New Carrollton, Landover, Bladensburg, Hyattsville, Mt. Rainier (Bowie, Chillum: apartment complexes, to rent)

[The Dissenter]

I am just curious about these areas. I am thinking about apts and have the obvious question with PG county. I know about SE DC/PG county area and all of it's crime. Is any one of these areas (New Carrollton, Landover, Bladensburg, Hyattsville, Mt. Rainier) anywhere near safe? If not, where can i get a dc area cheap apt that is somewhat safe?

[Janipoo]

New Carrollton and Lanham area should be okay. Hyattsville can take up a lot of area, for instance I grew up in Landover Hills but the mailing address was Hyattsville. Parts of it I would stay away from. apts, in this area will not be cheap.

[PGC301]

Like the person above me said, New Carrollton/Lanham are decent areas.

Personally, I would avoid Landover altogether. Even though the county police headquarters is there, the 2 biggest neighborhoods (Kentland and Palmer Park) are some of the most violent parts of the county. Bladensburg is a little better, but not much.

I'm not really familiar with Mount Rainier so I don't know what to tell you about that area.

Hyattsville is strange because the actual city itself is pretty small (~17,000 people), but if you add up all the surrounding areas that have Hyattsville mailing addresses, the population is 120,000+. The areas within the city limits aren't bad for the most part, and Hyattsville has its own small city police department. Riverdale Park, which is right next to Hyattsville, is also fairly safe.

When you're looking at apartments in the area, you should look on a map to see if the apt is actually in the city, or just has the Hyattsville mailing address. Some of the areas outside the city are safe enough (New Carrollton, Landover Hills, Edmonston) but some of them can be pretty rough (Landover, Langley Park, parts of Adelphi, Bladensburg, and Chillum).

Since you said you're looking for an apartment, once you narrow it down I would recommend visiting it at night to get a feel for how safe the neighborhood is. Crime can/does happen anywhere, but a good percentage of the crime in this area happens in or near the apartment complexes.

[jallen]

I would echo the sentiments of what has been said. Used to live in Mount Rainier. They have their own police department however it borders a not so good part of DC along the Rhode Island corridor and would not recommend it. New Carrolton is definetly your best bet. In New Carrolton I would look at the area closes to the beltway. New Carrolton is going through somewhat of revitalization and New Carrolton Town Center is being built with Condos and town houses as part of the development. The site is the old New Carrolton hotel right at the beltway.

Second pick would be Hyattsville particularly along the east/west hightway Route 1 corridor. An arts districts is going to be built by EVA properties along a ten-fifteen block stretch on route 1 with Condos as part of the development (It looks nice). That part of Hyattsville is also close to University Park which is a very nice community. I would stay away from parts of Hyattsville close to Riverdale

[1973 Forced Busing]

I agree, You should go by at night on Friday/Saturday. Remember to keep your car doors locked.

[Mom21]

Check this out for some apartment complexes to avoid. I also recommend Lanham, New Carrolton. Maybe you could find a small house to rent, as well.

http://apartmentratings.com/rate/MD.html

[The Dissenter]

This is really good. This move would be for only 1 year then i'd be leaving the DC metro area for good. It sounds like New Carrollton or Hyattsville would be my best bets.

[neenee0606]

where is new carrolton located and what is its Absolute and Relative location

[unleed]

I know people who lived at Lakeside North in Greenbelt. It's next to the police station and a park, within walking distance of a co-op, cafe, and classic single screen movie theater (plays more arty films). Very nice, serene area with easy access to 495/295 and Greenbelt metro.

http://apartmentratings.com/rate/MD-...partments.html

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by neenee0606

where is new carrolton located and what is its Absolute and Relative location

It's about equidistant (10 miles or so) from both D.C. (which lies to the southwest) and Bowie (to the east). It's located a few miles north of Landover at the end of Metro's Orange Line. I'm not 100% sure if that answers the "absolute and relative location" but I tried.