You are a Middle Class Family, Would you Move to Prince George's County? (Germantown: middle-class, rentals)

[justtitans]

It's so interesting to consider the perspective of different people who move to this area. Usually their request for finding a place starts of with the usual I would like a place that is affordable, safe, near a metro, close to work for a short commute, with good schools and nice amenities. Sadly, in this reality that we live in, such a place does not exist, especially in the Washington DC area, where you are likely to give up some combination of those things in order to find peace of mind. There are varying opinions about Prince George's County. Of course, considering how large it is, there are varying places that either fit or do not fit the description closely of what individuals are looking for. In this topic, I am talking about a family, hypothetical or not, that has young school-age kids, who is looking for a long term place to raise their family. The question is, if you had to choose (whether you already made that decision or not) would you choose Prince George's County to raise your family? Why or why not?

[molukai]

I have happily chosen my family's home to be in Fort Washington of Prince Georges County. It requires a personal vehicle to commute to DC, but it takes a very manageable amount of time to get from point A to point B even during rush hour periods. It also lacks a dedicated middle-class shopping area, but it does have very nice amenities (i.e. national park, YMCA, golf club, National Harbor). Lastly, the public schools leave much to be desired but the relatively low housing prices make private school an affordable option.

[MacSmooth]

I grew up and spent 31 years of my life in PG County (Laurel). When my wife and I were planning to buy a house last year, we considered Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George's County. The only thing that we were sure of is that we wanted to be in Laurel or close to it.

For us, since we're looking to start a family, one of our most important considerations was the school system. I'm a product of PG County Schools (Oaklands and Montpelier Elementary, Eisenhower Middle and Laurel High) and though I came out ok, I know Howard County's System is significantly better. I will admit, the low home price in PG County was very tempting. If school wasn't a consideration, it would have been a much harder decision.

[Mr Spock]

If I were black, in a heart beat! Yes. Being White, No.

I liked Fort Washington, Upper Marlboro, Bowie and many areas outside the beltway. I liked how it is still open and wooded and looks like Fairfax County did in the 1970s. I find the people more laid back and friendly in PG County than in Fairfax VA. But as a white person I would feel out of place just like a black man would in Clifton/Fairfax VA where I rarely see any black people.

[scrapper105]

Our family is Caucasian and I would choose any of the communities in the Route 1 corridor in a heartbeat again. There's just something about these communities that seems to engender a sort of neighborliness. People that are dismissing the county out of hand because of the schools (instead of evaluating each school on a case by case basis) are being short-sighted.

[Fast GTO]

PG County is pretty big. I moved here but there are a lot of places I wouldn't go in PG county.

[JavaChip3]

If I can afford private schools in that budget, I would strongly consider PG.

[dkf747]

I did move my family there for a while, but when my kids started reaching middle school age we left for Montgomery. We found the perfect place for us there.

[tw71]

I still haven't lived here long enough to say with any certainty!

When I was first moving up here and researching things, it was like a broken record, hearing people warn me over and over and over, "You want to stay in Montgomery County for the good schools. Whatever you do, don't consider anything in Prince George!" Even realtors who aren't supposed to comment on such things, by law, would find sneaky ways to imply the same.

I will say that my brief experience working with some of the public school kids (grade-schoolers) in PG near the Anacostia River, confirmed much of what I was warned about. By and large, it was a "rough crowd" ... Good-hearted kids but a strong sense they came from rough backgrounds and many were clearly not the brightest.

But the longer I'm here, the more I realize that some people's idea of "crime ridden" is VASTLY different than mine! Where I come from, the nightly TV news spends the first 10-15 minutes of each broadcast rattling off the latest shootings, drug busts, car thefts, rapes, and more, before getting to the sports and weather. Still, I never felt "unsafe" in the city as long as I used a little common sense about where it was ok to walk after dark and where it probably wasn't, etc.

As a few others commented on these forums too, I was told a few times that I'd probably want to be wary of Germantown or the College Park areas, since they have "a lot of crime and gang problems". Gang problems? Seriously?! I laugh at the pathetic excuses for gangs then, out here!

More and more, I'm appalled by what people are willing to pay for real-estate in Montgomery County (whether rentals or actually buying a property). When my townhouse lease runs out, way out here in Poolesville (where I actually found something with 3 bedrooms that didn't eat up 75% of my monthly take home pay), I'll give a lot of consideration to Prince George, most likely. I have a strong feeling there are deals to be had there, and the MoCo folks are just bad-mouthing it to justify their overpaying for what they've got.

[molukai]

Fort Washington is definitely becoming 'less black'. Totally ignoring National Harbor nearby, about 30-40% of the people I see while going to the local grocery store or restaurants are white. I have also noticed an uptick of non-Filipino Asians in the area. Sure, this is anecdotal based on my observations at any given time, but I think that due to the neighborliness and progressiveness of Fort Washington it is encouraging a more multi-cultural atmosphere. If I was a betting man, I'd bet that there will be a sudden point in the near future where developers are going to crowd to get in on the Oxon Hill and Fort Washington areas.