Safe and descent cities in Montogomery county

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by tercel95

It depends on how you look at it, Jacksonville has a very urban downtown with a big skyline that is densely populated but it also has many rural areas that are all encompassed in the "city" of Jacksonville...

Which would seem to make their violent crime problem worse, since most of that would not be occuring in rural, sparsely populated areas.

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

Which would seem to make their violent crime problem worse, since most of that would not be occuring in rural, sparsely populated areas.

But the overall population is not that much more than DC or Baltimore, so less crime per square mile... It depends on how you want to look at it...

Anyways my point is that Mo county is not the be all end all escape from the city that some people tout it as...

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by tercel95

Anyways my point is that Mo county is not the be all end all escape from the city that some people tout it as...

I don't think anyone has challenged that. What was challenged was the image presented of an area rife with crime where one could scarcely escape its clutches.

[USAngel]

Originally Posted by cpterp

Despite what some are saying, most of Montgomery County is overall generally safe, although that seems to be a very relative word here. Just stay away from certain spots of Gaithersburg and Silver Spring, and if you want "ultimate safety" move to Potomac, Bethesda, or Chevy Chase (if you can afford it), or go to a more rural (another relative word) or outlying area such as Poolesville, Damacus, or Clarksburg.

I will admit though that the county does have an idiotic policy (this coming from a liberal) of requiring low-income housing in practically every development, as some others mentioned already, which is basically asking for crime.

It seems unfair to say that low income = crime, but I guess statistically speaking, it's true. Thanks to college I had a HUGE jump in income, but while I was one of those low income people you mention, I nor anyone I know have ever committed a crime in our lives. Like most policy, I think the idea or requiring low income housing within most developments was good and meant to help low income families who also want better jobs and better schools for their children, but sometimes it just doesn't work. It's hard to live next door to someone who doesn't want you there in the first place.

However, noone is breaking into our low income housing. They are going to your middle and high class neighborhoods. (joke)

[USAngel]

Originally Posted by tercel95

I'm talking from my own first hand experience, so call it nonsense all you want... When I lived in Silver Spring our house got broken into multiple times, that is when my Dad decided to move to Olney... In Olney I have been jumped, held at knife point, had our house broken into, had a number of things stolen from outside our house (including my power wheels, yes I am still bitter about that), our cars on the road were vandalized multiple times... I went to elementary middle and high school in Olney and I can remember seeing lots of drugs in the schools and a lot of the conduct that goes with drugs... I saw kids with guns and knives in the high school, fights all of the time, someone firebombed the computer lab, someone got stabbed at a football game... Perhaps you haven't seen things from a youthful perspective?

Maybe you are right and I just had a really bad experience... I'm not just talking out of my @ss here like you are trying to make it seem...

I use my time in Southern MD as a comparison... I finished up high school there... There was hardly any violent crime and crime as a whole was much less of an issue... The high school I went to was safe and I can only recall one or two fights the whole time I was there... Again perhaps I just had a traumatic childhood in Mo county but I felt so much safer in Southern MD...

Well all of that happened in your own neighborhood, but that doesn't speak for the whole county or even your "up the street" comments. I think you are just plain bitter, but that's only my guess. You can live in the most wealthy neighborhood in the country and there will be SOME sort of crime there, surely that doesn't ALL come from poor neighborhoods. What I'm worried about is the overall feel and quality of life, not the statistics. Are there crimes like bullies, teenage vandals and fights in the school or were there shootouts in the streets? The stats don't tell you all of that, but if someone has a link to stats that do, please let me know. DC metro is not looking good for my relocation plans.

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by USAngel

Well all of that happened in your own neighborhood, but that doesn't speak for the whole county or even your "up the street" comments. I think you are just plain bitter, but that's only my guess. You can live in the most wealthy neighborhood in the country and there will be SOME sort of crime there, surely that doesn't ALL come from poor neighborhoods. What I'm worried about is the overall feel and quality of life, not the statistics. Are there crimes like bullies, teenage vandals and fights in the school or were there shootouts in the streets? The stats don't tell you all of that, but if someone has a link to stats that do, please let me know. DC metro is not looking good for my relocation plans.

You're right I am bitter that I had to grow up in that area when there were other areas in MD that were much nicer in my opinion...

It certainly isn't a warzone or anything to that extent but it isn't the wonderful escape from the city that some people seem to think it is...

Some of the crime is stupid punk kids but some of it is also serious crime... There are plenty of drugs around and people that carry weapons... I am only speaking of the areas I have direct experience with which would be Silver Spring and Olney... Even if you live in a nice area like Olney the rougher areas are only minutes away...

I just think there are nicer and cheaper options in MD if you want to get away from the city even with somewhat reasonable commutes into DC...