MD or NOVA? (Bethesda, Severn, Severna Park: real estate, condos, crime) - Washington, DC suburbs in Maryland - Maryland -Calvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County - City-Data Forum

sparks5967 · 05-09-2007, 06:52 PM

We are a family of 4 relocating from South FL to the DC metropolitan area in June. We have pretty much focused our home search on the NOVA area upon the recommendation of friends that live up there; however, we are recently getting input from friends that live in the DC metro area that we should consider MD.

Up until now, we've been looking closely at the Springfield/Burke VA area as well as Alexandria VA. In a nutshell- we are a dual career family (one going to downtown DC, the other to the area near Reagan Natl) with 2 young elementary children and our priorities are: very good schools, family-oriented neighborhood with a 45-minute max commute to downtown DC (to include drive time and metro). We hope to buy a single family home with $550 k being our max. Any thoughts or insight would be appreciated.

Regards,
sparks5967

The Dissenter · 05-10-2007, 04:48 AM

with your kids i would choose NoVA. You could throw a dart at a map of NoVA and it land in a good school district no matter where it lands, you can't do that with md. You may be able to get more house for 500k in md but with the problems with crime in PG and some parts of Mont. Co. it may not be worth the investment. You can get a great house in Springfield for 550k that won't go as far in Alexandria unless you can live with a townhouse. Also, if you choose Alexandria make sure your address is in Alexandria City and not Fairfax County. The Alexandria corridor of Fairfax Co. has a lot of issues with crime and the schools are very inferior to other areas Ffx. Co including Springfield also Alexandria City. So all in all, i'd take NoVA.

RoadTripGurl · 05-10-2007, 07:55 AM

Maybe Montgomery County that's close to VA on the beltway? with your budget, good luck finding something for 550K. I just passed a newly built townhome development in Alexandria going for 700K!!!! As far as commute, 45-minute good luck. I hope you plan to take the metro to work. The traffic is killer either way you go unless your close tot he train.

Njrover0216 · 05-10-2007, 09:42 AM

If you are looking at the Maryland area, Severna Park, MD has excellent schools. You can go to greatschools.net, all of their schools are a 10/10 except the high school which is a 8/10. High schools rarely get an 8, they usually average around a 6. I live around the corner from Jones Elementary here. To get to DC you would take 50 W for about 20 miles. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Kensington · 05-10-2007, 03:43 PM

Severna Park is nice, especially if you want to be closer to the water, but that is a killer commute into DC. Definitely over an hour.

In Montgomery Co. Kensington is an option and even parts of Bethesda may be possible. In both these areas you'll be in a very small (less than 2,000 sq. ft., older home, fixer upper). I live in Kensington, and my husband and I have done the exact same commutes. You can easily get into downtown DC in less than an hour, and usually my husband can make it to Crystal City in about 45 - 50 minutes. I would find a real estate agent that specializes in the Bethesda, Kensington, Chevy Chase area. They can give you the best ideas about specific neighborhoods and schools. All of the schools in Bethesda are good. All of the elementary schools in Kensington are good, but junior high and highschool are a different story. In Kensington, you'd probably be looking at Parkwood neighborhood (for best schools). In Bethesda, look at the neighborhoods that are off Old Georgetown rd. both north and south of the beltway.

Best of luck,

JK

My one plug for Maryland is that having lived in both NOVA and Montgomery Co., I really do think commutes are generally a bit easier. Others may have a different opinion, but I'm surprised that you can make it into DC in less than an hour from Burke or Springfield during rush hour.

The Dissenter · 05-11-2007, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoadTripGurl

Maybe Montgomery County that's close to VA on the beltway? with your budget, good luck finding something for 550K. I just passed a newly built townhome development in Alexandria going for 700K!!!! As far as commute, 45-minute good luck. I hope you plan to take the metro to work. The traffic is killer either way you go unless your close tot he train.

if you go north or west of old town in alexandria you can find a few decent places for 550k mainly townhomes or 3 br condos. be careful with mont. co. their schools aren't good in every spot of the county. same with fairfax co. in VA. two overrated systems if you ask me, not that they don't have their good schools.

RoadTripGurl · 05-11-2007, 10:34 AM

Why would anyone want to live in VA where you have to pay a property tax on your car? It's expensive enough to deal with the inflated home prices... If I had a family of 4 I wouldn't want to live in a townhouse, but that's just my preference...

scoutsadie · 05-25-2007, 06:57 AM

In my 10+ years of experience in this area, I'd say that northern VA is a lot more sprawl-y and congested than Maryland (except for maybe the I-270 corridor in MD). Most recently, I lived in Alexandria for four years, then Springfield for three, and traffic/sprawl just got worse and worse during that time. Maryland seems to have more green space on the whole, and less concrete.

teleblazer · 05-25-2007, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scoutsadie

In my 10+ years of experience in this area, I'd say that northern VA is a lot more sprawl-y and congested than Maryland (except for maybe the I-270 corridor in MD). Most recently, I lived in Alexandria for four years, then Springfield for three, and traffic/sprawl just got worse and worse during that time. Maryland seems to have more green space on the whole, and less concrete.

I would have to agree. That was why I left NOVA to go to Southern MD, and I'd do it again if I could. In fact I didn't even mind the driving down to Calvert County because I knew I could afford houses and the green trees put my mind at ease while I commuted home. The home I had built there was 500k MORE in 2001 to build in Fairfax, VA. I don't mind paying for a nice house but that was crazy!

270 is a nightmare and it reminds me EXACTLY of NOVA. Cramped, with people in a hurry all the time and they just get in each other's way. It's so dumb, the wrong 15 minute window could take a 30-45 minute drive and turn it into HOURS.

teleblazer · 05-25-2007, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoadTripGurl

Why would anyone want to live in VA where you have to pay a property tax on your car? It's expensive enough to deal with the inflated home prices... If I had a family of 4 I wouldn't want to live in a townhouse, but that's just my preference...

I don't miss the personal property taxes one bit since I left. You're right it's hard enough to maintain the home without additional financial strain.