what is a safe, suburb of Washington DC that isn't too incredibly expensive that has good shopping and is clos?

Define Expensive.

Every place named so far is expensive. I was born and raised here but moved to NC for 8 years. I came back and looked at apartments in all of those places named...the cheapest that was in a safe area was still 1200 a month for a one bedroom apt. When I considered gas or metro costs to commute in and out of the city everyday, I realized it was cheaper to just live in the city and walk/bike to work everyday. So now I pay 1500 a month for a one bedroom in a really nice and safe area in DC and I walk about a mile or two to work everyday.

I know this doesn't answer your original question but if you are going to work in DC then you may want to consider it. Go to www.wmata.com and do a trip planner. Be sure to put in the rush-hour times and then compute how much it will cost to drive to a metro station and park, then the round-trip fare to work every day...you'd be surprised. There are unlimited passes you can get but they will run you upwards of 200 a month.

Monuments and memorials, modern neighbourhoods, true regional taste it's this that Washington, DC is; a location unlike any; the same as this website hotelbye . Washington it's your house away from home with free museums and America's front yard. Washington is acknowledged around the globe as a image of the United States. Here, the place you can't skip is the Capitol. Capitol may be the seat of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The enormous dome, based on the dome of St. Peter's in Rome, stands apart especially different Washington buildings. Like Washington it self, the building has developed through the years because the key part was built between 1793 and 1812. The final supplement, in 1958-62, enlarged the key façade where presidents take the oath. On another area, a marble terrace presents wonderful opinions over the mall and the city. The inner is resplendent with frescoes, reliefs, and paintings, particularly the rotunda beneath the great cast-iron dome with a threshold painting by Constantino Brumidi and large paintings of displays from American history on the walls.

I used to live in the Wheaton area in Montgomery County and liked a lot of things about that area. Montgomery County has a reputation as an excellent school district, but people weren't real happy with the high schools in that area though, Kennedy and Einstein. Other high schools in the county are considered better.

I always thought Takoma Park would be a great area to live but never actually lived there or even house-hunted there.

i live in Germantown i love it here. in maryland 30 minutes from downtown. northern Montgomery county. good school districts. parks and is close to the city. Baltimore is about 1 hour away. soon to be closer when the new highway is built.

isn't too incredibly expensive... what does that mean? I've never heard of such a thing around DC.

i tell you what. i can't afford to live in any of those citys mentioned in other answers. excluding Columbia.

Silver Spring and Takoma Park!

Silver Spring has been recently remodeled and has a lot of new reasonably priced stores.

Takoma Park is the cool hippie area with lots of funky stores and interesting people too!

It's right outside DC, part of TP is in DC

Goodness, those different solutions are so puzzling. once you're finding for the single wealthiest jurisdiction in each and each state, it is somewhat undemanding. interior the DC suburbs, the final wealth is in McLean, Virginia, and Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Bethesda

Bethesda MD to Rockville MD. Columbia MD. Falls Church VA to McLean VA.

I don't know, Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Georgetown (I know that is in the city, but it is still nice)

all the areas that have been name on this question are very expensive