We are asking about places that would be good for a family to move into. Do you guys have any good websites for us to look at?
2006-09-21 13:14:34 · 13 answers · asked by Brittainy 3 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Washington, D.C.
We are looking for information on moving into the DC areas. We would prefer safe areas for to raise a family in. We also need information about the cost of living, where to go, etc. Do you know of any good websites we can look at?
2006-09-21 13:15:47 · update #1
My husband will be working out of DC, we are looking for places within a reasonable commute of Any Airport
2006-09-21 13:20:03 · update #2
Look into Arlington, VA. It's like 5 minutes from Reagan National Airport. It's a very nice area and very convenient to DC. My sister lives there.
2006-09-21 13:23:59 · answer #1 · answered by First Lady 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You have 3 airports...2 in Virginia: Reagon International (nearby) and Dulles, much farther out. There is one in Maryland: Baltimore Washington International (BWI) which is halfway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Reagon and BWI are accessable by Metro, if that's a factor. If you travel a lot, you need to see which airport has the most flights to the area you're interested in...the 3 airports are quite far apart, so it makes a difference.
When I moved to the D.C. area ages ago, the most important decision for me was, which area had the best schools for my kids. In Virginia the Fairfax and Loudoun County Schools are excellent. In Maryland both Montgomery County and Howard County are also outstanding. If I were you I would consider those areas. I raised my kids in Montgomery County and am a teacher there, so I am a little prejudiced, but all the other 3 areas have good schools too.
Here's an interactive Metro Map....you can click on the different stations to get information about each area. The areas I mentioned are on the Orange and Red Metro Lines
http://www.stationmasters.com/System_Map/system_map.html
And here's a link from the Washington Post which tells about the area schools. You click on the different counties and they list the different schools and rate their performance.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/education/schoolguide/search?query=section/allschools
It's a big decision. Good luck!
2006-09-22 12:44:14 · answer #2 · answered by Bobbie 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Montgomery County, Maryland is a pretty good place to live. It does not have the high personal property tax that you find in Virginia. Housing is not cheap by any means but that is part of the price of being the the DC area.
Websites do exist. Go to your search engine and type in: Montgomery County Maryland Government.
Montgomery County schools are rated very high. Traffic to commute into DC is heavy on the Beltway and on the I-270 but that is to be expected. Commuting from Virginia entails going over bridges from whatever route you choose. Every day at least one bridge is closed down from a traffic accident and traffic jams happen.
2006-09-24 13:56:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
DC is not all black. It used to be, about 40 years ago. Even if it were, we are assuming you are white and have money so you wouldn't be living in the inner city anyway. If you are looking to live happily around other rich white people move to NW DC, near American University, Bethesda, Friendship Heights, Georgetown etc. A white person with enough money can live just fine in their part of DC and never experience violence. DC is a great place to live because there is so much history and so much to teach your kids. Zoos, museums, etc are all free, fun, and educational.
People who are saying blacks=violence=gangbangers are so ignorant they don't look past the surface of the problem and try to understand why young black children /mles who come from poverty, are giving nothing, grow up to be nothing. They also don't question how congress and the president and all other legislative and judicial bodies can live high, mighty, and rich when they are a couple of metro stops away from the worst school system and poorest children in the United States -- and do nothing about it.
What you need to know about DC - follow the links and learn about the different areas of DC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streets_and_highways_of_Washington,_D.C.
2006-09-21 19:39:31 · answer #4 · answered by puppyzluv77 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are many places within Prince Georges County and Montgomery County Maryland that are good places to raise a family- Fort Washington, Bowie, Clinton, Camp Springs are great places to live. You really cannot avoid crime anywhere you go. If you listen to the news reports in this area you will find that most of the violent crime that makes the news comes from the richer and more upper crust areas.
2006-09-22 06:55:54 · answer #5 · answered by Joe K 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow, the poster above makes DC sound pretty horrible! He's wrong, though.
It sounds like being close to an airport is more important than being close to the city. If that's the case, I'd recommend looking at one of the Baltimore suburbs like Towson, Catonsville, Elkton or Jessup for housing. Your commute to DC (if you ever needed to do that) would be about an hour but you'd be close to BWI airport. Property values, rents and home prices are much lower in that area than closer to DC. Still pretty high compared to the rest of the country but you could get a very, very nice single-family home for $500,000-700,000 if you do a little shopping.
If you must live closer to DC, I would recommend looking in the city itself or in Arlington, Falls Church or Alexandria,VA. You would have a reasonable commute into DC and you;d be very close to National Airport. We also have Dulles Airport (near Reston, Herndon and Vienna) but traffic out that way is insane, really horrible, and you could not pay me enough to live out there.
Homes in the city range from about $300,000 to well over a million; look in Petworth (more affordable but you have to really check your block out before deciding as there are some rough areas), Glover Park (great neighborhood, pretty expensive, $800k for a small townhouse if you are lucky) or Friendship Heights (if you have a bunch of money to spend). The Brookland neighborhood is also nice and not horribly expensive; 16th Street Heights is a wonderful neighborhood but pricey.
For websites... I would start with washingtonpost.com; check the Metro section for info on the various neighborhoods, crime rates, etc. Then do a search on neighborhoods that catch your interest as most communities have their own websites already. Washingtonpost.com can help you with your house hunting too, or try my favorite real estate agency: http://prudentialcarruthers.com.
By the way, I have been living in the Columbia Heights neighborhood for over 12 years. I have seen a lot of crime but in the last 5 years or so, the city has really changed for the better (thanks, Mayor Williams!). Yes, there are still bad areas but guess what? Every city has bad areas, even the small ones. I have a 12-minute commute to National Airport, I have significantly lower property taxes than my suburban friends, and I have a close-knit group of neighbors that I adore. I don't get shot at, I don't have to push junkies out of my way, I don't get mugged. I love living in DC and I am really tired of everyone bashing this city when they don't know what they are talking about.
2006-09-21 16:32:49 · answer #6 · answered by dcgirl 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
I used to live in N. Va and its pretty expensive everywhere, but I grew up in Gainesville Va which is a 45 min. drive into the city and airport... but it was a good family area. Fairfax is closer and really nice but EXTREMELY expensive...
Something a little closer thats also decent is Centreville or the Reston area. Everything up there is too expensive but these areas along with Gainesville are good places for families
2006-09-22 14:33:24 · answer #7 · answered by BeachLvr2006 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I live in Annapolis and have my whole life. This is a nice area with a reasonable commute. Anywhere that involves him getting on the Beltway, is going to make him miserable and a horrendous commute.
Rockville, Crofton, Odenton, Gambrills, Northern VA are nice.
Do not move to: Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Laurel, DC, Lanham.
2006-09-22 07:14:45 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
dont move to the city. there will be too much traffic and tourists all over the place. i live in Arlington VA. its close by to the airport and to washington DC. there are many schools, shopping centers and everything you need.
2006-09-23 00:32:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
DC area is wonderful and very expensive. What airport is he working out of - dulles and national are very far apart and would give you very different neighborhood selections.
Townhouses cost 300K up on average, homes cost 500K up on average. These are 'average' homes without lots of fanciness.
I'd be happy to help more with more info.
2006-09-22 07:49:15 · answer #10 · answered by cassandra 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋