DC residents

S

skline

Cathlete
My dh was offered a position in Washington DC. We know nothing about DC! Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
 
THe only thing I know about Washington DC after two tourist trips there is that housing is very expensive and I'd kill to live there myself. Absolutely, absolutely enthralled with the place. Same local political strife that you'll find everywhere, and the national political strife to boot, but still . . .

I'm reading a book right now, "Katherine Graham's WASHINGTON", a collection of articles and essays from America's most prominent writers and journalists about our nation's capitol. Am thoroughly enjoying it.

Congrats to your husband! I hope the other responders to this post are more informative than I am!

A-Jock
 
A friend of mine used to live in that area, she told me the best place to live/buy is going over some bridge into Maryland. The Cheasepeake Bay area. She told she would never live in DC. It depends on how long of commute is tolerable too, living in Maryland could be up to an hour. Something to look into.
 
THanks guys. I have heard there is a lot of crime in DC. We will have to do a lot of research on what area to live in. We live in Mississippi now, so it will be a long way from home!!!!!
 
I'm not in DC but just outside of Baltimore and I can tell you that the counties surrounding DC in MD/VA are EXTREMELY expensive. I think it depends on what you are looking for. You may want to think about an apartment or condo(if you wish to buy right away). Also, commute time--very bad. It depends on when your DH has to be at work and where but that area is considered to have the second worst traffic in the country. I have friends who work in DC and live by me(so they are about 45 minutes away if no traffic). They work flex schedules, which a lot of government jobs let you do now, and they leave at 4am to get there by 5:30-6am to beat traffic. My DH used to go to DC on afairly regular basis for meetings and if he ahd to be there at 9am he would leave at 5:30.x(

If you want to live in DC--the "nicer" areas are also EXPENSIVE.

I don't want to sound too negative, though. DC is great in terms of great shopping, nightlife, restaurants, musuems, etc. Having grown-up in this area I have been there many times and even thought about living there myself at one point. I don't see how anyone can't love it if you can get past the traffic and how expensive housing can be. HTH. :) Good Luck!
 
Hi,

I grew up in Alexandria Va. a suburb of D.C. Actually, it's the Mt. Vernon area. Housing in the D.C. area is high but apparently the housing market has changed. It's more a buyers market but still high. Va is a great place to live and Fairfax county has a great school system as does Prince William county. Woodbridge, Dale City are in PW county which is south of Fairfax county /Mt. Vernon. FF county has grown so much since I was living there. Not sure if you have kids but if you do that's something to consider(school system). It use to be, not sure about now, that the farther west you lived in Va the lower cost of housing. The Mt. Vernon area is HIGH!!

My sister lives in Clinton Md. where the cost of housing isn't as high as Va. I don't think Md. has the personal property tax that Va. has. I could be wrong on that. Montgomery county, Md. is nice.

I've lived, pretty much, all over the world as an adult (military) and I have to say that I really appreciate that I was raised in the D.C. area. So much to do and see. Majority of my family (extended) lives in the city (I refer to it as the District) or Maryland.

Since retiring from the military we have settled in Va. Beach, Va. Your money goes a little farther down here then up there but I'm only 3 hrs away from home and that's nice.

Good luck w/ your move I think you'll love that area.

Lollie
 
Hi,

I've lived in Northern VA all of my life and I love the area. We are on the outskirts of DC. I went to graduate school at GW and would not live in the city, but there are many outlying areas that are really nice. Soem people love the city. If you have kids Fairfax and Montgomery counties have excellent school systems. There is everything that you could possibly want within minutes of almost anywhere you choose, plus within 1.5 hours you can be in the country hiking, camping etc.

The downside is the traffic, the cost of housing, and the taxes. I work 12 miles from my house and if I leave at 6:30 it takes 30 minutes, any later and the amount of time increases exponentially. Houseing is high and property tax in Fairfax County is outrageous. We bought our house almost 20 years ago and it has appreciated considerably, but our taxes are almost 10,000. per year.

We traveled cross country last summer and food and gas are about the same and sometimes less than in less populated areas. The good thing for you is right now it is a buyers market.

Good luck in making your decision.

Tracy
 
I use to live just outside of DC. I would not want to drive thru DC. Most people take the metro. It is just total chaos to drive around there unless you like mazes and solving the rubic's cube, etc. Too much for me. Other nearby cities such as Beltsville, Bethesda, College Park, Silver Spring might be easier to get around, but the traffic is always bad there unless you leave the house at 4am.

Charlotte~~
 
Dittos JT. Lived in St. Mary's County (on the Chesapeake) for years. Would NEVER live in DC. This is coming from a country girl; I need my space. Maryland is beautiful and I miss it! Good luck!
 
Oh I love DC! I wouldn't live there (unless I could afford Georgetown) but it is such a fabulous place for a poli sci major like me. I went to undergrad in MD & grad in VA so I'm pretty familiar w/it.

I agree Alexandria is a great place--there is some beautiful historic architecture there. The other upside is the Metro--it's so clean, easy to use & much safer compared to the rest of the country.
 
I lived there for a short time for a consulting job I had. My only advice would be, live in the District. The commute in and out of it is a nightmare. Both are expensive, but you might not need two cars if you take the Metro.

And, well, I just don't like the 'burbs--any 'burbs, but that's just me.
 
I love DC. I haven't lived there I live about 3 hours away. My daughter is attending college in DC, loves it and plans to never leave (DC that is - she will be leaving college). It is so easy getting around because of the Metro - from DC you can go into MD & VA. Like all cities it is not cheap to live there and there are parts that you don't want to venture into. I would love to live there myself but for now I have to many commitments where I am.

Jo
 
I've lived in Northern Virginia my whole life--a rare feat since this is such a transient area! I can't comment on MD, but I would heartily agree that you probably don't want to live IN DC (particularly if you have kids and are used to living in the suburbs). Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudon Counties are wonderful, but yes, they are expensive. To get a townhouse that's not more than 20 yrs. old and not too far away for the commute, you'll pay over $300,000. A single family would range from the high $400,000 and up. You'd probably find the bulk of them for $600,000 or more. The upside is that the salaries are probably higher, but those are scary numbers, I know. That being said, I do love this area! It's home to me :)

Kelly
 
Hi Kelly,

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but where do you live? I've lived in northern VA my entire life too. Highly unusual isn't it? I lived in Alexandria as a kid and now in Great Falls.

Tracy
 
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