DC House Hunt

I started searching for homes to rent in the DC area as soon as we got word we were moving.  We have several friends in the area and all have been very helpful in providing info on schools, counties, commute, good areas, bad areas, etc.  Problem is, the surrounding area of DC is huge and there are many places to consider.  Its basically Maryland vs. Virginia...people in VA say stay away from MD and people in MD say stay away from VA.  Either way, the commute for Jay into DC is going to be hell no matter what direction he comes from.  We have to consider traffic at every hour, from every place.  I have never in my life heard so much talk about how terrible traffic is and how that pretty much dictates how you plan your day and where you should live.  The first words out of everyone's mouth when we've looked at areas is "the commute to DC is....(fill in the blank)" Our friends explained it this way, DC is full of people from all over the country (and then some) and there are millions of people here, and they all drive differently based on the part of the country they come from and you put them all into one big mix and its like a death race everytime you are out on the road.  I have never seen anything like it and I have to say, for the next three years I will try to avoid the highways around here as much as I can.  It is HORRIFIC and terrifying!  I thought traffic was bad around Tacoma, WA...but I had no idea.  This is like Tacoma on steroids at every hour of the day!
At any rate, we are here and have been living in the RV for a week now and though it has been cozy and definitely beats living in a hotel room where we would have to be sharing walls and floors with other people, as well as worrying about the dog, its been a challenge with three little boys all couped up.  Especially the one day it was pouring down rain and Trev needed a nap...Scotty, Zac and I had to head out into the rain because baby's nap was much more necessary!!  So, the boys played in the mud and I sat in my vehicle.  At some point, I know we will look back on this experience as a good one and for the most part it has been fun.  I can't say enough good things about the KOAs we've stayed in...it helps that at this time of year they are pretty vacant,  but the managers of each one we've stayed at have been wonderful people.  KOAs are the only way to go!
House hunting has been a challenge because we have several factors to consider and its not easy in this area because housing is very expensive and yet, Jay receives no cost of living allowance here.  So he basically makes what he made in WA, but we will be paying about $1000 more for rent.  Our circumstances require the need to be a little pickier than the average family as well because we have a dog, we have three boys who will all be in school at some point in the next 3.5 years so I have to consider the area, and we have a mother in law coming to live with us.  Yes, Diane is coming here in January to live because having her here vice the other side of the country was the lesser of the two headaches...at least, that's what I thought, but now I'm thinking we should've just left well enough alone.  Too late now.  In addition to all that, we also have to consider Jay's commute.  So, trying to satisfy every one of those criteria has been a challenge.  However, we've managed to narrow down the search to two houses, both equally as nice.  One a bit bigger than the other, both the same amount in rent, but one is in Maryland and the other is in Virginia.  One has an HOA and the other doesnt, thus allowing us to store the RV on the property vice having to pay for storage somewhere else.  One we're dealing with a property manager and the other we are dealing with the actual owner.  The big kicker is that one is available NOW and the other not for a few weeks.  I don't want to be in a trailer for several more weeks, especially since our household goods are waiting for us here in storage and Scotty is missing school. We have several sets of friends on the Virginia side but we hear the commute from the MD side will be much more pleasant for Jay.  We had pretty much decided on the Maryland house but I wanted to look at one more house on the Virginia side and I ended up loving it.  It is smaller, we have to deal with a property manager, and the elementary school is five miles away vice only two miles, but for whatever reason, that property said "Home" to me more than the other one.  There are alot of beautiful homes here, alot of newer homes in lovely neighborhoods, and some are HUGE with more space than we could ever need, but this older little country house on an acre of land in the middle of nowhere was the one I liked best.  Jay knows his commute is going to be hell no matter what, so it was up to me....so, if all goes well, here is where we will settle in for the next few years...come visit when you can :)

The name of the street is RAMROD....really? 

Such an ugly name for such a sweet house