Northern Virgina or Maryland

[nisryus]

So the wife has been entertaining the idea of moving out of Texas netx year, hopefully when the economy will be better by then.

Two area she has been looking at on Realtor and Redfin were NoVA and Maryland, since we can't afford CA. She used to think of Seattle WA or Portland OR. But decided to try finding somewhere around East.

NoVA area like Fairfax, Sterling, Annadale and Manassas.

Close to DC with many things to do, as we can take the metro rail. Also the kiddo is studying in W&L in Lexington, VA so that's around two hours away only, instead of having to fly home.

But i heard the tax is crazy (not as bad as CA). Like if you have a car you have to pay annual personal property tax on it?

Maryland looks cheaper, and the places she was lookg at are Annapolis, Baltimore and Towson.

The kiddo and I have been to Towson when we visited Goucher College there. Its kind of far away from everything, but it was an ok area.

The Lyft drivers both told us tax, tax and tax, plus its not that great to live in Baltimore.

Anyone who is living in either areas and has more insights? Are tax really that bad in either state?

 

[Torn Mind]

You moving around for work or something? Because you'll get bottlenecked by the traffic if you choose poorly.

Annapolis is basically for the well off, yes. But it is relatively isolated and you will need a car to travel US50 or I-97. The Navy and state gov are featured in the city proper. The rest is suburb life.

And yes, Baltimore is a proper garbage dump where even the least judgmental should be at least concerned about random victimization. It is a mosaic. There are well neighborhoods inside the city with corresponding property values. Again, you will want a car, probably need one because the crime makes the city not walk-friendly and the good stuff requires commuting out of Baltimore.

Manassas is also further out, so again, car and traffic bottleneck must be considered.

 

[Chaotic42]

Taking the DC metro during rush hour is an experience for sure, as is driving. You're going to want a commute against traffic and housing prices are kind of nuts. I have to travel there for work from time to time and... it's not for me. If you have the freedom to move anywhere and want to be in that general area, maybe Richmond? It's a nice city with stuff to do, but it's less chaotic than the DC or Baltimore metro and housing should be cheaper.

 

[dingster1]

Take a look at Fredricksburg. VRE to Union to meet Metro. I’m in Richmond. Transit here is hit or miss compared to DMV.

 

[lxskllr]

I've lived in MD my whole life. Dunno about tax. You just pay and get on with life. No point in worrying about it. What is a worry is traffic. Traffic is pretty much shit along the I95 corridor, and the closer to DC, the worse it gets. Might be manageable if you want to take mass transit everywhere. That would be closer to DC.

If you wanted to do any driving, I'd be looking at the more rural areas of MD or south central PA. While you aren't exactly close to anything, you aren't far either. You can drive to DC, Baltimore, or Philly when you want to do city stuff, but your day to day existence is less stressful.

 

[Torn Mind]

He could simplify and base it on getting tech. There's a Microcenter in Fairfax, VA; Rockville, MD, and Parkville, MD. XD

 

[Torn Mind]

He appears to be middle-aged couple, empty nesters, still probably need to work, has new tourist mindset, doesn't seem to be hinting at looking at condos or townhouses. I say the last clause because yes, 400k SFH homes do not pop up unless it's out there like those places or it is in Peegee. But there are townhouses, with their high fees and hellish HOAs, inside the Beltway and in proximity to the Metro trains.

WMATA recently adopted a new pricing structure. It's basically 2-6.75 until all day until 9:30pm. Then it is 2.25-2.50 depending on distance after 9:30pm.

I'd consider Silver Spring on the Maryland of things if one wants a Metro ride quickly into DC or go into Silver Spring instead. It's also strategic point if you ever decide to go up and down the East Coast on Amtrak(at Union Station) for leisure. https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/1782-E-West-Hwy-20910/unit-1782/home/11092988 is a example of the high HOA fee-but convenient location I'm talking about.

I am not aware of personal property tax for vehicles in MD. But they charge you a couple hundred for registration of tags(just increased this year). You don't need periodic safety inspections, just emissions.

As for feeling more developed and having aesthetics, I'd generally take the Virginia side of the river.

PG County is an example of high taxation and not really producing results(the municipalities basically double up on the property tax to give you the "nice islands" in that county, and because they are small, they can have very arbitrary rulers and law enforcement).

 

[jpiniero]

He appears to be middle-aged couple, empty nesters, still probably need to work, has new tourist mindset, doesn't seem to be hinting at looking at condos or townhouses. I say the last clause because yes, 400k SFH homes do not pop up unless it's out there like those places or it is in Peegee. But there are townhouses, with their high fees and hellish HOAs, inside the Beltway and in proximity to the Metro trains.

SFH prices in Northern Virginia are cray zee.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

So the wife has been entertaining the idea of moving out of Texas netx year, hopefully when the economy will be better by then.

Two area she has been looking at on Realtor and Redfin were NoVA and Maryland, since we can't afford CA. She used to think of Seattle WA or Portland OR. But decided to try finding somewhere around East.

NoVA area like Fairfax, Sterling, Annadale and Manassas.

Close to DC with many things to do, as we can take the metro rail. Also the kiddo is studying in W&L in Lexington, VA so that's around two hours away only, instead of having to fly home.

But i heard the tax is crazy (not as bad as CA). Like if you have a car you have to pay annual personal property tax on it?

Maryland looks cheaper, and the places she was lookg at are Annapolis, Baltimore and Towson.

The kiddo and I have been to Towson when we visited Goucher College there. Its kind of far away from everything, but it was an ok area.

The Lyft drivers both told us tax, tax and tax, plus its not that great to live in Baltimore.

Anyone who is living in either areas and has more insights? Are tax really that bad in either state?

Be prepared for sticker shock everywhere. You have zero state property tax right now. You don't pay for parking usually. Your taxes are lower overall. Run some numbers and figure out what your actual cost of living is going to be there.

Also, it takes for-freaking-ever to get anywhere due to traffic. Be ready for that.

 

[nisryus]

Thanks guys.

Just related the comments to the wife and she is now Goolging everything around NoVA and Maryland (especially Silver Spring).

Since my job is remote, I can work anywhere as long as there is internet. Only problem is the trade off for remote is lower end of the pay scale. If we move, we can sell our current house in Round Rock for $420k after tax and agent fees (on paper we will be paying it off late next year). And a quick search shown most houses in NoVA are around 700k, so that will be mortgage again for sure unless we sell our second property which is currently a rental.

This means trading two houses in TX for one house in NoVA, or maybe better area around MD. hmm

 

[nisryus]

Also one question, why mos tof the houses in MD and NoVA don't have garage, consider they have snow... instead most have basement?

 

[lxskllr]

Most houses around here have both a garage and a basement. Sounds like you're looking in more urban areas with street parking?

 

[nisryus]

Wife was looking at those that are on the market in NovA (Burke, fairfax, Falls Church) and near Silver Spring. Some have garage, most don't and many older houses have basements. So she was curious as to why. Some newrr houses like up in Sterling (NoVA do have garages)

 

[nisryus]

Of course, now she saw the price tags and what we could get, she was like.. we might as well move back to Pinole or Vallejo in the Bay Area.. lol

I am not going to argue or say anything, she is in that mood now....

 

[Torn Mind]

Wife was looking at those that are on the market in NovA (Burke, fairfax, Falls Church) and near Silver Spring. Some have garage, most don't and many older houses have basements. So she was curious as to why. Some newrr houses like up in Sterling (NoVA do have garages)

These suburbs were isolated back in the day. They were likely more like what the Damascus, MD area is now, mostly isolated with a small town center. A 400k townhouse in one city in Moco used to be 90k back in 1999.

There must have been an initial housing boom in the post WWII era, but there was no Metro until the late 60s. I 270 also didn't exist until the 60s. The needs of a 50s family were of smaller scale than now. With arcgis photos, I can see some of the progression of house building in Montgomery County from the 50s onward.

The oil crisis of 70s probably resulted in cost cutting for houses built in that time frame.

In Montgomery County, the "edge of the forest and farms" used to be at the cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg.

Having driven through inner Beltway NoVa, there are pockets of areas not as developed and calling back to a more undeveloped, "far from DC" time.

Some the ways change manifests is that a SFH house from the 50s get demolished and a newer bigger house for rich people takes its place, this happens in Bethesda.

Now, government wanting taxes might be why garages don't get built in MoCo. Having seen the Kentlands SFHs and the newly built Clarksburg communities, it's pretty much squeeze as many houses into the former farm tract as possible.

Land is scare up here and it got developed earlier. Your town didn't get it's spike from the 1000s into the 30,000s until the 80-90s and it has slightly less people in it's boundaries now than the combined populations of Gaithersburg and Rockville. But TX has lower density than the two MD cities. Signals to me TX got much more land to use up.

 

[jpiniero]

Of course, now she saw the price tags and what we could get, she was like..

Told ya it's cray zee.

Also keep in mind that Texas doesn't have a state income tax while Virginia and Maryland's goes up to 5.75% (and DC's goes even higher)

 

[turtile]

What is your main reason for the potential move here? If you want to live cheaply, move to Delaware (low property tax and no sales tax). It's still relatively close to the college and it's between Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Some VA counties do charge property tax on vehicles. My county has been cutting the rate in half for the past two years.

Don't expect the metro to get you anywhere fast unless you live right next to a metro station from VA. In the morning, it takes me 20 minutes to drive into DC (no traffic) but the nearest metro will take an hour because I have to drive 14 minutes to get there. They also charge $5 extra for parking. The VRE is 6 minutes away, has free parking, and takes 35 minutes to enter DC.

Many houses don't have a garage because they are old.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Of course, now she saw the price tags and what we could get, she was like.. we might as well move back to Pinole or Vallejo in the Bay Area.. lol

I am not going to argue or say anything, she is in that mood now....

I get that, if you can work remote it should be very tempting to find something outside of a city. You can get twice the home for half the price, plus land. Just gotta be willing to drive for your groceries.

We almost ended up in western VA a few years back, would have had myself a nice little cabin in the mountains probably, maybe pitched myself off it in a snow storm by now lol.

 

[jpiniero]

What is your main reason for the potential move here? If you want to live cheaply, move to Delaware (low property tax and no sales tax). It's still relatively close to the college and it's between Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Assuming he loses his remote job at some point, getting an in person job would be much easier if he stays compared to even Wilmington.

 

[Fenixgoon]

You can live farther out to help reduce the cost. Frederick, MD is probably on par with Round rock or Liberty Hill in terms of cost.

Have you considered a smaller home as opposed to something that is the size or larger than your existing home? I am really thinking hard about downsizing my life in general, and part of that would be a smaller house.

 

[Torn Mind]

You can live farther out to help reduce the cost. Frederick, MD is probably on par with Round rock or Liberty Hill in terms of cost.

Have you considered a smaller home as opposed to something that is the size or larger than your existing home? I am really thinking hard about downsizing my life in general, and part of that would be a smaller house.

It's hard to compete with size and cost, along with the power of full possession and reduce nuisances(this is what city caged rat idealists dismiss despite living the high life). Current prices on Redfin is like 400k for a fully endowed 2 card garage and 200k+ for a SFH. And he's been there for a while, so his price MUST have been less, possibly under 200k.

Texas is big, thick, and hot, with two holes to fill, and low maintenance on the wallet.

https://www.redfin.com/TX/Round-Rock/1021-Pathfinder-Way-78665/home/32834832

Built in 1994, 2000K+ sq ft. In MD, you're not getting 300k and that much unless you live way out.

 

[jpiniero]

Oh forgot to add... kiddo probably chose the school because it was far away. Y'know...

 

[zinfamous]

I have a full basement and a (detached) Garage!

But living in College Park/PG County for 9 years...I'd have to say NoVA. Maryland...just fucking sucks. At least pG county does. I work in Bethesda, which is overall a much better area, but it's horribly expensive and well, just feels absolutely fake. Just a strip mall city populated by temporary residents (government contractors and such for maybe 2-5 years) with no culture.

The NoVA area is probably more expensive, but at least you're in VA which is a much cheaper state overall, and the alcohol laws aren't preposterously draconian like in MD. Plus, they don't claim crab as some sort of real cuisine, and they don't worship a hideous, monarchist flag!

NoVA.

 

[zinfamous]

You can live farther out to help reduce the cost. Frederick, MD is probably on par with Round rock or Liberty Hill in terms of cost.

Have you considered a smaller home as opposed to something that is the size or larger than your existing home? I am really thinking hard about downsizing my life in general, and part of that would be a smaller house.

Frederick is actually really nice, though. Hellish commute if one needs to work in the metro area, however.

 

[zinfamous]

Of course, now she saw the price tags and what we could get, she was like.. we might as well move back to Pinole or Vallejo in the Bay Area.. lol

I am not going to argue or say anything, she is in that mood now....

and yeah, having moved out here from the Bay Area as well, she is totally right.

At least in the Bay Area, you can actually get food. This part of the country is absolutely, embarrassingly, horrible when it comes to all things food. The quality is dog shit everywhere you go, and hella expensive for literally no reason.