NancyCo

I need some advice on where to live in D.C. My husband has an offer to work for the federal government in Crystal City and could possibly relocate within the next 4 weeks. We've lived on a base before in D.C. so we never had to worry about renting or buying. We are familiar with the surrounding areas. We plan to buy a house eventually but would like to rent for the next 6 months or so. Can someone please give me some advice on the schools out there? We have a toddler and one in kindergarten. I heard Alexandria public schools are not that great. I also heard Fairfax schools are excellent but don't want to go that far and I read that houses are very expensive there. We're trying to keep the commute short. Not ready for a real estate agent just yet. Any ideas?

birder

Wow, that's tough. What type of rental payment can you afford? I moved from the DC area a few years ago and was so glad to, because it was so expensive and the commute was so awful.

Just remember, the Virginia Rail Express comes right into Crystal City, so you could live somewhere south or west and your husband could take the train in. He'll get a subsidy from the federal government. The parking lots fill up quickly for the train, though, so he'll have to leave early (or you can drop him off and pick him up if you are a SAHM).

NancyCo

Birder,
We'll know this week about a house that will be available to rent in a few weeks. It is owned by a friend of a friend in Maryland. We are just waiting to confirm that it will be available to us. We also have the kids registered in the school my 5 yr old used to attend as a preschooler. Now I'm just trying to research the housing market and schools to prepare for next year's move. Would like to buy in Virginia.

julzieluv

Stay close to Tyson's corner. Upscale but affordable. Short distance to downtown and Georgetown, but suburban enough to raise a family. Reston is good too.

MikeT

Reston is ridiculously far from Crystal City and Tysons Corner is terribly congested.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that schools in Alexandria are not good because it appears to be just the opposite. While Fairfax schools are good, so are Alexandria and Arlington. Your greater concern about schools is if you go to Prince William County.

DC is a very expensive place, so your ultimate decision my be made based on what you can afford. There are reasonably priced (for DC) places all over.

papoubob

Hello....You'll never find a better place to live than in Annapolis for quality living...It has everything that any family would want...a wonderful Historic town right on the Severn River (part of the Chesapeake) and all the arts and music possible. As for schools I would suggest that you check out Severna Park or Arnold rather than Annapolis proper. They are communities just minutes away from downtown Annapolis but have a much better public school system. Good luck on your search. When we moved her from California we have never been happier with our choice!
Papou
P.S. If I can give you more information I am [email protected]

birder

I hate to sounds negative, but do you know what a commute from Reston, Tyson's Corner, or Annapolis to Crystal City would be like? Nightmarish. I would definitely advise that you live near either the metro or the rail system (either Virginia Rail Express or the Marc train in Maryland).

MikeT

Exactly Birder. The OP said they wanted to have a short commute. Commuting from Annapolis to Crystal City is absolutely absurd with almost no public transportation.

We need to get people to live closer to where they work, not two hours away.

GeorgeW

Having lived in the Washington DC area all of my forty-five years, I suggest that you reconsider moving to the Washington area. The Washington area is very expensive and it is congested. Most neighborhoods lack a true neighborly feel to them. Suburban Washington has an unnatural stress about it. Traffic is often terrible, even on Sundays. Taxes are very high.

Due to my health plan (I have a ten year old with congenital heart disease), I will be forced to stay at my job for another five years or so but I do plan to relocate to a more normal part of the country when I can.

MikeT

George, as I recall you have made this goofy argument before or you suggest that people live on the Eastern Shore or some other far flung place

People work for the government. The government is based in DC. We need people to work for the government. Traffic is bad when you insist on living in the hinterlands. I live 7 minutes from Crystal City and I rarely find myself in traffic, even on weekends. Some of the best public schools in the country are in the DC area.

Sure it's expensive, but lots of places are expensive.

GeorgeW

An $ 80,000 a year salary in Washington is the equivilent to $ 50,000 in much of the country. More to the question, you are correct to rent for at least six months (Arlington would be the wisest choice) and you would be wise to stay on the Virginia side of the Potomac River.

kgh8m

I actually agree with GeorgeW about this. Just because it's a good offer, doesn't mean it's a good move for your family.
Crystal City is between Arlington and Alexandria. I honestly cannot tell you the price of rent or of an older condo or townhouse in those areas, but I can tell you that detached homes in those areas are QUITE expensive - even for older homes on postage stamp lots. Why? Because it's a short commute to DC by car or public transportation and those areas are pretty nice (high demand, low supply). And because most everything within 30-50 miles of DC is astronomically expensive.

I don't know your husband's salary is proposed to be, how much you can roll into a home (if you've always lived on base, I'm guessing you're not going to have the proceeds from the sale of a current home to roll in?), and whether or not you work. Affordability vs. neighborhood is key.

I would disagree with some of the prior posters about the "hellishness" of certain commutes. I work smack dab in the middle of downtown DC and my husband works in Alexandria. We live in Herndon and we commute in and out at off hours (he goes before the rush hour, and I go after) - because our jobs allow this. We personally found that we prefer living where we do with its benefits to moving in closer and paying 3 times as much for it. Arlington is really close to Crystal City, and every home I've ever considered in Arlington (and these are SMALL lots) have been $900K+. I am not kidding.

Besides, I think it would be better for your husband to have a slightly longer commute, carpool, or go in a little earlier than for you guys to try to find something affordable (re: far worse neighborhood) closer in. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if your husband got to work at 7 am or 10 am. Doing that, you can easily explore Fairfax, southern Alexandria (outside the Beltway), Springfield, Lorton, Burke, Reston, Herndon, etc. (Tysons, McLean, Great Falls, Falls Church are - generally - going to be a LOT more expensive, but are all WONDERFUL areas.)

Seriously, go on realtor.com and search by map and get a feel for the prices. You may find that this move simply isn't worth it to you.

My last piece of advice would be a warning about DC's cooling housing market - I'd think a little before buying something if the prices are still headed down.

MikeT

As you can tell, there are lots of opinions. The advice to rent before buying is a good one, because it also allows you to figure out if you have work flexibility, your day care needs, etc.

The poster is correct that the further out you get, the more you get for your money. OTOH, you also sacrifice time at home, time with your family, and you lose the conveniences of living in an urban area.

bardo1

This question comes up here often.

You said you are not willing to go Fairfax becuase you don't want a commute. Good for you. An extra hour or two each day for family timne is worth at least 1/2 a milliion dollars, IMO.

One family style neighborhood close to Crystal City is Del Ray.

More expensive is Clarendon with nice bungalows and lots of playgrounds. A 3br, 1ba 1500 sq. ft. bunglaow with 1/8 acre lot wiill run about $750K.

Don't get too hung on public schools either (unless for idealogical reasons). You would be amazed at the number of folks you spend an extra $20K a year on housing to avoid spending $10K a year for a private school that is better than any public school!

Your best value may be to buy an inexpensive house in a nice, close-in PG county neighborhood and send your kids to a great private school in PG county od DC.

ethanb

Albeit a dated experience, as I lived in Great Falls nearly 20 years ago, I found it to have great neighborhoods, excellent schools/Langley High School (excellent curriculum) and valuable access to D.C., Dulles, Tyson's and other places of interest.

kgh8m

I know I'm on the verge of beating a dead horse here, but I'll risk it. Let's be realistic. It's a federal government position (my DH is a fed govt employee) - "an extra half million dollars" is not likely an option, esp. if Nancy isn't selling a house first. To swing an extra half million, that would have to be some creative financing.

What kind of commute (or hours) are you willing to do? My commute from Herndon, via the Toll Road and 66, after the main rush hour is 45 minutes into the center of downtown, and my commute home is 35 minutes. My husband's commute at 6 a.m. all the way around the Beltway to Old Town is 25 minutes in the morning, and about 40-45 in the evening. To me, these aren't bad, but to others they could be awful.

NancyCo

Thanks all for your input. We really appreciate it. My husband is a recently retired military officer and we're comfortable looking at homes under 500. With the market softening, is it realistic to think that housing prices will come down some? I assume it's still a buyers market. We are not in a hurry to buy. Say for example we find something in Alexandria around the Telegraph Rd. area, the commute shouldn't be too bad, right? For some reason the George Washington Parkway sounds like an easy route if my memory serves correctly. Does anyone know of any good private/public schools around there? Bardo 1 you are so right about having that extra family time. My husband love to get home and have time to play with the kids. I would hate for us to sacrifice that.

MikeT

$500,000 is going to be a tough price, but you may be able to find it near Telegraph Rd. $700,000 would buy you more. While the market is softening, it is never going to be THAT soft because there are always government employees and contractors who will need to move to DC, which keeps demand high.

I agree with Bardo about staying as close as possible to the urban core. As for schools, depending on where you live on Telegraph you live, it would be either in Alexanria or Fairfax schools. Both are excellent school districts.

MikeT

"My commute from Herndon, via the Toll Road and 66, after the main rush hour is 45 minutes into the center of downtown, and my commute home is 35 minutes. My husband's commute at 6 a.m. all the way around the Beltway to Old Town is 25 minutes in the morning, and about 40-45 in the evening"

Do you have childern? Who takes the kids to day care or school? How do you handle after school responsbilities?

GeorgeW

You're so right, Nancy, about your concern for family time. Due to the Washington commute, I will be lucky to be home at 7:15 tonight. My wife and I will scramble to feed the kids, feed ourselves, brush the kids' teeth, put the kids to bed and then.... fall to sleep on the sofa.

If you relocate, rent a bungalow in Arlington for a year and get a feel for the area. If you buy right away, you might find yourself making a mistake. By renting for a year, you're knowledge base regarding metro Washington will increase exponentially.