Bowie, Prince Georges County, Maryland (Annapolis, College Park: apartments, low crime, houses)

[GoRangers]

Hi everyone,

I had posted another forum because we are considering moving to the DC Metro area. I want to know why Bowie (which seems like a nice town from my research) is significantly cheaper than towns in other surrounding counties in Metro Maryland and NoVA?

Before looking any further in depth, is there something that I should be concerned about with this town? If it's schools, my children are in college so that will not be an issue. I want to know if the town is safe? Are there any other towns one would recommend in PWC.

[justtitans]

It's the county that is the reason why Bowie has lower prices. If you took the same city and seceded it from the county, property value would rise. There really isn't a whole lot that is wrong with Bowie other than it being lumped into the bad rep of the rest of PG. The schools are actually good for the most part, so that doesn't have a role. If you are looking for a nice place for a cheaper price Bowie is certainly comparable to other areas.

As far as PWC,I think you mean PG. Greenbelt is nice, Laurel is decent (20708 zip code is much safer than the 20707 zip code) and College Park area has become very popular over the years and is seeing a lot of development.

[GoRangers]

Thanks for your response. I understand parts of PGC have high crime, but would you label the whole county as high crime or is the county relatively safe? If I go out shopping, am I going to have to watch my back or worry about my car getting broken into?

Please pour out as much info as you can about the county.

Thank you!

[RamblingMan]

Originally Posted by GoRangers

Thanks for your response. I understand parts of PGC have high crime, but would you label the whole county as high crime or is the county relatively safe? If I go out shopping, am I going to have to watch my back or worry about my car getting broken into?

Please pour out as much info as you can about the county.

Thank you!

Prince George's County is 500 square miles (more land area than New York City) and has almost a million people. It is basically too big for generalizations to be useful. There are areas with high crime and areas with low crime. If you search the forums, you'll find plenty of discussions about PG County and plenty of strong opinions. In my view, many of those who have the most negative opinions tend to incorrectly generalize about the whole county.

There's no substitution for seeing things yourself. If you're interested in PG, I'd strongly recommend that you take a look at the specific neighborhoods for yourself rather than rely on outside opinions. When my wife and I were looking for houses a few years ago we really thought we'd wind up in North Arlington or Old Town Alexandria and were very surprised to find that the property we liked best was in Fort Washington.

Annapolis is still my top recommendation for you, but if I personally were looking at PG and the commute was not important, I'd strongly consider the Moyaone Preserve in Accokeek. It might not be what you're looking for, though.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by GoRangers

Thanks for your response. I understand parts of PGC have high crime, but would you label the whole county as high crime or is the county relatively safe? If I go out shopping, am I going to have to watch my back or worry about my car getting broken into?

Please pour out as much info as you can about the county.

Thank you!

No, the whole county is not "high crime". I lived in Beltsville and College Park for 6 years and never had an issue. I didn't live in the nicest apartments either. I do stay aware of my surroundings, but I do that everywhere. Bowie is a pretty good place to live.