Hyattsville near Cheverly Metro station - a bad area? (College Park: lease, homes)

[PGC301]

I'll try to clear a few things up here...

First, Palmer Park isn't in Hyattsville. Hyattsville is an incorporated city (it has it's own mayor, city council, police dept., etc) along the area of Baltimore Ave/Rhode Island Ave/East-West Hwy/Queens Chapel Rd. Palmer Park is a neighborhood in Landover, an unincorporated area about 5 miles from Hyattsville. Alot of areas in that part of the county are not incorporated, and use Hyattsville mailing addresses (Langley Park, Chillum, Landover, Landover Hills, etc).

Second, yes Palmer Park is a high crime area (so is Kentland, the nieghborhood right next to it). Does that mean that you'll be dodging bullets every time you walk outside? Of course not. Does it mean that your car might get stolen or you'll be passing drug dealers on the street every day? Maybe. Some people live in "bad" neighborhoods their whole lives and nothing happens to them, some people move in and get robbed their first month there. Like I said before, use common sense; visit the area at different times to get a feel for the neighborhood. Check it out during the day on a weekday to see how many people there are at work and how many are just hanging out; visit at night to see if you would feel comfortable in the area.

Lastly, I won't mention the person's name so I don't violate C-D's policy on "personal attacks", but there is one poster on this forum (and in this thread) that you have to take anything she says with a grain of salt. Read some of the other topics about PG County on here, and you will see what I'm talking about. This person takes any negative comment about the county as a personal insult to ALL black people. Mention something negative about the high-crime areas of the county, and she calls you racist. Anything negative about the nicer parts of the county, and she says that you're jealous of the rich black people that live there. She repeatedly says she doesn't want people generalizing the entire area based on what they see on TV, but doesn't mind telling people to avoid white neighborhoods since they are full of school shooters, child molesters, etc...

Basically, use good judgement. Only you can decide if it's an area you would feel comfortable living in. Like I mentioned earlier, it does have it's up-sides. It's close to DC, the Beltway, the PG Police Department is in the neighborhood, and the Redskins stadium is on the other side of Sheriff Road.

[Mom21]

What could happen to me? The area is residential and the home owner said he has lived there two years and hasn't had any issues.

I'm just saying I wouldn't do it. I just think there are better areas for the same amount of money. That being said, like people are saying, there are good areas and bad areas of every neighborhood. It sounds like you're renting, anyway. If you were buying, I would DEFINITELY say don't do it -- there are just some areas that people won't even consider because they have a reputation, so you would have a hard time with re-sale.

[lscalder]

Just to add my two cents.In my opinion the areas in Pg county where houses are selling the fastest are in the area where folks on this froum mention as areas not to live. I have 5 clients this month who ae all purchaisng homes in areas ranging from Capitol heights,Oxon hill,Hyattsville,Landover. All of the clients choose the areas. The reson why folks are flocking to these areas because folks who do come in to the county or people who do live in the county knows Pg county is spending big bucks on these areas. In the next 5yrs or less these areas will become more desirable. The county is also planning on tearing down majority of the apartment complex and building livable communiites and shopping centers. People who donot live in the county or have never visit Pg county are the ones who donot know of the positive changes happening in the county so their minds are still set to 10yrs ago about Pg county.

[bonnydays]

Originally Posted by PGC301

Cheverly itself is pretty nice. The downside is that it's surrounded by some not-so-nice areas (Bladensburg, Landover Hills, etc)

I beg to differ that Landover Hills is a "not-so-nice" area. My family lived there (Landover Hills/Woodlawn) for the past 3 years and we really liked our neighborhood. It is a very convenient location...great for commuting into DC for work, and is within easy access to Annapolis, Baltimore, Silver Spring, etc. Our house is currently for sale as we have moved out of state and we hope that another family will enjoy our neighborhood as much as we did!

[PropertyMan]

Originally Posted by jubilee31156

It looked ok, but I still am not sure. Is it a livable area? Should I have any concerns?

You're not going to find the "homes of the rich and famous" but it is a lovely area. Despite all of the negative hype of PG county bashers. Cheverly has repeatedly been rated by the Washingtonian magazine as one of the "Best Places to Live" in the region.

[PGC301]

Originally Posted by bonnydays

I beg to differ that Landover Hills is a "not-so-nice" area. My family lived there (Landover Hills/Woodlawn) for the past 3 years and we really liked our neighborhood. It is a very convenient location...great for commuting into DC for work, and is within easy access to Annapolis, Baltimore, Silver Spring, etc. Our house is currently for sale as we have moved out of state and we hope that another family will enjoy our neighborhood as much as we did!

I should have been more specific, I was talking about the parts of Landover Hills closest to Cheverly, specifically the apartments on Coopers Lane/Warner Avenue, behind the Giant on Landover Road. I have several friends and coworkers who live or used to live in that complex, and none of them have anything good to say about it. The most recent one who moved out had his car stolen twice from the parking lot in front of his building, and finally decided to leave when he came from work a couple months ago and there was a man carrying an AK-47 walking through the parking lot.

Coincidentally, this was on the news yesterday:
http://www.nbc4.com/news/14818732/detail.html

[PGC301]

Originally Posted by PropertyMan

You're not going to find the "homes of the rich and famous" but it is a lovely area. Despite all of the negative hype of PG county bashers. Cheverly has repeatedly been rated by the Washingtonian magazine as one of the "Best Places to Live" in the region.

Like I said on the first page in the thread, Cheverly itself is a nice place to live. Quiet neighborhoods, almost entirely single family homes with good-sized yards and easy access to 295, 50, and DC. But the area that he/she is thinking about moving to isn’t in Cheverly, it’s in Palmer Park, which has a lot more violent crime and drug activity than Cheverly does

[PropertyMan]

Originally Posted by PGC301

Like I said on the first page in the thread, Cheverly itself is a nice place to live. Quiet neighborhoods, almost entirely single family homes with good-sized yards and easy access to 295, 50, and DC. But the area that he/she is thinking about moving to isn’t in Cheverly, it’s in Palmer Park, which has a lot more violent crime and drug activity than Cheverly does

I try to be very positive about PG, but I have to agree with PGC301 that Palmer Park is not the same as Cheverly. On that side of the county, everything that is not in a chartered town is called "Hyattsville" it seems. Without knowing exactly where you are talking about, it is hard to say how good/bad safe/unsafe you would be. Based on your general description "Hyattsville near Cheverly Metro station", the area could be fine, but if it is actually further out RT 202, you could have problems.

[chayen]

How about Woodlawn Hyattsville?Is this a safe community?Thanks

[dcdrogers]

Palmer Park is not the place to be. It is definitely the hood. You get sub-par stores and amenities. The crazy about this "community" is that they have the police station smack dab in the middle and yet it is surrounded by crime. ALL kinds of crime. Stay out of the 20785 AND 20743 zipcodes (PERIOD). I grew up there and I still have friends living there. It's just one of those places that if you haven't grown up in the area, you will never adapt to it. AND yes....there will be times when you are walking down the street and wonder if you'll make it to your destination without being mugged. Don't do it to yourself or your family. If you are looking for something in the Hyattsville area that's a little more "friendlier" try looking in zips 20782 and 20784. While every area has their own problems you will at least be able to sleep at night.