maybe moving to DC

J&N

Hi.  I was just offered a job in Rockville, and my husband could get a job in the National Harbor area.  Any ideas about where we could live?  We prefer suburbs, and we'll need to put our almost 3 year old in daycare.  We're looking for safe and affordable areas.  We both have cars, but taking the metro would be fine.

Thanks.

ch ch ch chia

Those two areas are on total opposite sides of DC.  One of you will definitely have an awful commute, depending on when you're commuting.  If you split the commute, you probably won't be in the type of area you want (suburb/safe/affordable).

Also, what do you consider "affordable?"  Are you thinking of renting or buying?  How much do you want to spend per month? 

 

cheekywife

welcome (maybe!) we live in DC so i am no help on recommendations for towns but i am sure the other nesties will chime in with ideas. good luck with your search!

J&N

I'm hoping we can rent a small 2 bedroom apartment for 1800 or less per month. 

We're thinking of going west of the city, so maybe fairfax.  DH would have to commute during rush hour.  My hours are flexible, probably working 10-7.  Any ideas how long the commute would be between fairfax and rockville, or fairfax and national harbor, by car or metro?

 I'm assuming daycare will be about 1300-1500 a month.  Does that sound right?

Thanks for your help.

ch ch ch chia

You can't Metro to National Harbor, so he'll have to drive, either way.

I can't comment on the rent (I haven't rented in quite a while...) but, I think your estimate for daycare is do-able, if you look around.  You can find an in-home for around $900-1000/month, and a center will be in the $1500 range.  Some of the fancier centers are $$$$.

There are parts of Alexandria where your DH would be close to work, but in that case your commute will suck.  To get from Virginia to Rockville via metro, it's going to take you at least an hour and 15 minutes.

If it were me, instead of splitting the difference and having two sucky commutes, I'd probably pick one of you to have a sucky commute. 

BirdGirl01

I'd look in Greenbelt.  Your money will go further there and you'll both have a similar commute.  If you can find an apt in Silver Spring for $1800 that's another possibility if you don't want to be in PG County.  The commute to National Harbor will be longer. 

ETA:  I think it may be difficult to find a 2 bedroom apt for $1800 in Fairfax, which is why I suggest the MD side.  I might be wrong though.

WinesNotWhines

Welcome! I think Fairfax is a nice area for families, but you would both have fairly long commutes. Plug the numbers into google maps and assume it will take twice as long during rush hour.

mssaint

I drive on the east side of the beltway during morning rush hour occasionally (Wheaton to Alexandria) and while it's a long distance (30ish miles), the traffic isn't terrible. So Silver Spring could work, or Beltsville, Greenbelt, College Park.

Depending where you work in Rockville, if you looked right around Greenbelt/College Park, you could take the ICC to work. 

vtkgirl77

Fairfax to Rockville can be a pretty rough commute. I used to do it everyday in the opposite direction but I could always see the other side of the Beltway which was usually backed up too (mainly in the evenings). Part of the issue is that there's only one main bridge between VA and MD so *everyone* has to be on the Beltway to cross it. In other words, you can't take back roads and don't really have any other options.

I don't know where the National Harbor is so I can't give you a good recommendation. My impression though is that living in Rockville would be less expensive as compared to living in Fairfax.

As far as daycare, I used to have DD in a Center in Rockville. Their price for 3 year olds was about $1K I believe. So, I think you are in the right ballpark with what you are budgeting for daycare. 

victoria1212

Personally, since your DH is going to have more traditional hours and will be doing daycare pick up, I would live in Alexandria area (Virginia) or in the college park area (Maryland). Traffic is horrendous here.

CarrotsMakeMeFat

I live in Charles County, Waldorf closer to White Plains and La Plata, and parts of PG are not bad....Accokeek is ok, although there isn't a lot of rental opportunities, and Lanham/Greenbriar has a lot of newer housing too. Parts of College Park are recommended by the Baltimore board. 

In terms of VA, you will have a horrid commute...well the person going to Rockville will, but I would rec Springfield/Van Dorn or other areas close to 95. I personally love Kingstowne area, but that is slightly further.

We try to keep our rent right around $1,800 a month and we've found good options...not a house, but safe apts or THs.  

SOs co worker was commuting from Rockville to Fort Belvoir and she said it takes her an hour and half....but she has since moved.  

Slso, maybe you can look at Mount Vernon area.....close to the WW Bridge. 1,800 will be a tighter budget in that area though 

MrsPhilDunphy

We live near College Park and the commute to either R'ville or National Harbor wouldn't be too terribly awful on either side (let's say 45 minutes. I typically travel to either during non-rush when it's more like 20). Both your budget for a rental and daycare would be fine here. Although, you would really want to investigate the apartment complexes. Some are full of college students and some can be kind of scary.  You might have better luck for apartments in Greenbelt and the commute to Rockville wouldn't be that much further.