Possible relocation to Maryland (Baltimore, Columbia: maintenance, apartment, condominium)

[EDMUND924]

Hello,
I am strongly considering relocating to Maryland and working in Silver Spring, Maryland in the next couple of months. I am looking for feedback on where to live? I wish to avoid the beltway and any heavy traffic. I am single and would consider renting for 6-12 months before possibly buying a condominiumn or townhome so that I can get a feel for the area. I don't want to rush into buying something and then being trapped into something I don't like. Which areas within a 45 minute drive from Silver Spring would you recommend? Of course I'm looking for a low crime area, good schools etc. Thank you for your input

[Zippy7fo]

Silver Spring is good, Rockville, Germantown, maybe Northwest DC...Bethesda isn't a bad option if you can afford it. Wheaton....

[scoutsadie]

Originally Posted by EDMUND924

Hello,
I am strongly considering relocating to Maryland and working in Silver Spring, Maryland in the next couple of months. I am looking for feedback on where to live? I wish to avoid the beltway and any heavy traffic. ...Which areas within a 45 minute drive from Silver Spring would you recommend? Of course I'm looking for a low crime area, good schools etc. Thank you for your input

Unfortunately, anywhere within 45 miles of Silver Spring (besides being right in that area) is going to entail traffic -- that's just the nature of this region. Your best bet may be to live in Silver Spring itself if you want to avoid that.

Good luck!

[EDMUND924]

Thank you for your help to this point regarding areas around Silver Spring. I've read mixed reviews about Silver Spring - the downtown areas supposedly is nice - but a lot of gang activities near New Hampshire Avenue? I'm wondering if there are other places besides Silver Spring that I should consider? Are there any places where I could live and utilize the metro to Silver Spring? Thank again for your feedback.

[gvc]

Are you talking about working in Silver Spring proper? I ask because this is the postal address for quite a large area of Montgomery County. If your job is near the metro station, you can get some ideas by searching for the DC Metrorail system map -- or this link, if allowed:

[SIZE=-1]www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm

Silver Spring is on the Red Line. Just let me mention that if you live on the west segment, you will have to commute all the way into DC before you loop back to S.S. There is also A MARC line train for the west side that stops close to the same Metro station in S.S. if you do decide on a place to the west, but it has somewhat limited service (as well as a free shuttlebus from the station to many of the nearby buildings). Silver Spring is finishing up a reburbishing effort and has become a better place to live.

There are probably gangs in most of the close in areas around DC, but although I've lived and worked in Montgomery County most of my life, I have never experienced an encounter. However, the New Hampshire area is not one I would choose. The neighborhood itself will reflect the level of "care" the residents give it. The location you pick is probably going to depend upon how much you are willing to pay. It will be more expensive to the west, with a few closer-in exceptions in older buildings.
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[EDMUND924]

Hello,
Thanks for your helpful reply. My place of employment would be located at 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993. As I would be relocating from Pennsylvania, I know next to nothing about the surrounding areas. I know that the housing costs will be very high if I want to have an easy commute (40-45 minutes max) to work. Do you have any thoughts on a good place to live that has a low crime rate and good schools? Thanks so much!

[gvc]

Ahhhh. That New Hampshire Avenue address is one of those that is actually closer to White Oak than Silver Spring. The Metro would not work that well for you after all.

If you stay on N.H. Avenue and go south, make sure you go past Adelphi and Langley Park to get to Takoma Park which has some very nice homes. It is a close-knit, slightly quirky community with some good and bad parts. Or stay on N.H. Avenue and go north at least to Cloverly and Fairland. It might help if you plug in that address on Mapquest to get a visual picture. It would be an easy commute to and from Olney, which I understand has some very good schools. Further away, about halfway between DC and Baltimore, is Columbia which is a planned community with all levels of pricing for all kinds of properties, entertainment, shopping, etc. The very neighborhood you will be working in used to be quite nice. I don't use that route much any more, so I'm not up-to-date on what it's like now. You may just want to start looking right there. It should be one of the more affordable areas in the County.

But -- and now I'm just guessing at your age and interests -- you might just want to go into the Silver Spring proper area or Bethesda for the better singles scenes activities. If you miss the college scene, College Park (Univ of MD is in Prince Georges County) is also fairly close by. All of Montgomery County can be considered expensive, but if you have the time to look, you can find decent places for affordable prices.

[Jammin4]

I am a federal retiree who rented in "Silver Spring" (Aspen Hill) and paid the Very low rent of $980 for a 1 br 1 den 1 bath apartment. I was located at a very busy intersection across from a firehouse situated directly behind a senior community. Aspen Hill is very heavily Central American. Unfortunately, this culture (no offense anyone!) is very family oriented, very noisy at all hours, does not appear to have concern for using trash dumpsters. There was always trash, glass, and garbage on the sidewalks and lawns despite maintenance attempting pick up as often as possible. Cars were routinely repaired in the parking lots. There was a perpetual problem with auto vandalism. I retired and moved to TN (where I could afford to live in retirement) as soon as I could. The neighbors were blasting stereos until 2am in the morning...any morning. My working salary was over $65K per year and I could just make ends meet when I had a car payment. The entire DC area is geared toward the income of those who are at high levels of government and/or celebrities. Cost of living is not reasonable!! Most of us middle of the roaders needed to share living to survive. Public transportation is good. Even if you move to White Oak, there is bus service at your door (Ride On and Metrobus). Both have service to metro (subway). Rush hour subway fare is around $3.25 one way. All day parking at the subway station was around $7 per day. My advice would be to locate close to your job location and take public transportation when at all possible.

I do not miss the area one iota and I was born in DC!!!

[sundaze]

In all respect, the area of Aspen Hill is known as Aspen Hill, not Silver Spring, although the mailing address is Silver Spring. I also do not like that area.

[EDMUND924]

Thanks again to for everybody's input, I do appreciate it. I have been told that Olney is a nice area and know that Ellicott City is nice as my sister and her family live there. The commute appears to be easy from Olney to Silver Spring and I have driven from Ellicott City to my potential employer on New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring - it was only 30 minutes or so and this was on a weekday between 8 and 9 a.m. So now I'm wondering are there any other areas that I should be considering for a place to live? I'm not into the bar scene, I'd like to live somewhere where it's relatively peaceful with good schools and an easy drive to work. I know that it probably won't be cheap!