Silver Springs Area (crime rates, lawyers, buying a house)

[LPMART1000]

Female College grad, lived very sheltered suburban life in NY Westchester County. Taking a job in D.C. How safe is Silver Springs area for someone with this background? Thinks riding the train will be safe at night too.

[reiflame]

Silver Spring. No S.

Parts of it are fine, parts are a little sketch, but like all of Montgomery County, you'll never experience city-level crime rates here.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by LPMART1000

Female College grad, lived very sheltered suburban life in NY Westchester County. Taking a job in D.C. How safe is Silver Springs area for someone with this background? Thinks riding the train will be safe at night too.

It is safe enough as long as a woman take reasonable care. That is, if it is after dark, stay near groups and ride the bus or taxis if you don't feel safe walking home. I would carry pepper spray and a loud alarm if I had to walk much after dark.

[Tuneful]

Your question seems odd. I would think the question should be, how safe is an area for women of any background, not just from affluent Westchester County, NY?
However, goldenage put the cautions well.
I would say around the Metro in well-lit areas with people around will be no problem but I would be careful about other neighborhoods I'd go walking alone in after dark. Also, SS is a really big area. You have to see them and check them out.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Tuneful

I would say around the Metro in well-lit areas with people around will be no problem but I would be careful about other neighborhoods I'd go walking alone in after dark. Also, SS is a really big area. You have to see them and check them out.

You don't have to worry about safety all the time. However, in the 30 years I lived in the area, I can remember several murders or rapes of women who were jogging in parks or walking home from bus stops. Purse snatching in dark areas is also common, as are assaults in parking garages.

[dh32]

I've lived near downtown silver spring for 3 years and never had any problems or ever felt unsafe. They have a thriving shopping area with a whole foods, starbucks, and more moms in yoga pants with expensive strollers than should be possible (I'm one of them). It's a city with a population greater than Washington DC. THere are good parts, bad parts, and bad things can happen in good parts. However, many of my neighbors are lawyers, professionals, non-profit staffers, etc. We feel comfortable enough that we're buying a house here, and I regularly take our young daughter for long walks in the evening (even after dark).