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Ideas from a Military Mom

Military Move to D.C. – Silver Spring, MD

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My new blog friend, Dianna is going to help me out with today’s post.  She’s the fun creative force behind Craft A Spell.  She always has great ideas, whether is a yummy recipe or a lovely craft (my favorite is her Shamrock Canvas Art, go ahead and check it out now, we’ll wait for you). 

So, now without further ado, here she is.

Hi! I’m Dianna from Craft A Spell. I’m not affiliated with the military but I was born in Washington, DC and have lived in Silver Spring, MD my whole life. I was so happy when I heard that Susan was going to be doing a series on helping people move to the area. I’ve got 26 years on me and I still find it overwhelming! There are so many great places to live around here – they are all unique and different. It’s part of what makes DC great. Good luck!

Silver Spring, MD is in Montgomery County and is north of Washington D.C.

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Commuting

There are 3 options for commuting to the Pentagon from Silver Spring: drive, metro Red line and the bus.

The drive time to the Pentagon depends on which route you take, it can be 20 (going straight through DC) to 30 miles (on I-95) and would be about 45-50 minutes without traffic. Without traffic is highly unusual (when driving about 7AM-10AM and 4PM-7PM). I commute to northwest DC right across the MD/DC border and it takes me about an hour and fifteen minutes to go 16 miles which would normally take about 45 minutes.
Note: this is from northern Silver Spring in the suburbs, about 10 miles from the actual downtown area of Silver Spring.
 

Military Bases

When I give two mile options, the lesser is when you drive straight through DC and the higher is taking a highway. They tend to be the same, time wise, because of the traffic/stoplights when going through DC.
Fort Belvoir – 40 miles – 60 minutes
Mark Center Complex Alexandria– 25-35 miles – 50 minutes
Henderson Hall– 22-32 miles – 45 minutes
Fort Myer– 22-32 miles – 45 minutes
Andrews AFB– 30 miles – 40 minutes
Fort Detrick– 40 miles – 45 minutes
Fort Meade NSA– 20 miles – 25 minutes
US Naval Academy– 40 miles – 50 minutes
Walter Reed Medical Center– about 10 miles/25 minutes to both locations (DC and Bethesda)
Coast Guard Headquarters DC– 20-30 miles – 40-50 minutes
Fort McNair– 20-30 miles – 40 minutes
Joint Base Anacostia Bolling– 20-30 miles – 40-50 minutes
Marine Barracks Washington– 20-30 miles – 35-45 minutes
Washington Navy Yard– 20-30 miles – 35-45 minutes
 

Medical

The old Walter Reed DC location is about 10 miles (20 minutes) away and the new Walter Reed Bethesda Location is about 13 miles (25 minutes) away.   Walter Reed is transitioning to a new location, but both are still active at this time.
 

Housing

Silver Spring covers a very large area. There is downtown city/apartment living in downtown Silver Spring and new “cookie cutter” suburb living as well as older eclectic homes (suburbs where every house looks different). It can come for a price, though.
On average, you wouldn’t be able to rent an apartment (one bedroom) starting much less than $1000 a month. Based on my research, houses would rent from around $2000-$3500. Most communities also have townhome options.
You can find nice houses for sale around $250,000 (they might be foreclosure/short sale) and up. I’d say median range is $300k-$500k.
 

Schools

Silver Spring public schools fall under the Montgomery County school distric.  You find the School Assignment Tool for Montgomery County {here}.
There are a lot of private schools in the surrounding area. There are a lot of choices and teaching methods. Here is a sampling: Academy of the Holy Cross (girls), Sandy Spring Friends School (co-ed), Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (girls), Landon School (boys), The Woods Academy, Georgetown Prep (boys), and Our Lady of Good Counsel High School.  You can read more about available private schools {here}.
 

Airports

There are 3 options for “nearby” airports; Dulles, Reagan National and Baltimore Washington Internaional (BWI).   When I’m looking for a flight, I usually search all three because sometimes I can find a cheaper flight out of Dulles or Reagan. I just use the WAS code and the major travel sights will look at all three.  It’s approximately 37 miles to Dulles, 33 miles to Reagan National and 28 miles to BWI.
 

Traffic and Congestion

Traffic is very bad. During rush hour, you should expect to double your time to get anywhere. If it’s raining or snowing (or even thinking about it) add another twenty minutes as least. DC is known for its bad/rude drivers.
 

Activites

There are boys and girls clubs, some horse farms, Wheaton Regional Park (Wheaton, MD), Brookside Gardens. Further out there is the National Zoo in DC and the Baltimore Aquarium.
There are lots of things to do in the surrounding areas within a 15-20 minute car ride. There isn’t anything within walking distance, though unless you live downtown.
You’re not too far from seeing The Washington Nationals or Redskins play or the Baltimore Orioles or Ravens.
 

Other Consideration

Having lived here my life, I can honestly say it’s a pretty nice place to live when you have a family. In the older developments, you can get a good piece of land with your property. Some areas are better/worse than others. There are a lot of great nearby areas with little town centers such as Rockville (pretty much every shop you’ll need is a 20 minute drive to Rockville Pike) and Olney (about 5-10 minutes).

If you have experience with a military move to the Washington DC area and would like to be a contributor to this series, please contact me via e-mail.

 
 
 

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  2. Cynthia Landrie says

    How funny, I live in Fredericksburg, VA and didn’t know all of this! What a great article!

    My father was a “Lifer” and many of our friends were stationed at the Pentagon. Many still live in this area!

    Thanks for sharing! I am off to visit Dianna site!

    Cynthia at http://FeedingBig.com

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