BOWIE MD....Good or Bad (Silver Spring, Germantown: foreclosure, high crime, how much)

[padad1]

Wife is going to work in Rockville at NIH cancer center campus. We've seen some real nice houses around $300.000, which is our main price point. Any ideas on the area. We have a friend who lives 5 minutes from there and says that is a nice area. Some newer homes mixed with older established homes and new shopping. How are schools and convenience to ammenities there?

[Zippy7fo]

Bowie is a great area..you won't have any complaints....close to the beltway and 295 as well...

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by padad1

Wife is going to work in Rockville at NIH cancer center campus. We've seen some real nice houses around $300.000, which is our main price point. Any ideas on the area. We have a friend who lives 5 minutes from there and says that is a nice area. Some newer homes mixed with older established homes and new shopping. How are schools and convenience to ammenities there?

Pros:

It is overall a nice area.

Easily the nicest part of Prince George's County.

The schools in Bowie are good as well, particularly the elementary schools which usually include the highest ranks in the county.

The Bowie Town Center is also a nice place for shopping and Bowie also has other shopping centers around town.

They are also building a new Town Hall.

Bowie has its own Police Department.

Has nice parks.

Very diverse. One of the few towns in the county that is not predominantly one race. Has a good mix of different races.

It has a lot of major roads that run through Bowie like MD-704, MD-450, MD-193, US-301, US-50, and MD-197, so it is easier to get around. It is also close to Annapolis, which can take you to the Eastern Shore), Laurel (nice alternative to Bowie), and Upper Marlboro (County Government Buildings).

Cons:

Taxes are generally higher than the rest of the county (but it was just announced that the tax assessments dropped by a third for the Bowie area, so taxes should be a lot lower than before).

Newer homes have lost a lot of value in recent years (which may be a good thing) due to high foreclosure rates.

Hospital in town is only open until midnight so you would probably have travel to either Laurel or Annapolis in the event of an emergency.

Tends to be some high crime areas off of MD 450 which comes on the same road that leads directly to rougher areas like Glenarden and Seat Pleasant.


Oh and by the way if your wife is going to work at NIH and you all move to Bowie, it would be better for her to catch the Metro at New Carrollton. The commute around I-495 from there is HORRIBLE!!!! Take my word for it. The Metro would help avoid a lot of stress for her.

[padad1]

meatkins, thanks so much for all the info you posted, this is definatly one of the areas we are looking at, i am teaching with a very steady job in PA so i am applying now, hopefully something works out and we can both have under one hour commutes with affordable housing 300000 or so

[Tuneful]

I don't agree that the Metro from New Carrollton to Rockville will avoid a lot of stress. Can be crammed (might have to stand, although at least at NC you get on at the first Orange Line station), people yakking away on their cell phones, etc., then you have to change lines in crowded, yukky Metro Center... and hope that no line is delayed that day because of an accident or ongoing renovations... and is your wife's office close to the Metro? Approximately where is it? Use the WMATA trip planner to get an approximate idea.
Hopefully someone who has done this commute can comment. The earlier work hours (early start, early depart) she can get, the better.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by Tuneful

I don't agree that the Metro from New Carrollton to Rockville will avoid a lot of stress. Can be crammed (might have to stand, although at least at NC you get on at the first Orange Line station), people yakking away on their cell phones, etc., then you have to change lines in crowded, yukky Metro Center... and hope that no line is delayed that day because of an accident or ongoing renovations... and is your wife's office close to the Metro? Approximately where is it? Use the WMATA trip planner to get an approximate idea.
Hopefully someone who has done this commute can comment. The earlier work hours (early start, early depart) she can get, the better.

I certainly understand how bad the metro can be, but I was referring more to the unpredictable nature of the traffic on I-495 from College Park to Bethesda. If you have driven on this corridor in the morning then you know it can be some of the most frustrating times of your driving life because you don't know when the back ups will begin, how much volume they have, and if they will clear up at any point. At least there is a chance of some consistency by taking the metro. If she drove she could be traffic as short as 45 minutes and as long as 2.5 hours.

[padad1]

thanks for the
heres the latest, job was offered and after one year she could move to the frederick office, i am guessing that there is more housing up there near frederick that is more affordable, how are the roads around frederick???

[selhars]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the orginal posters subsequent posts...

If the wife will be working at NIH (Bethesda), and after only one year may go to Frederick, even if the jobs moves to Frederick after TWO years....you don't want to be looking at Bowie. Her commute would be a nightmare...driving OR public transit.

I'd suggest looking in the northern part of Silver Spring or just north of Rockville, maybe Gaithersburg, even Germantown. At least she'd have the option of either 270 or 355. And if and when the job moves to Frederick. The commute still may not be THAT bad, because she'd be reverse commuting from most folks.

Most jobs are on that side of the metro area anyway.

[melundie]

Are there any particular zip codes in Bowie to avoid?

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by melundie

Are there any particular zip codes in Bowie to avoid?

My knowledge of Bowie is somewhat limited but in my research I seen a lot of crime reported in the 20715 zip code off Annapolis Road near where Old Annapolis Road and Church Road meet. There was a shooting at a banquet hall a few weeks ago over there and everytime I looked at the crime map on Washington Post, there was a high number of incidents over there. I should also mention that 20720 and 20721 have Bowie addresses, but are Mitchellville/Lake Arbor. That's a different story.