ANNOUNCER: Support for If You Lived Here comes from... MAN: The Yuen Foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences within the greater Washington, DC community.

ANNOUNCER: And now, If You Lived Here, a WETA original series.

JOHN: Hi, I'm John Begeny.

CHRISTINE: And I'm Christine Louise.

We're producers at WETA and pretty much inseparable.

JOHN: So true.

And we love living in the DMV, but finding a place to live here can be challenging and it can also be exciting, Tina.

CHRISTINE: So join us as we tour three homes at three price points.

JOHN: And try to guess the listing price of each home without going over.

CHRISTINE: And find out what it would be like...

BOTH: If You Lived Here.

(doorbell) JOHN: Good morning, Peter.

CHRISTINE: Hello.

PETER: Hey there.

How you doing?

Welcome to Columbia, Maryland.

CHRISTINE: Well, I am so excited to be here because John grew up in nearby Ellicott City and is very, very familiar with Columbia.

But I am not so familiar.

PETER: We'll give you a crash course today.

CHRISTINE: Thank you.

PETER: I will tell you that Columbia is consistently rated one of the top 10 small cities in America.

I have a young daughter and we love the playgrounds everywhere.

There's the lakes and Merriweather Post Pavilion if you wanna see a concert outside, it's an amazing venue.

JOHN: Well, we moved here in the '70s, and I can tell by just looking around, nothing has really changed much.

PETER: Yeah, so the entire city of Columbia was founded in 1967, the lakefront, the walking trails, those were all planned out decades ago to be part of one gigantic sustained community.

CHRISTINE: So tell us a little bit about the housing options in this area.

PETER: Columbia's amazing in that when it was designed originally, it was meant for everyone from moderate income all the way up to luxury properties.

And today, we're gonna see three different examples of each level of housing available.

CHRISTINE: Well, I cannot wait to get the day started and learn more.

PETER: Let's do it.

JOHN: Lead the way.

(doorbell) PETER: Here we are at our first house for today.

We are actually in the village of Long Reach and this is one of the older villages in Columbia.

CHRISTINE: Okay, I'm just gonna say it screams '70s.

JOHN: Well, this screams classic Columbia.

PETER: Yeah.

JOHN: My family moved here around 1975 and this is what it looked like.

PETER: This neighborhood has a lot of additional trim and features on the houses, barn wood that kind of sets this neighborhood apart from other neighborhoods.

JOHN: It's so good to be back and I'm so excited to see inside this house.

PETER: Go on in, take a look, and I will meet you on the patio when you're finished so we can talk about the pricing.

JOHN: Sounds great.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: Let's do it.

CHRISTINE: I wonder how much of the original features are still in the home.

JOHN: Outside looks original.

CHRISTINE: I know.

All right, let's take this step down.

JOHN: Sounds good.

CHRISTINE: And I mean a step down in a good way.

JOHN: That's right.

Into a newly refreshed '70s living room.

CHRISTINE: When you walk in, you do not feel '70s at all.

JOHN: Not at all.

You know, that fireplace looks Californian.

CHRISTINE: It's very modern looking.

JOHN: Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

CHRISTINE: And look at the deep window sills.

JOHN: Yeah.

I like those a lot.

CHRISTINE: We're not in the '70s anymore.

JOHN: No.

Well, let's go check out the rest of the house.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: Oh, we have a half bath.

CHRISTINE: Oh, a half bath.

JOHN: Top to bottom.

New tile.

I love this vanity, I think it kind of goes with the new refreshed vibe of the living room.

CHRISTINE: It's true.

JOHN: And I love this drawer.

Lots of storage space.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

That is nice to have.

JOHN: Yeah, for sure.

CHRISTINE: Yeah.

JOHN: All right, Tina.

Hey, a big kitchen.

CHRISTINE: It's a huge kitchen that's unexpected.

JOHN: Yeah.

I think it's actually kind of two rooms, don't you think?

CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: So on your half we've got the kitchen.

CHRISTINE: Right.

JOHN: And on this half it's more like the breakfast room.

I love that butcher block.

And that's a lot of storage space... CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: Fresh look.

CHRISTINE: Right.

And they have new countertops accented by this pretty backsplash that leads to this pass through.

So '70s.

And you know what you'll be passing through?

A tuna casserole with peas.

JOHN: Ah-ha-ha.

But, do you need a dining room in this place?

CHRISTINE: That dining space there is larger than the dining room.

JOHN: Why not just put a nice farm table in here and then you could re-envision this space.

CHRISTINE: Yeah.

I mean, you could bump out this wall and just make an extension of the living room.

JOHN: Yeah, that would be dynamite.

So many options.

CHRISTINE: So many options.

JOHN: I'm down with that.

And I also want to check out downstairs.

CHRISTINE: Oh, let's go.

JOHN: Come on.

Okay.

All right.

Bonus room.

CHRISTINE: Right.

This is a really great space.

I mean, it's a little industrial looking right now, but when you put the couches, you put the TV, ping pong table... JOHN: Ping pong.

CHRISTINE: '70s.

JOHN: Classic.

CHRISTINE: Or home office.

JOHN: Could be.

CHRISTINE: Yep.

Okay, let's check out this space.

Wow.

JOHN: Hey, this is unexpected.

CHRISTINE: Talk about storage.

Washer, dryer.

JOHN: Brand new, big plus for this home.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

Upstairs?

JOHN: Come on.

Up we go.

CHRISTINE: Upper level.

All right.

You check out this bedroom.

I'll check out this one.

JOHN: Okay, well, I've got a nice-sized bedroom.

Nice window.

Good light.

CHRISTINE: I've got a nice closet, window.

A nice size room.

Perfect for the kids.

JOHN: Looks familiar.

Pretty much like bookends.

(laughing) CHRISTINE: All right.

The full bath.

I like the tile here that they used in the kitchen.

JOHN: Yeah.

A few updates.

CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: It has a good look.

CHRISTINE: It does.

Okay.

Primary suite.

JOHN: Hey, this is a good size.

CHRISTINE: Got a nice reading area.

And look at the light that's coming through.

JOHN: And in the back we have a nice walk-in closet with built-ins.

Must-have.

CHRISTINE: Nice.

Okay.

Oh, and a redone bathroom with walk-in shower.

And one of the best shower heads I think I've seen.

JOHN: This was a great starter place.

CHRISTINE: Definitely.

JOHN: All right, but now it's time to guess the price, which is going to be very difficult.

CHRISTINE: Well, let's see.

You go first.

I like when that happens.

JOHN: I bet you do.

(laughs) CHRISTINE: Hey.

JOHN: Okay, Peter.

PETER: All right, well welcome back.

What did you think of the house?

CHRISTINE: Well, I have to say my favorite spot was the kitchen.

PETER: Okay.

CHRISTINE: Just that space and what you could do with it.

I loved everything about it.

JOHN: She did.

You know, so many options.

And inside, it's still a little bit of the '70s.

You still can feel it.

PETER: Sure.

JOHN: But the updates were great.

PETER: So do you have any questions about the house?

CHRISTINE: Yes.

Is there a homeowners association?

PETER: There are actually two.

The Columbia Parks and Recreations Association, responsible for taking care of the walking trails, the tennis courts.

And then you also have a secondary, uh, homeowners association for this particular neighborhood.

It's roughly $100 a month together.

JOHN: That's great.

CHRISTINE: That, that is nice.

JOHN: Wow.

PETER: So this is a three-bedroom townhouse with two-and-a-half bathrooms, 2,400 square feet.

And it was built in 1977 with a lot of updates in the last couple years.

JOHN: Well, I think it's a really great place to start in Columbia.

And you said built in '77?

PETER: '77.

JOHN: I remember it well.

I am going to give you a guess of 377.

PETER: 377,000 for you.

CHRISTINE: You said 377?

JOHN: 377.

1977.

CHRISTINE: You know what, uh, I'm... Oh, that's clever.

I'm gonna go 380,000.

JOHN: Oh, $3,000 away.

(laughs).

PETER: One of you would win the prize of guessing exactly the right number.

CHRISTINE: Oh, I bet it's me.

I bet it's me.

PETER: It is, $380,000.

Right on the money.

JOHN: Oh, come on.

CHRISTINE: Do you believe that?

JOHN: No, I don't.

(laughing) PETER: You have two more chances to redeem yourself.

So let's go take a look at the next one.

JOHN: Sounds great.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: That was a lousy loss.

(laughs).

JOSH: Columbia is the result of James Rouse, a visionary American developer.

He grew up on the Eastern Shore and spent much of his life trying to recreate that community.

He had three goals for Columbia.

The first was to respect the land, and that meant not building in the most sensitive areas, and then tying all those green spaces that were preserved into the community.

The second goal was to create a place for the growth of people that have all the aspects of life within walking distance.

And then the third goal was to create an actual city.

Uh, so not just a bedroom community, but a place with jobs and shopping, et cetera.

The very basic unit of Columbia is a neighborhood, and a neighborhood, more or less supports an elementary school.

And then the neighborhoods cluster together to form a village.

And the village is large enough to support a middle school and high school and a grocery store.

And then all the villages together, of which there are 10, support Columbia, the whole town.

But Rouse wanted town homes and rental apartments, even high rises in the suburbs so that everyone with every economic background and every living style could find a place in Columbia.

The big grandiose plan has a lot of smaller idiosyncrasies.

So one is gang mailboxes.

He wanted to set the mailboxes up in a cluster so that you would have to go and interact with your neighbors as you were getting your mail.

Another thing that was important to Rouse was racial integration, which was very pioneering for its time.

He wanted Columbia to be a completely open community.

And in fact, today the percentage of different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different races in Columbia, reflects America at large, which is very rare.

SHIRLEY: My name is Shirley Harden, and I've lived in Columbia for 49 years.

I had just been divorced and I wanted a fresh start.

We'd seen advertisements in the paper.

They talked about the different ways you could live here in Columbia, apartments and townhouses.

I hadn't seen anything like that.

We had a good school, we had a diverse community, even something as simple as going to church.

The Interfaith Center was an amazing new concept for us.

And here we had one building where all the faiths were worshiping.

SPEAKER: God, we thank you so much for the gift of today.

SHIRLEY: I believe that Jim Rouse's dreams are true in so many ways, and I think that some of them are fading.

What's neat is the young people are trying to make them come alive again.

And one of those people happens to be my daughter.

LAURA: I think Rouse's Vision was founded in community, and I realized that women of color entrepreneurs had no resources to support their businesses, no resources to support their business education.

The Third is a nonprofit that is based here in Howard County.

We serve women of color entrepreneurs.

And then what we're sitting in right now is The Third Space, which is our community co-working and café space.

So the idea is that this is a very women of color focused and centric space that's open to everyone, inviting the community in to maybe be in a space where they've never been in before, where they're not centered, but welcome.

I think James Rouse's vision is something that can be communicated past an Interfaith Center, past a mailbox.

It's really a feeling of being at home and feeling like you belong somewhere.

(doorbell) (bike bell) JOHN: Peter, these paths are great.

PETER: Yeah, they're amazing.

And all of the villages have these interconnected paths that take you from the lakes to the houses, to the playgrounds throughout Columbia.

CHRISTINE: Now, are they all nicely paved like this?

PETER: Yeah, for the most part they're very well-maintained, and the Columbia Parks and Recreations Association takes care of those, that's why you pay that fee.

CHRISTINE: Wow.

PETER: Yeah, and actually the next house we're gonna see is right next to this path.

CHRISTINE: Oh, okay.

JOHN: Great.

PETER: Let's check it out.

JOHN: Ah, the big reveal.

Isn't this cool?

PETER: Welcome to house number two.

CHRISTINE: I feel a little beachy.

JOHN: Yeah, it does have a little like Outer Banks vibe.

CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: And I dig how these homes are situated.

PETER: It's a unique feature of this community having nature as integrated as possible so you can take advantage of the green space around each individual street.

JOHN: This is what I think of like old Columbia.

PETER: Yeah, and this village specifically has a lot of what we call cedar shake siding or cedar siding here.

So this is very common in the area.

CHRISTINE: Are you ready to check it out?

JOHN: I'm excited about this one.

PETER: Great.

Go inside.

Enjoy.

And I'll meet you at the end for the pricing game.

JOHN: Super do.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

Alrighty.

Okay.

All right.

JOHN: Oh, hey.

Look at this cute little house.

From here we can see the living room and the dining room.

CHRISTINE: We can.

And well, that's the beauty of an open concept.

JOHN: And a pass through.

Let's take a closer look.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: Yeah.

This is a great space.

CHRISTINE: I'm seeing some renovations.

JOHN: Yeah.

CHRISTINE: New flooring.

JOHN: I love the flooring.

CHRISTINE: Right.

JOHN: Love the color.

CHRISTINE: But one of the original features of this home would've been this fireplace.

JOHN: Mm-hmm.

CHRISTINE: And you know what I really like is that they brought it up to date by just a simple whitewash, which is just watering down white paint and just brushing it on... JOHN: Just like that.

CHRISTINE: And rubbing it off.

Yeah.

It's really nice.

It just brings a whole modern look.

JOHN: And you have dual sliders.

So one in the living room portion, and you have another set over in the dining room.

CHRISTINE: It brings the outdoors in.

JOHN: Yeah.

CHRISTINE: And that's what you want in an area like this.

JOHN: Yeah.

And look, you have a half vaulted ceiling here.

CHRISTINE: Yeah.

JOHN: So it opens it up a little bit.

A little bit of visual interest.

Okay.

Well, kitchen is up next.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: Let's do it.

CHRISTINE: All right.

A renovated kitchen.

JOHN: Yeah.

And we see some of the renovations from the other room, like these beautiful floors carrying through.

CHRISTINE: Right.

And the granite countertops.

JOHN: Yeah.

I like this.

You know, this isn't a very large kitchen, but it's just right.

And I think because we have so much floor space, right?

CHRISTINE: I, I agree 100%.

And look it, these are peel and stick tile.

JOHN: And the great thing is if you don't like them down the road, you just take 'em off and put some new up.

CHRISTINE: Peel them up.

Yep.

JOHN: I like it.

And we have a little breakfast nook here.

CHRISTINE: Very cute.

Very cute.

JOHN: And it overlooks the back deck.

Woods galore here.

And look above... We have another half vault, just like the dining room.

Very nice, opens up this little space.

Hey, and this opens up to another living area.

CHRISTINE: Well, I call this the comfy cozy space.

JOHN: Sure it feels that way.

CHRISTINE: It does, and oh look it, that's actually a two-sided fireplace.

JOHN: Oh, even better.

CHRISTINE: I know.

And it's a great entertaining space, because all you have to do is make your loop.

JOHN: Great for all occasions.

CHRISTINE: Perfect.

You're right.

JOHN: So let's see what we have here.

All right.

Looks like we have a little den.

And you know, this could be a great kids' playroom as well.

CHRISTINE: It could.

JOHN: Yeah.

CHRISTINE: Yeah.

Oh that's a great idea.

JOHN: Up we go.

CHRISTINE: All right.

Oh, lots of choices.

JOHN: Okay.

Full bath.

CHRISTINE: If there's anything original in this home, I think it's that tub.

JOHN: Yes.

Your eye is just drawn to that.

CHRISTINE: They've really incorporated the, the design of the bathroom into it with the new flooring and the whole overall look in the bathroom.

But that fabulous blue tub is the star in this bathroom, so.

JOHN: Sure is.

Okay, bedroom number one.

CHRISTINE: All right, the first thing I notice is that the window is almost the entire length of the wall.

JOHN: I love it.

I love all the light, but I also love this paint color.

Bringing that outdoors in.

CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: Right?

CHRISTINE: Yeah.

JOHN: That beautiful green, nice bedroom.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

And... JOHN: Second bedroom.

CHRISTINE: Second bedroom.

A little bigger.

And actually two kids could easily share this room.

JOHN: Sure.

Sure.

Nice room for kids.

CHRISTINE: Yep.

JOHN: And primary suite.

CHRISTINE: Oh, it's lovely.

Feels calming.

JOHN: Really nice.

CHRISTINE: Right.

JOHN: Okay.

We've got a couple closets here... CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: For storage.

CHRISTINE: And of course we have a full bath.

Nicely renovated, updated.

It is a little small, but it looks great.

JOHN: Yeah.

All right, well, you know what's next?

CHRISTINE: The basement.

Okay.

JOHN: Let's go.

(laughs) CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: My family had a ping pong table circa 1978 in our house and we played all the time.

CHRISTINE: Well, this does not look like a ping pong table from the '70s, that's for sure.

JOHN: It is super fancy.

Okay, I challenge you to a game later.

But look, there's more to this floor.

Let's check this out.

CHRISTINE: But you'll, you'll play fair, won't you?

JOHN: Sure.

Look at this surprise.

CHRISTINE: Wow.

There are so many great elements in this bedroom.

You've got the egress.

JOHN: And lets in natural light.

CHRISTINE: Closet.

JOHN: Another closet.

Check it out, Tina.

CHRISTINE: Oh.

JOHN: It's a full bath.

CHRISTINE: Wow.

And it's, you know, shiny and new.

I like the big walk-in shower.

JOHN: Nice.

CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: All right, let's check out the other rooms.

CHRISTINE: And another bonus room.

JOHN: Nicely finished.

CHRISTINE: You know, I would use this as a home office.

JOHN: Good study room for the kids.

CHRISTINE: Oh definitely.

JOHN: Okay, let's blow off a little steam with a little... CHRISTINE: All right.

JOHN: Ping pong.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: Come on.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

I gotta think about it.

JOHN: Here we go.

CHRISTINE: Oh, nice.

JOHN: Back and forth.

CHRISTINE: Oh.

Oh, oh, oh.

John Begeny!

JOHN: Okay.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: That was fun, but we have another game to play.

CHRISTINE: We do.

All right.

JOHN: Guessing the price.

Let's go.

Hey, hey.

PETER: Hey.

Well, welcome back.

What did you think of the house?

JOHN: There was a ping pong table.

Hello.

PETER: You can't go wrong with that.

JOHN: Yeah.

CHRISTINE: Exactly.

And the minute you walked in, you were right in the formal living room that flowed into the dining room and to that kitchen.

JOHN: With another dining space.

Open up these big sliders to this deck.

It's an awesome house.

PETER: Yeah, it's a great space for entertaining.

You can have lots of people over and everybody can sit around the fireplace in different places.

JOHN: So just like the last house, is there HOA?

PETER: There is.

It's part of the Columbia Parks and Recreations Association, just like the last one was.

However, this one only belongs to that association, so you don't have the secondary association.

JOHN: Okay.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

PETER: Uh, and you're looking at about $1,200 a year.

So this is a four-bedroom house with three-and-a-half bathrooms.

About 2,400 square feet, built in 1978.

CHRISTINE: I'm going to say 675.

PETER: Okay.

675.

JOHN: I'm gonna play the game smart.

I'm gonna give you a guess of 550.

PETER: 550.

Okay.

CHRISTINE: Ooh.

PETER: The list price is actually 600 even.

CHRISTINE: Ooh, wow.

JOHN: All right.

Well, there you go.

Yeah.

CHRISTINE: Nice job.

PETER: So now you each have a win and we have one final house to check out.

We're gonna see something more modern than the first two that we've seen today.

CHRISTINE: Wow.

So we're stepping out of the '70s.

♪ ♪ JEAN: James Rouse was the visionary behind Merriweather Post Pavilion.

And he decided to build a cultural venue to attract people here.

The Pavilion was actually designed by a world renowned architect named Frank Gehry.

And the iconic roof structure is something which is very evident in his designs.

Also, the trees that surround the pavilion are really second to none.

The very first concert was July 1967, and it was the National Symphony Orchestra with Van Cliburn as the guest conductor.

Vice President Hubert Humphrey took the podium and greeted everyone, and it poured down rain, but it still didn't deter from a very robust attendance and evening.

We've seen so many iconic performances here over the years.

The only time that Led Zeppelin and The Who played together was here at Merriweather in 1969.

There was this up and coming fledgling band named Led Zeppelin who opened up for The Who that night.

And they just kind of went a little bit overboard in terms of how long they were allowed to play.

And The Who cut the power on them.

And I don't think Led Zeppelin and The Who ever played together again.

We make sure that every artist is totally taken care of, um, as long as it's legal, of course.

And when Ozzy Osborne came here, he had specified that he wanted homemade chicken noodle soup.

And I'm like, okay, chicken noodle soup.

How am I gonna do this one?

So I called my mother-in-law who was a great cook, and she made chicken noodle soup for Ozzy, and he totally loved it.

I will never forget.

IAN: My name is Ian Kennedy and I'm the executive director of the Merriweather Arts and Culture Center.

I graduated here at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

I got to sing Lean On Me by Bill Withers as a 17-year-old.

That was, that was maybe the highlight of my musical career.

About 20 years ago, the Rouse Company had designs to redevelop the gravel parking lots that Merriweather had used.

And they thought the only way to redevelop those lots was to close this venue down.

A buddy of mine and I, we knew that Merriweather's best days were ahead.

We organized a grassroots campaign called Save Merriweather.

And after two years, the Rouse Company relented.

They agreed with us.

The Merriweather Arts and Culture Center has been working with the Howard County Public School system for as long as we've been around.

And we've always had this vision that we could bring some of our best student musicians to this big stage to collaborate with the big artists who come here every summer.

And Guster were the ones who said, "You know what?

That sounds like fun.

We're game."

GUSTER: The Howard County Youth Orchestra!

(applause) Ready?

♪ ♪ IAN: We have 110 student musicians on stage, all between the ages of 14 and 17, from all 12 Howard County high schools.

We have strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion.

♪ Where have you been ♪ IAN: This, for us, represents really the culmination of our mission and vision, open to unique and special collaborations.

It's more than a concert.

It really is a, a celebration of music and community and all the things that, that I love about Merriweather and I love about Columbia.

♪ You miss Oklahoma ♪ (doorbell) PETER: So welcome to house number three.

CHRISTINE: We're no longer in the '70s.

PETER: Yes, this is more of a traditional kind of colonial house as opposed to the contemporary houses we saw previously.

CHRISTINE: And you've got this lovely view here.

PETER: Yeah, for sure.

Right across the pathway here, that land is owned by Columbia.

So you still have a natural buffer that will never be built on.

JOHN: Oh, that's great.

So you can sit on your porch, enjoy the view.

CHRISTINE: And I really like the stone façade because it does really incorporate the feel of being in nature.

PETER: Yeah, for sure.

CHRISTINE: So any special features we should look for?

PETER: Well, literally everything in here is brand new.

JOHN: Brand new.

CHRISTINE: Don't touch anything.

JOHN: I'm gonna touch everything.

CHRISTINE: Don't touch anything.

PETER: Why don't you go inside, check it out, and I'll see what you think when we do the pricing game.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

Sounds good.

JOHN: House number three.

Here we go.

CHRISTINE: This door is pretty.

Oh, okay.

John, step in and just take it in.

Do you know what that is?

JOHN: Smell it.

CHRISTINE: New house smell.

JOHN: New house smell.

CHRISTINE: I wish I could bottle it for my 1940s condo.

Okay.

JOHN: Nice foyer.

I love the darker finish, you know, on the banister and the stairs.

Looks good.

And speaking of looks good.

CHRISTINE: Oh, a formal living room.

JOHN: Yeah.

CHRISTINE: And you know, I really like these French doors.

JOHN: I have always been a fan.

CHRISTINE: And look at the chair rail.

That's a substantial chair rail.

JOHN: Wow.

What an impact.

Good start.

CHRISTINE: Definitely.

JOHN: All right.

Down this beautiful hallway.

And we have... CHRISTINE: A half bath.

JOHN: Half bath, brand spanking new.

Very nice.

CHRISTINE: Oh.

JOHN: Oh, but an even prettier kitchen.

CHRISTINE: All shiny and new.

JOHN: Oh, I love how everything is just neutral and white.

CHRISTINE: Oh, and there's obviously plenty of cabinet space.

JOHN: Oh yeah.

CHRISTINE: And all these shiny new appliances.

Oh, and you know what, there's no backsplash.

JOHN: Oh, I like that.

CHRISTINE: Oh, do you like it?

JOHN: Whoever buys this house can choose their own tile.

CHRISTINE: That's true.

JOHN: Yeah.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

JOHN: I love it.

CHRISTINE: But this is really a great family space.

JOHN: Mm-hmm.

CHRISTINE: You can have at least four people sitting here.

JOHN: Yep.

There's your orange, there's your orange, there's your orange.

CHRISTINE: See how easy that is?

JOHN: Bon appétito.

Okay, and into our modern day great room.

I love this big bank of windows on the side.

All that natural light.

This is a very inviting room.

Come on, let's check it out.

Best seat in the house right here.

CHRISTINE: Oh.

JOHN: So after you entertain your friends and maybe a little fire.

CHRISTINE: Well, you know what's great is that's a gas fireplace.

Flip a switch and you've got a great fire.

JOHN: That's right.

And nice molding.

Very simple and clean.

Love it.

But there are other great spaces we have to check out, too.

CHRISTINE: Right.

JOHN: Let's do it.

CHRISTINE: Let's go.

Let's head on upstairs.

All right.

JOHN: Oh, look what's back here.

We love this.

The little laundry room.

CHRISTINE: They're ready for a brand new washer.

JOHN: With a utility sink.

CHRISTINE: Right.

And to have it on the second floor.

JOHN: It's the best.

So convenient.

CHRISTINE: And first bedroom.

JOHN: Ah, this is a nice size.

CHRISTINE: You could easily fit a queen-sized bed.

JOHN: Yeah.

CHRISTINE: Perfect for a kid's room.

JOHN: And I can see resting my head here.

CHRISTINE: Oh, that's a lovely way to put that.

Let's go around the corner.

JOHN: Okay.

Another bedroom.

CHRISTINE: The second bedroom.

JOHN: Uh-huh.

CHRISTINE: And again, we've got some natural light coming in.

JOHN: Yeah.

That's a great size.

Okay, Tina.

Hallway bathroom.

CHRISTINE: A nice double vanity.

JOHN: Mm-hmm.

CHRISTINE: Especially since there's, you know, multiple bedrooms.

It's a must-have.

JOHN: Must-have.

CHRISTINE: And nice shower, bathtub.

JOHN: Very nice.

Onto bedroom number three.

CHRISTINE: All right.

I would say this is the smallest of the three.

JOHN: I'd call it the coziest.

CHRISTINE: Oh, but you could still put in like a queen bed and still have room for a dresser.

JOHN: Yeah.

It's great.

All right.

And here we have arrived at the primary suite.

CHRISTINE: Wow.

JOHN: Nice windows to the outside with nice sills.

CHRISTINE: I get a cottage feel looking out these particular windows.

JOHN: A cottage feel, sure.

CHRISTINE: Yeah.

And you could have a whole other living area right here.

JOHN: Oh, there's so many possibilities.

If you have a new home, a primary suite should look just like this.

CHRISTINE: Right.

Okay.

And it should have an en suite.

JOHN: En suite.

CHRISTINE: Ah, double vanity.

JOHN: Same type of cabinets that were in the kitchen... CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: And the other bathroom.

CHRISTINE: Exactly.

And you know this tile?

JOHN: Yep.

CHRISTINE: It just keeps everything in a smaller space.

Light and bright.

JOHN: Yep.

That's this house.

CHRISTINE: Right.

What I like about this shower is the size and that you have room for a shower bench.

It's a great feature to have.

JOHN: Well guess what?

Time to guess the price.

CHRISTINE: And you know what?

You go first this time.

JOHN: I do.

CHRISTINE: That really helped me on the first house.

JOHN: Okay.

Well, I hope it helps you this time.

Let's find Peter.

Well you're in my favorite room in the house.

The kitchen.

PETER: Yeah.

It's amazing, right?

What did you think of the house?

CHRISTINE: Well, when you walk in, you see that great formal living room, and then you walk into this whole space.

PETER: Yeah, and it's because it's modern construction, it's a wide open feel.

So it's great for entertaining.

You could be in here working in the kitchen while your guests are gathering and, and you can all see each other and have a good time.

JOHN: I love the finishes.

I love these floors.

CHRISTINE: Mm-hmm.

JOHN: And like you were saying, it's new.

So what's not the love?

Really?

Come on.

PETER: Nothing to do.

You just move right in.

So this is a four-bedroom house with two-and-a-half bathrooms.

About 3,600 total square feet, if we include the basement.

And obviously it's brand new.

JOHN: I'm going to give you a guess of... 725.

CHRISTINE: Ooh.

PETER: Okay.

725,000.

And for you?

CHRISTINE: Okay, so I am going to come in a little higher.

JOHN: Okay.

CHRISTINE: Okay.

I am going to come in at, at least 750,000.

PETER: Okay.

The actual price is... $850,000.

JOHN: Wow.

CHRISTINE: Whoa, okay.

JOHN: Wow.

PETER: So you were both a little bit low on this one.

JOHN: I was low.

CHRISTINE: I went so high on the last one.

PETER: You dialed it back a little bit.

Yeah.

CHRISTINE: I did, but in the end, I win.

JOHN: Okay.

Well, Columbia was a blast.

It was so nice to be back and those three properties were really fun.

PETER: Well, it looks like we still have some time together, so if you want we can head over to Merriweather and see what's playing tonight.

JOHN: Oh my gosh.

CHRISTINE: Ooh.

JOHN: That's nostalgia at its best.

Let's do it.

PETER: Let's go check it out.

CHRISTINE: Yeah.

Are you gonna get us front row seats?

PETER: I'll do what I can.

CHRISTINE: Nice.

LORI: If you lived here, you would know that Columbia is the second largest city in Maryland.

ALICE: If you lived here, you would know that every lake is amazing.

The paths are incredible.

And if you have a dog, you're gonna be in heaven.

CHRIS: If you lived here, you would know that we have this wonderful lake area.

Great for hanging out with friends and family.

ALEXA: There's also restaurants, a place to play games, and there's a great amount of activities for young kids and families to do.

ANNOUNCER: To find out more about living in the Washington Metro area, visit weta.org/ifyoulivedhere.

Support for If You Lived Here comes from... MAN: The Yuen Foundation.

Committed to bridging cultural differences within the greater Washington, DC community.