Places for Young Families (Bethesda, Gaithersburg: townhouses, neighborhood, preschool) - Maryland (MD) - City-Data Forum

vanyali · 02-06-2008, 07:20 AM

My husband and I will be moving to the area very soon with our two young daughters (6 and 2) and two old dogs, and would like to hear some suggestions about where the young families are. Here's the wish list:

Urban feel, walkable (can walk to a park, coffee shop, maybe a bodega, a bagel shop, that sort of thing. Restaurants would be awesome).

Other young families with kids around in the neighborhood. Bonus if the families are friendly, and the kids come out to play.

Very close in (commute to border between tysons/mclean for him, to dc for me) like Bethesda/Chevy Chase/Cabin John-type close

Excellent public schools.

We're flexible on cost of living (expect to pay a lot to live in a hole in the ground, basically, and we're OK with that).

So, are we out of luck or what? Does anyone have any advice on where in a neighborhood to look (this street, not that street, stay north of this park, whatever?)

We lived in Brooklyn for several years when our 6-year-old was a baby and we loved it. We'd love to just pack our Brooklyn neighborhood in a suitcase and bring it with us, but we'll just have to settle for finding the best proxy in the DC area that we can.

So, any thoughts?

pythagras · 02-06-2008, 11:46 AM

Takoma Park, MD is a very walkable suburban/urban area. Its close to a metro stops. There are a lot of families that live there and I've seen kids outside playing. Its on the DC/MD border on the Northern tip. There's a downtown area with some good restaurants/coffee type places. There's an amazing farmers market too.

It is a very liberal place though, I'm not sure if that jibes with you.

Kensington · 02-06-2008, 12:18 PM

Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Cabin John all have young families.

FrankLaw · 02-06-2008, 04:48 PM

The best public schools in the area (and in the county and the entire state, in some cases) from elementary schools on up through high schools are generally centered in the Bethesda-Potomac area. The quality of your kids' school won't be a concern if you settle anywhere in those areas.

If you want to live close-in to DC and you're willing to spend $600k for a 1940s rambler, then the Bethesda area might be your best bet. If, however, you're looking to live in a place that is within walking distance to a lot of shops, playgrounds, etc., you're going to have to spend more than that in Bethesda.

I touted the Kentlands/Lakelands in Gaithersburg as being a great development for a walking-around community in another post today. I really like it, and you might too, if you can get past the distance from DC and the fact that it's a planned community. The homes there aren't on the cheap side, but they're much more affordable than what you'd find in Bethesda or Potomac. The schools aren't as good, though. Not terrible, just not as good.

Potomac isn't really a walking around community. It's very car-dependent.

If you're looking at Rockville, I'd say stay west of Rt. 355/Rockville Pike, for the most part. There's just a weird divide to Rockville that takes place once you cross 355 for some reason.

For someone from Brooklyn, I agree with the other poster above: Takoma Park is worth taking a look at. It might be much closer to what you're used to.

vanyali · 02-06-2008, 06:58 PM

Awesome! Thanks for all your help. Takoma Park wasn't even on my radar (did I mention I don't know much about Maryland?) but now I'll definitely check it out.

What would you say is the biggest difference between Bethesda/Chevy Chase and Tacoma Park? Would you say the areas attract different sorts of people? Someone mentioned that they thought of Tacoma Park as very liberal. Is that in contrast to, say, Bethesda being very conservative?

Thanks!

Kensington · 02-06-2008, 08:55 PM

If your husband is commuting to Tysons, you are not going to want to live in Takoma Park. That will be a horrible commute, stay as far west as possible. Have you considered Arlington, VA? I think it would fit your requirements as well.

Takoma Park has a reputation for being liberal as in crunchy, granola, peacenik kind of liberal. In general all of downcounty Montgomery County is politically liberal including Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Bethesda has a much wider range of type of housing and housing prices than Chevy Chase. Chevy Chase is made up a number of incorporated towns, as well as unincorporated areas. These towns do have a tight-knit community feel. My daughter goes to preschool in Chevy Chase, and I like all the families we've met through the school, most of whom live in Chevy Chase.

vanyali · 02-07-2008, 06:12 AM

I lived in Arlington briefly in college, and hung out there in high school some, and I liked it. But when I came back through a couple of years ago, the place looked like a shopping mall had exploded. There were chain restaurants and, if I remember right, mall-stores where all those great independent Vietnamese restaurants used to be. I guess I should take another look at it, but I'm not holding out high hopes.

Just checking, but McLean is completely suburban, not really walkable at all, and full of older families (kids in HS/college), right? That's my impression of the place, but I haven't even driven through there in years.

How can Chevy Chase be made up of multiple incorporated towns? Is Chevy Chase even a mile from one end to another? This sounds like New Jersey -- every couple of blocks is another town, so when someone tells you what town they're from, you have no clue where they're talking about, because no one but a New Jersey native can possibly memorize all those thousands of place names.

titaniummd · 02-08-2008, 03:46 AM

I lived in 20852, North Bethesda. There are a lot of single family homes and townhouses there. Off of Tuckerman Lane there are a lot of communities with similar backgrounds as yourself. You are just off of the Beltway for your husband to go to work. Cabin John Park is just up the street, as well as a ice skating rink, and you are between 2 shopping malls within 10-12 minutes of each other. You are in walking distance to the Grovesnor Metro to take the Metro downtown to the District.

vanyali · 02-08-2008, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by titaniummd

I lived in 20852, North Bethesda. There are a lot of single family homes and townhouses there. Off of Tuckerman Lane there are a lot of communities with similar backgrounds as yourself. You are just off of the Beltway for your husband to go to work. Cabin John Park is just up the street, as well as a ice skating rink, and you are between 2 shopping malls within 10-12 minutes of each other. You are in walking distance to the Grovesnor Metro to take the Metro downtown to the District.

Awesome! This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Thanks! My husband is flying up this weekend (to start his new job Monday!) so I'll tell him to look around up there. I don't get to go yet

but I can't wait to go too!

vanyali · 02-10-2008, 06:32 AM

Does anyone know whether the public schools in the area (Bethesda/Chevy Chase) teach any foreign language on the elementary school level? Do you know of any private elementary schools in the immediate area that teach French on the elementary school level?

Thanks!