Job in Silver Spring MD -- seeking advice (Germantown, Bethesda: apartment complexes, houses)

[scrapper105]

Kudos to you for wanting to live close to where you work. Commuting stinks. Luckily, there's lots of nice areas near your new job.

GeorgeSpelvin, I know exactly the area that you are referring to. I have a 45 minute commute to work via car (thankfully I only work 3 days per week) and the intersection you reference (Colesville Road and E-W Hwy) is smack dab in the middle of my commute. There is an apartment/town home community located very close called Falkland Chase. It's on E-W Hwy and 16th Street. There's also a very, very large apartment complex called Summit Hills located at E-W Hwy and 16th Street. I've known several people who have lived in both places and some have had great experiences and some have had bad experiences. But both are located within walking distance. There's also small apartment buildings located in East Silver Spring merging into Takoma Park on a street called Sligo Avenue. It might also be walking distance to your new job. Falkland Chase and Summit Hills might be zoned for Rosemary Hills Elementary, which really seems like a very nice school.

Crime
Doesn't everyone want a safe place to live? I know I do. In all of these areas (and frankly anywhere in the DC metro region) you're going to have petty crime, like car break-ins. So I wouldn't take anybody's word for it that a particular area is safe or unsafe. Look at the specifics of the crime statistics: the street locations and the specific types of crime. I've been lucky - I've lived in areas all over the D.C. area and have had an apartment broken into one time - and that was when I lived in a fancy section of Capitol Hill. But since I've been fortunate and have never had anything really bad happen to me, I consider all the areas I've lived in to be fairly safe.


Schools
The tough thing is that school districts in the DC area are unique. Many school districts in the DC area typically cross several neighborhoods with varying levels of socio-economic status and that skews the rankings. So, if you are coming from an area where all the lesser levels of socio-economic status went to one school and all the higher levels of SES went to another school - then the DC/suburban stats will look very different to you.

What I would look for is the specific ranking/test scores of a particular school within a county and use that as a guide. Cross reference that with neighborhoods with homes in your price range. Look for whether there is an increase in test scores from year to year, this shows you that the children are learning. Also look at class size. Finally, consider what environment your child will thrive in. Lots of “high performing” schools are in buildings that were built in the seventies when the phase of “open classrooms” was popular. These were very large classrooms separated by partitions – even the best school with the best teacher has a hard time with easily distractible children in that environment!

Based on what you said in your original post, you should really take a look at Takoma Park for where you want to ultimately settle. It's got a great community and while there are some very small parts of it that are seedy (primarily to the south and north) overall it's a nice place to live.

I can't imagine that Silver Spring to Arlington is only 30 minutes. I just don't see how that could be unless he's commuting early on Saturday mornings.

Oh, and the tricky thing about Rockville and Silver Spring is that people use those proper names to refer to large areas that aren't in any particular town - just unincorporated areas of Montgomery County. Rockville is an actual city with it's own town government but Silver Spring isn't even a real town! It's just a name given to a large area of unincorporated Montgomery County! Since they are so large, it's really better to talk about them in terms of neighborhoods.

best of luck.

[GeorgeSpelvin]

"Falkland Chase and Summit Hills might be zoned for Rosemary Hills Elementary, which really seems like a very nice school." -- Do you happen to know what middle school/high school cluster this elementary school feeds into? Not that it's a concern for us now but just curious... We've read about Blair H.S. in Takoma Park being a good school but then I've also heard some comments to the effect of "avoid Takoma Park." Most of the people telling us to avoid it, however, tend to be folks who do not feel comfortable anyplace but a lilly white (to put it bluntly), antiseptic suburban area. We of course like safe areas, too, but wouldn't mind being someplace that's not quite so "square."

Here's another question: Given all the issues about schools in the DC area, is homeschooling popular? In some areas of the country, there are very active groups of parents who homeschool. Just wondering if that is a big thing in DC.


"I can't imagine that Silver Spring to Arlington is only 30 minutes. I just don't see how that could be unless he's commuting early on Saturday mornings." -- He lives very close to the river and says he leaves early, like 6:45 or 7:00 a.m., and drives up through DC. Claims it takes 30 minutes consistently...not sure whether to believe it.

I'm just glad that we're going to take at least 1 year to rent and learn about the area. Given all the different areas and issues, I wouldn't want to be forced to choose an area and buy in a rush...

[mississippimagnolia]

We've read about Blair H.S. in Takoma Park being a good school but then I've also heard some comments to the effect of "avoid Takoma Park."

We considered Takoma Park when we were looking for a house. I didn't even realize that there was a Takoma Park in Maryland and in DC. We looked in Takoma Park, MD. We spent quite a bit of time in the town and just loved it. It seemed very family oriented. I loved all the older homes and neighborhoods. But then I read some not-so-great things about gang activity in the area. I was really surprised because we visited the town several times and never saw any evidence of gang type stuff. Maybe there is a bad area that we just didn't see. I thought it was a really cool little town. It's got kind of a hippy vibe, but in a good way.

Given all the issues about schools in the DC area, is homeschooling popular? In some areas of the country, there are very active groups of parents who homeschool. Just wondering if that is a big thing in DC.

I can answer that for the Montgomery County area...it's huge. I pulled our youngest out of school in February because I felt like his school was just horrendous. I am definatley not the homeschool type...I had never even considered it. We've always been in areas with good schools. I was a teacher before I had kids, so I wasn't really worried about whether I could do it...I just didn't really want to.

I found several big homeschooling groups. I had a choice of about three just in this area of Montgomery County. There were classes, field trips, cooperative learning opportunities, music and art, foreign language teachers...Literally more support than I could have ever used. And plenty of opportunity for kids to spend time with other homeschoolers. The Montomery County School folks were also very supportive.

I feel like we had a successful homeschooling experience. It's still not something I would want to do for very long. I really like having the time to myself while the kids are in school. I was more than willing to do it when I had to. But I'm really glad we're moving to an area with good schools so that I can send them back to school again. I really admire people who homeschool. But it's not for me.

[scrapper105]

Agreed. Homeschooling is huge here. Several homeschooling co-ops near Takoma Park as well.

Takoma Park is a specific incorporated town/city with it's own mayor & government. It is in Maryland. It flows into D.C. and includes the same architecture, community feeling, etc. In D.C. though, it's technically the neighborhood of Takoma. Obviously, the children in D.C. go to a different school than the children in Maryland.

I've lived in a neighboring town to Takoma Park for 5 years and have never heard of any gang activity. There is an unincorporated area to the north of Takoma Park (called Langley Park) which has a significant Latino population (as does most of the D.C. metropolitan area) and so it may have a stereotype of an area with gang activity. There has been some crime there in the past few years that may be gang related, according to the media. But I shop there frequently, as do several of my neighbors (my favorite thrift store is there and my favorite bakery and gas station) and have never had a problem.

[bunky3301]

Hi George,

I feel your pain. Its so hard trying to find a safe place to live in a new area. I think a good fit (just my opinion) for your family would be the town of Kensington which has very good schools and lovely neighborhoods that are so family friendly. Close to Silver Spring and DC. It is close for my wifes work at Bethesda Naval Hospital and that was a factor for us as well, a short 4 mile commute for her.

Although if we were to be here long term and like I've posted in other threads (we're not because we're military) I would buy a house in "Olney" for sure. The area is great (very, very suburban) there is a beautiful Rec Center there for Adults and Kids , the schools are very,very good. It wouldn't be a bad commute from Silver Spring straight up Georgia Ave or for us it would be worth it for the great schools and the area as a whole. I highly suggest you take a look at Olney. I don't know what your price for housing is , but if your looking to buy I'm sure at least you could find a very nice townhouse which there are plenty of them for rent or sale. Good luck and welcome to Maryland !!!

[mississippimagnolia]

I've lived in a neighboring town to Takoma Park for 5 years and have never heard of any gang activity. There is an unincorporated area to the north of Takoma Park (called Langley Park) which has a significant Latino population (as does most of the D.C. metropolitan area) and so it may have a stereotype of an area with gang activity.

That's good to hear, scrapper105 because we really thought Takoma Park was a neat place. We had a blast going through all the neat stores. We had some wonderful ice cream. And we went to a street festival last year that was just too much fun! I read about gang activity before our last visit. As we were walking around the town I kept thinking to myself...where are they hiding all the gangs? I was actually looking for evidence of crime because we seriously considered buying a home in the area.

[soymabelen]

Originally Posted by mississippimagnolia

My opinion (and just my opinion)...stay in Silver Spring or Bethesda. It's expensive, but it's a nice area with good schools.

We made the mistake of moving to Germantown. Luckily, like you we rented for a year to learn the area. We move in about two weeks. And it can't come soon enough. We're moving to Northern Virginia simply because I just can't stomach the idea of staying in Maryland. But that's only because we've had such a bad experience here in Germantown. We have friends who live in Silver Spring and love it. And we have friends who live in Rockville and love it. I don't know anyone with kids who actually likes Germantown. Crime is out of control. Just read the police blotter. The schools are really bad. My daughter had an ok experience at Seneca Valley High School depsite it's reputation. But the elementary school my son attended (Water's Landing) was so bad that I pulled him out in the middle of the year to homeschool him. And I am defintely NOT the homeschooling type.

I almost feel an obligation to warn people about Germantown. It's been a horrible year for us. We've lived all over this country and overseas. There have always been places that I liked more than others, but there is usually something good I can say about everywhere we've lived. Except here. I cannot think of one good thing to say about Germantown. It's been that bad.

I am so sorry you have had such a terrible experience in Germantown, especially your son's experience at school. I am, however, one of those people with kids who love Germantown. I've lived here for almost 10 years now. No problems whatsoever with any kind of crime (touch wood) in all these years. I realize crime can happen anywhere. I may have been lucky, but I have not met anyone here either that has been a victim of crime.

My children go to a private school nearby where I teach so I don't have personal experience with the public schools, but all my neighbors are very happy with our elementary school, Ronald McNair. I also have friends with kids in both Kingsview Middle and Roberto Clemente Middle and they are also happy there.

I wish you all the best in your new location.

[mississippimagnolia]

No problems whatsoever with any kind of crime (touch wood) in all these years. I realize crime can happen anywhere. I may have been lucky, but I have not met anyone here either that has been a victim of crime.

See, I just don't get that. You've never met anyone that was the victim of crime in Germantown? I must be the most unlucky person in the world... The second day we lived here, I was a witness to a fight in Safeway. The victim made the mistake of accidentally bumping someone with a baby stroller. Honestly, I was really shaken up.

Not even three weeks later, my husband was in PetSmart with our dog. The guy in front of him confronted another guy about the size of his dog. A huge fight broke out. The police were called.

A gun was found just a couple of weeks ago on a student at Northwest High School.

My neighbors car window was smashed about a month ago. Just for reference...the houses in this are typically go for around $600,000. We are not in a horrible part of Germantown.

A body...A BODY...was found on the side of the road just a couple of months ago.

All you have to do is read the police reports in the paper...assaults, robbery, car break ins....all very, very common in Germantown. Maybe if you are used to living in a high crime area, you aren't phased by it. But we are used to living in places with very little if any real crime. I've never lived anywhere that kids walk around dressed like thugs or prostitutes using language that would make a sailor blush.

I'm willing to admit that perhaps I've led a sheltered life. And I'm ready to go right back to living in a safe community.

[anglophile]

You didn't mention your budget (that I saw), this will shape what you can afford.

Takoma Park

Takoma Park is a funky, liberal community. Its family oriented, and has a lot of nice houses. Its bordered by some gritty areas, especially Langley Park, so there is some crime-I never experienced any when I lived there, and I walked home from metro pretty late at night, but our postman was held up at gunpoint. Blair is, from what I've been told, a perfectly reasonable high school. Takoma DC should be avoided because of the schools.

Olney

A poster mentioned Olney, which is nice, but would be a bit of a commute. You can do 25-30 minutes on Saturday morning-not during rush. An option could be to park at the Glenmont metro. Good schools, very nice community. Probably the same price as Takoma Park, but probably a larger house.

Silver Spring
Very built up at the urban core, Silver Spring is very spread out. There are nice parts, and less nice parts, particularly the parts bordering Langley Park and the far east part of Takoma Park. I would look around the Forest Glen Metro, and on East West Highway going toward Bethesda. Kensington is close, and also pretty nice. As you get closer to Bethesda, it will get more expensive.

Weaton/Glenmont
Varies. Less expensive than SS/Takoma. You might find something nice around the Glenmont metro, could be a compromise between SS and Olney.

Germantown is too far to commute-there are better options. It didn't look particularly crimeriddern when I've been there, but I don't know the area too well.

[soymabelen]

Originally Posted by mississippimagnolia

See, I just don't get that. You've never met anyone that was the victim of crime in Germantown? I must be the most unlucky person in the world... The second day we lived here, I was a witness to a fight in Safeway. The victim made the mistake of accidentally bumping someone with a baby stroller. Honestly, I was really shaken up.

Not even three weeks later, my husband was in PetSmart with our dog. The guy in front of him confronted another guy about the size of his dog. A huge fight broke out. The police were called.

A gun was found just a couple of weeks ago on a student at Northwest High School.

My neighbors car window was smashed about a month ago. Just for reference...the houses in this are typically go for around $600,000. We are not in a horrible part of Germantown.

A body...A BODY...was found on the side of the road just a couple of months ago.

All you have to do is read the police reports in the paper...assaults, robbery, car break ins....all very, very common in Germantown. Maybe if you are used to living in a high crime area, you aren't phased by it. But we are used to living in places with very little if any real crime. I've never lived anywhere that kids walk around dressed like thugs or prostitutes using language that would make a sailor blush.

I'm willing to admit that perhaps I've led a sheltered life. And I'm ready to go right back to living in a safe community.

I do read the police reports in the paper for Montgomery Co every now and then but I am not obsesive about it. I don't see Germantown having any more crime or any more severe than other parts of the county. I am not used to living in a high crime area, just like I said I have not experienced any crime here myself neither do I know anybody who has, that doesn't mean it's not there, I know it is. I just don't think there is anywhere that is completely free of crime. Even small rural areas will have some.

I have to say that I take offense at your reference about children walking around dressed like thugs or prostitutes and using language that would make a sailor blush. I definitely don't see that any more than in other parts of the country or the world and I am one that likes to see children dressed like children and not like little adults and one that emphasizes good manners and appropriate language.