New to DC: Is Bethesda *too* safe? (Silver Spring, Germantown: cliquey, apartment complexes)

[Devastator]

Hi! I'm a 27 year black male of Caribbean heritage moving to Bethesda in about two months from the UK. I've been investigating Bethesda and landed on this forum where I saw the "snobby" thread.

I know its weird to ask if a place is too safe but basically I'm wondering if the town has any edge or authenticity whatsoever to it. From what I've read I'd much rather have ended up in Silver Spring but for various reasons an equivalent unit is $200-400 more in Silver Spring, which is a lot of change for my situation.

My worry is:

- Is Bethesda the type of town where people will cross the street if I'm walking home at night from the tube?
- Is there any diversity whatsoever--at least either ethnic or socioeconomic?
- Any nice but simple cuisine in the town or is it all fine, bourgouise 5-course dining or chains?
- If I'm out of luck are other more fun, relaxing or down to earth places relatively close enough that one can spend their day over the weekend?
- I know it is not going to be like DC proper, but are most condo/apartment complexes there young professionals, old people, families....?
- I read that there are a few bars. Are the women friendly there?

Keep in mind I'm ignorant but I'm going by what I read on the internet and I'm a little worried of the place, so perhaps I'm appearing paranoid. I just want to be able to relax, be myself and have a good time without having to meet any "high class" social expectations .......will I be fine?

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Devastator

I just want to be able to relax, be myself and have a good time without having to meet any "high class" social expectations .......will I be fine?

You ask some interesting questions, and I can't answer all of them. Bethesda has diversity, but it is also a mostly upper income area. I don't think it is snobby, and I don't think people will cross the street if they see you walking home late at night. I think Bethesda is too sophisticated for that.

I also think you would have been happier in Silver Spring, but if you have already made the commitment, then it is not far to visit Silver Spring for the bars and restaurants. There are numerous Jamaican or Caribbean restaurants in the Georgia Avenue corridor.

BTW, there is one low-key restaurant in Bethesda that has Caribbean food. It is called Freddy's Lobster and Clams. (No, it is not all haute-cuisine there.) I think you will be able to meet women in Bethesda especially if you have a nice personality.

[Devastator]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

You ask some interesting questions, and I can't answer all of them. Bethesda has diversity, but it is also a mostly upper income area. I don't think it is snobby, and I don't think people will cross the street if they see you walking home late at night. I think Bethesda is too sophisticated for that.

I also think you would have been happier in Silver Spring, but if you have already made the commitment, then it is not far to visit Silver Spring for the bars and restaurants. There are numerous Jamaican or Caribbean restaurants in the Georgia Avenue corridor.

BTW, there is one low-key restaurant in Bethesda that has Caribbean food. It is called Freddy's Lobster and Clams. (No, it is not all haute-cuisine there.) I think you will be able to meet women in Bethesda especially if you have a nice personality.

Thank you! The food need not be Caribbean, any shops that serve food with soul and flavor with no fuss is what was hoping for so happy to know there is at least one

I do not mean to offend with the 'crossing the road' stuff was just getting worried by what I was reading.

[pokeable]

You'll be fine. Bethesda is a great place, and you can hop on the Metro to Adams Morgan or Dupont for a more lively social scene.

It has a decent range of restaurants, but no true "fine dining" locations IMHO. There is Spanish (x2), French, Thai, Malaysian, Peruvian chicken joint, Indian, Sushi, Italian x 2, , mishmash American within a two block radius of Bethesda Row. For fine dining, you have to go to DC.

Ethnic diversity: yes. Socioeconomic? Not as much. Most folks you meet will be upper-middle class or above.

[bufflove]

That's odd the Bethesda unit would be cheaper than a comparable Silver Spring unit. Must be a funky situation since it's effectively always the other way around.

I certainly wouldn't call Bethesda diverse in any way except age - there's a range of young professionals, families, and empty nesters. But they are almost exclusively white (85%+) and upper-middle or upper class. It is still primarily liberal, though, so most won't think twice about your race/background. At least not outwardly.

There's an abundance of restaurants and a number of them are nice/simple. It's not the variety you'll find in Silver Spring, but it's certainly an above-average aspect of Bethesda.

Yep, Bethesda is close to plenty of places you'll likely find more your scene. Most quality DC neighborhoods and Silver Spring are nearby and accessible via car, taxi/Uber, and public transit. Public transit is pretty lacking on the weekends, though, compared to London. It's doable, but can be frustrating waiting 15-20 minutes for a train to arrive.

A number of apartment/condo buildings are primarily for empty nesters (since they cost $1M+), but the majority of apartments are geared towards young professionals.

I wouldn't know about the women at Bethesda bars, but in general the DC area has a very lopsided M/F ratio in the man's favor.

In sum, yep, most of Bethesda has effectively zero "edge" to it. However, the northern part of Bethesda called Woodmont Triangle is definitely going to be your scene more so than the central "Bethesda Row" area. Woodmont Triangle is older, not as polished, still has *relatively* affordable rents so you have some unique restaurants still instead of just chains/higher end restaurants. The neighborhood is being redeveloped with "luxury" highrises so that last bit of grit will be wiped away in the coming years, but for now there's still some places to enjoy there.

[TheCaliforniaMarylandPers]

Some of the neighborhoods in Bethesda are snobby, but the Downtown area is fine. It attracts people from all areas, not just Bethesda. I think you'll be fine there . Bethesda and Silver Spring are also great areas to meet other singles.

[Captain_Fingers]

I really think one should take the "snobby" comments with a huge grain of salt. I live in Bethesda, and haven't found it to be significantly snobbier than anywhere else in the country, and I used to travel extensively before I retired. Is it possible that the odd person you meet could turn out to be a snob? Certainly, but the next one won't.

As one of the posters noted, there is no doubt that it is a high income area, and that brings with it both positive and negative traits. But you'll have nothing to worry about regarding people crossing the street when they see you. That said, your concern about an abundance of very reasonably priced restaurants and bars is not unfounded. Downtown Bethesda has a larger percentage of high end eating establishments than cheap ones, but hey, venerable ole Tastee Diner is still hanging in there and seems to be full most of the time!

I will say this, though. If you get out of the downtown Bethesda section, things get very boring very quickly, and public transportation is awful anywhere outside of the 355 corridor. Still, you can always go south to DC, or north to Rockville or (sic) North Bethesda.

Won't be long before Germantown calls itself North North North Bethesda!

Meanwhile, welcome to Bethesda and enjoy yourself.

[swishplace]

In my opinion Bethesda is one of the best places to live in this entire area when you take everything into an account. I grew up in silver spring and honestly not terribly impressed with the new layout. Yea it's grittier but who cares. If you want gritty move to ny or baltimore. The one thing about Bethesda is that it can be uppity. I don't think it's snobby really, just more stuffy than other areas. That said, bethesda is booming and there is a lot diversity and options. It's safe and in downtown bethesda you can essentially walk to every necessity. If it wasn't for the construction and cost of living I would still be in downtown Bethesda. It's the best of both worlds in this area. It all comes down to what's most important to you. I'm not opposed to silver spring but it probably would only be a draw if I worked there whereas I would have no complaints living in Bethesda and working elsewhere.

[swishplace]

Originally Posted by pokeable

You'll be fine. Bethesda is a great place, and you can hop on the Metro to Adams Morgan or Dupont for a more lively social scene.

It has a decent range of restaurants, but no true "fine dining" locations IMHO. There is Spanish (x2), French, Thai, Malaysian, Peruvian chicken joint, Indian, Sushi, Italian x 2, , mishmash American within a two block radius of Bethesda Row. For fine dining, you have to go to DC.

Ethnic diversity: yes. Socioeconomic? Not as much. Most folks you meet will be upper-middle class or above.

Exactly. Socially it caters to the uppity, but part of that is because it's a nice area and well planned. The demand is there.

As far as the singles game there, whenever you're outside of any city limits you're entering more cliquey territory. There are places to go out in Bethesda but similar to silver spring and Arlington, you'll meet more people looking to meet people in the city.

[superseiyan]

Bethesda is ok. Silver Spring and DC are close enough whenever you want something more lively. Yes it's mostly white and rich but the flip-side is that its a well traveled crowd so they are not uncomfortable around non-whites, Captain was right to say that the snobby aspect is overstated.

Bottom-line is for your day-to-day needs, you won't find a more walkable area in the Maryland suburbs, and overall it's hard to beat the convenience of the location even for driving . I say if you have the opportunity to live there on the relatively cheap take it and at least give it a trial!!