Living w/i walking distance to Wheaton Metro?? (Silver Spring: apartment, lease)

[rabenst]

I have been looking for a relatively new townhouse and see some near the Wheaton Metro area. What type of area is Wheaton in comparrison to Silver Spring? In these types of newer developments, what type of people live there? Is Wheaton safer or less safe than downtown Silver Spring? Any info/advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[CHIP72]

IMO, Wheaton is much less walkable and considerably more suburban-oriented than downtown Silver Spring.

[Kensington]

I would agree with the above poster, though there is a lot you can walk to from the Wheaton metro and the Wheaton metro is a major bus hub as well. There is more crime than downtown silver spring (this is my impression, not based on statistics). This being said, I used the Wheaton metro daily for my commute for 5+ years going both very early and staying very late sometimes and never had any problems.

The Wheaton vibe and downtown silver spring vibe are much different now that Silver Spring has upscaled. You are going to be closer to nicer shopping, nicer restaurants, etc. in downtown silver spring. Wheaton has tons of great whole in the wall ethnic places and there is a mall with a Macy's, Target, and JC Penneys at the metro. There actually is probably more shopping options in Wheaton given the mall, but downtown silver spring is nicer to hang out and get a cup of coffee, or see a movie can of thing. I would hang out in Wheaton at night, go to the mall, walk around, etc. before deciding whether to buy there.

[CHIP72]

I actually spent my first extensive time in "downtown" Wheaton earlier today. One thing I didn't realize until today is Wheaton has a large Latino population. A significant percentage of the restaurants/stores have English/Spanish signs.

I'm biased because I picked downtown Silver Spring as my home, but I think Silver Spring is considerably nicer than Wheaton, based on the couple times I've been in downtown Wheaton. However, it would best if you spent time in both places so you could form your own opinion.

One other minor thing to consider - the Wheaton Metro station is DEEP underground and has a LONG escalator. As was noted above, both Silver Spring and Wheaton have considerable Metrobus/Ride On bus service at their Metro stations, but Silver Spring's service is really extensive. (The Silver Spring Metro station area may be the single biggest local bus hub in the DC area, and that includes areas in the District itself. Silver Spring also has a Greyhound station, about 1/2 mile from the Metro station.) If nothing else, it is easy to travel between Silver Spring and Wheaton; they are about 3 1/2 miles apart and the Metro Red Line, 5 Metrobus lines, and 2 Ride On bus lines connect the two downtowns (Metro stations), so if you choose the "wrong" place, it is easy enough to spend a lot of time in the other place and have no problems getting home.

[lscalder]

Down Town Silver Spring has a higher cost of living then Wheaton.
Silver Spring have way better Restaurant choices while Wheaton have better retail options.

Wheaton do have a large Latino population vs Silver Spring.

I think houses in DownTown Silver Spring hold their values over Homes in Wheaton.

Wheaton is getting run down to me

[DCgirlMDmom]

My husband and I bought a cute single family house in Wheaton because we could not afford a single family house in the Silver Spring area and were tired of apartment living.

Having lived in both Silver Spring and Wheaton in the past 10 years, I can say there are plusses and minuses to both. The Silver Spring outdoor area is very nice, however I find it completely overrun with teenagers on the weekends. I don't agree at all that Silver Spring has "way better" restaurant choices than Wheaton. The City Paper recently gave Wheaton high marks for best Thai, best dim sum, and best Pho in the DC area - and they were spot on! We also have awesome Korean BBQ, sushi, and plenty of choices for Peruvian and El Salvadorian. Come to Taste of Wheaton in May to get a sampling of the choices! There are things in Silver Spring that I wish we had in Wheaton, such as AFI, Borders and some of the nice coffeeshops. However, Silver Spring is literally 10 minutes down Georgia Ave or 2 Metro stops away - very easy to pop down there when we want.

My Wheaton neighborhood is very diverse and very friendly. It's quiet at night. People on our street make an effort to keep their homes looking nice. We attend the community meetings to learn about the development plans and progress - they have some really great ideas for how to improve Wheaton's downtown area. Right now, Wheaton is not looking pretty - there is a lot of construction going on and a few too many open storefronts up for lease. I'm optimistic we will see some improvements in the future, though.