White Flight in Bowie?! (Silver Spring, Germantown: house, neighborhoods, buy)

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by RaisedWell

Who wrote this? Where in the world did you get this? Oh Wikipedia.
The busing started in 1972. The term ghetto is used incorrectly here and a whole bunch of other things are wrong with this article.

The area I was bused to for high school was all white back then. I am shocked that according to this, that area would be considered a "black ghetto" now because it isn't. I really hate to bring race into this because I know people will get all bent out of shape but it is what it is. I know this thread is about white flight in Bowie but white flight occurred in Prince Georges during the late 70's/early 80's not only because of the busing but because educated middle class blacks could afford homes right next to whites and they didn't like it so they left.

I put this here when I was googling to see if I was incorrect about busing from DC into PG (which I was). That's all. I know Wiki is written by the people for the people so not always factual nor politically correct.

[Skapov]

Originally Posted by bowian

LOL! I was looking at the "black ghetto" paragraph like, "Wow!"

I will say this about the white flight in Bowie, at the risk of being flamed.

To me, there is "old Bowie," with the Levitt houses and the stable lifestyle but unending resistence to change and an attitude of, well, entitlement. And there is "new Bowie," with newer homes, more diversity, more acceptance of others, but still with an attitude of entitlement. Then there is the unincorporated part of Bowie, which is not as cohesive as the city but is very much McMansion land.

To be honest, I have this perception of the old school Bowie as racist and unwelcoming to blacks to a large degree. I get the impression that a lot of whites there (who haven't already moved to Crofton) think blacks are taking over their territory. Those whites would like to see Bowie schools for mainly Bowie (read white) kids and would rather see the older Levitt neighborhoods remain mostly white.

Why do I feel this way? Here's an example. When I was married, my husband and I were seeking our first home. We were interested in buying in Bowie. We went to a Bowie realtor, who basically steered us to Upper Marlboro -- Rosaryville area. We actually liked and bought a home in the Rosaryville area. But I didn't forget that he discouraged our interest in Bowie.

Another example: back in 2001 or so, Bladensburg High School students were moved to a building in Bowie on Belair Rd. while Bladensburg High was being renovated (or rebuilt). Anyway, Bowie was up in arms -- residents and politicians fighting to keep the Bladensburg students out. The reason on the surface was that Bowie schools were overcrowded, and that Belair Rd. building was needed for Bowie students. But there was an undercurrent of racism. Some residents even wanted to secede to Anne Arundel County. The Bladensburg students were moved to Bowie anyway for a few years. That left a bad taste in my mouth.

I remember a former coworker (white) going on and on about "bad people" moving to Bowie and how she was glad she was able to move with her family to Anne Arundel County. Several coworkers thought her comments had an undercurrent of racism.

Then a reliable source told me that when my development, Fairwood, was first being built, the Bowie city government lobbied for our children to not attend their schools. While there is a lot of diversity in Fairwood, it's still mostly black.

So, while I like Bowie and the surrounding area, I do feel there is at least a trickling of white flight. Not all white residents want to leave, of course, but a lot of them don't seem too happy with more blacks moving into the area.

I don't mean for this to be an anti-white or anti-black debate, but I want to be honest about my perceptions and spur an honest but thoughtful discussion. Perhaps someone will prove me wrong about what I have seen in the city of Bowie.

You really have summed up that inkling of a "feeling" that I get, like this vibe of resentment that affluent blacks are moving to the area and "squeezing out" the white families. Our realtor that we're working with took us to a development in Mitchellville and I was like, hey wait, this isn't Bowie! And so I asked for homes that are for sell in particular neighborhoods that feed into the good elementary schools (i.e. Tulip Grove Elem., Whitehall Elem.), and you know that was a week ago and he still hasn't gotten back with me. And so hmmm... seems I'm being steered away from "old" Bowie and towards the new McMansion developments in the predominantly black subdivisions. Anyway, I've now decided to go ahead and look in Fairfax County, because Bowie has reached its tipping point and the remaining white families either send their kids to private schools or plan to hop over to Anne Arundel Co. when the kids become schoolaged. Even my bosses' boss who is a lifelong Marylander, left Bowie a few years ago and moved all the way to Queen Anne's County!! I guess having a 2hr commute each way was more tolerable for his family that living amongst so many black families. Sad...

[bowian]

Originally Posted by Skapov

You really have summed up that inkling of a "feeling" that I get, like this vibe of resentment that affluent blacks are moving to the area and "squeezing out" the white families. Our realtor that we're working with took us to a development in Mitchellville and I was like, hey wait, this isn't Bowie! And so I asked for homes that are for sell in particular neighborhoods that feed into the good elementary schools (i.e. Tulip Grove Elem., Whitehall Elem.), and you know that was a week ago and he still hasn't gotten back with me. And so hmmm... seems I'm being steered away from "old" Bowie and towards the new McMansion developments in the predominantly black subdivisions. Anyway, I've now decided to go ahead and look in Fairfax County, because Bowie has reached its tipping point and the remaining white families either send their kids to private schools or plan to hop over to Anne Arundel Co. when the kids become schoolaged. Even my bosses' boss who is a lifelong Marylander, left Bowie a few years ago and moved all the way to Queen Anne's County!! I guess having a 2hr commute each way was more tolerable for his family that living amongst so many black families. Sad...

I understand, but please don't let anyone steer you away.

You know, nearly two years ago, I put my house on the market briefly. I thought about trading down and putting more money into the bank. I inquired into the Levitt neighborhoods. The realtor I was working with discouraged me (for architectural reasons). I've spoken to other realtors who aren't exactly pushing those homes. I wonder why. I think some steer and some know that there may be issues.

Also, those Levitt homes are mostlly very small, but some have nice additions that up the square footage. The areas near Tulip Grove and Whitehall (and Kenilworth) look the nicest to me. There is a corner home on Kenhill Dr. near the Bowie City Hall that has been for sale for a while. It's near Kenilworth Elementary and Tasker Middle School. No McMansion, but it's cute. It may be worth a look.

There are newer homes in the city of Bowie that feed into the Bowie schools. What I would do is conduct an internet search for listings in zip codes 20715 and 20716. Parts of 20721 are in the city of Bowie also.

I've been tempted to look in Fairfax myself, and I used to live in Alexandria (Hybla Valley). I've been turned off ever since a fellow motorist there called me the n-word several times and flipped her finger at me.

[lscalder]

There are plenty of new communities in Bowie. Sometimes you have to drive around because the new communities are off the main roads.

[bowian]

One more thing, Skapov. Check out the Westview community in Bowie. There's a 2700 sf house there going for 400K. I love looking at RE listings, so I **** a look. I don't think I am allowed to post a link here. But the house is very lovely, and the neighborhood looks very nice and quiet. Off of Church Road. When I was thinking of downsizing, that was one area where I looked.

Other nice neighborhoods -- Woodmore Highlands, Mount Oak Farm, Groveton, Twelve Oaks (Twelve Oaks is not in the city but I believe the others are).

[engine750wife]

Originally Posted by trying2moveup

.....But I still feel sorry for anyone looking into moving into a city in PG county - anytime someone mentions moving anywhere PG just gets completely slammed. It really is a shame. Sure there are really crappy areas, mostly around the DC border but there are also very crappy areas of Montgomery County - particularly right around Takoma Park, Langley Park, Silver SPring, etc. But I guess high class crappy (MoCo) is perceived as better than low class crappy (PG Co). . . and for everyone that thinks there is no gang problem WIDESPREAD in MoCo - wake the --- up.

It doesn't matter where you go, Maryland or any other state, all counties are going to have good and bad area's.....it's all about doing your homework, visiting MORE THAN ONCE AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY/NIGHT/WEEK/MONTH/YEAR and being patient.

[The_Fairfaxian]

To all of those who mentioned the excessive racial segregation within Bowie, I have to admit that it's fairly true. The older (North) Part of Bowie is whiter while the southern portion (Upper Marlboro and Mitchellville) is more black. As for the reception, the high school I attended (Bowie High School) was fairly diverse, but the people self-segregated themselves by race. This was the attitude from both blacks and whites in Bowie. This, along with the lack of amenities and good schools would be the reason why I would recommend not moving to that town. I would also say this would be the case for quite a few places in Montgomery and Howard Counties too. As for Fairfax County, to which some of you have considered looking into, I would recommend looking into the layout and interaction between neighbors of different ethnic groups before moving there. Although from my experience, racial integration in Fairfax and most of Northern Virginia has a better reception, and many of the people are more welcoming to different ethnic groups including middle and upper class blacks. Latinos, however might have a problem however due to various factors (but that's for another post).

[lscalder]

No matter where you live people tend to segregate themselves. Adults do the same thing. Most whites have white friends same goes for any other race. I went to school in Montgomery County and I never had a white friend. My son attend school in PG county and he have white friends/Black friends/Spanish friends. I think Pg county residents accept people who are different then Montgomery County residents.

[Jaded]

Originally Posted by RaisedWell

Who wrote this? Where in the world did you get this? Oh Wikipedia.
The busing started in 1972. The term ghetto is used incorrectly here and a whole bunch of other things are wrong with this article.

The area I was bused to for high school was all white back then. I am shocked that according to this, that area would be considered a "black ghetto" now because it isn't. I really hate to bring race into this because I know people will get all bent out of shape but it is what it is. I know this thread is about white flight in Bowie but white flight occurred in Prince Georges during the late 70's/early 80's not only because of the busing but because educated middle class blacks could afford homes right next to whites and they didn't like it so they left.

I just read the article myself....how sad. It was totally motivated by racial hatred. Ignorance in its purest form!

[RoadTripGurl]

to everyone who commented about the schools

First, There are great teachers out there and I do commend them. But most students do not perform well because of the constant distractions of the kids in the class. My son was classified as ADHD and they placed him in a classroom with "troubled" kids. I was tired having to go to the school daily to make sure THEY do THEIR job. I should be on the payroll if that is the case. And believe me, I didn't make a "D" stand, he wasn't performing because he did not get the sevices offered. And besides the children in the school were, well a little wild. Now? My son is in a school where he is the least distracted where he can focus on his schoolwork and not Joseph throwing a book at the teacher. And it is a shame that the quality of the neighborhood equals most likely the quality of education. My conterpart (Iscalder) is happy to live where she is in PG County, but why can't we get a decent education everywhere in PG County? I'd have to sacrafice to a condo to be in the better enighborhood. Why can't there be affordable living AND a decent education in the same neighborhood? The topic of this dicussion is the area of Bowie; I can't afford to live in the same size house I have in Harford County in Bowie which has decent neighborhoods in PG County.

I'm not fussy at anybody, but it was a very hard time for me to deal with the schools there when they were trying everything in their power to make it look like my son wasn't performing when and his test scores showed otherwise. So yes, my son DID perform better out of PG County, and I know there are schools in PG County that perform, but my thing is they ALL should be performing, have the same standard, right? All schools are supposed to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and my son did not get that...