DC Place

Don't speed in Viginia. The traffic laws are stupid and the punishment borders on highway robbery. Keep your toys home. Don't bother . Jon in Delaware

 

Welcome to the DC area! I've been here for 14 years now and love it, though not as much on these cold days.

Garages are definitely tough to come by in DC and Arlington, and even if a building has one you should be sure to check clearances for sports cars. I know my 360 would never make it into my work garage.

My wife is in the real estate business and although she is not taking on new clients personally right now, I'm sure she'd be glad to share her thoughts (she has lived her whole life in MD, VA, and DC) and hook you up with someone top notch. Feel free to shoot me a PM with your info.

 

Your money will go a lot further in the suburbs, don't shy away from places like Reston, VA or Tysons. You have great access to the Silver line metro in these very hip areas, lots of great food and shopping, night life and so on.
You couldn't pay me to live in DC, parking is terrible, streets are closed every weekend for some function, the infrastructure is terrible, roads are the worst.

 

Check out Annapolis, MD, avoid DC and especially VA with their draconian speeding laws and personal property taxes. PM me if you want to discuss


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Based on your requirements, ignore anyone who says to move out to the boonies Given the traffic around DC, anything more than a few miles outside of the city is pretty much boonies. And yes the traffic laws are draconian but it's hard to go fast anywhere in bumper to bumper traffic that lasts all day.

Since you mentioned Rosslyn, I've lived there for the last 11 years (DC area for 35 years). It's the only place I'd live in the area other than somewhere in the city itself. If all you're bringing for now is a QP, you shouldn't have trouble fitting anywhere, and plenty of places downtown have garages. Not so much in Georgetown/Foxhall though.

Rosslyn is perfect for access to all of the major roads and easy walking distance to DC, but it's extraordinarily expensive. There are a few good condos in there area with 1BRs going for 700k+ (Turnberry Tower, Wooster/Mercer, Gaslight Square), although if you want a true pied a terre you could do a tiny but very nice unit in Waterview for 500k or so. All of the other condos in the area are very old and less expensive, but you'll choke on your foie gras when comparing the asking prices with what's being offered. Taxes are a bit lower here than in DC but it does lack the energy of being downtown. Depends on what vibe you're looking for I guess, but for a pied a terre I'd stick with the city, probably Logan Circle or U St/14th St area.

 

Yeah, you're right. Driving out to the Boonies doesn't make any sense.

My co-workers in VA could never understand why I drove here, raced a sailboat on Wednesday nights, pulled up to our dock, and enjoyed pizza and beer with my crew after a race. Or, cranking up the motor on my wellcraft center console and crabbing just long enough to steam a fresh batch of two dozen Maryland hard crabs.
Or, coming home, grabbing my rods and reels, drowning bait while smoking a stogie and drinking a glass of Porto.
Or, coming home, grabbing my tunes, and sitting on our beach watching a fabulous sunset on the VA horizon.

Did I mention you wont get as large a tax deduction on property taxes as you would in VA? Or, that you'll spend less here on comparable housing?

Why would you want to commute daily to a place most people would spend their vacation (with three community beaches, a bike path within walking distance, walk to stores, libabry, bars and restaurants?) Yeah, its much better stick to the concrete jungle. It's less traffic congestion for those of us living in the Boonies. (with smiles)
By the way, Pat Sajak decided this is where he'd raise his kids and establish roots, so it must be a tad better than Beverly Hills (but not as great as NVA.)

Old article, turn of the century re: Linstead-on-the-Severn http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2002-01-03/news/0201030157_1_severna-park-boone-trail-waterfront

 

Al I think you missed the part where the OP is looking for a pied a terre. That typically implies someone who flies in and needs a small place near the office, which I'm going to assume is in the city. I agree Annapolis is great, but probably not for what Showcase seems to be looking for. There's a reason I have a place in Rosslyn across the street from my office as well as a house in FL with a big dock out back There's nothing anyone could do to make me go back to commuting 2-3 hours a day.

 

As he mentions Rosslyn, I would suggest Clarendon or Ballston as it is right up Wilson Blvd and lots of place that fit the need for a comfortable place with a garage. Lots of buildings with great views of the city too. However the mention of Foxhall/Georgetown suggests he wants a townhouse/single family home. A lot of that in Arlington that would fit his bill, look at SpyHill on the Arlington/Fairfax line up Rt.50. A few houses currently on the market, and as the name suggests, it has amazing views of the city used by the British and the Confederacy with eyes on invading the Capital city as well as the Union to protect her.

All this talk of Virginia being draconian with the speed laws is silly. Maryland is far more aggressive with speed enforcement and speed cameras, Virginia just has strong punishments when you take things WAY WAY over the line. Might not go to jail until ridiculous speeds in Maryland, but they will nickle and dime you with other fines at far lower speeds.

ShowcaseC6, where are you working while in town? That will help the most in suggesting neighborhoods, as most prefer an easy commute to get to the toys.

 

While I would rather be in Annapolis than the ex-burbs of Howard, Loudoun or Prince William Counties, or even upper Montgomery County, it would still be a heck of a rough commute when you are only here 3-5 night a week, in which case there are few arguments for living outside the Beltway.

Can you explain how property taxes in Maryland provide a better write off than in the Commonwealth? Other than the fact there is a lot more of them to write off? Also can't think of any property in Annapolis that is going to be cheaper than the outer suburbs in Virginia. Honestly interested if you can shed light on this, as I would love a nice waterfront home in the Annapolis area, if affordable it would be worth the added commute.

This looks nice, but still not cheap, and how much to dredge out the inlet that is looking more like a pond? http://crabtownhomes.idxbroker.com/idx/details/listing/a004/AA8322534/109-BOONE-TRL

 

The inlet was recently dredged to 8' MLW. It's actually a lagoon. This was the site of a Boy Scout amphitheater at one time. Eisenhower's son went to school with a resident's son and he spent the night here in a local home. The entire farm was once owned by the Riggs family of DC at one time.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0971704767/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/182-8988504-4832742

I think you'll pay more for comparable housing and taxes in VA. Then of course, you DO have Katies every weekend (smile)

There are less expensive waterfronts up north and across the river (western shore).

I own my home plus a rental in my community of 150 homes. I admit to being slightly biased, but we have several families of 3 generations residing here (different homes) and 1/3 of the community is comprised of kids who grew up here and returned to raise their own families. You don't see that very often.


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Since you're working in Foggy Bottom how about the Watergate? Updated units can be pretty spectacular and based on the extensiveness of the remodeling I've seen, the HOA is completely cool with it. I know Turnberry is the same. I have a friend who lives in one of the larger upper level units that were all sold unfinished. He was able to change the floorplan around quite a bit, as have others in the building that I've seen. If you don't mind paying through the nose for a 2BR that's definitely the place to be. There are even some car wash bays in the garage, which has its fair share of exotics... Getting to FoBo from here isn't too bad depending on traffic but expect about 15-20 minutes.

 

Yea Watergate is a co-op and I'm pretty sure that the property tax and all utilities are built into the HOA fee, hence the eye-watering amounts. FoBo is pretty dead though... so yea scratch that

 

I'll second that - everything that is good about DC and burbs and very little that is bad

 

If you want a condo what is your budget? If you are willing to spend 1 million send me a PM and I'll tell you all the best neighborhoods in DC and Maryland to live. Stay away from VA if you want a small condo. My only exception is turnberry tower which is in Rossyln but it's the edge of it. It's right at the DC boarder so you're literally 2 seconds away from georgetown and the washington monument.

 

My dream house is a million dollar condo at monument place in Virgina.
Hard to beat the views
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