Commuting to DC - how far out is reasonable? (1 Viewer)

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I want to move. I can switch jobs but my wife is tied to her job in DC. We live in Montgomery county Maryland but want to move to a better area with better schools and cheaper housing. I want to move as far away from these ####ty areas as possible without making my wife to commute three hours long.

Any ideas? I sure wouldn't mind moving to Virginia as much as I dislike the traffic their taxes are nearly what they are here in Maryland.

 

[Max Power]

Does your wife work "flex hours" or are they set hours? I worked in DC for a year. Commuted to Prince George county and was only 14 miles from my door to work. Even having flex hours there were still days I was in traffic for over two hours. On a good day I was home in 20-25 minutes. I had a few co-workers who lived 90 minutes away. They always said that after your get past the beltway, the traffic generally moves pretty well.

Personally I could not deal with a 90 minute drive, But also hated PG county. Commute time was a primary factor in moving out of the area.

 

[thayman]

I want to move. I can switch jobs but my wife is tied to her job in DC. We live in Montgomery county Maryland but want to move to a better area with better schools and cheaper housing. I want to move as far away from these ####ty areas as possible without making my wife to commute three hours long.

Any ideas? I sure wouldn't mind moving to Virginia as much as I dislike the traffic their taxes are nearly what they are here in Maryland.

Anne Arundel county has nice schools and isn't too bad of a commute.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

OP See the thing here is your wife will be doing the commuting. Whether she's in a car or train it doesn't matter, she's the one looking at 90 minutes and 90 minutes back. Also when people move out the the superburbs they never really do see their friends much if at all again. And the stuff you do in the city? No matter what you say it will be rarer and rarer that you go hear music, go to restaurants, shop in cool areas. All I'm saying is be realistic.

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

Ask Ron if you can crash at his place. Everyone else is doing it.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

A buddy of mine is a fire fighter in Montgomery County. He commutes in from Jefferson County WV. I would think the Loudoun County area would be an easier commute.

 

[fantasycurse42]

We live in Montgomery county Maryland but want to move to a better area with better schools and cheaper housing.

I don't understand this statement. Usually the nicer areas with better schools and commutes are a premium, not a discount.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

OP See the thing here is your wife will be doing the commuting. Whether she's in a car or train it doesn't matter, she's the one looking at 90 minutes and 90 minutes back. Also when people move out the the superburbs they never really do see their friends much if at all again. And the stuff you do in the city? No matter what you say it will be rarer and rarer that you go hear music, go to restaurants, shop in cool areas. All I'm saying is be realistic.

We are all very cool with that.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

We live in Montgomery county Maryland but want to move to a better area with better schools and cheaper housing.

I don't understand this statement. Usually the nicer areas with better schools and commutes are a premium, not a discount.

The areas that are close the DC absolutely cost a fortune and that's where we live now. Unfortunately the schools arent the greatest and we send our kids to private school.

My mortgage is just under $2000 a month. (We put $80,000 down that's why mortgage is cheap).

Private school is $2600 a month.

We should be able to get a nice house in a nice area for $4,600 a month.

 

[fantasycurse42]

Gotcha, that's a good chunk on school.

 

[Don Quixote]

Fairfax and Loudoun County schools both have good reputations. I don't think they are unreasonably far away. I have a lot of friends with kids who have moved into those areas and commute to DC. You could probably do something like Burke on the VRE, or along the Silver Line expansion, relatively cheap compared to Montgomery County.

 

[NutterButter]

Just do an honest, conservative assessment on the toll a long commute is going to have psychologically on your wife especially with young kid(s) at home. Did a 1.5hr minimum each way commute about 5 years ago with 2 young kids at home and it was terrible. I was exhausted each night and it really cut into the time I could spend with them as well as the time I could help take care of them and the house. I'm doing 15 minutes each way now and what a world of difference.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Does your wife work "flex hours" or are they set hours? I worked in DC for a year. Commuted to Prince George county and was only 14 miles from my door to work. Even having flex hours there were still days I was in traffic for over two hours. On a good day I was home in 20-25 minutes. I had a few co-workers who lived 90 minutes away. They always said that after your get past the beltway, the traffic generally moves pretty well.

Personally I could not deal with a 90 minute drive, But also hated PG county. Commute time was a primary factor in moving out of the area.

PG County is not an option.

I get what you're saying about the 90 minute commute but the way that we're going to try to justify it is that it's like working in our extra overtime and getting a lot more bang for buck out of the house.

It's not just the house though, it's the daily interactions with the local stores grocery stores and things of that nature.

We can make up some of that commute time by being around people who don't make every store transaction 10 minutes longer due to their incompetence or inconsiderate nature.

 

[Tom Servo]

A buddy of mine is a fire fighter in Montgomery County. He commutes in from Jefferson County WV. I would think the Loudoun County area would be an easier commute.

Normally yes, but having lived in Loudoun County (Leesburg near the battlefield) the home prices are outrageous.

I also lived in Jefferson County, WV. Your wife could hop on the MARC train at Brunswick.

 

[Tom Servo]

We live in Montgomery county Maryland but want to move to a better area with better schools and cheaper housing.

I don't understand this statement. Usually the nicer areas with better schools and commutes are a premium, not a discount.

The areas that are close the DC absolutely cost a fortune and that's where we live now. Unfortunately the schools arent the greatest and we send our kids to private school.

My mortgage is just under $2000 a month. (We put $80,000 down that's why mortgage is cheap).

Private school is $2600 a month.

We should be able to get a nice house in a nice area for $4,600 a month.

That just does not compute. At all.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Just do an honest, conservative assessment on the toll a long commute is going to have psychologically on your wife especially with young kid(s) at home. Did a 1.5hr minimum each way commute about 5 years ago with 2 young kids at home and it was terrible. I was exhausted each night and it really cut into the time I could spend with them as well as the time I could help take care of them and the house. I'm doing 15 minutes each way now and what a world of difference.

and that was our initial thoughts when we talked about moving a few years ago. Our commute is just so easy that we can just build our house up like a fortress and stay there but again I'm really concerned about the quality of my children's peers going forward. The schools in our area suck a bag of #####.

 

[apalmer]

My son lives in Calvert County, MD (Chesapeake Beach area). School system seems ro be very good, community is great and the commute to DC is less than half an hour. Highly recommend.

 

[NutterButter]

Just do an honest, conservative assessment on the toll a long commute is going to have psychologically on your wife especially with young kid(s) at home. Did a 1.5hr minimum each way commute about 5 years ago with 2 young kids at home and it was terrible. I was exhausted each night and it really cut into the time I could spend with them as well as the time I could help take care of them and the house. I'm doing 15 minutes each way now and what a world of difference.

and that was our initial thoughts when we talked about moving a few years ago. Our commute is just so easy that we can just build our house up like a fortress and stay there but again I'm really concerned about the quality of my children's peers going forward. The schools in our area suck a bag of #####.

and just sticking with the private school route isn't an option? not sure what private school you send your kid to, but just b/c you move somewhere nice doesn't mean you're comparing apple to apples regarding schools. even if we were in the best public school district, in nj, we'd probably still go private as the school my kids go to is just phenomenal in our eyes. The public schools just can't compete with this school in terms of the environment they provide and the student to teacher ratio.

 

[thecatch]

I want to move. I can switch jobs but my wife is tied to her job in DC. We live in Montgomery county Maryland but want to move to a better area with better schools and cheaper housing. I want to move as far away from these ####ty areas as possible without making my wife to commute three hours long.

Any ideas? I sure wouldn't mind moving to Virginia as much as I dislike the traffic their taxes are nearly what they are here in Maryland.

I don't think there's a perfect solution. I'd suggest at least looking at moving out west on the orange / silver lines. The schools in Fairfax are good, you'd benefit (apparently) from Virginia taxes, and your wife could metro in. A long metro ride sucks but it sure beats sitting in your car for 2 hours.

 

[Apple Jack]

so you're not looking for cheaper housing?

 

[dschuler]

I have a house on the Potomac river just south of National Harbor. National harbor is very nice, and only a ten minute drive to Alexandria. I can be in downtown DC in 20 minutes. I expect the house prices here to really jump up over the next few years as these big companies keep cleaning house.

 

[proteus126]

I work near the western end of the GW Parkway (actually in Maryland, but you get the idea). Here are my thoughts regarding the Maryland suburbs:

Poolesville has very good schools. Still in MoCo. Long drive for your wife. Real estate is not too expensive out there. 45 minutes to the head of the GW parkway, so she would still have a ways to go to get to work. Poolesville has public water and septic.

Darnestown is closer in, somewhat more expensive, probably has good schools, but it will still take your wife 30 minutes to get to the GW Parkway. Most of Darnestown does not have public septic - you will have a tank.

I have a coworker who hates MoCo, who lives a few miles southwest of Frederick MD, still in Frederick County. He loves it there, but to me his commute is insane. Good school and cheaper homes. 45 minutes to the GW Parkway if 270 is clear, but that is a rarity.

Another coworker lives in Crofton, in AA County. His wife works as a teacher in that school system. His commute is wretched. I have urged him to explore whether his wife can transfer to work for the MoCo schools so they could move to Darnestown.

Generally I like any area west of I-270. Multiple back road routes are available to get to/from 270/495, very safe neighborhoods and the area in general is attractive. The further west and north, the cheaper.

 

[Lowen1]

Where the f do you live in MoCo?

 

[Tom Servo]

I work near the western end of the GW Parkway (actually in Maryland, but you get the idea). Here are my thoughts regarding the Maryland suburbs:

Poolesville has very good schools. Still in MoCo. Long drive for your wife. Real estate is not too expensive out there. 45 minutes to the head of the GW parkway, so she would still have a ways to go to get to work. Poolesville has public water and septic.

Darnestown is closer in, somewhat more expensive, probably has good schools, but it will still take your wife 30 minutes to get to the GW Parkway. Most of Darnestown does not have public septic - you will have a tank.

I have a coworker who hates MoCo, who lives a few miles southwest of Frederick MD, still in Frederick County. He loves it there, but to me his commute is insane. Good school and cheaper homes. 45 minutes to the GW Parkway if 270 is clear, but that is a rarity.

Another coworker lives in Crofton, in AA County. His wife works as a teacher in that school system. His commute is wretched. I have urged him to explore whether his wife can transfer to work for the MoCo schools so they could move to Darnestown.

Generally I like any area west of I-270. Multiple back road routes are available to get to/from 270/495, very safe neighborhoods and the area in general is attractive. The further west and north, the cheaper.

Agree with the bolded. You get into Frederick County, then you have the hassle of 270 to deal with - anything from the Villages of Urbana south. If 270 has an accident, everything bleeds on to 2 lane road MD Rt. 355. Plus, Frederick County has unreasonable home prices.

 

[George Jefferson Airplane]

My son lives in Calvert County, MD (Chesapeake Beach area). School system seems ro be very good, community is great and the commute to DC is less than half an hour. Highly recommend.

You mean an hour and a half?

 

[(HULK)]

I want to move. I can switch jobs but my wife is tied to her job in DC. We live in Montgomery county Maryland but want to move to a better area with better schools and cheaper housing. I want to move as far away from these ####ty areas as possible without making my wife to commute three hours long.

Any ideas? I sure wouldn't mind moving to Virginia as much as I dislike the traffic their taxes are nearly what they are here in Maryland.

Better schools & cheaper housing? Tough to do in the DC area. What HS does your current neighborhood feed?

Offhand, Poolsville is the only place I can think of where the housing price drops and the schools are awesome.

 

[George Jefferson Airplane]

Does your wife work "flex hours" or are they set hours? I worked in DC for a year. Commuted to Prince George county and was only 14 miles from my door to work. Even having flex hours there were still days I was in traffic for over two hours. On a good day I was home in 20-25 minutes. I had a few co-workers who lived 90 minutes away. They always said that after your get past the beltway, the traffic generally moves pretty well.

Personally I could not deal with a 90 minute drive, But also hated PG county. Commute time was a primary factor in moving out of the area.

PG County is not an option.

Too many blacks?

 

[(HULK)]

We live in Montgomery county Maryland but want to move to a better area with better schools and cheaper housing.

I don't understand this statement. Usually the nicer areas with better schools and commutes are a premium, not a discount.

The areas that are close the DC absolutely cost a fortune and that's where we live now. Unfortunately the schools arent the greatest and we send our kids to private school.

My mortgage is just under $2000 a month. (We put $80,000 down that's why mortgage is cheap).

Private school is $2600 a month.

We should be able to get a nice house in a nice area for $4,600 a month.

Most of the close in areas in MoCo feed great public schools, unless you're towards the eastern side of the county.

 

[(HULK)]

I work near the western end of the GW Parkway (actually in Maryland, but you get the idea). Here are my thoughts regarding the Maryland suburbs:

Poolesville has very good schools. Still in MoCo. Long drive for your wife. Real estate is not too expensive out there. 45 minutes to the head of the GW parkway, so she would still have a ways to go to get to work. Poolesville has public water and septic.

Darnestown is closer in, somewhat more expensive, probably has good schools, but it will still take your wife 30 minutes to get to the GW Parkway. Most of Darnestown does not have public septic - you will have a tank.

I have a coworker who hates MoCo, who lives a few miles southwest of Frederick MD, still in Frederick County. He loves it there, but to me his commute is insane. Good school and cheaper homes. 45 minutes to the GW Parkway if 270 is clear, but that is a rarity.

Another coworker lives in Crofton, in AA County. His wife works as a teacher in that school system. His commute is wretched. I have urged him to explore whether his wife can transfer to work for the MoCo schools so they could move to Darnestown.

Generally I like any area west of I-270. Multiple back road routes are available to get to/from 270/495, very safe neighborhoods and the area in general is attractive. The further west and north, the cheaper.

The area that feeds Poolesville HS is enormous. It might include Darnestown. I know it stretches east towards the Comus area.

 

[(HULK)]

Where the f do you live in MoCo?

This is what I'm trying to figure out. High prices and poor schools, I'm guessing Takoma Park maybe?

Most of the area is aligned with the pricier homes going to very good public schools.

 

[Apple Jack]

Only Arlington Co schools rank higher than MoCo in the DC area.

Darnestown kids go to Quince Orchard and Northwestern, which curiously is like two miles from Seneca Valley.

 

[(HULK)]

At today's rates, with 80K and a $4,600 mortgage, you're in about the $1M ballpark. Probably have to bump the down payment up to $100K though.

 

[Quez]

Gotcha, that's a good chunk on school.

That kid better be brain surgeon we they get older.Eta* I think it might of been 2 kids, not that bad

 

[Apple Jack]

Gotcha, that's a good chunk on school.

That kid better be brain surgeon we they get older.

no ####.

 

[(HULK)]

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools-104047

There are 26,407 high schools in the USA.

Montgomery County's top 6 are the top 6 in the state of Maryland and all rank in the top 200 nationally. That's the top 1% nationally.

Even the 14th best HS, Einstein, ranks 1,028th nationally, still making it within the top 4%. US News didn't bother to rank anything lower, but the schools here are very good, even the worst in MoCo is still better than half of the country, I'm certain of that.

What district are you in?

Poolesville HS is definitely the most bang for your buck in terms of real estate cost to education offered. And the commute isn't so terrible. Driving country roads is a lot preferable to sitting on 270 imo.

ETA: Newsweek also did a ranking and they had Poolesville HS as the best in the county and 110th nationally: http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2015/Five-Montgomery-County-High-Schools-Make-Newsweeks-List-of-Best-in-the-Nation/

 

[thecatch]

At today's rates, with 80K and a $4,600 mortgage, you're in about the $1M ballpark. Probably have to bump the down payment up to $100K though.

You can do Arlington in that price range which has a great commute and amazing public schools

 

[BowieMercs]

Fairfax and Loudoun County schools both have good reputations. I don't think they are unreasonably far away. I have a lot of friends with kids who have moved into those areas and commute to DC. You could probably do something like Burke on the VRE, or along the Silver Line expansion, relatively cheap compared to Montgomery County.

Burke, Fairfax Station etc are close to the amtrak/VRE commuter rail station. When my youngest was done with public elementary school, I left Prince George's County & put the private school tuition i would have paid into the house in Fairfax county.

 

[(HULK)]

At today's rates, with 80K and a $4,600 mortgage, you're in about the $1M ballpark. Probably have to bump the down payment up to $100K though.

You can do Arlington in that price range which has a great commute and amazing public schools

Can stay in MoCo with that also. Plenty of options.

Personally, I chafe at what you get for $1M in good school districts though. I'd rather have a couple acre spread in Poolesville than a modestly updated home built in the 1940s that goes to a good school district.

 

[proteus126]

Poolesville HS is definitely the most bang for your buck in terms of real estate cost to education offered. And the commute isn't so terrible. Driving country roads is a lot preferable to sitting on 270 imo.

Plus in about 8 minutes you can have your boat down at the Edwards Ferry boat ramp, which is a nice quiet spot to put in for some bass fishing. And the C&O canal towpath is right there for bike rides. It really is lovely out there. Worth having the little woman drive a little more! ;]

 

[Swing 51]

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools-104047

West Springfield High School is ranked 11th within Virginia - National Rank: 295

 

[BowieMercs]

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools-104047

West Springfield High School is ranked 11th within Virginia - National Rank: 295

Fairfax @10, Robinson @ 13 & Lake Braddock @ 14 as well

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Where the f do you live in MoCo?

This is what I'm trying to figure out. High prices and poor schools, I'm guessing Takoma Park maybe?Most of the area is aligned with the pricier homes going to very good public schools.

Briggs Chaney and 29. We have a nice sized colonial house all brick two car garage five bedrooms on almost an acre fenced in land. I've got horses on the left horses on the right and a creek behind me. Unfortunately there's a giant mosque across the street that used to be a rambler and all the apartments condos in section a townhouses across 29 on the other side.

We have an awesome awesome commute. we are literally 25 to 30 minutes away from anywhere including Baltimore DC Annapolis Columbia Laurel and even Virginia I can be reached in about 20 minutes.

Unless there is some plan to raise all the apartments in section 8 housing from Greencastle all the way down to New Hampshire this area is always going to be a #### hole on the other side of 29.

Local schools are Blake and paint branch

Please excuse the lack of commas and miss spellings as I'm doing this all voice to text while driving around DC at the moment.

 

[proteus126]

At today's rates, with 80K and a $4,600 mortgage, you're in about the $1M ballpark. Probably have to bump the down payment up to $100K though.

You can do Arlington in that price range which has a great commute and amazing public schools

Can stay in MoCo with that also. Plenty of options.

Personally, I chafe at what you get for $1M in good school districts though. I'd rather have a couple acre spread in Poolesville than a modestly updated home built in the 1940s that goes to a good school district.

Seconded.

Here is a nice home for sale for $565k in Poolesville.

Close to an acre, built in 1993, 2800 sqft.

There are other, older colonials that are perfectly adequate listed for $400k or even a little less.

4 miles to the Barnesville MARC station, if you are looking for transit options. I've never ridden MARC so I don't know much about it, or that particular station.

 

[BowieMercs]

Get a job at Verizon. Then you'll at least be close to work.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

We are also toying with the idea of selling the house, buying a condo at the beach to help with our taxes and renting locally.

We really haven't settled on a particular area and just started this process today

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Gotcha, that's a good chunk on school.

That kid better be brain surgeon we they get older.Eta* I think it might of been 2 kids, not that bad

Two kids and that's relatively cheap for this area for private school

 

[Max Power]

Does your wife work "flex hours" or are they set hours? I worked in DC for a year. Commuted to Prince George county and was only 14 miles from my door to work. Even having flex hours there were still days I was in traffic for over two hours. On a good day I was home in 20-25 minutes. I had a few co-workers who lived 90 minutes away. They always said that after your get past the beltway, the traffic generally moves pretty well.

Personally I could not deal with a 90 minute drive, But also hated PG county. Commute time was a primary factor in moving out of the area.

PG County is not an option.

Too many blacks?

PG is just a ####ty area. I lived there one full year and saw my first police riot, a car jacking, had a stolen car burned on my street and had my house robbed.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Does your wife work "flex hours" or are they set hours? I worked in DC for a year. Commuted to Prince George county and was only 14 miles from my door to work. Even having flex hours there were still days I was in traffic for over two hours. On a good day I was home in 20-25 minutes. I had a few co-workers who lived 90 minutes away. They always said that after your get past the beltway, the traffic generally moves pretty well.

Personally I could not deal with a 90 minute drive, But also hated PG county. Commute time was a primary factor in moving out of the area.

PG County is not an option.

Too many blacks?

As long as you keep your yard clean have some respect for yourself and others I don't give a good ####### what color you are. I grew up in PG County and find those qualities lacking in the area I live in much less PG

 

[BowieMercs]

Only Arlington Co schools rank higher than MoCo in the DC area.

Darnestown kids go to Quince Orchard and Northwestern, which curiously is like two miles from Seneca Valley.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings?int=c0b4c1Thomas Jefferson (Fairfax County) is a STEM magnet that is ranked 3rd nationally. If your kids are brilliant, they can apply there.

But Arlington does have a lot of starbucks

 

[proteus126]

Briggs Chaney and 29.

Yeah, that isn't an area for good schools. Not horrible, but there are much better options.

How is Olney these days? I like the feel of the area, but don't know squat about the schools. They are putting in some lovely homes at the Preserve at Rock Creek (Bowie Mill Rd and Muncaster Mill Rd intersection). That is several miles southwest of Olney, and I know that Magruder High isn't the best. Can't imagine it is that bad. Those homes are pricey at around $750k upwards.