| Page 3 of 3 < |
Crossing State Lines
Jay and Kacey Hoffman, who both grew up in Culpeper County and now live in Odenton, say they don't think of themselves as Marylanders just yet.
(By Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Marlene and Art Hartstein had no plans to move to Virginia when they decided it was time to downsize and be closer to their daughter in Georgetown.
"That never even crossed my mind," said Marlene Hartstein, 63. "I was almost skeptical. . . . When my daughter said Virginia, it was not like a known entity, even though it was the next state."
It wasn't as if the Hartsteins had never been there. There were the occasional shopping trips to Tysons Corner as well as visits to some friends who live near there.
But the Hartsteins had raised their children in Rockville. Marlene Hartstein had retired as a teacher in the Montgomery County public schools. For her, Virginia seemed a daunting blur of highways.
In the beginning, the couple looked in Chevy Chase, where they are renting until their condo is ready for them to move in. They looked in Bethesda. They looked in the District.
Then they looked in Rosslyn, where they ended up buying a two-bedroom condo. The building was just five minutes across the bridge from Georgetown. They could ride Metro, or even walk to see their daughter and their baby grandson. And there were new shopping and dining in the area that they had not known about before.
Even after they move, the Hartsteins plan to regularly visit friends in Maryland. They will still attend their synagogue in Gaithersburg. It's just off Interstate 270 and they figure the drive will take 10 minutes more than it does now.
"Really, I have the best of both," Marlene Hartstein said. "I don't give up my old associations that made me happy in Maryland. And I get to be part of something new."
