My family (wife + 3) moved here in July, which gave us a little time to look around. Unfortunately, we came from Germany, so our household goods didn't arrive until late September (most of my friends who moved here from the states got thier stuff in Aug, and used the time during the first week of inprocessing to receive thier goods).
I truly think the hardest things about moving here are the following, mostly because of the time crunch to find a place:
1) Location - This area is chock full of good neighborhoods next to bad neighborhoods, with no rhyme or reason. We live in a really nice neighborhood, that is about a mile from a not-so-nice area. I have kids, so the neighborhood was a big factor for us; most of the single folk and non-child rearing folk didn't have to think about it as much (my class mate without kids lives in the aforementioned not-so-nice area and says it's fine).
2) Location - Inside the beltway , outside the beltway, near campus (Bethesda, Kensington, Forest Glen), far from campus (Gaithersburg, Germantown). I don't know what the right answer is. I live about 6 miles from school, and it takes 20-45 minutes to commute depending on traffic; friends in Gaithersburg have the same commute time, but on the freeway. A couple people live in the neighborhood right across the street from the school and walk in, tough to find though.
3) Location - It really seems like the closer to school you are, the more expensive the rent is. The toss up becomes live really close and pay a lot or live far away and pay a lot, but not quite as much. I'm sure there's a middle ground, but most people don't find it. Quite a few people bought, and no one payed less than 250K (condo) that I know of, but we were at the top of the housing bubble that is slowly popping. Everything is expensive.
Bottom line: Give yourself enough time to find a good deal, beacuse it is VERY expensive no matter what you do.
