What's the story with the white people in Prince George County? :) (Silver Spring: middle-class, limo)
Washington, DC suburbs in MarylandCalvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
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It's a shame that it's so crime ridden now. I can't imagine my old neighborhood being dangerous.
man fort washington is not dangerous..u have an element of crime but thats everywhere in pg..i would raise my kids in ft wash today without hesitation.
Since Mt Ranier is on your list, a few comments. Most of the white residents consider themselves politically progressive, but not in a limo lib sort of way. It's mixed with some clubs and largish range of the socioeconomic ladder. If you have kids, be aware that living there means accepting a few warts. Example: as you arrive in Mt Ranier via Rhode Island Ave from DC, the sign says: Welcome to Mt Ranier, MD. Prostitution will not be tolerated. Or as you're walking along a sidewalk, don't be surprised to step on hair weave extensions lying around here and there. Safety and degree of external home maintenance can really vary from block to block, so you have to be a detective when looking for your new home.
Absolute best thing to do is to join the Mt Ranier listserv to get your very specific questions answered.
College Park -- everybody keeps saying "for obvious reasons," but half the city population is permanent resident. University faculty who live in the area are primarily in University Park next door (expensive real estate but really nice homes), Berwyn Heights (same zip as College Park) or College Park itself.
North College Park is a mix of Latinos and blue-collar whites that have lived there a long time. Right now is a good time to hunt for a deal on a foreclosure in that area. The rate of influx of Latinos has declined since the 2008 crash. Instead, there's a steady stream of working class white coming from the Rust Belt. They land up there because it's easy to rent a house. I've not heard good things about these new arrivals, ask if you want to know more.
Best neighborhood in College Park for families that is affordable: College Park Woods. Largish single-family houses, some of them are college rentals, but it's not a problem. One of the state reps for the district lives in this neighborhood.
There are some very nice homes in CP located downtown and mixed in w/ the frat/sorority houses. Definitely white liberals.
I recommend putting College Park on your list of possibilities. The reason is because there are several new dorm-style high-rises on Rt 1 (the main drag) pulling students out of the neighborhoods. Investors are getting worried + there's been a ton of foreclosures. Good time to deal for a home. It's counter-intuitive as CP has always been considered a ripoff due to a housing shortage. The development is changing that. Other good things: university as a resource, DC metro (Green Line), MARC. Bad things: The main drag suffers from urban blight. It's drab. The reasons are too long to get into right now, let's just say local politics. Also, no major supermarket in College Park, proper.
Greenbelt is mixed. The draws here are NASA Goddard as an employer and Eleanor Roosevelt HS. This is a magnet school that is very strong in the sciences. The residents of Greenbelt who are associated w/ the Univ or Goddard are white collar professionals, and mainly liberals. There's also an older population of "FDR Democrats" -- you see them at the Labor Day parade or at New Deal Cafe, if that's still open. A bit of history -- Eleanor Roosevelt was the ribbon-cutter for Greenbelt. Old Greenbelt still has some sort of affordable housing cooperative that dates back to that era.
Greenbelt is also on the Green Line (terminal stop). Some bad things about Greenbelt: Beltway Plaza (can I get a witness?). It sucks, and this is where you get groceries unless you live further up Greenbelt Rd near Cipriano/Safeway. It's the kind of shopping center where chances of some sort of petty crime are significant. Few stores of interest. A lot of people blame the very large Section 8 apt complex that is right behind the shopping center, but I disagree. Beltway Plaza has always sucked, long before Springhill Lake went Section 8.
You will find a range of real estate here from garden-style apts to nice single-family residences.
Hyattsville is a very broad area, so you'd have to be specific about where you are looking and what is important to you. It is a very mixed bag. There is still a solid population of blue-collar whites here, a lot of AAs, immigrants from Africa, Latinos. There's a gentrification attempt w/ some expensive townhouses (w/garage) right on Rt 1. If you're looking for a Catholic high school, De Matha is here. Both Riverdale and Hyattsville have "changes from block to block" type residential areas. Note that Riverdale has a few flop houses -- they look kind of seedy to me. As get close to DC, Hyattsville becomes very industrial.
The NE Branch trail is accessible from CP, Hyattsville, Riverdale and Mt Ranier. I am an avid cyclist and bike in and out of DC a lot on this trail. It also has options to get to Silver Spring (MoCo) easily. However, here are the facts of life for anyone still reading who is interested in Northern PG.
Just a few months ago I was coming up the trail, headed to CP. I was in the Hyattsville area. It was early morning and still dark. Ahead of me, I saw a car, which is *very* unusual for this narrow trail. I saw that it was PG police when the officer shined hiis spotlight on me. He leaned out of the window and asked: "While you were down there, did you hear gunshots?"
I am originally from MoCo and will probably never get 100% accustomed to the casual attitude in PG about crime, even from law enforcement. I will also mention that PG Co police have a bad reputation in the DC area. I have personally seen PG police throw young black men (15 yro) against the patrol vehicles to search them for no reason. It's not a racial issue, there's no difference between how the AA/Asian/white police interact with people. There's a long history of civil rights violations filed against PG police. A recent incident involved their barging into the house of the mayor of Berwyn Heights, yes, the mayor, and shooting his dogs. They were investigating a tip about a UPS package delivered to the house (pot, I think), which the mayor knew nothing about.
If you are looking for a "good government" jurisdiction w/ friendly, helpful police, do not move here. It is completely non-racial -- it's the same in the whiter areas. In fact, PG police had a bad reputation when the county was still majority-white.
Since Mt Ranier is on your list, a few comments. Most of the white residents consider themselves politically progressive, but not in a limo lib sort of way. It's mixed with some clubs and largish range of the socioeconomic ladder. If you have kids, be aware that living there means accepting a few warts. Example: as you arrive in Mt Ranier via Rhode Island Ave from DC, the sign says: Welcome to Mt Ranier, MD. Prostitution will not be tolerated. Or as you're walking along a sidewalk, don't be surprised to step on hair weave extensions lying around here and there. Safety and degree of external home maintenance can really vary from block to block, so you have to be a detective when looking for your new home.
Absolute best thing to do is to join the Mt Ranier listserv to get your very specific questions answered.
College Park -- everybody keeps saying "for obvious reasons," but half the city population is permanent resident. University faculty who live in the area are primarily in University Park next door (expensive real estate but really nice homes), Berwyn Heights (same zip as College Park) or College Park itself.
North College Park is a mix of Latinos and blue-collar whites that have lived there a long time. Right now is a good time to hunt for a deal on a foreclosure in that area. The rate of influx of Latinos has declined since the 2008 crash. Instead, there's a steady stream of working class white coming from the Rust Belt. They land up there because it's easy to rent a house. I've not heard good things about these new arrivals, ask if you want to know more.
Best neighborhood in College Park for families that is affordable: College Park Woods. Largish single-family houses, some of them are college rentals, but it's not a problem. One of the state reps for the district lives in this neighborhood.
There are some very nice homes in CP located downtown and mixed in w/ the frat/sorority houses. Definitely white liberals.
I recommend putting College Park on your list of possibilities. The reason is because there are several new dorm-style high-rises on Rt 1 (the main drag) pulling students out of the neighborhoods. Investors are getting worried + there's been a ton of foreclosures. Good time to deal for a home. It's counter-intuitive as CP has always been considered a ripoff due to a housing shortage. The development is changing that. Other good things: university as a resource, DC metro (Green Line), MARC. Bad things: The main drag suffers from urban blight. It's drab. The reasons are too long to get into right now, let's just say local politics. Also, no major supermarket in College Park, proper.
Greenbelt is mixed. The draws here are NASA Goddard as an employer and Eleanor Roosevelt HS. This is a magnet school that is very strong in the sciences. The residents of Greenbelt who are associated w/ the Univ or Goddard are white collar professionals, and mainly liberals. There's also an older population of "FDR Democrats" -- you see them at the Labor Day parade or at New Deal Cafe, if that's still open. A bit of history -- Eleanor Roosevelt was the ribbon-cutter for Greenbelt. Old Greenbelt still has some sort of affordable housing cooperative that dates back to that era.
Greenbelt is also on the Green Line (terminal stop). Some bad things about Greenbelt: Beltway Plaza (can I get a witness?). It sucks, and this is where you get groceries unless you live further up Greenbelt Rd near Cipriano/Safeway. It's the kind of shopping center where chances of some sort of petty crime are significant. Few stores of interest. A lot of people blame the very large Section 8 apt complex that is right behind the shopping center, but I disagree. Beltway Plaza has always sucked, long before Springhill Lake went Section 8.
You will find a range of real estate here from garden-style apts to nice single-family residences.
Hyattsville is a very broad area, so you'd have to be specific about where you are looking and what is important to you. It is a very mixed bag. There is still a solid population of blue-collar whites here, a lot of AAs, immigrants from Africa, Latinos. There's a gentrification attempt w/ some expensive townhouses (w/garage) right on Rt 1. If you're looking for a Catholic high school, De Matha is here. Both Riverdale and Hyattsville have "changes from block to block" type residential areas. Note that Riverdale has a few flop houses -- they look kind of seedy to me. As get close to DC, Hyattsville becomes very industrial.
The NE Branch trail is accessible from CP, Hyattsville, Riverdale and Mt Ranier. I am an avid cyclist and bike in and out of DC a lot on this trail. It also has options to get to Silver Spring (MoCo) easily. However, here are the facts of life for anyone still reading who is interested in Northern PG.
Just a few months ago I was coming up the trail, headed to CP. I was in the Hyattsville area. It was early morning and still dark. Ahead of me, I saw a car, which is *very* unusual for this narrow trail. I saw that it was PG police when the officer shined hiis spotlight on me. He leaned out of the window and asked: "While you were down there, did you hear gunshots?"
I am originally from MoCo and will probably never get 100% accustomed to the casual attitude in PG about crime, even from law enforcement. I will also mention that PG Co police have a bad reputation in the DC area. I have personally seen PG police throw young black men (15 yro) against the patrol vehicles to search them for no reason. It's not a racial issue, there's no difference between how the AA/Asian/white police interact with people. There's a long history of civil rights violations filed against PG police. A recent incident involved their barging into the house of the mayor of Berwyn Heights, yes, the mayor, and shooting his dogs. They were investigating a tip about a UPS package delivered to the house (pot, I think), which the mayor knew nothing about.
If you are looking for a "good government" jurisdiction w/ friendly, helpful police, do not move here. It is completely non-racial -- it's the same in the whiter areas. In fact, PG police had a bad reputation when the county was still majority-white.
This is really good info and pretty much sums up that part of the county. BTW,
Quote:
Greenbelt is also on the Green Line (terminal stop). Some bad things about Greenbelt: Beltway Plaza (can I get a witness?).
Since Mt Ranier is on your list, a few comments. Most of the white residents consider themselves politically progressive, but not in a limo lib sort of way. It's mixed with some clubs and largish range of the socioeconomic ladder. If you have kids, be aware that living there means accepting a few warts. Example: as you arrive in Mt Ranier via Rhode Island Ave from DC, the sign says: Welcome to Mt Ranier, MD. Prostitution will not be tolerated. Or as you're walking along a sidewalk, don't be surprised to step on hair weave extensions lying around here and there. Safety and degree of external home maintenance can really vary from block to block, so you have to be a detective when looking for your new home.
Absolute best thing to do is to join the Mt Ranier listserv to get your very specific questions answered.
College Park -- everybody keeps saying "for obvious reasons," but half the city population is permanent resident. University faculty who live in the area are primarily in University Park next door (expensive real estate but really nice homes), Berwyn Heights (same zip as College Park) or College Park itself.
North College Park is a mix of Latinos and blue-collar whites that have lived there a long time. Right now is a good time to hunt for a deal on a foreclosure in that area. The rate of influx of Latinos has declined since the 2008 crash. Instead, there's a steady stream of working class white coming from the Rust Belt. They land up there because it's easy to rent a house. I've not heard good things about these new arrivals, ask if you want to know more.
Best neighborhood in College Park for families that is affordable: College Park Woods. Largish single-family houses, some of them are college rentals, but it's not a problem. One of the state reps for the district lives in this neighborhood.
There are some very nice homes in CP located downtown and mixed in w/ the frat/sorority houses. Definitely white liberals.
I recommend putting College Park on your list of possibilities. The reason is because there are several new dorm-style high-rises on Rt 1 (the main drag) pulling students out of the neighborhoods. Investors are getting worried + there's been a ton of foreclosures. Good time to deal for a home. It's counter-intuitive as CP has always been considered a ripoff due to a housing shortage. The development is changing that. Other good things: university as a resource, DC metro (Green Line), MARC. Bad things: The main drag suffers from urban blight. It's drab. The reasons are too long to get into right now, let's just say local politics. Also, no major supermarket in College Park, proper.
Greenbelt is mixed. The draws here are NASA Goddard as an employer and Eleanor Roosevelt HS. This is a magnet school that is very strong in the sciences. The residents of Greenbelt who are associated w/ the Univ or Goddard are white collar professionals, and mainly liberals. There's also an older population of "FDR Democrats" -- you see them at the Labor Day parade or at New Deal Cafe, if that's still open. A bit of history -- Eleanor Roosevelt was the ribbon-cutter for Greenbelt. Old Greenbelt still has some sort of affordable housing cooperative that dates back to that era.
Greenbelt is also on the Green Line (terminal stop). Some bad things about Greenbelt: Beltway Plaza (can I get a witness?). It sucks, and this is where you get groceries unless you live further up Greenbelt Rd near Cipriano/Safeway. It's the kind of shopping center where chances of some sort of petty crime are significant. Few stores of interest. A lot of people blame the very large Section 8 apt complex that is right behind the shopping center, but I disagree. Beltway Plaza has always sucked, long before Springhill Lake went Section 8.
You will find a range of real estate here from garden-style apts to nice single-family residences.
Hyattsville is a very broad area, so you'd have to be specific about where you are looking and what is important to you. It is a very mixed bag. There is still a solid population of blue-collar whites here, a lot of AAs, immigrants from Africa, Latinos. There's a gentrification attempt w/ some expensive townhouses (w/garage) right on Rt 1. If you're looking for a Catholic high school, De Matha is here. Both Riverdale and Hyattsville have "changes from block to block" type residential areas. Note that Riverdale has a few flop houses -- they look kind of seedy to me. As get close to DC, Hyattsville becomes very industrial.
The NE Branch trail is accessible from CP, Hyattsville, Riverdale and Mt Ranier. I am an avid cyclist and bike in and out of DC a lot on this trail. It also has options to get to Silver Spring (MoCo) easily. However, here are the facts of life for anyone still reading who is interested in Northern PG.
Just a few months ago I was coming up the trail, headed to CP. I was in the Hyattsville area. It was early morning and still dark. Ahead of me, I saw a car, which is *very* unusual for this narrow trail. I saw that it was PG police when the officer shined hiis spotlight on me. He leaned out of the window and asked: "While you were down there, did you hear gunshots?"
I am originally from MoCo and will probably never get 100% accustomed to the casual attitude in PG about crime, even from law enforcement. I will also mention that PG Co police have a bad reputation in the DC area. I have personally seen PG police throw young black men (15 yro) against the patrol vehicles to search them for no reason. It's not a racial issue, there's no difference between how the AA/Asian/white police interact with people. There's a long history of civil rights violations filed against PG police. A recent incident involved their barging into the house of the mayor of Berwyn Heights, yes, the mayor, and shooting his dogs. They were investigating a tip about a UPS package delivered to the house (pot, I think), which the mayor knew nothing about.
If you are looking for a "good government" jurisdiction w/ friendly, helpful police, do not move here. It is completely non-racial -- it's the same in the whiter areas. In fact, PG police had a bad reputation when the county was still majority-white.
You forgot Langley Park, Adelphi, and Calverton (all bordering Silver Spring). I'd be interested in hearing your analysis on those neighborhoods.
Also, no major supermarket in College Park, proper.
Quote:
Greenbelt is also on the Green Line (terminal stop). Some bad things about Greenbelt: Beltway Plaza (can I get a witness?). It sucks, and this is where you get groceries unless you live further up Greenbelt Rd near Cipriano/Safeway.
I'll say amen to the Beltway Plaza reference. I do wonder, though, what happened to the Shopper's Food Warehouse on Route 1? They can't have shut that place down! It was always busy. Are you saying that it's gone?
OK, it will make it easier for people to have maps to refer to. I have color-coded Prince George's by census block. The legend tells the story.
Note that yellow = no peeps. Federal installations, shopping centers, parks, industrial etc.
In the next several posts, I'll break down some of the neighborhoods we've been talking about in NW PG. I will set transparency at 50% to see some of the underlying map detail.
The basic idea here ion the county-wide map is to note that whites are found predominantly near Southern MD, Bowie (central eastern border) and a smattering in NW PG. Not coincidentally, current Congressional boundaries are drawn to protect incumbent Steny Hoyer in the 5th, which includes most of the areas mentioned above as well as Southern MD. Donna Edwards represents the 4th, a minority-majority district which is basically the solid blue.
White means white, not of Hispanic origin, and not mixed-race.
This is the red dot in the upper NW corner of the county map. It is right on the boundary with Montgomery County. People like the easy access to I-95.
The neighborhood itself fairly politically active and is the most conservative (for PG) in Laurel. Assume managerial jobs at nearby WSSC and UPS. Lots of long-timers live here that have held positions in MD state house, Laurel City Council, etc.
The section marked Hollywood is North College Park, a very mixed neighborhood.
- Latinos
- new arrivals from Rust Belt (new trend)
- old-timers: retired empty-nesters, state workers, univ staff
- student house rentals
It's the least expensive area in CP because the houses were built around WW2 w/ no insulation. Small brick, small rooms, old kitchens, inadequate electrical wiring. Many have been renovated. There are also a few diamonds in the rough, look around.
Berwyn - also very mixed, more of a mix of lots as well. Lots of univ people, students, and just all kinds of folks. The state senator for this district (21) lives here.
Berwyn Heights - separated from Berwyn by Metrorail. Larger houses that can be utility hogs, many older Victorians. A fair number of university profs live here.
The dark, dark blue is Springhill Lake, now Section 8. Right in front of it, Beltway Plaza. At the NW corner of the blue patch, the Greenbelt Metro station, which has a rear entrance into North College Park.
Red Greenbelt - very close to NASA Goddard. Lot of white-collar here. The bluer areas is the Old Greenbelt housing co-op properties.
Greenbelt Park is a US National Park. Cheapest place to stay in the DC Metro area at $16/night for tent camping. Lots of people land up here when there's an event downtown.
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