Well, you are commenting on an article from 2 years ago, but, Northern Virginia is as on fire as ever. I’ve not seen any homes not appraise for value / contract price. Re: closing costs to refi – that comes from the lender. There’s no property transfer on a re-fi, so there’s no state driven costs to that.

We looked at Northern VA and decided on Southern MD instead. Schools (public) were much better than Virginia and houses were cheaper. Plus we have the beautiful bay life too. I do commute about an hour and a half when I go to DC or Baltimore, but that’s not frequently so it’s well worth the quality of life here.

A couple of things to help you make a final decision…. Virginia has better infrastructure better schools less crime. Maryland has the worst traffic, DC probably has the highest paying job due to the government but crime is too high in the city. Plus, the schools are starting to deteriorate… I live in DC for over 25 years. No I’m deciding it’s time to leave move to Virginia for family sake.

Thanks Melissa. I’m looking to move to the DMV area in September. I don’t quite know the breakdown either concerning the taxes but it sounds like VA is a little better choice. I think I will leave my car registered in WA as well. Looking for a reasonable safe place to live that’s close commute to DC. Any suggestions.

Yes, argh! 1%. The restaurant taxes here are also high, 10% in DC. Whenever I go somewhere else where restaurant taxes aren’t as high or there are no taxes (Delaware) it’s such a breath of fresh air. Let me know if you need any help!