want to move. Employer is providing very generous sign on bonus and relocation package.

Some requirements:

2 large dogs, several cars, an avid gardener, and electric guitar player mean we'll need some space. Probably no apartments or even townhouses for us.

Job should be 50% remote with flexible hours, but I'm worried about having a commute over ~40 minutes. I know it can vary based on traffic, but its really hard to guess.

Area needs to be safe. Doesn't need to be super exciting or full of character (if the sacrifice is needed). We also will try for kids very soon, so good schools would be a plus. We also like parks, hiking, and other outdoor activities.

Would be thrilled to cap my budget at 500k, but not sure where that limits us to. 550k wouldn't be too bad. Technically 600k would be within the 28% rule of thumb (even without bonus), but makes me nervous since I'm a hard-core saver usually.

Areas we've talked about:

Germantown: affordable, good commute. Safety and schools? What is there to do?

Damascus: affordable, decent commute. We didn't love driving through though.

Mt airy: affordable, and we really liked the feel and town. Also central to a lot of routes and other towns within 30 minutes. Commute worries me though.

Poolesville: seems like the kind of feel we'd be ok with. Good schools, decent commute. Kinda seems remote and not near much else. May not be much to do.

Urbana/Clarksburg/New Market: don't know much about these. Seems like they could be far and/or expensive, but otherwise seem good. I remember liking the vibes of frederick when I've been there.

Gaithersburg/ Montgomery Village: this area seems to be really large and varied. Some cheaper, less safe areas. Some wildly expensive areas here and there. Commute and things to do near these areas would be great. But can we get a safe area with the kind of property we're looking for? I see a couple properties north west of Kentland that seem reasonably priced.

So yeah, we're all over the map, and just need some help. I actually grew up in Potomac, but its been about 15 years, so it's only somewhat relevant. Still have a few friends in the area that I can contact too.

[MrRational]

$450,000 Boyds MD
https://www.trulia.com/p/md/boyds/20...41--2018917197

[BCB75]

We actually drove through boyds today and liked it, but we were further east than that. Our route was:

Start in Potomac, 270 to darnestown. Up to kentlands, and then through germantown. Up to boyds and then over to Clarksburg. Then back down to germantown and down 355 to Gaithersburg. Then across Redland and over to Olney. Then up from Olney through laytonsville, and back up to Mt airy.

We also saw Damascus on Saturday, but skipped it today. We want to check out more southwest of Rio (where the job is roughly). Further into darnestown, Poolesville, and western areas of boyds.

Our favorite (affordable) areas were north of kentlands to boyds, where there were some older neighborhoods. Basically going up great Seneca and then up clopper. We also liked crossing over the water in black hill park and going into Clarksburg. Were having trouble falling for germantown though. It feels really crowded and not much to do.

We will be making a return trip soon.

[skeddy]

Mt. Airy would be my recommendation of those you listed. You seem to be on the right track.