‘SALE’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

When I talk about how much I love living in my beautiful urban neighborhood in the District, suburb residents will often say that they love the city too but just can’t afford to live there.  Well, according to the Washington Examiner, they can’t afford not to.  According to a new study released by Montgomery County, when transportation and housing costs are combined, it’s a lot cheaper to live close to transit. For example, those who live in non-transit-accessible Potomac spend twice as much on transportation as those in transit-friendly Silver Spring.

There’s definitely a level of sticker shock when you first see how high rents in this area are, but when you factor in the ability to sell a car, take transit, and/or walk or bike to work, moving closer to the city is a wise financial decision.

Shannon grew up in the greater DC area/Maryland suburbs, went to Virginia for college and grad school (go Hoos!), and settled in DC in 2006. She’s an urban planner who loves transit (why yes, that is her dressed as a Metro pylon for Halloween), cities, and all things DC. Email her at Shannon (at) WeLoveDC.com!