Montgomery County - good areas/zipcodes (Silver Spring, Germantown: best neighborhood, condo, crime)

[baktoorigin]

I have searched the forums but was not sure if I have the proper picture yet. Here is my quick profile:
Work in NW DC
Willing to accept a long commute (but do prefer to be close to Metro)
Children are not in school (but would like to be in a good school district for future reasons)

What I would like in a property:
Under 300-350 k
close to metro/parks/shopping (of course there can be trade offs)
in a good school district (does not have to be the best)
diverse neighborhood preferred

My question:
Can we put together a list of good zip codes, neighborhoods, subdivisions, areas etc in Montgomery county. I would prefer that they meet the above criteria but in the interest of the community it would be alright if it does not.

The preferred format will be
zipcode/location ( top 3 reasons why you prefer this zipcode/location)

example
##### ( close to metro, great schools, short commute to DC)

After you list the zip codes/locations, you may include additional details/summary. Of course you can do the reverse to emphasize not so great neighborhoods

I have gleaned a lot of useful information from this forum and am hoping I will be able to get some good responses to this query.

Thanks
bak

[formermontz]

20855- Derwood/Rockville. Near Shady Grove metro station, Magruder HS supposed to be one of the best. Near shopping in both Gaithersburg and Rockville. Close access to 270. Not sure of housing prices, but for $300K you're looking at a townhouse, not a single family. Good diversity from what I can see.

[baktoorigin]

Thanks formemontz,
Yes Townhouse will work.

bak

[PAXNASWifey]

20874: Germantown: The Subdivison of Cinnamon Woods is not the best neighborhood. It's a little "hood".

[RedShrek]

20904- Fairland (close to Briggs Chaney)
20910 - Downtown Silver Spring

[lscalder]

Schools close to Briggs Chaney are some of the worst in the county.

The best schools in the county are in Chevy Chase. You can close your eyes and choose any school in Chevy chase and the test score/schools ranking will be high.

[ENCE]

OP - not sure about what type of property you're looking for, but if a condo will do, try 20878. if location drives your choice more than anything else, this could be a good choice. wootton HS was ranked #60 in the COUNTRY among public high schools, according to newsweek:

America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com (http://www.newsweek.com/highschools/ - broken link)

overall, moco high schools fair well in national rankings. you'll find quite a few among the top 100.

[ashrob123]

Originally Posted by RedShrek

20904- Fairland (close to Briggs Chaney)
20910 - Downtown Silver Spring

You can't find any townhomes or detatched in downtown Silver Spring for under $300k. If so, I would have already jumped on that (I live downtown). You may be able to find a condo in Takoma for around 300k if you look really hard.

But the elementary schools in both areas blow.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by ENCE

OP - not sure about what type of property you're looking for, but if a condo will do, try 20878. if location drives your choice more than anything else, this could be a good choice. wootton HS was ranked #60 in the COUNTRY among public high schools, according to newsweek:

America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com (http://www.newsweek.com/highschools/ - broken link)

overall, moco high schools fair well in national rankings. you'll find quite a few among the top 100.

Most of 20878 goes to Quince Orchard High School, which is not too bad of a school either.

[firefightermom]

I would avoid 20874 and 20876--we always called Cinnamon Woods "Criminal Hoods" and the name still fits, as it does most of Germantown unfortunately. Some areas look great but as we all know, looks can be deceiving. Check with the cops and you will see how much crime has risen in the area.