Best walkable communities/neighborhoods? (Silver Spring, Gaithersburg: condos, violent crime, townhouses)

[banjoki]

Hello,
We are moving with 2 young kids to MD in spring. Have read many posts and done online research, but are still having trouble getting info on which communities and/or neighborhoods are walkable. Meaning there are stores, shops, library, school, parks, post office etc. (NOT a mall or strip malls off main roads) I can walk to with a small child and a stroller.

I'm coming from Massachusetts where even in the suburbs each town has a town center you can walk to, so you are not completely car dependent. From my research it seems MD is quite different-more suburban sprawl with malls rather than town centers or traditional shops. It does seem like parts of Silver Spring and Takoma Park fit the bill. Other than those areas, it seems that there are maybe some planned communities that might work- is this true? My husband will work in Greenbelt, so we can live anywhere in a reasonable commute to there. Greenbelt itself seems somewhat walkable but the schools are not good.

Any help would be appreciated!

[oneworld25]

Check out the Kentlands neighborhood in Gaithersburg.

[jklarman]

You might find a site that rates an area's "walkability" score. Pretty cool...
Get Your Walk Score - A Walkability Score For Any Address

[tonyc]

Originally Posted by oneworld25

Check out the Kentlands neighborhood in Gaithersburg.

yup, or neighbouring lakeland...kingsfarm is also nice, but expensive and not the best of schools. my niece lives in king farm and i'm in there quite a bit....excuse the caps, etc..tired.....

http://www.kingfarm.com/ website

[trying2moveup]

Main street Laurel, Laurel, MD

Unofficial Home Page - Laurel, Maryland - Community Events

[kjg1963]

Originally Posted by trying2moveup

Main street Laurel, Laurel, MD

Unofficial Home Page - Laurel, Maryland - Community Events

I second this one. I always promote Laurel and I'm glad there is another that sees some of its "charm" and small town feel (at least in the historic district, lol).

[crandolph]

Does anyone think Rockville Town Square is a good idea for OP or the similarly situated? There were folks commenting (some bashing) well over a year ago on this development, but seems like crickets since then. Has anything changed (for better or worse)? Walkability score is huge -- it was designed for that.

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by crandolph

Does anyone think Rockville Town Square is a good idea for OP or the similarly situated? There were folks commenting (some bashing) well over a year ago on this development, but seems like crickets since then. Has anything changed (for better or worse)? Walkability score is huge -- it was designed for that.

Rockville town square is nice and IS located near a metro stop- which is bonus for those who want to use public transport (and by near, I mean you can walk across Rt. 355 to it from Rockville TS). there is a library there as well, and theatres, a bunch of shops, etc.

I guess a better question is where is your husband (and you, if you work, outside the home) working and what is he/you willing to put up with in terms of a commute if you live in/near Rockville?

[liquideve]

Hoping to revive this post. Like the original poster, I'm going to be moving from MA and want to try to find a walkable community with most of the attributes listed in the original post. I hate the idea of going to the local mall or strip mall for my daily needs, even if I can walk to it. Here in MA I live in a residential neighborhood but can walk 10 minutes to public transit, pharmacy, grocery, dentist, bank, and half a dozen restaurants on a charming historical street of small shops. Would like to find the same in MD. I know this may be hard to find but we're open to a wide range of locations in Montgomery or PG Counties.

We're looking for single-family homes or townhouses (NOT condos or apts) in the $300-$450k range. (This price seems to keep us out of some promising areas like NW DC and Del Ray, VA.) Will be working in DC so access to public transit is a must. We don't have kids yet so the quality of the schools is not really a consideration for us. As for crime, we're not paranoid (we lived happily in Manhattan) so violent crime is really our only concern.

Thanks!

[cfreiman]

I recently visited the DC area specifically in search of the exact type of neighborhood that you describe -- one that has single family homes within walking distance of a village area that contains restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, services, etc. And has historic charm and character -- not a pre-fabricated "town center" like what exists in Reston, VA and downtown Rockville. The closest thing I found was Tacoma Park, but the village area is quite tiny. Silver Spring's downtown has an outdoor pedestrian mall but it is new and lacks the character and charm of an older, established village area. I also checked out College Park (charming houses but no village area other than a student-focused couple of blocks) and Alexandria, VA (has a bit of a village area but traffic was quite congested). I am at a loss...and am considering shifting my search to Philadelphia, PA instead. I'm curious of your research has yielded any other possibilities in MD?