Anyone live in MD and work in VA? (Tax ?)

[allisonrose]

My hubby has been offered a job just outside the DC area in Virginia. Maryland is so close, I wonder if we should consider living there (if we can find a rental property we like there). But I wonder what that means in regards to state income tax? Anyone know?

Also if anyone knows anything about the southern Maryland area, please share. Ideally, I'd love to live in an area a bit on the crunchy side....

[lillymonster]

Without knowing where exactly he would work and where you planning on living, I would imagine overall, the commute might be...well awful, depending on which roads he would need to take. Where exactly in Virginia is the job? As far as income tax, if you live in MD, it would be for MD. This is very typical in the area, so his job would have no issues with doing it, in fact you may be able to his potential job any questions. I lived in MD and worked in Leesburg, VA for a long time, but I can't remember the percentage or anything taken out.

ETA: My BIL works in Virginia and lives in probably what is considered western MD, and takes back roads to work, so it's actually a little faster than living closer to Virginia because of traffic congestion, if that makes sense.

[SubliminalDarkness]

I used to live in College Park and work in Herndon. It was..... Well, it was a miserable drive, even though my commute was sort of against traffic. 

The income tax thing isn't an issue. Lots of people do it.

Oh, and why are you preferring to live in MD? Personally, I like VA a lot better. 

[bedheadmaestro]

I lI live in Baltimore and commuted to Tysons Corner, VA and DC for 5 years.  Yeah.  It took about 2 years to get used to the commute, which added up to about 10-15 hours per week.  Doesn't affect taxes at all, your income is considered MD taxed.  I know a lot of my co-workers actually lived in West Virginia for rock-bottom housing and living costs (but poor schools, I guess).   Commute is bad no matter what if you are a Northern Virginia-area employee, unless you want to pay 3/4 million for a townhouse in the area.   Some folks lived in Waldorf too, but not too much further south as it's hard to get up to the Beltway from anywhere more southern. 

[SubliminalDarkness]

Or if you buy a foreclosure :) Which is what we did. When we lived in VA before we moved to GA, my DH's commute was 20 minutes on a bike, less than 10 driving. We lived 3 or 4 miles from his work. It's possible, but it's not feasible for most people since, among other things, your location of work is often not constant. So while you could move to live close to one place of work, it's hard to know if you'll continue to be working there long-term. 

[allisonrose]

The job offer is in McLean which is way out of our price range for renting. We will be renting - not buying - because we don't know how long we will end up being in the area - could be a year, could be three, could be forever.
 

Originally Posted by SubliminalDarkness 

Oh, and why are you preferring to live in MD? Personally, I like VA a lot better. 

I know basically zip about the area and just wanted to entertainment all possibilities. I've only visited the DC area twice and the most recent time was over ten years ago. My hubby went to college in VA but he was down in Lexington.

[SubliminalDarkness]

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I lived in DC for 10 years. We're about to move back after having been in Georgia for a few years. We're looking to be in Reston, or someplace close to it. That's a really easy commute to Mclean. I really like Reston. It has a lot of stuff within Reston that you don't end up having to leave the area for every last thing. It has a Whole Foods, a Trader Joe's, an outdoor shopping center that has lots of festivals and stuff, lots of community pools that you get membership to by living in Reston, parks, and so on. 

[allisonrose]

Nicole - Yes, that is very helpful. Reston is one of the towns that I've found rental property that I like. I am so looking forward to being near a Trader Joe's again!

There is a thread going in the Virginia tribal area of several MDCers moving to the NoVa area - you should pop by. It's the "where are the crunchy areas of NoVa" or something to that affect.