The low down on Rockville, Gaithersburg, and the surrounding areas.

[David_J]

Originally Posted by Barry Rock

They say, Frederick is just a suburb of Montgomery County. Sure feels that way. That small town feel vanished a while back.

I maintain that Frederick city and other places along I-270 in the county are essentially an extension of upper Montgomery County, while other places like Thurmont and Brunswick are still radically different. Most new development is happening along I-270 anyway.

Frederick wouldn't actually be that bad of a choice for the OP (prices are lower than most of MoCo and schools are pretty good), but it is relatively detached compared to lower MoCo.

[arusha]

Originally Posted by wilsol09

Can't imagine asking locals for advice and then telling them that where they live has no soul and is a pseudo-city. This is an incredibly insensitive and rude OP and I'm surprised anyone bothered to answer sincerely when the tone of the inquiry was unpleasant and downright insulting in many ways.

Eh, I'm a local and I thought it was an accurate assessment

[tw71]

I don't think it's rude when you're just being honest.

You can "candy coat" things like some people prefer to do, but my experience with this area mirrors the OP's comments pretty closely, unfortunately.

Fact: DC itself is a unique construct. Look at all the DC license plates with the slogan on them, "Taxation Without Representation"! It's a Federal district, not a standard city at all! It's a bit like "Vatican City" is to the Catholic Church.

As for the surrounding "metro area"? Again, I say the lack of "soul" is a pretty factual claim. As someone said in another thread about the area - most people here are transplants from all over the place, only drawn here for the job opportunities (largely created by our government). There's not much sense of people having "roots" here. Everything with any ethnic flavor is haphazardly scattered around, mingled with chain stores and generic retailers and service industries.

Personally, I stand with the people who recommended to the original poster to look at outlying areas, vs. anything in Montgomery County itself. If you look at Clarksburg, MD for example, you'll find a town with real history and a small historic district, yet at the same time showing signs of growth and new development. It requires a bit more of a commute if you work in Rockville, Bethesda or DC -- but not really that much more of one, vs. more reasonable housing prices and a less "structured, planned community" feel to the whole area. By the same token, we're trying to buy a home out in Brunswick, MD for the same reasons. It's a small, former railroad town, with a history to it and a small, close-knit community where "everybody knows and looks out for everyone else in town". It still gets the fact that $250,000 is not just "peanuts" when shopping for a house, because the median income there is still more down to earth. The MARC train provides a fairly workable way to do the commute to the DC area from there (and that time spent on the train is YOUR time to read a book, listen to music, or whatever -- since you're not the one doing the driving).

Originally Posted by wilsol09

Can't imagine asking locals for advice and then telling them that where they live has no soul and is a pseudo-city. This is an incredibly insensitive and rude OP and I'm surprised anyone bothered to answer sincerely when the tone of the inquiry was unpleasant and downright insulting in many ways.

[edelweiss_girl]

Unless you absolutely have to, don't move. I used to live in Philly (oh how I miss my apartment on 3rd and Race), but got married and moved to Gaithersburg (super close to Rockville). If I could move back to Philly, I'd do it in less than a heartbeat. Seriously. The crime, the price tag, quality of living... just... pretty much everything, really isn't worth it.

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by edelweiss_girl

Unless you absolutely have to, don't move. I used to live in Philly (oh how I miss my apartment on 3rd and Race), but got married and moved to Gaithersburg (super close to Rockville). If I could move back to Philly, I'd do it in less than a heartbeat. Seriously. The crime, the price tag, quality of living... just... pretty much everything, really isn't worth it.

plus Philly is what I consider, a great spot on the map. Just an hour to beaches, to NY City, good sports town, China town, its a good city

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by tw71

I don't think it's rude when you're just being honest.

You can "candy coat" things like some people prefer to do, but my experience with this area mirrors the OP's comments pretty closely, unfortunately.

Fact: DC itself is a unique construct. Look at all the DC license plates with the slogan on them, "Taxation Without Representation"! It's a Federal district, not a standard city at all! It's a bit like "Vatican City" is to the Catholic Church.

As for the surrounding "metro area"? Again, I say the lack of "soul" is a pretty factual claim. As someone said in another thread about the area - most people here are transplants from all over the place, only drawn here for the job opportunities (largely created by our government). There's not much sense of people having "roots" here. Everything with any ethnic flavor is haphazardly scattered around, mingled with chain stores and generic retailers and service industries.

Personally, I stand with the people who recommended to the original poster to look at outlying areas, vs. anything in Montgomery County itself. If you look at Clarksburg, MD for example, you'll find a town with real history and a small historic district, yet at the same time showing signs of growth and new development. It requires a bit more of a commute if you work in Rockville, Bethesda or DC -- but not really that much more of one, vs. more reasonable housing prices and a less "structured, planned community" feel to the whole area. By the same token, we're trying to buy a home out in Brunswick, MD for the same reasons. It's a small, former railroad town, with a history to it and a small, close-knit community where "everybody knows and looks out for everyone else in town". It still gets the fact that $250,000 is not just "peanuts" when shopping for a house, because the median income there is still more down to earth. The MARC train provides a fairly workable way to do the commute to the DC area from there (and that time spent on the train is YOUR time to read a book, listen to music, or whatever -- since you're not the one doing the driving).

Its tough to disagree with some of this and if you get upset, you're being overly sensitive. I've lived here my entire life, no, DC isnt New York, it isn't Philly or Boston. But its coming around, it's just taking a 100 years to do so. The jobs are here, so people come and its always been a town of transplants, although I know tons of locals who grew up here. It is what it is, a lousy sports town yeah, beaches are far, but also plently to do here, its the nations capitol, lots of history, weather isnt that bad, I mean come on, no soul? Not sure about that, its all about what you like, your relationships, where you live and work, you can't just diss an entire major metro area.