Prince George's County (Bowie, Potomac, Clinton: low income, apartment complex, lease)

[Valerie Town]

My name is Valerie Town and I am a reporter for Maryland newsline. I am trying to do an investigative piece on Prince George's County and find out what residents think the good and bad things are in Prince George's. I have lived in PG for 4 years now and i have had many different experiences living here. I am trying to find out about the crime, the schools, and the atmosphere in general in PG. If anyone wants to write on this forum about Prince George's or would be willing to go on camera to voice their opinions please let me know. http://www.newsline.umd.edu/aboutus/tvspring07.htm This is the web site that has my profile so you know I am a credible news reporter at the University of Maryland. Thankyou for your time.

[jhrrussell2]

Hi Valerie. I think that people in the rest of Maryland really overexaggerate the crime that is found in Prince George's county, and i truly believe that it is really only concentrated in a few places in the county, especially the Suitland Manor neighborhood, and that homicides in the county are normally connected to gangs or to the drug trade. When I commute through the county into Washington, DC I have never felt unsafe or unprotected, even when I ride the metro green line from the Branch ave. Station into DC. The schools are notoriously bad, but i think that it may be a matter of the students not wanting to learn, rather than the teachers not caring. Sorry, But I'm not a resident of Prince George's County, so I could not comment on camera, I just wanted to respond to your question and give you my opinion on the situation.

[howsitgoingdude3]

Hi Valerie,

I'm a very well traveled young black American male who grew up in a number of places, but at one time I was a PG resident. I attended some middle and high school in the county and have to say it was the worst place I’ve ever lived. I have never been to hell, but I’m sure PG is as close as you can come to it on earth. I lived in Greenbelt and attended ERHS (when it was actually a blue ribbon school) the education system is horrendous and such a disservice to both the students and the teachers. When I was in the school system it was a combination of lack of parent involvement, poor students, teachers who did not care, and a host of other things, that I’m sure still have this county in the dumps. The kids I went to school with I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of them are in jail. Yes, the majority of children in PG in my opinion are bad, it’s the minority of children you'll meet there that are good and come from good families. When I was a child in the school system I came from a well educated (both parents and grandparents had master degrees) black American family. After a lengthy divorce my mother choose to live in PG County, because she was under the assumption it was the "black Mecca" where only other educated well to do black families lived. She was extremely misguided as a lot of other upper class black families when they decide to take up residents in this county. My school days consisted of being taunted, made fun of, harassed, beaten up, and demoralized on a regular basis by other black children for speaking properly (acting white?)...etc. I'm sure not much has changed. To avoid making it an extremely personal attack. I'll keep the focus clearly on why PG county schools fail. I'll make it short and simple.

1. Lack of a formal education beyond high school by the majority of parents
2. Lack of a father figure or two parent household
3. Ignorance and a belief that shunning one's studies makes them more "black"
4. Teachers lack of teaching and willingness to just pass children who do not know anything
5. Community effort to glorify basketball, football, and entertainers as the only way the youth can "make it."
6. No real community effort to keep or make children feel safe while in school (gangs, drugs, and violence)
7. Plain and simple laziness on the student’s part

Valerie, I could go on all day and probably write a novel, but this just sums up how I feel and felt about PG then and now and I haven't stepped foot in the county in almost 10 years.

[jeostang]

I live in Laurel, MD. The city of Laurel is split up between 4 counties (it used to be three but there is actually a neighborhoond now in Montgomery County) Prince Georges, Howard, Anne Arundle and Montgomery. I grew up in Montgomery County for 30 years. I decided to move to PG to take advantage of cheaper housing. My 3800sf house would have costed 800k in Montgomery and I would not have got all the land I have now. There are some very nice parts of PG county like, Laurel, Bowie, Upper Marlboro, pretty much any parts of the county that is bordering other counties are nice safe areas to live. Now with that said, If I had kids I would not be in PG county. My wife and I plan to have kids in the very near future and we plan to stay in laurel, so we will be sending our kids to private schools, or try and find a way they can get into Howard County or Montgomery County schools. I have no confidence in PG county schools at all I wouldn't send my dog to PG schools, I don't even think the county officals really care that much about the schools. I always hear and see parents complaining about the schools and I truely feel for them, but if the county won't do anything about it then nothing will happen. I'd be happy if Laurel could defect and be considered Montgomery county like Tacoma Park did.

I also think that PG county finances are all out of wack. Look how many schools Montgomery county has built in the last 20 years. (Nice big schools with cutting edge technology). PG county has schools that use trailers instead of building new schools, why is that? PG county has higher taxes then all the counties in MD where is all the money going??

[Pikantari]

OK, now I was in PG back in the eighties, and in HS my parents moved me to ST marys for better schools. This was at the end of the 80s. The kids who wanted to learn and do well couldn't because of all of the time spent with disruptions and such. Back then elementary was ok, after that, nothing to good. We lived in Temple Hills and it was nice, I could walk to the park and such, by myself... But in visiting a few years back to the same neighborhood, I wouldn't let my kids out of the door if I lived there. I can't speak for the now.

[fulcrcle]

Hi Valerie

I am a PG county resident and I just moved to Laurel, to get away from the crime in southern PG county. I used to live in an apartment complex called Rosecroft Mews. You need to do a piece on that place. It is crime ridden and after having two cars attempted stolen, the last one was it for me, when I cousght the theives in my car. The management has changed 25 times in the last 6 years and I had to break my lease.I found a condo in Laurel lakes. It is quiet and it seems to me that the residents in this area care more about property values. I had a complete culture shock when I moved here.The problem I beleive is that area's in DC that catered to low income families are being forced out of those area's and are quickly moving to affordable places in southern PG county like Oxon Hill, Temple Hills, Suitland, Landover, Hillcrest Heights and Marlow Heights. The crime that was being seen in DC is quickly turning to these neighborhoods and the great flight of middle to upper income people to northern PG and Montgomery County is becoming a reality. So much so that Maryland is now offering grant money to potential homebuyers to stay in certain area's. My answer when I bought my place was no way!

[live_better3]

Hi Valerie Town - I found your blog very interesting, I am currently a PG resident and here is what I think. I relocated here to MD four years ago. It is not the most ideal place to live, but it is a start for anyone who is trying to set up their legs living on the east coast. My children are small and school aged. Living in PG has shown me that certain more concentrated areas have a tendency to have a more lax approach to the better quality of life standard. I feel if I lived in a more affluent neighborhood or county my concerns would be addressed in a more timely and professional manner. I to am a victim of a very self destructive and broken home, but I am do not believe in a victim of circumstance. It hurts me to see the young children and some younger than mine, not properly cared for, playing unsupervised, walking home from school to small, etc. I can only imagine what these children are going through in their own homes where they are supposed to be loved, cared for, etc. We have to be aware of our children and be an active and willing participant in their life. Children did not ask to be here. We have to do better for ourselves and for our children and that doesn't always cost money. My school is the first school in the state of MD with state of the art technology, leading the way to bettering our school systems. Our school has come a long way, but it takes parental involvement to do so. Some of the ups and downs for me living in PG have been not being able to have the opportunity to access the better quality of life programs. I feel the hard working residents have at least earned the right to want to better ourselves by living better. The crime is every where but it is not as outrageous as most would think. I feel that it is wrong to be little anyone living in my area of PG, especially if you don't know their circumstance, just as long as they are actively trying and have not gotten complacent. I am very thankful for your blog and very intersted in seeing the final product. Thank you for reading this comment.

[laurelengineer]

Originally Posted by Valerie Town

I have lived in PG for 4 years now and i have had many different experiences living here. I am trying to find out about the crime, the schools, and the atmosphere in general in PG. Maryland Newsline - About Us - CNS-TV Staff, Spring 2007 This is the web site that has my profile so you know I am a credible news reporter at the University of Maryland. Thankyou for your time.

If you were to poll us all, you'd likely get 873,000 different opinions - one for each resident. Because the quality of life varies so extremely from one part of the county to the next, you won't be able to ascertain any generalities about the county. If you ask a person who lives in a forest heights apartment, you'll get a vastly different response to someone with a 10-acre farmette in upper marlboro. If you want to find out about "the crime, the schools, and the atmosphere in general in PG" there are multiple on-line sources available. At best, on this forum, you'll get mere anecdotal evidence from people with really strong opinions, whether they're informed or not.

By the way, most of the people commenting on the county do not live there or haven't lived there in 10+ years, but they'll be sure to give you their opinion anyway!

If you end up doing a piece, may I ask a favor? Remind your audience, that there is a PG outside of the part that borders SE DC and NE DC. It's very strange that the outer beltway portion of the PG has:
-the majority of the residents;
-the overwhelming majority of the land
-the overwhelming majority of 400,000 jobs
-is twice as wealthy;

...yet doesn't seem to exist in the mindset of DC area news media. The only portion of PG that gets any attention (all of it bad) is the part that borders SE and NE D.C. This repetitive "branding" has resulted in the casual DC area resident correlating PG with "undesirable place to live." While it can be said that some places are, generally undesirable, they are the exception and not the rule in the county - based on my 13 years here.

-LE

[lscalder]

I am a resident of Upper Marlboro since November 2006 and I love it here. Its so funny folks said house prices are cheaper in Pg then Montgomery but in fact all that is changing. Pg county can compete with Montgomery County. The schools in my area Mattaponi is way better then alot of Montgomery Elementary. I did a comparison with 4 of Montgoery county Elementary schools and only one had the same high test score as Mattaponi Elementary in Upper marlboro. Schools in Pg is base upon the area just like any other county. IF you want you child to attend good schools in Montgomery or Pg county you have to live in the nicer,not cheap areas of the county. I know for a fact that my community in Upper marlboro is a way lot better and nicer then any areas in Montgomery County and thats a fact, maybe we might be competeing with Potomac and thats it. The crime also depends on the area you live, If you look at the crimes in Bowie,Upper marlboro,Clinton,Mitchelleville,Fort Washington,Largo,Glen Dale,Accrokeek areas you will find that the crime rate in these areas are very very low to none. If you visit any of these areas its like visiting the most expensive areas in Montgomery but nicer. Example Bowie, In Bowie folks are living the good life, thats because majority of Bowie folks about 99% all are educated living in mansions and living the American dream.
If you talk to the folks in any o****y who are poorer and have to live in the less then disireable areas, then all you're going to hear from them is that sad old story, crime,poor. On the other hand if you talk to anyone in any of these areas I listed you will see nothing but mansions and folks telling you how good life is. It depends on who you talk to.
I will invite you to my community and home, so you can get a feel of how Pg county is NOW, not 10 yrs ago.

[nsu1997]

What laurelengineer said. Rule of thumb in PG:

- INSIDE the beltway (ie the closer you are to DC) everything is terrible. Crime, schools, etc. Examples - Suitland, Hillcrest Heights, Capitol Heights, Hyattsville, etc.
- *JUST* outside the beltway is better but still kinda rough. Examples - Temple Hills, Largo, Greenbelt, etc.
- Outer PG is actually quite nice and very wealthy overall. Examples - Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Laurel, Accokeek, etc. This area actually constitutes the majority of square miles of PG county, and probably over half the population.
- Relatively speaking, schools are notoriously poor throughout the entire county.