Break down of the "good areas" and "bad areas" of PG county. (Baltimore: apartments, home)

[truthhurts]

Originally Posted by dakwilk

I'm white and currently live in University Park, but grew up in Hyattsville (historic part) the areas that I listed will be just fine for you. Like I said, the only time I've ever heard of the inside/outside the beltway theory is on this forum. Send me a direct message and I will answer any specific questions that you have as I am pretty knowledgeable about the safe part areas "inside" the beltway.

Theories are unproven ideas or ideas that revolve around some facts, but cannot be fully sustained. Facts are what i posted above your comment. Facts can be fully verified by statistics. You do have a clear understanding of the differences? Yes or No?

Let's try and make this easy

1. Fact inner beltway is much more dangerous and crime ridden than the outside of the beltway
2. Fact the homicide rate inside the inner betlway is extremely high compared to the outside of the beltway
3. Fact almost 95% of all homicides occur inside of the beltway
4. Fact almost all of the poverty within the county is inside of the beltway
5. Fact the inner beltway is 3x as dense as the outer beltway

Here's a few theories

I think you'll have a better chance of being shot in Oxon Hill than you will in Lake Arbor

I think you'll have a higher probability of having your car broken into if you live in the inner beltway than if you live in the outer beltway

Hopefully this helps explain the difference between facts and theories

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by Maxchus

Cherry Lane is one of the neighborhoods where they demolished a garden apartment complex and put in one of the more upscale, and best-looking, apartment buildings. I never thought of the neighborhood as that bad. In need of some polishing up, but not bad. Man, other peoples' "sketchy" seems to be an overreaction and a superficial view of the place, sometimes.

I find myself in the weird position of defending a part of central Maryland.

You seem to be talking about Cherry lane on the other side of Rt. 1 (Laurel Lakes). That is a good place. On the other side of Rt. 1 towards 197 is not as nice. "sketchy" may be the wrong word for that area, but "nice" is not the word I would choose to describe it.

[dakwilk]

Truthhurts-
That was pretty harsh. When I was talking about theories, I was not talking directly to you. Nor was I trying to offend anyone. I see that the poster who implied that you take offense easily might be right.

All I'm saying is that people in my area generally make a distinction between north pg and south pg. That south is more dangerous. People should be aware that there are nice places to live inside the beltway, also. I agree that there are some places that I would avoid and most are inside the beltway, but not all.

[truthhurts]

Originally Posted by dakwilk

Truthhurts-
That was pretty harsh. When I was talking about theories, I was not talking directly to you. Nor was I trying to offend anyone. I see that the poster who implied that you take offense easily might be right.

All I'm saying is that people in my area generally make a distinction between north pg and south pg. That south is more dangerous. People should be aware that there are nice places to live inside the beltway, also. I agree that there are some places that I would avoid and most are inside the beltway, but not all.

I agree and I apologize, but i was only making the case for my argument. I have also heard north and south thing and it can be backed up with facts as well. Like I said there are very specific areas within the beltway that are heavily crime ridden. I never said the entire inner beltway. I made the point in comparison to the outer beltway, but again that does not mean every area in the inner beltway is extremely or remotely dangerous.

I think New Carrolton, Adelphi, Cheverly (parts), University Park, etc are all somewhat to very decent areas inside of the beltway. I'm sure there are many more that you can think of etc..

[dakwilk]

Thanks for that. Although, I think I wouldn't steer anyone toward Cheverly, most of Adelphi, or New Carrolton. University Park, College Park, parts of Greenbelt, Beltsville, parts of Hyattsville, and Laurel are all nice.

[lscalder]

Originally Posted by truthhurts

Let me ask you a question since you're championing these areas so hard. Would you live in the 12 areas I listed as dangerous? Put your money where your mouth is!

No. I would not live in all 12 areas a few areas I would live in.

Riverdale
Suitland(I know their is major developments going on in Suitland)
District heights(some parts of District Heights is nice)



I think Oxon Hill Glassmanor is the name of a Subdivision in Oxon Hill. A few of my clients purchase homes in the above subdivision. I do know values are increasing in the area.One of my client purchase a townhome last yr for 180k its now worth 235k, not bad.

[vader]

Originally Posted by truthhurts

Just want to make a correction and compare for every 100,000 (as opposed for every 10,000) most places compare for 100,000

Cleveland 33 murders per every 100,000
Detroit 42 murders per every 100,000
Baltimore 44 murders per every 100,000
Inner Beltway PG 28.3 murder per every 100,000
Outside Beltway PG 5.2 murders per every 100,000
Upstate New York 2.8 murders per every 100,000
Nothern Virginia 3.3 murders per every 100,000
Montgomery County 2.5 murder per every 100,000
Baltimore County 4.2 murders per every 100,000

Oxon Hill/Glassmanor 66.6 murder per every 100,000 (however because the pop is under 30,000 it is better IMO to use 10,000, but want to stay consistent with the large Cities I used)

Inner City Beltway Murder Rate
The murder rate than jumps to 105/370,000 = /100,000 = 28.3 murders per every 100,000

Outside PG Beltway murder rate is 5.23 murders per every 100,000

Thanks for breaking it down...Its likely Ill be in the inner city beltway mainly because Im pressed for time on finding a place and its comfortable commute to DC, so hearing everyone bash inner beltway PG is a bit unsettling. Although Im young, male, and have no children. Not to mention Ill be on business travel quite a bit. I think ill survive for the few months Im there.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by vader

Thanks for breaking it down...Its likely Ill be in the inner city beltway mainly because Im pressed for time on finding a place and its comfortable commute to DC, so hearing everyone bash inner beltway PG is a bit unsettling. Although Im young, male, and have no children. Not to mention Ill be on business travel quite a bit. I think ill survive for the few months Im there.

Just go with College Park or University Park then. Those areas are nowhere near as bad as many of the others.

[adelphi_sky]

You guys are a trip. You think you are informed but you're not. Let's first talk about the factors that one looks at when locating a place to live. Crime is NOT the only thing. Here are a few: (not in any particular order)

1. Location - proximity to jobs, schools, and public transportation
2. Home prices - what's the use in living where you THINK it's safe if you can't afford it?
3. Crime - why are you guys talking about murder rates? 99% of the time if someone gets murdered it's because they were involved in an altercation or something illegal. Guess what, if you don't have anything to prove and your a law abiding citizen, chances are you won't be the one who gets murdered. Robberies are way more important than murders. The criminal does not really care who it is they are robbing. Guess what, if you're smart, you can avoid most robberies. There are basic things like walking in well lit areas. Not walking by yourself. Etc.
4. Local economy - is it growing or shrinking? Will your property value rise or fall?
5. Convenience - what shops and restaurants are close by? Parks? Bike/walking paths? Airports?

I am African American and very well educated. I live in Adelphi, MD in the Cool Spring neighborhood. I have lived in Southeast in the projects. I've lived in Oxen Hill in Southview. I have lived in Brookland Park DC. I've also lived in Bladensburg. Not once have I been robbed. Not once have I been carjacked. Not once have I witnessed a murder, stabbing, or anything violent other than your typical schoolyard fight.

Where you live is what you make of it. Where I live, there are homes from 50 to 2 years old. The prices range from $399,000 to over $700,000. I've lived here for almost 10 years. It is quiet. There are senior citizens, whites, blacks, and hispanics that live on my culdesac. Children of all cultures play in front of the houses during the summer. There is laughter almost every day. My neighbors and I are constantly improving our houses. You can hear circular saws and hammers on the weekends. Every morning there are people walking their dogs and joggers who run on the bike trail behind my house. Over the years, I've left my keys in the door, my car door unlocked MANY times (BMW), and I've come home early in the morning when crime usually happens. Not one thing was taken from me.

My home value has risen over 200% since I've moved here. To say that inside or outside of the Beltway may or may not be safe is a gross generalization. You miss out on golden opportunities to start out on the ground floor of something special. You have to drive through ALL areas. And just because a place may look run down doesn't mean that it will always be that way. PLEASE check the real estate news for redevelopment projects. Most of what you see is or will be transformed in the next 5 to 10 years.

Why do I live in Adelphi? Because it is super convenient. I live less than a mile from a major university. I'm 30 minutes from Baltimore, 20 minutes from downtown DC, 5 minutes from I-95 and 495. I'm between two shopping centers. There's a bike path behind my house that is connected to a string of park lands. I'm within 3 miles of two metro stations. Also, the purple line will run within a mile from my house.

To me, you can't beat that. But, I live inside the beltway next to Hyattsville and College Park. Therefore, some people would have you believe, this is not a good/safe place to live. If only you spend the time to investigate. And I'm sure there are MANY pockets of neighborhoods just like mine outside AND inside the beltway.

One last thing. I look forward to spending time in the Arts District, University Town Center, and East Campus all withing 3 miles of me when they are complete in the next 5 years. ALL are inside the beltway. I intend to stay here and raise a family. Choose for yourself using your own eyes and ears. Those people who moved out of DC a long time ago are kicking themselves. Some would be living in a $750,000 home by now.

If you're looking for a brand new cookie-cutter neighborhood with a homeowners association and a long commute to DC, by all means, live outside the beltway. :-)

[RFMD]

You are correct with your assessment. I say it all the time, land close to any major economic center will only increase in value as time goes on particularly among the strongest economic center in the country-Washington DC/Nova (3% unemployment). People are tired of the commutes to and from work. As land becomes scarce all the so called "sketchy" areas will be in demand.

When everybody says to go to door B go to door A and vice versa. Don't follow everybody else.

I remember when I had an opportunity to purchase a 3 story home just off 18th street in Adams Morgan during the crack epidemic in 1992 for a little over one hundred thousand. All brick, 10 foot ceilings, fireplace and all. Real estate was slow at the time. It needed some work but it was a livable home. Needless to say If I did so and held onto the property I would be sitting pretty. I could only imagine what posters would be telling me in such a forum if I proposed to make such an investment.

The Arts District, M-Square, the purple line, route 1 revitalization, land scarcity will only increase your home value.