Is Downtown Silver Spring living worth the high rental price? (Bethesda: apartments, house)

[Chloe_inMD]

Hi All,

I am considering relocating to Downtown Silver Spring. What can I say, I love the overall vibe, and whenever I'm down there I feel like I'm in shopping heaven.

I'm originally from NY, but I've lived in the Dc Metro area for a few years now (4 to be exact) and I definitely plan on staying, since I love my job/career. But I am wondering if it's worthwhile to pay $1900 to reside in the downtown Silver Spring area?

Does anyone reside in Downtown Silver Spring? If so, what do you like most about living in the area?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[bufflove]

My favorite thing is that it's a very diverse area that's constantly adding new and interesting amenities. I think it's unquestionably the most dynamic and interesting submarket in MoCo - if not the region - thanks to its balance of urban/suburban. I find it to have the best of both worlds in that it's very walkable, diverse, and dense like a city, but still has ample parking, parks, lower crime, and is family-friendly like a suburb.

There are constantly new places opening up, e.g. recent or planned places such as Urban Butcher, Denizens Brewery, Bump N' Grind, Scion, Mix, Olivia's View, Urban Winery, Pete's, Kaldi's, Zensai, etc. The vast majority of offerings are unique and interesting, as opposed to the usual suburban market which is largely chain-filled.

DTSS is also more affordable than other urbanized suburbs (Bethesda, Arlington), which is what spurs all of the above - the diversity and the ability for unique bars/restaurants to keep coming online. Bethesda, of course, has some interesting places open up from time to time, but more often than not the sky-high rents naturally mean only national chains can afford to move in.

$1900 is steep, but I'm sure a comparable apartment in Bethesda would be hundreds more.

[Chloe_inMD]

Originally Posted by bufflove

My favorite thing is that it's a very diverse area that's constantly adding new and interesting amenities. I think it's unquestionably the most dynamic and interesting submarket in MoCo - if not the region - thanks to its balance of urban/suburban. I find it to have the best of both worlds in that it's very walkable, diverse, and dense like a city, but still has ample parking, parks, lower crime, and is family-friendly like a suburb.

There are constantly new places opening up, e.g. recent or planned places such as Urban Butcher, Denizens Brewery, Bump N' Grind, Scion, Mix, Olivia's View, Urban Winery, Pete's, Kaldi's, Zensai, etc. The vast majority of offerings are unique and interesting, as opposed to the usual suburban market which is largely chain-filled.

DTSS is also more affordable than other urbanized suburbs (Bethesda, Arlington), which is what spurs all of the above - the diversity and the ability for unique bars/restaurants to keep coming online. Bethesda, of course, has some interesting places open up from time to time, but more often than not the sky-high rents naturally mean only national chains can afford to move in.

$1900 is steep, but I'm sure a comparable apartment in Bethesda would be hundreds more.

I'm sure there are some less expensive apartments in downtown Silver Spring, but I really like where my apartment is situated. It's basically right across from whole foods.

The area around downtown Silver Spring is the right mix of urban and suburban. I'm looking forward to relocating from Rockville, MD.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by Chloe_inMD

I'm sure there are some less expensive apartments in downtown Silver Spring, but I really like where my apartment is situated. It's basically right across from whole foods.

The area around downtown Silver Spring is the right mix of urban and suburban. I'm looking forward to relocating from Rockville, MD.

Citron? Very cool - welcome!

[Chloe_inMD]

120 views, but only 2 comments regarding my original post...

[Curbed Enthusiasm]

Originally Posted by Chloe_inMD

120 views, but only 2 comments regarding my original post...

Not sure what more there is to add. It's a very diverse area with a good vibe, a good mix of building densities, and lower housing costs that most other desirable areas in the DC metro area. I seriously considered moving there but it's too far from my office.

[Chloe_inMD]

Originally Posted by Curbed Enthusiasm

Not sure what more there is to add. It's a very diverse area with a good vibe, a good mix of building densities, and lower housing costs that most other desirable areas in the DC metro area. I seriously considered moving there but it's too far from my office.

Most of the newer, 1-bedroom apartments in Downtown Silver Spring are definitely not inexpensive.

I'm just wondering about the nightlife.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by Chloe_inMD

Most of the newer, 1-bedroom apartments in Downtown Silver Spring are definitely not inexpensive.

I'm just wondering about the nightlife.

Certainly not inexpensive, but largely cheaper than other urbanized, 1st ring suburbs (Bethesda, North Bethesda, Tysons, Reston, Rosslyn).

Nightlife is pretty good, but not a party/club scene or anything like that, a la AdMo or U St. Quarry House (a dive bar) and Sidebar (a cocktail bar) are exceptional. Society is a nice upscale lounge vibe. Olivia's View is a new rooftop bar on top of Society. Denizens is a new brewery/beer garden that's been a lot of fun for summer nights outside. Scion has an excellent craft beer selection - if that's your scene - but it's mostly a happy hour-type place. McGinty's is a fairly generic irish pub, but it has a spacious upstairs bar area that fills up nicely on the weekends. Fire Station 1 is a overpriced sports bar, but is fine for catching a game. Piratz Tavern is a bar where staff dress up as pirates. Yes, you read that right. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds.

The Fillmore is a performance venue - very nice space and they get a very wide range of performers/genres and also hold events, e.g. a local craft beer festival the other night. AFI is considered one of the best movie theaters in the region that runs indie films, as well as film festivals and older films/cult classics. Regal is the basic movie theater, though it's huge and has IMAX/3D showings. The Silver Spring Black Box Theater is what it sounds like (about 150 person blackbox play performance).

There are more than 150 restaurants in Silver Spring - many of them excellent - including cuisines from about every corner of the world.

[Chloe_inMD]

Originally Posted by bufflove

Certainly not inexpensive, but largely cheaper than other urbanized, 1st ring suburbs (Bethesda, North Bethesda, Tysons, Reston, Rosslyn).

Nightlife is pretty good, but not a party/club scene or anything like that, a la AdMo or U St. Quarry House (a dive bar) and Sidebar (a cocktail bar) are exceptional. Society is a nice upscale lounge vibe. Olivia's View is a new rooftop bar on top of Society. Denizens is a new brewery/beer garden that's been a lot of fun for summer nights outside. Scion has an excellent craft beer selection - if that's your scene - but it's mostly a happy hour-type place. McGinty's is a fairly generic irish pub, but it has a spacious upstairs bar area that fills up nicely on the weekends. Fire Station 1 is a overpriced sports bar, but is fine for catching a game. Piratz Tavern is a bar where staff dress up as pirates. Yes, you read that right. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds.

The Fillmore is a performance venue - very nice space and they get a very wide range of performers/genres and also hold events, e.g. a local craft beer festival the other night. AFI is considered one of the best movie theaters in the region that runs indie films, as well as film festivals and older films/cult classics. Regal is the basic movie theater, though it's huge and has IMAX/3D showings. The Silver Spring Black Box Theater is what it sounds like (about 150 person blackbox play performance).

There are more than 150 restaurants in Silver Spring - many of them excellent - including cuisines from about every corner of the world.

Thank you very much for taking the time to post all of the above information. I greatly appreciate it.

I am looking forward to exploring Society, Olivia's View, the Fillmore and AFI.

[badchad]

Nope. Not worth it.