Is Poolesville "Diversity" Friendly? (Damascus: houses, purchasing, public schools)

[Neutral]

I was driving around Poolesville today with my spouse.

I was really impressed with how nice it was and the people seemed friendly. Now I want to start looking at houses in the area. I love the small town feel.

I just want to know is this a, for the lack of a better term, "diversity" friendly place? I saw a few confederate flags and I didn't know if they were there for historical purposes or if they were there as a warning sign.

I just need to know before I go looking around further.

Thanks

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by Neutral

I was driving around Poolesville today with my spouse.

I was really impressed with how nice it was and the people seemed friendly. Now I want to start looking at houses in the area. I love the small town feel.

I just want to know is this a, for the lack of a better term, "diversity" friendly place? I saw a few confederate flags and I didn't know if they were there for historical purposes or if they were there as a warning sign.

I just need to know before I go looking around further.

Thanks

It may have changed in the last couple of years but what you saw is what you would be getting. It was not the typical Montgomery diversity.

[trying2moveup]

No - not diverse.

[Moth]

My cousin is half Asian and teaches in Poolesville. Loves it. Says the kids are great and so are their parents.

A place is mostly white so it automatically means racist lynch mobs? Man, some of you have the wildest imaginations.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by Moth

My cousin is half Asian and teaches in Poolesville. Loves it. Says the kids are great and so are their parents.

A place is mostly white so it automatically means racist lynch mobs? Man, some of you have the wildest imaginations.

The question was not if the kids were great or if their parents were great but were they tolerant of all ethnicities and were they welcoming them to the community. No one commented on them being racist lynch mobs until you did. The question was about their welcoming and tolerance of and for diversity in all the flavors it comes in and were they already diverse. Comparisons with Poolsville and other areas of Montgomery County are fair and valid within the context of the OP.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by Moth

My cousin is half Asian and teaches in Poolesville. Loves it. Says the kids are great and so are their parents.

A place is mostly white so it automatically means racist lynch mobs? Man, some of you have the wildest imaginations.

Please explain how the comments made suggest racist lynch mobs especially when weighed in the context of the following community data.
Poolesville MD (Maryland) ZIP codes, schools, jobs, demographics & more

Are those demographics reflective of diversity?
Are they reflective of diversity as compared to Montgomery County?
Is not the statement what you see what you get when commenting on her visual observations as compared to the data?

The community is almost 92% White how is that diverse by Montgomery County standards. Thus the very valid OP question of Is Poolesville "diverse friendly" and the given responses.

[westsideboy]

The original poster's question was obviously a polite way of asking about racism in the town. The reference to the Confederate flag, the term "warning sign" and the quotation marks around "diversity friendly" indicate as much.

It is certainly is a fair question to ask before someone moves to a new place, but I agree with Moth that it is unfortunate that majority white communities are often assumed to be racist until proven otherwise...

[TuborgP]

The assumption was just that as the OP has not asked that question nor has anyone suggested. The question is that with so many areas being so much more diverse is there a reason other then just natural population patterns. It is better to ask hard questions prior to purchasing especially in this housing market.

[DCMetroGal]

As a loooong time resident of MoCo, Poolesville is a wonderful, friendly community. Don't think you need to worry about the Confederate flags! However, racial and ethnic diversity is very low, compared to the rest of the county. In part, I believe, because it is rather geographically isolated. No major public transportation is near, thus, one has to fuel up the gas tank to drive into 'civilization'. Past clients contemplated moving there. I made them drive back and forth a couple of times so they'd get a feel for their daily commute. They passed.

That said, if a couple was relying on a single income and the other was planning on being a 'stay at home' or work from home parent, it may be of interest. One can get a lot of house for the money. The public schools, while small, are well regarded. Also, as there is a high percentage of 'stay-work at homes' the schools don't appear to lack from parent involvement.

I believe that Poolesville is a lifestyle choice for many. (Damascus is somewhat similar). Families elect to trade off convenience and perhaps material goodies for the opportunity to spend quality time with their families. While racism (and every other type of ism) exists everywhere, I've never heard or seen anything to create a worry in my mind. However, if a neighbor fails to cut their grass? Unless the home owner is ill, that could be a different issue :-)

One last tip to consider. Even if the commute looks good, consider what it would do to your household budget if gas was back up to $4/gal. If the location still makes sense, then I'd say go for it!

Best of luck!

Hmmm- I hesitated putting this in, but here it goes. As a past PTA President and Director of Volunteers for the Charles W. Gilchrist Center of Cultural Diversity, I'm aware of concerns folks may have and realize, based on astounding volunteer contributions by long-time white residents, these concerns, while sometimes justified, often are not and may be skewed by an individuals perception, rather than reality. Interestingly, several non-white Center student volunteers, including some of Hispanic ethnicity, had more 'issues' at school with members of their own racial or ethnic background. All were excellent students and their comments indicated they believed their academic achievements is what provoked the harassment. Horrible, isn't it?

[dkf747]

Ride-on has a bus route to Poolesville, so public transport is available. The route goes to Shady Grove.