Relocation advice for Montgomery Co. Maryland (Silver Spring)

[UNCjigga]

I may be moving to the area in a few weeks. Any advice on where to live? I'm single, and I'll be looking for a 1 bedroom apartment or at most 2 bedroom condo to rent or rent-to-own. I don't care about school districts since I don't have kids. If I want to be near a Metro stop (for going into DC on the weekends) which stop should I live near? Also, what are the good communities (Silver Spring vs. Chevy Chase vs. Takoma Park?)

 

[eits]

i'm from olney. i love it. i'm sure you will, too.

check out apartments in olney. also, check out some apartments in gaithersburg.

best areas = potomac, olney, bethesda, chevy chase, silver spring, columbia.
not as good = rockville, takoma park

 

[UNCjigga]

Olney's a bit farther out than I'd like to be, but closer to the job. I'm hoping to live in Silver Spring and then "reverse commute" towards Baltimore for work.

 

[eits]

work is in baltimore?

if so, you could hop the marc train to work.

 

[purbeast0]

There are some decent places called the Grovesnor Towers and they are RIGHT near a metro station and are close as all hell to Bethesda. THey aren't too expensive either. Bethesda is a really nice area with a lot of fun bars and restaraunts. I would stay away from takoma park, it's pretty ghetto. Silver Spring (the actual city) has had a lot of work done and it has a great movie theatre as well as alot of new restaraunts and is near a metro too. I live right off of 495 near the forest glen metro station so if you have any other questions let me know.

i would recommend to live in Bethesda if you can afford it. It's nice.

EDIT: you are working in baltimore? hell good luck with that commute from montgomery county to baltimore ... that will be a LONG commute. i drive from silver spring to columbia (half way to bmore) and it's like 25 mins each way. Unless you want to live in Columbia, but there really isn't much to do there.

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: eits
work is in baltimore?

if so, you could hop the marc train to work.

No, not that far out. Just up the Columbia Pike near Laurel. Sorry--I should've clarified I meant TOWARDS Baltimore, not in Baltimore. Actually, its more like towards Columbia, but I'm not too familiar with the area yet.

 

[VanTheMan]

Stay away from Takoma Park. That place is a craphole. I'm from Burtonsville, which is South of Olney. If you're working near Columbia, you could live in Columbia. It's pretty nice up in Howard County.

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: VanTheMan
Stay away from Takoma Park. That place is a craphole. I'm from Burtonsville, which is South of Olney. If you're working near Columbia, you could live in Columbia. It's pretty nice up in Howard County.

yup. not much diversity out there, but it's got a pretty sweet mall. i don't know of any good bars out there, though.

columbia's quiet. if you like someplace quiet and not a lot of crime and a fair amount of green scenery, columbia works.

 

[krunchykrome]

Im in Columbia, and I wouldnt want to be any where else.

 

[randomlinh]

columbia isn't near a metro though.

Grovesnor Towers isn't expensive? Anything in Rockville/Bethesda is expensive. Ridiculous for how many people they are cramming everywhere.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: randomlinh
columbia isn't near a metro though.

Grovesnor Towers isn't expensive? Anything in Rockville/Bethesda is expensive. Ridiculous for how many people they are cramming everywhere.

my co-worker was living in a single apartment for $1K/mo which included utilities too. If you find a roomate I'm sure you could end up paying like $700/person which isn't too bad in this area.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: randomlinh
columbia isn't near a metro though.

Grovesnor Towers isn't expensive? Anything in Rockville/Bethesda is expensive. Ridiculous for how many people they are cramming everywhere.

my co-worker was living in a single apartment for $1K/mo which included utilities too. If you find a roomate I'm sure you could end up paying like $700/person which isn't too bad in this area.

hrmm.. that must have been some old pricing. The area has been anywhere from $12-1500 for single bedrooms from what some of my friends were paying. 2 bedroom isn't too much more of course... but I consider that expensive because I don't want a roommate

 

[UNCjigga]

I haven't seen anything in Bethesda below $1800/month for a one bedroom (efficiency studios are only slightly cheaper) while a similar setup in Silver Spring is $1100/month. My max budget is probably $1350/month, but I'd love to be under $1000.

The ideal area for me to live, in terms of access to friends and nightlife and <30 minute commute seems to be around Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase Village. Only 4-5 stops up from Dupont Circle, near a nice mall, convenient to Arlington where I've got some friends and family etc. Now THAT area is expensive--I don't see anything under $2k and everything has "luxury" attached to it.

 

[MrChad]

If you're going to be working near Laurel or Columbia, I would suggest living in Columbia.

Many parts of Montgomery County are great places to live (including the ones mentioned here - Bethesda, Chevy Chase, etc.). However the traffic in and around D.C. is absolutely terrible. You'll be going against the flow of traffic for the most part if you're commuting up north, but for me, I would rather live closer to work and avoid the longer commute all together. Columbia is a great place to live. There are also some nice (and slightly cheaper alternatives) in Laurel, Ellicott City and Elkridge (all of which are near the Columbia area).

Columbia's only about 15-20 minutes away from the Capital beltway and nearby Metro stops on the Green line (Greenbelt and College Park).

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
I haven't seen anything in Bethesda below $1800/month for a one bedroom (efficiency studios are only slightly cheaper) while a similar setup in Silver Spring is $1100/month. My max budget is probably $1350/month, but I'd love to be under $1000.

The ideal area for me to live, in terms of access to friends and nightlife and <30 minute commute seems to be around Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase Village. Only 4-5 stops up from Dupont Circle, near a nice mall, convenient to Arlington where I've got some friends and family etc. Now THAT area is expensive--I don't see anything under $2k and everything has "luxury" attached to it.

I think you would fit in perfectly in Dupont Circle.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: MrChad
If you're going to be working near Laurel or Columbia, I would suggest living in Columbia.

Many parts of Montgomery County are great places to live (including the ones mentioned here - Bethesda, Chevy Chase, etc.). However the traffic in and around D.C. is absolutely terrible. You'll be going against the flow of traffic for the most part if you're commuting up north, but for me, I would rather live closer to work and avoid the longer commute all together. Columbia is a great place to live. There are also some nice (and slightly cheaper alternatives) in Laurel, Ellicott City and Elkridge (all of which are near the Columbia area).

Columbia's only about 15-20 minutes away from the Capital beltway and nearby Metro stops on the Green line (Greenbelt and College Park).

He said he wanted to have a night life. Columbia offers nothing of that type, nor a metro close by (ie, within walking distance or even bus distance) so he would be stuck in boring ass columbia on the weekends unless he wanted to drive 20 minutes south to DC or 20 minutes north to craptastic baltimore.

and krunchykrome if you seriously think dupont fits the stereotypical "there are only gays in dupont" theme (since youre response sounded kind of sarcastic ), then you have no clue. the dupont area has great night life and it's close to adams morgan as well.

uncjigga I am with you though man, I would much rather live where you want to live, and shell out an extra $500 - $600/mo (if you can afford it) than live in a place like upper montgomery county or columbia. hell when I get a new job I plan to move around Arlington hopefully

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: MrChad
If you're going to be working near Laurel or Columbia, I would suggest living in Columbia.

Many parts of Montgomery County are great places to live (including the ones mentioned here - Bethesda, Chevy Chase, etc.). However the traffic in and around D.C. is absolutely terrible. You'll be going against the flow of traffic for the most part if you're commuting up north, but for me, I would rather live closer to work and avoid the longer commute all together. Columbia is a great place to live. There are also some nice (and slightly cheaper alternatives) in Laurel, Ellicott City and Elkridge (all of which are near the Columbia area).

Columbia's only about 15-20 minutes away from the Capital beltway and nearby Metro stops on the Green line (Greenbelt and College Park).

He said he wanted to have a night life. Columbia offers nothing of that type, nor a metro close by (ie, within walking distance or even bus distance) so he would be stuck in boring ass columbia on the weekends unless he wanted to drive 20 minutes south to DC or 20 minutes north to craptastic baltimore.

and krunchykrome if you seriously think dupont fits the stereotypical "there are only gays in dupont" theme, then you have no clue. the dupont area has great night life and it's close to adams morgan as well.

uncjigga I am with you though man, I would much rather live where you want to live, and shell out an extra $500 - $600/mo (if you can afford it) than live in a place like upper montgomery county or columbia. hell when I get a new job I plan to move around Arlington hopefully

Well, that's true. There's not much in terms of night life for Columbia. No one had mentioned traffic yet, so I wanted to make sure the OP was aware of it.

I guess it's a matter of priorities. The traffic issue knocks Montgomery Co. several notches down on my list. Other than that it's a great place to live.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: MrChad
If you're going to be working near Laurel or Columbia, I would suggest living in Columbia.

Many parts of Montgomery County are great places to live (including the ones mentioned here - Bethesda, Chevy Chase, etc.). However the traffic in and around D.C. is absolutely terrible. You'll be going against the flow of traffic for the most part if you're commuting up north, but for me, I would rather live closer to work and avoid the longer commute all together. Columbia is a great place to live. There are also some nice (and slightly cheaper alternatives) in Laurel, Ellicott City and Elkridge (all of which are near the Columbia area).

Columbia's only about 15-20 minutes away from the Capital beltway and nearby Metro stops on the Green line (Greenbelt and College Park).

He said he wanted to have a night life. Columbia offers nothing of that type, nor a metro close by (ie, within walking distance or even bus distance) so he would be stuck in boring ass columbia on the weekends unless he wanted to drive 20 minutes south to DC or 20 minutes north to craptastic baltimore.

and krunchykrome if you seriously think dupont fits the stereotypical "there are only gays in dupont" theme, then you have no clue. the dupont area has great night life and it's close to adams morgan as well.

uncjigga I am with you though man, I would much rather live where you want to live, and shell out an extra $500 - $600/mo (if you can afford it) than live in a place like upper montgomery county or columbia. hell when I get a new job I plan to move around Arlington hopefully

Well, that's true. There's not much in terms of night life for Columbia. No one had mentioned traffic yet, so I wanted to make sure the OP was aware of it.

I guess it's a matter of priorities. The traffic issue knocks Montgomery Co. several notches down on my list. Other than that it's a great place to live.

Yah but if he's going from around silver spring or bethesda towards columbia (in that direction) he will be against traffic. I drive like 25 miles from silver spring to columbia every day in like 22 mins, no traffic at all. Only sometimes I get traffic going home, but i check online first, and if 95 has traffic, I take 29 instead.

but all this driving is taking a toll and its actually why I'm looking for a job around NOVA and plan to move there as well.

 

[UNCjigga]

How bad is the traffic if I can avoid 95 and 495? I plan on taking the Columbia Pike to work everyday, and from what I heard traffic in the mornings isn't too bad going northbound (compared to say Fairfax county roads I've heard Maryland is much better.)

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
How bad is the traffic if I can avoid 95 and 495? I plan on taking the Columbia Pike to work everyday, and from what I heard traffic in the mornings isn't too bad going northbound (compared to say Fairfax county roads I've heard Maryland is much better.)

You will be fine. Traffic on 495 and 95 is fine in the morning in the direction you are going to be going. I probably would take Columbia Pike to work but getting onto that road from where I live takes like 10 minutes, so going around on 495 and up 95 is quicker for me. The trip on Colubma Pike however is like 3-4 miles shorter though.

EDIT: type zipcode 20902 into google maps, and look down about a mile on the map where you see the 495 beltway. i live right around there and commute to 22046 every day (if you are wondering where I have to drive to/from).

 

[cchen]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
How bad is the traffic if I can avoid 95 and 495? I plan on taking the Columbia Pike to work everyday, and from what I heard traffic in the mornings isn't too bad going northbound (compared to say Fairfax county roads I've heard Maryland is much better.)

Traffic is fine on Columbia Pike in the morning. Of course there are the occasional delays, but its much better than taking the highway.

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
I haven't seen anything in Bethesda below $1800/month for a one bedroom (efficiency studios are only slightly cheaper) while a similar setup in Silver Spring is $1100/month. My max budget is probably $1350/month, but I'd love to be under $1000.

The ideal area for me to live, in terms of access to friends and nightlife and <30 minute commute seems to be around Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase Village. Only 4-5 stops up from Dupont Circle, near a nice mall, convenient to Arlington where I've got some friends and family etc. Now THAT area is expensive--I don't see anything under $2k and everything has "luxury" attached to it.

I think you would fit in perfectly in Dupont Circle.

haha

 

[MiniDoom]

Originally posted by: eits

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
I haven't seen anything in Bethesda below $1800/month for a one bedroom (efficiency studios are only slightly cheaper) while a similar setup in Silver Spring is $1100/month. My max budget is probably $1350/month, but I'd love to be under $1000.

The ideal area for me to live, in terms of access to friends and nightlife and <30 minute commute seems to be around Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase Village. Only 4-5 stops up from Dupont Circle, near a nice mall, convenient to Arlington where I've got some friends and family etc. Now THAT area is expensive--I don't see anything under $2k and everything has "luxury" attached to it.

I think you would fit in perfectly in Dupont Circle.

haha

The old 'fruit loop'.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: rdubbz420

Originally posted by: eits

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
I haven't seen anything in Bethesda below $1800/month for a one bedroom (efficiency studios are only slightly cheaper) while a similar setup in Silver Spring is $1100/month. My max budget is probably $1350/month, but I'd love to be under $1000.

The ideal area for me to live, in terms of access to friends and nightlife and <30 minute commute seems to be around Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase Village. Only 4-5 stops up from Dupont Circle, near a nice mall, convenient to Arlington where I've got some friends and family etc. Now THAT area is expensive--I don't see anything under $2k and everything has "luxury" attached to it.

I think you would fit in perfectly in Dupont Circle.

haha

The old 'fruit loop'.

Rent doesnt have to be paid in cash.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: rdubbz420

Originally posted by: eits

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
I haven't seen anything in Bethesda below $1800/month for a one bedroom (efficiency studios are only slightly cheaper) while a similar setup in Silver Spring is $1100/month. My max budget is probably $1350/month, but I'd love to be under $1000.

The ideal area for me to live, in terms of access to friends and nightlife and <30 minute commute seems to be around Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase Village. Only 4-5 stops up from Dupont Circle, near a nice mall, convenient to Arlington where I've got some friends and family etc. Now THAT area is expensive--I don't see anything under $2k and everything has "luxury" attached to it.

I think you would fit in perfectly in Dupont Circle.

haha

The old 'fruit loop'.

lol yah, you guys must obviously not go out to DC if you think dupont is at all that way