Learn me: Moving to the DMV/ National Capital Area

Welp, I got out of that Mobile Alabama assignment. The Pentagon wants me so that's where I'm going at the end of the year. 

I have family in the area and I'm pretty familiar with it since I'm from Virginia. But never lived there.

Where to live? Both my wife and I will be working at the Pentagon and we have school age children. 

We're thinking about renting for 8 months to a year then seeing what's out there to buy. Looking around, to get a similar home to what we have here in Texas we'd be looking in the $750k range or more. We can afford a mortgage in the 5k range but do not want to go that high at all. 

Do you envision driving to The Pentagon or train/rail?  This will dictate some neighborhood choices. 

How long of a commute can you tolerate?

This is definitely one of those times where it pays to live as close as you possibly can.

In reply to John Welsh :

Depends on the school locations. I don't mind doing the metro etc. 

In reply to ProDarwin :

I can tolerate a long commute. My lady cannot lol. 

I'm in Waldorf, MD.  The office I have seen once since the pandemic started is by Navy Yard - Wife and I both, and we used to commute every day except for me having one telework day a week. We used commuter bus as it was the best option for us and it was about an hour fifteen each way. 

The major factors are Budget, Commute Tolerance, and balancing those with acceptable school system.  My kids arent school age yet and we are considering options as we dont live in the best school district. We are still struggling for a good answer.  We didnt have kids when we bought the house and I prioritized elbow room and a big detached garage over commute. 

I don't know of any 'bad' schools in Northern VA.  Those that disagree probably are not comparing to anywhere else in the country.  The #1 high school in the country is in Alexandria.

Some travel notes:

If you life to the west (many do), 66 Eastbound in the morning and Westbound in the afternoon is HOV only.  Not, HOV lane, the entire road is HOV.

The metro heading east (orange line) does not go to the pentagon, you will have to switch lines which eats up a significant amount of time.

If you live to the south, the blue line stops at the pentagon, so no change needed.  There is also a bike trail that will take you there from Alexandria.

What ^they^ said.

When I was at Andrew's I lived in Upper Marlboro, somewhere off of Ritchie Marlboro Rd.  When I was there it was a nice quiet area with a fair amount of land available.   30-40 minute drive to the Pentagon with good traffic, or you could drive to the Metro station just outside Andrew's and ride the rail into work. 

Grew up in Springfield, my parents still there. One brother is in Alexandria the other out west of Manassas and both worked by the Navy Yard until Covid hit. 

The commute is very real so the advise of living close is worthwhile. My mother in law was at the Pentagon for several years and used to do use the Springfield Amtrack versus commuting most days. 

Rent and housing prices are nuts everywhere especially there which is the same reason I left 13 years ago.

If you want a fixer upper in Gainesville, VA my younger brothers neighbor is selling 17 Acres  with a house and barn in the $600k range. 

Coming from Dale City, I used to slug and currently take the PRTC commuter bus into DC.  It's less than 20 min on the HOT lanes to the Pentagon, and another 5 to my stop in DC.  Not sure if that's too far away, but lots of housing options in this area.  

In reply to Greg Voth :

We'd be interested in that 17 acres. Can you send me the address?  Cherrodover @ gmail 

All my thought are based on 5 year old information.

Car wise

MD requires initial registration and title inspection

VA requires repeat inspections and emissions. 

Schools

Schools are tricky in northern VA as Loudon county is growing really fast as well as Fairfax and Prince William counties being redeveloped so schools are changing fast. Ft Belvoir development has thrown that area into a lot of change. My friend has bought three homes in 7 years as he lucked out getting into one area that boomed with BRAC starting to explode the size of Ft Belvoir sold that for double what he bought and moved to get into a better school district, then the county reformatted the school districts so he had to move again but luckily his second home has increased in value by 30% so he is now settling in with the school district he wanted.  MD I hear from fellow parents was more stable if you stay near DC. The prices are steep but you can get a decent school district around montgomery and Howard both of which are a significant distance from the Pentegon. 

Sorry things were so dynamic the last few years I was there. My kid was even in a bubble of a school district where we went to school A but all the kids around our 3 square block of the same subdivsion went to School B weird.

Public Transport

The new Silver Line makes Northern VA more reasonable for commute from along the Dulles toll road. 

MD has long defined PT routes. Just have to figure out what you want. 

Is Prince William county still as crime ridden as it was when I was there?  I think it was in the top 5 counties for car theft back then.

In reply to Greg Voth :

whoa nice area for 17 acres. 

The traffic is legendary and always has been.  A friend of mine (no kids at the time) bought a fixer-upper in the District just so he could avoid commuting in from without.  By most measures, I would call real estate values and rents HIGH.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Prince William has been changed greatly. Dead malls are renewed as so many dod folks are moving to be near Ft Belvoir. Your comment was how many described Herndon, VA but when I moved there I found Herndon to be split almost other side of the tracks style then by the time I moved away, almost all of Herndon was changed and they even had a vote to change from a general part of the county to a full city or town in the county. 

Prince George county in Md is still considered a bit rough in places. 

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

yes the only place I can go 0.5mph for 1 hour. See three cars on the shoulder on fire in one commute. Watch two separate situations of flying cars, one into a divider barricade another jumped onto an exit ramp. And entrance and exit ramps on both sides of 45mph+ roads with small historic signs. 

In reply to Advan046 :

Well thats good to hear.  Not completely surprising considering its been just shy of 20 years since I got stationed there.  (Damn.  Its almost been 20 years since I enlisted. )

1988RedT2 said:

The traffic is legendary and always has been. 

Yes.  My ex's father worked downtown and bought a condo downtown to stay in several days a week to avoid the soul crushing commute.  They lived in Oakton.

She had an apt. in Rosslyn (just north of Pentagon) while she was in school and I remember getting stuck in bumper to bumper traffic heading there at 8pm.  The traffic is relentless.  The further out you go, the more your commute times will vary.  Spent a lot of time on 66 and a bad day will add an hour, maybe more, each way.

Gainesville is very much in the soul-crushing commute band.  Not a chance I would consider 2 commutes that length, especially with 2 school age children.  You wont have the land, but your quality of life will be way better if you are closer to the Pentagon.

Close as you can get will save your soul.

Arlington is stupid spendy, but transit is excellent. School districts are great, north of 50 is an IB school if that matters. Rents and prices drop by an order of magnitude south of 50, which is closer to the Pentagon. Coloumbia Pike between Pentagon and Lake Barcroft are ideal for commuting, but has pockets of low rent areas with great food options. Shirlington has a walkable town center(ish) pocket and direct busses to Pentagon. 

When we are back there for postings we always look for easy commutes to main State or FSI. Living outside of the beltway just makes for a terrible commuting lifestyle. Inside is actually quiet outside of rush hour, and reasonably affordable if you use the local International grocery stores for a lot of your shopping. Good luck! 

Life long central Marylander here, who occasionally has to go to meetings in Downtown DC. I recommend Not Maryland, even though MD is easier on car guys.

Yes, rent first.

For housing to purchase:

Far out option: Stafford or Fredericksburg VA, and take the train to work (VRE, not Metro)

Close-in option: DC, in the city, on a Metro line. Are you willing to raise kids in a Condo? DC schools can be OK if you do research and planning.  There's plenty of nice condos now near the Navy Yard. Close to work and easy access to stuff to do.

Others have more or less mentioned this: also consider close-in NOVA, buy the school district, and put up with whatever house you can afford. The house might be old and small, but your neighbors will be there for the same reasons as you.

Are you a FED GOV employee?  Have you factored in your new, higher locality pay?  Many DoD components now offer partial telecommute, so that train ride from Fredericksburg is only 2-3 days a week. In fact, with COVID still around, DoD wants you to stay home as much as possible, except for the work you must do in the office.

My sister and her family have been living and working in the DC area for years. They settled in the Falls Church area for the schools.  

If you take into account how much per pupil the school district is allotted, your tax dollars at work are on display. 

If you get 17 acres you're hosting rallycross though, right?

If you're working at the Pentagon, you'll want to live in Arlington, close enough to see it from a building of 10 stories or higher. This will allow for your commute to be 45 minutes or less each way. The Baskin Robbins is still closed, but Subway has reopened. 

Don't forget the yearly Virginia tax on every vehicle you own. 

The only person that I know working at The Pentagon rented a place in Lorton for a couple of years and recently bought in Arlington.

No kids, so not sure about schools. But they have motorcycles and toy cars.