Safest city in Maryland between Alexandria, VA and Baltimore? (Bethesda: apartment complexes, rentals)

[stoopidspeeder]

I'm attempting to move to a city between Alexandria, VA and Baltimore, but don't know the good and bad area of Maryland. I'm looking to stay anywhere that's equidistant. I've looked at Greenbelt and the likes, but I've heard bad things. So I don't know if anyone could shed some light and/or recommendations. Thank you.

[manofsteel084]

Yes....a lot of territory. Mt Airy is very nice, but it is far north of DC and would make a commute to Alexandria a nightmare. Also look into a town that has a Metro station into Alexandria if it woul drop you off close to your workplace. That's the best way to go IMO, when travelling into DC.

The issue with PG county is over crowding. There are beautiful and affordable place in PG county, with a lot of great people, but the school districts are a mess...overcrowding is a REAL issue here. My wife is a teacher and, of course, she advocates parent involvement, but when there are 35 kids to a classroom, the students are getting too much general instruction and not enough one on one time.

[lscalder]

You can also find safe in PG county. Try Upper Marlboro,Bowie,Clinton

[lscalder]

I use these three areas because they are closest to my home and are areas I am 100% familiar with. I do go to other areas in Pg county but these three are areas I go to every single day.

[srcog]

Greenbelt has a lot of crime. I would stay out of PG COunty in general. Bowie and Upepr Marlboro are better than other areas of the county but i would not let my family live in either. It's really hard to give you a recommendation without a little more information. How much can you afford? Are schools important? Do you want a family area or nightlife? I've lived in many parts of Maryland and can give a pretty good description of each.

Howard county is very nice, but closer to Baltimore than Alexandria. Montgomery County might work for you - Kensington, Bethesda, and Potomac are all nice areas.

[lscalder]

You will be fine living in GreenBelt. The people on this forum who say do not live in Pg county are those who have never lived anywhere in the county. Some people live their life by the media. Whatever the media say is what they believe.
You have opinions of people who have been living in the area for yrs now. If you notice the ones who say do not live in Pg county are those who have not given any example of their personal opinions that they have experience in GreenBelt.
People are judging an entire county as one.

Why is it when people mention Montogmery County, they always mention three areas Bethesda,Potomac or Chevy Chase?

[dkf747]

I used to live in College Park, right next to Geenbelt, and used to work in Lanham, right on the border of Greenbelt. I can tell you that it is not as nice a place as you want some to believe. I would, personally, never choose to live there. YMMV.

[Alanboy395]

Would Laurel fit for you? If you have kids make sure you get the Howard County side of Laurel (better schools or more resale value.)

[laurelengineer]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Would Laurel fit for you? If you have kids make sure you get the Howard County side of Laurel (better schools or more resale value.)

In general, maybe. But this is not a given, by any stretch. Even in HoCo, schools vary by neighborhood. You can certainly find Laurel schools in HoCo that rate worse than some of their brethren in Prince Georges or Anne Arundel. "Making sure that you are on the Howard side" is certainly not as simplistic as you say.
-LE

PS - If one needs to divide their time between DC and alexandria, I'd bias my location towards Alexandria. The commute there will always get worse faster than a commute towards Baltimore would.

[xapabwa]

Crofton is nice - it's about 5 miles north of Bowie proper - the 20715 zip code. That part of Bowie is still pretty nice. It's not what I grew up with 30 years ago, but it's still nice. The real bad thing about Bowie is that it's part of PG county which means higher taxes and higher insurance - both car and homeowners - due to the fact that some parts of the county aren't so nice and have high crime rates. When I moved from Bowie to Crofton (AACO), my car insurance dropped by half.

As in most areas, you can find nice little neighborhoods that are sort of insulated from outside influence - get out and talk to folks in the neighborhood on a Saturday or Sunday. Ask about property turnover, percentage of owner occupied vs rentals - this is usually a good indicator. Personally, when I was looking, I tended to stay away from areas that were really close in proximity to apartment complexes and industrial areas or malls. Some like being close to these things, but I really don't.

Good luck in your search.