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Let me ask you though, what would be your tolerance level? What would have to happen for you to say you would want to move?
1. High frequency of theft of personal property (home) or theft of my close neighbors' homes. By high frequency I would say at least once a year.
2. Car stolen or broken into more than once or twice.
3. Home invasion with or without physical harm to me or my wife. (unless the criminal is caught)
4. Frequent random shootings of people in public shopping areas that my wife and I frequently shop (Hyattsville, College Park, Silver Spring). At least a shooting per week.
5. Frequent random muggings that happen at all times during the day in those same areas that we frequent. At least two or three per week.
6. Growing gang violence up to the point where I have to give pause to where I travel at certain times of the day.
Either I have been lucky, or that my neighborhood is pretty safe. The murder that occurred yesterday is about 2 miles from where my neighborhood is and it is unclear if the shooting was random or not. Therefore I don't feel any less safe.
I understand that people have different perceptions and tolerance levels. A lot of crime that happens around me doesn't affect my quality of life. When I go out, I never feel as though my life hangs in the balance. For some people, that feeling is very real. I always say that safety is what you make it. Don't walk alone in a dark alley at midnight. Be smart about where you park and how well lit the areas are. This won't eliminate the risk, but it can help reduce it. There are good ideas for any urban area.
I'll add that Takoma Park borders and is less than two miles from Langley Park. Silver Spring borders Wheaton, and EYA arts district borders Bladensburg and NE DC. There are pockets of nice neighborhoods surrounded by high crime areas all over the place. Yet Takoma Park is still desired by many as is Silver Spring and the newer parts of Hyattsville. It's all about tolerance and perception.
Last edited by adelphi_sky; 02-01-2012 at 09:55 AM..
1. High frequency of theft of personal property (home) or theft of my close neighbors' homes. By high frequency I would say at least once a year.
2. Car stolen or broken into more than once or twice.
3. Home invasion with or without physical harm to me or my wife. (unless the criminal is caught)
4. Frequent random shootings of people in public shopping areas that my wife and I frequently shop (Hyattsville, College Park, Silver Spring). At least a shooting per week.
5. Frequent random muggings that happen at all times during the day in those same areas that we frequent. At least two or three per week.
6. Growing gang violence up to the point where I have to give pause to where I travel at certain times of the day.
Either I have been lucky, or that my neighborhood is pretty safe. The murder that occurred yesterday is about 2 miles from where my neighborhood is and it is unclear if the shooting was random or not. Therefore I don't feel any less safe.
I understand that people have different perceptions and tolerance levels. A lot of crime that happens around me doesn't affect my quality of life. When I go out, I never feel as though my life hangs in the balance. For some people, that feeling is very real. I always say that safety is what you make it. Don't walk alone in a dark alley at midnight. Be smart about where you park and how well lit the areas are. This won't eliminate the risk, but it can help reduce it. There are good ideas for any urban area.
I'll add that Takoma Park borders and is less than two miles from Langley Park. Silver Spring borders Wheaton, and EYA arts district borders Bladensburg and NE DC. There are pockets of nice neighborhoods surrounded by high crime areas all over the place. Yet Takoma Park is still desired by many as is Silver Spring and the newer parts of Hyattsville. It's all about tolerance and perception.
While it may not affect you on a personal level it affects you on a macro level in terms of depressed values for your home (if you own), increase taxation to fund the cops that give the appearance of safety and several other reasons.
It's a shame when folks think that since they are not personally affected by crime it's of little consequence. I find this attitude a lot in the Black community, a high tolerance for crime and tomfoolery.
Just yesterday on WOLB they were discussing a case where garbage truck drivers in Baltimore were holding a craps and drinking party on the clock on government property. The host, "Coach", was incredulous and thought many more people should be fired. Most of the callers disagreed and in fact were angry with him. They seemed to be ok with government employees gambling and drinking on the job because, "it's a tradition", "the supervisor knew about", "the job is tough", "they shouldn't be fired because they don't have an education" etc.
Ok. The schools are bad, or at the very least, extremely questionable. I get it, and I've read a lot of the many many debates on this forum about this subject. Like I said, I have a newborn, and this is not something I am going to worry about right at this minute. The reason I am beginning to look at the homes in PG county is because the price difference is *so extreme* that I would rather spend that money on a decent private school of my choice then be stuck in a crappy house for however many years. What concerns me more is the increase, or potential increase in crime in the county, and whether this crime could spread to areas like Bowie and Upper Marlboro. No one has a crystal ball, but I just want people's opinions on these issues. What's good, what's bad, what areas to avoid, what schools are good, what's the cost of living, what's the commute like to dc, etc...
I grew up in a mostly black middle class NY Suburb. My mom purchased the home because she wanted a very nice place to live. To make a long story short, the house had all of the 'bells and whistles,' but unfortunately, the school system was horrible. Fast forward 25 years later. The neighborhood property value depreciated greatly. All of the middle class people moved out and now it's mostly filled with low income immigrant families (who rent out rooms to day laborers). My mom is preparing for retirement, but unfortunately, she can not sell the property because the value plummeted, and she doesn't want to just give it away.
In the long run, you may find that the NOVA homes within your price range don't have all of the bells and whistles, but they are still better than PG county homes because they will hold their value (at a minimum) or possibly appreciate in the long term. Also, if you move to fairfax, your children will have access to the best schools in the country, and that's priceless.
If I had children, I would definitely want them to live in the best/safest community and have access to stellar schools.
Last edited by Alexandria2000; 02-01-2012 at 06:45 PM..
While it may not affect you on a personal level it affects you on a macro level in terms of depressed values for your home (if you own), increase taxation to fund the cops that give the appearance of safety and several other reasons.
It's a shame when folks think that since they are not personally affected by crime it's of little consequence. I find this attitude a lot in the Black community, a high tolerance for crime and tomfoolery.
Just yesterday on WOLB they were discussing a case where garbage truck drivers in Baltimore were holding a craps and drinking party on the clock on government property. The host, "Coach", was incredulous and thought many more people should be fired. Most of the callers disagreed and in fact were angry with him. They seemed to be ok with government employees gambling and drinking on the job because, "it's a tradition", "the supervisor knew about", "the job is tough", "they shouldn't be fired because they don't have an education" etc.
Slow down dude. The question asked was what crime would make me move. My answer was that if I wasn't directly affected, it wouldn't make me move. My goodness! I know crime lowers property values, etc. which affects me indirectly. But will that make me pick up my family and leave my home of 15 years, not really. I can say the same for all of my other neighbors who have lived here for more than 30 years. It doesn't mean they don't care about crime. Obviously crime is not so bad here that people haven't left in droves. People on my culdesac are having children and raising families. Apparently the crime hasn't compelled them to move either. Does that mean they don't care? No. I go to my civic association meetings and we discuss crime. But outside of notifying police about something, there's not much one can do. I expect the police to do their job. If they don't, I can use my vote for the next police chief. Simple as that.
And what's with this high tolerance of crime? Last time I checked vigilantism is against the law. I fight crime with my vote and paying taxes. What else do you expect me to do? I would assume that by me staying here, it makes the neighborhood just a little better by me not bring another criminal. Of course I could say to hell with this county and move to Montgomery County. But for what? There are robberies and murders in Montgomery County too. If people moved every time someone got shot there would be no since of neighborhood.
And how does drinking or gambling on the job relate to me moving or staying based on how crime affects me as an individual person?
In the long run, you may find that the NOVA homes within your price range don't have all of the bells and whistles, but they are still better than PG county homes because they will hold their value (at a minimum) or possibly appreciate in the long term. Also, if you move to fairfax, your children will have access to the best schools in the country, and that's priceless.
If I had children, I would definitely want them to live in the best/safest community and have access to stellar schools.
What are you, the Fairfax County cheerleading squad? Ok, I would like to address something. No one wants to live in a place that is not the "best/safest," but sometimes, you have to make choices. I grew up in Appalachia, and guess what- life was cheap and the schools were not fantastic, and I ended up going to a top undergrad and grad school with scholarships and everyone I know who wasn't stoned through high school did absolutely great. This is because we worked our butts off, not because our school offered Mandarin or multivariable calculus. Great schools are not "priceless." As a matter of fact, schooling has a very distinct price, if you're willing to pay it. I indicated that I am willing to pay for a school of my choice for my child, who is still an infant. Nor am I some sort of yuppie that wants a mcmansion or "bells and whistles." Here is my list, which I actually wrote down, of minimal needs for my home:
1. one garage or carport
2. a kitchen that I could comfortably bake a cake in (i.e. enough space for supplies and a kitchenaid)
3. enough space, somewhere in the house, that I could put my clothes (be it closets or a basement space)
4. a yard of some sort
5. a master bath
6. a decent (less than 1 hour) commute for me and my husband
That's it, and for $350-400,000, I could not find some version of that list that I liked, even in parts of NOVA that are not fantastic. Guess what, not every school in Fairfax county is totally awesome. We looked at houses nearby low-income apartment buildings full of sketchy looking people that were crap and were around $400k and that sold for $400k. We spent over six months looking in NOVA, we actually bid on two houses (and lost), and believe me, I did my research, I knew the statistics on every school, the prices of houses on every street, and I came to this conclusion:
NOVA is extremely overrated.
The monstrous traffic, the strip malls everywhere, the inflated housing prices, it just wasn't for me. I have friends who live in NOVA, and have a horrible commute, and are constantly trying to one-up my other friends who live in NOVA, and guess what? Every time I see them they look more haggard and miserable, and are up to their ears in debt. NOT MY STYLE. PGC may be all churches and dollar stores, but I'm fine with that. I LOVE the dollar store. My real concern, like I said, is crime going out of control.
Also, a house may be an investment, but like all investments, there's a risk. Do you think the people buying in NOVA in 2005 thought that their homes would have dropped in price by at least tens of thousands of dollars by 2011? Because that's what happened, even in NOVA.
So right now, I am staying put. I am thinking of just staying in my apartment and waiting to see if maybe my husband or I will find a great job somewhere else. But part of me just wants to move to PG County just to defy all these people who act like Northern Virginia is somewhere between Hawaii and Heaven. It is not. Please forgive me if my tone was too snarky.
What are you, the Fairfax County cheerleading squad? Ok, I would like to address something. No one wants to live in a place that is not the "best/safest," but sometimes, you have to make choices. I grew up in Appalachia, and guess what- life was cheap and the schools were not fantastic, and I ended up going to a top undergrad and grad school with scholarships and everyone I know who wasn't stoned through high school did absolutely great. This is because we worked our butts off, not because our school offered Mandarin or multivariable calculus. Great schools are not "priceless." As a matter of fact, schooling has a very distinct price, if you're willing to pay it. I indicated that I am willing to pay for a school of my choice for my child, who is still an infant. Nor am I some sort of yuppie that wants a mcmansion or "bells and whistles." Here is my list, which I actually wrote down, of minimal needs for my home:
1. one garage or carport
2. a kitchen that I could comfortably bake a cake in (i.e. enough space for supplies and a kitchenaid)
3. enough space, somewhere in the house, that I could put my clothes (be it closets or a basement space)
4. a yard of some sort
5. a master bath
6. a decent (less than 1 hour) commute for me and my husband
That's it, and for $350-400,000, I could not find some version of that list that I liked, even in parts of NOVA that are not fantastic. Guess what, not every school in Fairfax county is totally awesome. We looked at houses nearby low-income apartment buildings full of sketchy looking people that were crap and were around $400k and that sold for $400k. We spent over six months looking in NOVA, we actually bid on two houses (and lost), and believe me, I did my research, I knew the statistics on every school, the prices of houses on every street, and I came to this conclusion:
NOVA is extremely overrated.
The monstrous traffic, the strip malls everywhere, the inflated housing prices, it just wasn't for me. I have friends who live in NOVA, and have a horrible commute, and are constantly trying to one-up my other friends who live in NOVA, and guess what? Every time I see them they look more haggard and miserable, and are up to their ears in debt. NOT MY STYLE. PGC may be all churches and dollar stores, but I'm fine with that. I LOVE the dollar store. My real concern, like I said, is crime going out of control.
Also, a house may be an investment, but like all investments, there's a risk. Do you think the people buying in NOVA in 2005 thought that their homes would have dropped in price by at least tens of thousands of dollars by 2011? Because that's what happened, even in NOVA.
So right now, I am staying put. I am thinking of just staying in my apartment and waiting to see if maybe my husband or I will find a great job somewhere else. But part of me just wants to move to PG County just to defy all these people who act like Northern Virginia is somewhere between Hawaii and Heaven. It is not. Please forgive me if my tone was too snarky.
Why are you so hostile? If you've already made up your mind, then why even bother to ask?
Are you one of those who just want to hear it's OK to move to PG?
It is OK to move to PG. Crime is everywhere. Not all schools are great in MoCo and NOVA. Private schools are available in PG. Life success doesn't depend on schools but on individual efforts and individuals are all different and unique.
I am sick of those who ask a question to hear what they want to hear.
Why are you so hostile? If you've already made up your mind, then why even bother to ask?
Are you one of those who just want to hear it's OK to move to PG?
It is OK to move to PG. Crime is everywhere. Not all schools are great in MoCo and NOVA. Private schools are available in PG. Life success doesn't depend on schools but on individual efforts and individuals are all different and unique.
I am sick of those who ask a question to hear what they want to hear.
Don't you think that some posts about PG should be about PG? or at least Maryland? What good does it do to recommend NoVa to someone interested in PG?
I'm sorry if my tone seemed hostile. It's harder to control your tone in writing. I just sort of resent the idea (and this is sort of based on my experience in real life, not on this internet forum) that you do yourself a disservice when you decide not to live in Fairfax County or somewhere else in NOVA. I can't afford NOVA, and I have spent a lot of time there and I don't even like it that much. I had what I consider to be a fairly traumatic house search in Fairfax county, and I'm not really interested in living there anymore, and I think people act like it's the Holy Grail when it's really just so-so. I think that if I am going to be on the hook for a $400k house I better REALLY REALLY like it, and the area that it is in, and that wasn't the case in Virginia. If I decide that I don't want to live in PG County I'll probably just stay where I am in Silver Spring or find another place in Montgomery County, because I like it here too.
ZIMAR -- I share every one of your frustrations. My husband and I have been renting in Fairfax County (inside the beltway) for 11 years now. Two years ago we gave up on ever finding a decent-priced house inside the beltway in NOVA and started house shopping in Montgomery County. Last fall -- after doing much research -- we expanded our search to northern PG County. Prices in PG County are way, way better than FX County. You can get so much more house for the money, with a decent-sized yard, in a neighborhood that's not full of cookie-cutter houses. I agree that Northern Virginia is overrated. We don't have kids, so schools are not an issue for us. PG County has a lot of nice amenities -- UMD, the Metro's Green line, the planned Purple Line, proximity to DC and my job, great hiking and biking trails (Lake Artemesia). There's a LOT of redevelopment going on in Hyattsville and along Route 1. It's the next up-and-coming place. Virginia is super expensive, crowded, and there's a lot of unsightly, crappy development that's not going away anytime soon (Columbia Pike, Highway 7). I'm so sick of looking at $500K crackerbox houses with tiny kitchens, no garages. I'm not about to spend $750K on a 1,500-square-foot starter house. The area in PG County where we're looking is full of good-size houses built in the 20s, 30s, and 40s -- which we love -- each one unique and well-kept, that's walking distance to the Metro, all for way under $500K. What's not to like?
Don't you think that some posts about PG should be about PG? or at least Maryland? What good does it do to recommend NoVa to someone interested in PG?
Gee, she was talking about her childhood experience in NY and suggested that good schools would help prop up the value of house in the long run.
People compare different areas all the time and it does good to talk about all possibilities to someone who has not made up mind but is really thinking about moving.
I've seen blatant attacks on PG and this was not such a crap. Rather, OP's response was just a total crap.
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