Gaithersburg/Germantown zips to avoid (Silver Spring, Bethesda: for rent, condos, crime)

[mrsfancypants]

Hi,
My hubby will be house hunting shortly from all the many posts I have read I see there are bad areas to stay away from like "mall area" we are looking at Germantown and Gaithersburg I guess there are small towns in between-/around-- is it Derwood, Lsytonsville??? what would be fabulous if someone could tell me the zip codes of theses areas that are less desirable

I would appreciate any help

[endersshadow]

That's actually a good question considering that there are good pockets inside of cities/towns. I wouldn't recommend 20876. This zip code will feed to Seneca Valley High and Watkins Mill High. Not the two best schools in Montgomery County. Even if you don't have kids, you'll be seeing these kids (high schoolers) loitering around.

[dkf747]

20878 is a good zip code.

[TrippingJay]

20886 which includes Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village is perhaps the worst IMO. The main area to avoid is by Lakeforest Mall off Lost Knife and Odenhal Avenue. I would also avoid the area around Walkers Choice and the condos near Montgomery Village Center. Some areas of Montgomery Villlage such as Whetstone (by the lake) and the East Village are pretty nice and quiet.

Laytonsville is 20882 which is further north of 20886. The area is very nice with houses on large parcels of land. The only downside is that kids go to Gaithersburg High which is not be best of MoCo schools.

For Germantown, I would stick to areas off Great Seneca and Father Hurley. The area around Wisteria has gone downhill, according to one of my co-workers. Cinnamon Woods is also to be avoided as well. The area of Richter Farm Rd is also a good choice.

[mrsfancypants]

thank you soooo much my head was spinning I have read sooo many posts over the past few months then I tried to go back to find them to write down the areas then try to do research on zips OMG confusing

My duaghter is 3 so hopefully by the time she is in HS it will be better or who knows if they restructure who goes to what school etc...

Thanks for the zips and the streets to avoid so I can look on the map around the homes I like.

Love this board.

[firefightermom]

Hi, I would avoid all of 20876 and 20874 (all Germantown), and 20886 (Montgomery Village). East Village is nice but feeds to Gburg HS, which is terrible. Truthfully, I would avoid all of Gaitherburg too, and head toward Laytonsville. Don't count on things getting better; my husband is from there and it has been getting progressively worse for 20 years. I would highly recommend Frederick County, or as close as you can get to it in Montgomery County. Ijamsville is very nice and rural, not sure of the zip. Good lucik!! Housing prices are cheaper in Frederick county too...

[mrsfancypants]

firefightermom? the 2 towns you mentioned am I going to have to drive forever to get groceries etc....

Really how the Germantown/Gaithersburg towns came up was my hubby wants around 40 min commute to North Bethesda (he has flexable hours so he can time it so he's not driving when a gazillion others are) He wants to stay w/ 270 vs 495. Plus on my home searches I like the homes but crime/schools are BIG things too.

So now with this info would you say those towns are a better fit or are there other towns you would recomend?

Thanks

[terp4ever]

Originally Posted by firefightermom

Hi, I would avoid all of 20876 and 20874 (all Germantown), and 20886 (Montgomery Village). East Village is nice but feeds to Gburg HS, which is terrible. Truthfully, I would avoid all of Gaitherburg too, and head toward Laytonsville. Don't count on things getting better; my husband is from there and it has been getting progressively worse for 20 years. I would highly recommend Frederick County, or as close as you can get to it in Montgomery County. Ijamsville is very nice and rural, not sure of the zip. Good lucik!! Housing prices are cheaper in Frederick county too...

I'm mildly offended that you would write of 20876. I currently live in a townhome in that zip in the large Milestone complex. The area is very nice, except of course for the ridiculous home prices. The area is also moderately diverse and is an excellent place to raise a child. White's hold a large majority but there is a quickly growing Indian/Asian demographic and a moderate African-American pop. The area is more or less divided into 4 large sections: apt. for rent, condos, lots of townhomes, even more single family homes, and a small McMansion section at the far north end.

There's also small business park in Milestone where the WeatherBug HQ (where the local TV stations get their weather info) and a couple of other businesses are located. Recreational activities are also abundant. Every evening it seems that half the community comes out to jog, walk, or take the kids to the park or one of the two pools. Perhaps, the hallmark of this community though is it's close proximity to EVERYTHING. Walmart, Target, Kohl's, Home Depot, Giant, Applebee's, Border's, Staple's etc. are just two minutes down the road in this humongous shopping center. I-270 is also two minutes away, plus there is frequent local bus service and a nearby MARC (commuter rail) station.

Originally Posted by endershadow

That's actually a good question considering that there are good pockets inside of cities/towns. I wouldn't recommend 20876. This zip code will feed to Seneca Valley High and Watkins Mill High. Not the two best schools in Montgomery County. Even if you don't have kids, you'll be seeing these kids (high schoolers) loitering around.

Now, you're wrong about the schools. 20876 (at least Milestone anyways) fed into Damascus high school (a slightly rural town about 20 min up MD 27) until two years ago, then it fed into the brand new Clarksburg HS (another small, but very wealthy town, up MD 355). MCPS is also building a brand new elementary school right in Milestone.

Sorry for the rant, but it annoys me to no end to see the uninformed put down neighborhoods. It's not just my area that I think is livable either. Nearly all of Germantown and Gaithersburg are fine to live in, if you can afford it. And you don't have to go all the way to Frederick County to live in a rural setting. Clarksburg is very nice (and very expensive), and has a nice not-too-rural setting, but the it's expanding size means that the local roads are packed during rush hour. The only place I personally would be careful with are some areas in southeastern MC near Silver Spring and the DC borders. Also, if you choose Montgomery Village, make sure you choose the neighborhood carefully.

[firefightermom]

Hey terp4ever, sure didn't mean to offend you, but I speak from experience since I lived in 20876 for 9 years and my husband lived in 20886 for over 20 years...I am far from uninformed. You are wrong about the schools, at least for my part of 20876. My cluster was Daly Elem, Neelsville Middle, and Watkins Mill HS...it changed to Clarksburg HS when it was built about 2 years ago. If you prefer massive overcrowding in traffic, shopping, schools, etc, then this area is for you. If you prefer your kids being ignored at school b/c they are fluent in English, ditto. Did you know the local police call Germantown the "Wild West"? They must have their reasons. Everyone is allowed their difference of opinion. I recommend calling the local police for each area and checking the crime stats, which can speak for themselves. Good luck to you and yours...and no offense meant!!

[firefightermom]

Mrsfancypants, I don't know enough about Ijamsville to tell you about the shopping, only my old neighbor moved there for better schools for her 3 kids. It is right on the Mont Co-Frederick Co line, so the commute to North Bethesda would take 45 minutes as a guesstimate...Laytonsville is near Damascus just past Germantown, so your main shopping would be in either. Maybe check out Derwood, which is part of Rockville. The HS is MacGruder, which is one of the best in the county...