Possible relocation to Silver Spring (Columbia, Germantown: real estate market, apartment, rental)

[ryanms3030]

Thanks everyone. I actually looked at Columbia but I agree it's too far. If I have to drive, 45 min in rush hour would be the max. I don't mind slightly longer if it's by train since I could read, work or watch tv/movies. I've noticed looking at Columbia, Greenbelt and some of the other recommended places that crime is actually much higher than where we currently live in Los Angeles. Stats on violent crime seem to average 1 in 350-400 where as where we currently live in Los Angeles it's about 1 in 1000. I guess 1 in 350 isn't ridiculous for a major metropolitan area but kind of shocking that it would be 3x more then where we live now which is a nice residential part of Los Angeles but not super elite/wealthy area. I also noticed that population is majority black like 45-50%. I'm not making any correlation or come off as racist but that's a much different dynamic than we are used to so might be culture shock. Los Angeles as a whole is less than 10% black and I grew up in MA which is less. We are open minded so that's not some sort of deal breaker just interesting. Where we live now whites are minority behind Armenians and Hispanic. You can argue that Armenians are white but out here they are a very closed off non assimilated culture so it does make us feel like the minority where we live.

[papichulo2]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

Those negative posts are completely exaggerated and unwarranted. There are a few areas, like Montgomery Village Mall where Hispanic teenagers hang around. There are a few homeless people hanging around downtown Silver Spring. It is not anything like south Los Angeles.

I would certainly not suggest avoiding all of Gathersburg or Silver Spring. There are plenty of safe, upscale neighborhoods in both those areas.

The only area I would say to avoid completely is Southeast DC, east of the Anacostia River. But, you probably would not want to go there anyway.

what u hating about hispanic teenagers bruh??? and montgoemry village is full of wannabe kids and weird people sad cuz its not a bad neighbourhood. and comparing this to south central lol lol

[papichulo2]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

Thanks everyone. I actually looked at Columbia but I agree it's too far. If I have to drive, 45 min in rush hour would be the max. I don't mind slightly longer if it's by train since I could read, work or watch tv/movies. I've noticed looking at Columbia, Greenbelt and some of the other recommended places that crime is actually much higher than where we currently live in Los Angeles. Stats on violent crime seem to average 1 in 350-400 where as where we currently live in Los Angeles it's about 1 in 1000. I guess 1 in 350 isn't ridiculous for a major metropolitan area but kind of shocking that it would be 3x more then where we live now which is a nice residential part of Los Angeles but not super elite/wealthy area. I also noticed that population is majority black like 45-50%. I'm not making any correlation or come off as racist but that's a much different dynamic than we are used to so might be culture shock. Los Angeles as a whole is less than 10% black and I grew up in MA which is less. We are open minded so that's not some sort of deal breaker just interesting. Where we live now whites are minority behind Armenians and Hispanic. You can argue that Armenians are white but out here they are a very closed off non assimilated culture so it does make us feel like the minority where we live.

nothing here is like LA lol. good luck, i think VA would be something to look at. mabie the whole east coast. try wisconsin.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by papichulo2

nothing here is like LA lol. good luck, i think VA would be something to look at. mabie the whole east coast. try wisconsin.

I don't know what that means. LA is a major city with major gang and crime problems so I would think most places outside of Detroit/Flint would be safer. I know DC is always amongst the highest murder rate in the country but I figured the suburbs would be safer. And as I said I spent 28 years in Boston and I lived in Virginia for a year so I'm pretty familiar with the east coast but not sure how that matters. I would live in Virginia but I'm guessing the commute to Silver Spring would suck

[Cara_319]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

We are currently in Los Angeles and looking to relocate. I may have a job opportunity in Silver Spring. I lived in worked in Northern Va./DC area a few years ago but not as familiar with the MD side.

1. Housing. It looks like there are single family homes available in $350k range on Zillow etc. Is that realistic? Where I am now a starter 2 bed house is around $600-700k. And if I want to commute about 90 minutes each way I could get a 3 bedroom in the $400k range. Job would be downtown Silver Spring. Are there realistically decent 3 bed houses under $400k around Silver Spring or within reasonable commute (preferably by train)

2. Allergies. My wife has debilitating allergies so this is a concern with anywhere we decide to move. In L.A. her allergies are bad and this isn't even a really bad area for allergy sufferers. Research says DC/Baltimore are slightly better than L.A. for allergy sufferers but if anyone has personal experience I'd love to hear it.

3. Cycling/hiking etc. These are our main recreation. Is there access to decent hiking trails in the area for day hikes? Where is the closest true wilderness areas for more serious backpacking/camping? Is there active road cyclist communities around that area. Is it safe to ride, are there group rides etc?

Have you considered simply renting first (for a year or so) in downtown Silver Spring? Downtown Silver Spring has lots of great amenities and it's very close to Rock Creek Park, which offers great hiking/cycling options.

Sometimes it's best to explore the surrounding area before making any major purchasing decisions.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by Cara_319

Have you considered simply renting first (for a year or so) in downtown Silver Spring? Downtown Silver Spring has lots of great amenities and it's very close to Rock Creek Park, which offers great hiking/cycling options.

Sometimes it's best to explore the surrounding area before making any major purchasing decisions.

We would definitely rent at first and get a better feel for the area. But after doing more research my wife is already concerned about safety in Silver Spring so that might be a tough sell

[Cara_319]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

We would definitely rent at first and get a better feel for the area. But after doing more research my wife is already concerned about safety in Silver Spring so that might be a tough sell

Concerned about safety in downtown Silver Spring, yet you're coming from L.A.? umm ok

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by Cara_319

Concerned about safety in downtown Silver Spring, yet you're coming from L.A.? umm ok

Right. We don't know anything about Silver Spring or the area which is why I'm asking. Based on FBI crime statistics the violent crime rate in Silver Spring is 1 in 361. The violent crime rate where we live in Glendale where we currently live is 1 in 976. So statistically speaking Silver Spring is 3x more dangerous. While there is plenty of violence in LA it's generally well contained within certain bad neighborhoods where the average person will never have a need to step foot in. The chances of being victim of random violence or crime is actually pretty low here and that's what I'm trying to figure out if it's the same there. If your not in a gang or a criminal or in one of those neighborhoods your probably not going to randomly get attacked here

[Cara_319]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

Right. We don't know anything about Silver Spring or the area which is why I'm asking. Based on FBI crime statistics the violent crime rate in Silver Spring is 1 in 361. The violent crime rate where we live in Glendale where we currently live is 1 in 976. So statistically speaking Silver Spring is 3x more dangerous. While there is plenty of violence in LA it's generally well contained within certain bad neighborhoods where the average person will never have a need to step foot in. The chances of being victim of random violence or crime is actually pretty low here and that's what I'm trying to figure out if it's the same there. If your not in a gang or a criminal or in one of those neighborhoods your probably not going to randomly get attacked here

Silver Spring is huge and includes different zip codes. Therefore, if you're interested in examining crime rates in Silver Spring, it would make more sense to look at the specific zip codes. What you will find is certain areas that are not really "Silver Spring," make up the bulk of crime. Kind of like how L.A. has a huge crime rate, but when you drill down and only examine Glendale, the crime in Glendale doesn't appear to be substantial.

If you rent in downtown Silver Spring (zip code 20901), I seriously doubt that you'll have any issues with crime. The area has relatively little to no gang activity, and certainly far lower levels of homelessness than most parts of L.A.

But if you prefer to live in a predominately white area, it may be a good idea to look into renting in Bethesda.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by Cara_319

Silver Spring is huge and includes different zip codes. Therefore, if you're interested in examining crime rates in Silver Spring, it would make more sense to look at the specific zip codes. What you will find is certain areas that are not really "Silver Spring," make up the bulk of crime. Kind of like how L.A. has a huge crime rate, but when you drill down and only examine Glendale, the crime in Glendale doesn't appear to be substantial.

If you rent in downtown Silver Spring (zip code 20901), I seriously doubt that you'll have any issues with crime. The area has relatively little to no gang activity, and certainly far lower levels of homelessness than most parts of L.A.

But if you prefer to live in a predominately white area, it may be a good idea to look into renting in Bethesda.

Thanks. I get what you are saying. But still we are comparing a city/location of Silver Spring that has 75k people to Los Angles which has 4 million and really 10 million if you are talking about Los Angeles county which most people here include. So with that many more people I would expect higher crime in general. We also have a world class homeless problem due to the weather and liberal government but even that is largely contained to Skid Row with some pockets of bigger population in Venice Beach. In my day to day life here I might see 10 homeless people on a good day.

But as long as it is a situation where trouble doesn't regularly find people that aren't looking for it than that's good. We chose to live in a safe area in LA and spend most of our time in safe areas and I'm assuming if you use the same common sense in MD you will be safe.

As for being in a predominately white area. We don't care about that as much as being someplace safe, affordable and with decent public schools when the time comes.