Advice on considering relocating to Olney? (foreclosure, crime, houses)

[Soccitup]

Hello, I am looking for opinions on Olney as my husband and I are thinking of relocating our growing family to Olney. Specifically, my questions are:

--ease of getting around (?traffic) Olney itself
--shopping opportunities (ex: mall, Target, Whole Foods, Home depot,) or do you need to drive 30 minutes to nearest shops
--restaurants
--cost of living
--parks/outdoor running trails
--safety (for raising small children)

Thank you in advance for any advice/opinions on this!!!!

[YAZ]

Haven't been there since 1992, but it was rather nice back then.

Georgia Ave can get busy during the rush, and it was relatively safe in that area.

Lots of shopping, decent restaurants, etc.

I had to take the bus to get to the Metro, that may have changed?

[bonnielisabeth]

I live near Olney and go there all the time to use the library, post office, etc...

Olney seems to be pretty easy to get around, except right when the schools get out. You pretty much do have to drive about 20-30 minutes for most shopping (like whole foods, home depot, malls, target.) In Olney there is a Shoppers food store, TJ MAXX, homegoods, hallmark, cvs, and rite aid, along with many small stores. There is a small organic foods market (Roots Market) about 5-10 minutes away, down Georgia Ave. The post office is friendly and the library is ok (too small, but it sounds like they will be expanding.)

I'm from another state, and have not been impressed with any of the malls in this area of MD-- so far they are pretty standard at best and depressing or have some crime at worst. Would not worry about living close to one...probably not worth it. Has saved me a lot of money

Have not tried many of the restaurants, but they do have a few. It *seems* fairly safe, Check out the "Gazette" newspaper. ("+thisTitle+")

I find all of the dc suburbs of Maryland to be way too expensive for what you get! But, Olney seems to be slightly cheaper and a little nicer than other places closer to DC. We have friends who live in Olney and say there are fairly nice houses in their neighborhood which seem to be going into foreclosure. So there may be some deals out there...