What are the best suburbs for families around DC?

[Cheryl]

My husband & I are thinking about moving to the DC area. We are trying to figure out what areas of VA or MD are good places to raise children (we have 2 - 3yrs old & 6 weeks old). We want somewhere that has good schools, reasonable cost of living/housing, neighborhoods with other children and access to the metro. Any ideas??? Thanks! Cheryl

[Liliya829]

Fairfax County (VA) or Montgomery County (MD) have great schools, access to Metro, and neighborhoods with children. Loudoun County (VA) and Howard County (MD) have great schools and kids around, but they have much more limited Metro access.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what you consider to be a reasonable cost of housing. There's not a single family home to be found in the whole metro area for under $500k, and no 2 bedroom townhouse for under $350.

[DON W]

Arlington Virginia has all of those qualities, with especially outstanding schools and access to Metro, plus a bit more of an urban atmosphere than areas further away from DC. The problem is what you consider reasonable cost of living. As was pointed out, housing is quite expensive, although with the current sag in the real estate market there are some (relative) bargains to be had.

To get less expensive housing, in general you have to move WAY out of town, with a resulting bad commute, or really bottom-scrape for lower-priced properties (there are some, but the houses will be quite small and probably in less than stellar condition).