Relocation thread

[DurhamDivaInRaleigh]

I am toying with the idea of relocating to the DC area for career reasons in a year or two. I am from NC, and have never really lived in a big city.

I guess I'd live someplace in MD or VA. How much does an apartment run in a halfway decent area in these cities? And how is commuting? What is the cost, and how long does it take?

Do you all like the area? I really don't know much about it.

[IBruton]

I am toying with the idea of relocating to the DC area for career reasons in a year or two. I am from NC, and have never really lived in a big city.

I guess I'd live someplace in MD or VA. How much does an apartment run in a halfway decent area in these cities? And how is commuting? What is the cost, and how long does it take?

Do you all like the area? I really don't know much about it.

If you've lived in Raleigh and/or Charlotte, then you've lived in a big city. The DC area is just more of the same. I live in Raleigh and visit D.C. quite often, and while there are many differences, there are many more similarities. The place is sprawling with suburbs! I'm sure others can give you more details with regard to cost of living. If I were you, I'd probably pick Alexandria, VA and commute via Metrorail. Good luck!

[urbanvb]

We can't suggest certain areas or neighborhoods but we may can provide what the environment is for the different cities in the region. Where you live and your commute will mean a lot in this very congested area. I don't actually live there myself but living close to work would huge a huge plus. Perhaps others here on the forum who live there can give specifics.

[urbanvb]

Since we have had a few inquiries and other forums have relocations threads, I have made this thread whereby you may ask questions about relocating. Please read our rules before posting. Thanks.

[bmorescottamanda]

More to Baltimore or one of it's county's. You will save a lot of money.

[DurhamDivaInRaleigh]

Which is cheaper: Alexandria or Baltimore? And which would be quicker to get to DC via the metrorail?

[urbanvb]

Which is cheaper: Alexandria or Baltimore? And which would be quicker to get to DC via the metrorail?

Baltimore is much cheaper than Alexandria but Alexandria is an inner ring city to DC and is just across the Potomoc. (see map below).

[skylinefan]

I have an interesting perspective on this topic since I have lived in both the Va. Suburbs and now live in DC. The inner ring suburbs of Va. (Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax etc.) as well as the close in suburbs of Md. (Montgomery County) tend to be comparable in price to DC. The further out from the city center you live the cheaper. Prince Goerges County in Maryland which borders DC appears to be relatively inexpensive compared to some of the other inner ring suburbs. Unfortunately, due to high cost of living people are living further and further away from work. Not uncommon anymore for people to commute 40, 50 or more miles to work. Because of this DC has the second average commuting time to work in the country.

I have a 7 block walk to work, but I have had to compromise on my living arrangements. I bought in DC at a time when real estate was inexpensive in some parts of the city, but at the time my neighborhood was somewhat sketchy. In recent years my area has gotten alot better. If it all possible, if I were new to the area I would look for a location near mass transit (metro, MARC Train, VRE etc.) or opt to live close enough to walk. I hope this is of some help.

[e2ksj3]

Does anyone know how long the commute is from Fredericksburg/Stafford area to Rockville/Bethesda? I've got a potential job offer up there, and my cousin and I are thinking about getting a place together. The thing is she works in Fredericksburg and found that real estate to be cheaper. I don't mind the long drive, but I was just kind of curious if anyone has done it or know someone that has.

[tombarnes]

I live downtown, but if I were to choose a suburb, I'd probably go for Alexandria. The Old Town area is full of great architecture and a lively restaurant and bar scene. Parts of Arlington are beginning to come out of their shells, but as noted above, any suburb close to Washington may well be just as expensive as living in Washington itself. On the Maryland side, Bethesda's nice, but again- very expensive. Silver Spring has had an amazing turnaround, but you will likely be looking at high prices there as well. You might consider one of the lesser known neighborhoods in northeast or southeast- before they are bought up and changed forever. Of course, if transportation and a lively neighborhood are important to you, these areas may not yet qualify.

Edited September 8, 2006 by tombarnes

[Interested]

To get to Bethesda from Fredericksburg would probably take a very long time in rush hour. Any little accident can set you back an hour. I do know that going from Springfield/Fairfax down to Fredericksburg during rush hour will take about 2 hours or more in stop and go traffic.

Any D.C. suburb like Alexandria, Fairfax, etc. is VERY expensive - you could not even find a decent house for under 500k. But I am sure you can find a nice apartment or condo - expensive also.

[skylinefan]

Does anyone know how long the commute is from Fredericksburg/Stafford area to Rockville/Bethesda? I've got a potential job offer up there, and my cousin and I are thinking about getting a place together. The thing is she works in Fredericksburg and found that real estate to be cheaper. I don't mind the long drive, but I was just kind of curious if anyone has done it or know someone that has.

I would compromise and maybe get a place in between Fredericksburg and Rockville. Fredericksburg is located about 50 miles south of DC whereas Rockville is approximately 15 miles from DC. All told Fredericksburg is about 65 to 70 miles from Rockville. I would look for a place around the Springfield Alexandria area which at least would cut your commute from a horrendous 2 hours to maybe an hour to an hour and a half depending on when you leave home in the morning. If you opt to get to Rockville by way of the beltway be prepared to hit alot of traffic around the Tysons Corner area of Fairfax. It would probably be wise to leave home before 6:00am in order to avoid the worse of the traffic.

[krazeeboi]

If you've lived in Raleigh and/or Charlotte, then you've lived in a big city. The DC area is just more of the same. I live in Raleigh and visit D.C. quite often, and while there are many differences, there are many more similarities. The place is sprawling with suburbs! I'm sure others can give you more details with regard to cost of living. If I were you, I'd probably pick Alexandria, VA and commute via Metrorail. Good luck!

Compared to DC, Charlotte is a midsized city. And I would hardly say that DC is just "more of the same," at least from my perspective. I'm dying to get out of the Charlotte region up to the DC area because it's different. DC is so unique, very urban, extremely well-rounded, and very cultural. Don't get me wrong, there are similarities, but the differences are VERY different.

But back to the subject at hand. If Baltimore is an option, you can hop on MARC, which is a commuter rail line that hooks up with the Metro. There's actually a website that markets Baltimore to DC area residents. Check it out for more info.

[bmorescottamanda]

Compared to DC, Charlotte is a midsized city. And I would hardly say that DC is just "more of the same," at least from my perspective. I'm dying to get out of the Charlotte region up to the DC area because it's different. DC is so unique, very urban, extremely well-rounded, and very cultural. Don't get me wrong, there are similarities, but the differences are VERY different.

But back to the subject at hand. If Baltimore is an option, you can hop on MARC, which is a commuter rail line that hooks up with the Metro. There's actually a website that markets Baltimore to DC area residents. Check it out for more info.

Also there is a Metro card called the Trans link card it cost about 225.00 a month. With it you can ride the MARC train and all of the buses and subway lines in the Baltimore and Washington metros (WMTA and the MTA). You can also ride the Baltimore Light rail. It is great if you live in Baltimore and work in DC.

Edited September 11, 2006 by bmorescottamanda

[krazeeboi]

Baltimore has light rail? I didn't know that.

[bmorescottamanda]

Yes Baltimore does and it's a really nice lightrail.

Edited September 19, 2006 by bmorescottamanda

[urbanvb]

I see light rail also has a stop at the airport which is great.

[bmorescottamanda]

I see light rail also has a stop at the airport which is great.

Yea and you can transfer to the MARC train from Camden Yards and Penn Station.

[krazeeboi]

Well I must say, Baltimore has impressed me in a number of ways since learning more about the city here.

[bmorescottamanda]

Well I must say, Baltimore has impressed me in a number of ways since learning more about the city here.

Yea Baltimore is a great city but must people only looks at the Crime and Homicide rate and the run down neighborhoods and that's how they judge it. There is so many great things about Baltimore that most people don't know about.

[e2ksj3]

I would compromise and maybe get a place in between Fredericksburg and Rockville. Fredericksburg is located about 50 miles south of DC whereas Rockville is approximately 15 miles from DC. All told Fredericksburg is about 65 to 70 miles from Rockville. I would look for a place around the Springfield Alexandria area which at least would cut your commute from a horrendous 2 hours to maybe an hour to an hour and a half depending on when you leave home in the morning. If you opt to get to Rockville by way of the beltway be prepared to hit alot of traffic around the Tysons Corner area of Fairfax. It would probably be wise to leave home before 6:00am in order to avoid the worse of the traffic.

Thanks for the advice. I got experience the traffic on the beltway and 95 the other morning during a test run, needless to say it wasn't a pleasant drive, lol. Also tried taking the back roads in the evening, which weren't better either if not worse, lol, so I'll probably end up looking for a job that's closer to my uncle's house in Woodbridge until I get my own place. And to think my cousin, was talking about getting a place in Ladysmith, hahah.

Edited September 22, 2006 by e2ksj3

[patrickmaynard]

Yea Baltimore is a great city but must people only looks at the Crime and Homicide rate and the run down neighborhoods and that's how they judge it. There is so many great things about Baltimore that most people don't know about.

I'm glad to see people looking seriously at Baltimore. It's a great city.

In order to help people make the urban transition, I've made a map of all the full-service grocery stores in the city. You can find it at:

http://www.BaltimoreGroceries.org

This is literally just a thrown-on-the-web version of a map my wife and I have been using in our home hunt. I hope someone else perhaps finds it handy.

-- Patrick

[Eridony]

A few weeks ago I visited my friend in Baltimore. It was my first visit to the city and I absolutely loved it. After a few days there I knew it was my kind of city and I really want to move there. The problem of course is I can't just move to a far away city without a job.

I was hoping someone here might have some suggestions of where to look. I'm an urban planner so that seems to make finding a job difficult. I have my application in at the City of Baltimore but who knows if I'll ever hear from them. There must be planning consultant firms in Baltimore, but I don't know of any and searching on google for them seems to be useless. What about nearby Baltimore suburbs? On my visit I didn't spend anytime out of the city so I don't know any of the suburbs. The only one I heard mentioned several times was a place called Towson.

Any help would be appreciated!

[patrickmaynard]

A few weeks ago I visited my friend in Baltimore. It was my first visit to the city and I absolutely loved it. After a few days there I knew it was my kind of city and I really want to move there. The problem of course is I can't just move to a far away city without a job.

I was hoping someone here might have some suggestions of where to look. I'm an urban planner so that seems to make finding a job difficult. I have my application in at the City of Baltimore but who knows if I'll ever hear from them. There must be planning consultant firms in Baltimore, but I don't know of any and searching on google for them seems to be useless. What about nearby Baltimore suburbs? On my visit I didn't spend anytime out of the city so I don't know any of the suburbs. The only one I heard mentioned several times was a place called Towson.

Any help would be appreciated!

General Growth Properties is by virtue of its size a sort of regional urban planning group, albeit a commercial one. It's largely responsible for the direction of our region's most famous planned city, Columbia. It also owns several other malls and mixed-use projects.

There are few actual municipalities in Maryland: Most of the government is county-based. A few exceptions include Annapolis, Bowie, Baltimore (city) ... I'm relatively new to the area, so I don't know many of them. The counties around Baltimore are Howard, Baltimore County, Harford and Anne Arundel. PG is a bit farther away.

Within Baltimore, there may be neighborhood organizations that can pay something -- though probably not as much as you'd need.

Other overlay organizations like the MTA may also be able to use you.

Good luck!

[Eridony]

General Growth Properties is by virtue of its size a sort of regional urban planning group, albeit a commercial one. It's largely responsible for the direction of our region's most famous planned city, Columbia. It also owns several other malls and mixed-use projects.

There are few actual municipalities in Maryland: Most of the government is county-based. A few exceptions include Annapolis, Bowie, Baltimore (city) ... I'm relatively new to the area, so I don't know many of them. The counties around Baltimore are Howard, Baltimore County, Harford and Anne Arundel. PG is a bit farther away.

Within Baltimore, there may be neighborhood organizations that can pay something -- though probably not as much as you'd need.

Other overlay organizations like the MTA may also be able to use you.

Good luck!

Thank you for the suggestions!

I will look in to General Growth Properties and try to find some neighborhood organizations. I can get by on a pretty meager income. I just need to know I'll have some cash flow when if I move there, even if it's just something temporary until I find something that fits me better.