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Washington, DC suburbs in Maryland Calvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
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Old 06-08-2009, 10:01 PM
 
Location: SE
331 posts, read 1,196,078 times
Reputation: 146

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scrapper105 I couldn't have said it better. This is what I tell everyone. I've taught in a Title I school and my children have attended one as well.

I love University Park too! I just can't afford to live there.

 
Old 06-18-2009, 09:44 AM
 
1 posts, read 2,825 times
Reputation: 11
Default It is what it is...EVERYWHERE

I think the best advice on any online forum is that people really need to find out for themselves about an area, situation, thing, etc. if at all possible. I have lived in 3 major cities in my life and the same is true for all of them: they all have their pros and cons. Another thing that I realize is this: people have way too many expectations for many things in life. We all know that public schools all over this country are crappy and crappy, just like opinion, is relative. How many of you would live in a community where bullets are flying by your heads on a regular basis? It's common sense! You can't have it all at one time unless you're filthy rich, and even that has its cons. All parents on all these forums talk about wanting good schools, yada yada yada, but if we educators were to peer into your personal lives and see just how much time parents spend doing the extra when it comes to education and not just leaving it up to the school, we would be embarassed for you. PG County, like all counties in the country, is just fine. We don't have it all, but what we DO have is awesome!

My advice to anyone would be to rent a place in a prospective county and see how it is to be there for 365 days. Within that time, you should pretty much experience everything good and bad about the place. Your opinion is all that matters because it's all relative: your closest friend has a different expectation than you. YOU need to do the work yourself and discover what YOU want and forget public opinion.

I love PG. I also love DC and Baltimore and Atlanta and New York City (Brooklyn). Yes, I've lived and/or worked in all of those. And I loved it.
 
Old 08-05-2009, 10:57 AM
 
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
321 posts, read 810,857 times
Reputation: 233
I have been in the Ft. Washington area since 2003 and love it here. Yes there are some things I cannot buy here, I do not like my county leadership and did NOT vote for them, most of my medical care is in DC or Alexandria hospitals in lieu of my local area, and as an expectant mom my choices in childcare and schools seem more limited than other areas and I though I am a minority I prefer not to send my child to a majority minority school system...I prefer more diversity but also do not want them to be 5% of the school population...all that said there are many things I like here.

I like the diversity. I work as a corporate lawyer in generally a less diverse environment and I appreciate coming home to more diversity. Black, white, korean, latino, vietnamese, filipino, middle eastern are all represented in my neighborhood.

I like my local soul food options, ethnic hair care options, ethnic bookstores and nightlife that caters to my culture. I also love my abundant filipino neighbors and enjoy their local restaurants.

I love being near the Potomac river and I spend a lot of time there on nice weekend days exploring the national parks, paths, the Harbor, marinas, etc. I didn't end up choosing a home with a river view but there are many here and it is my hope to upgrade to one in the future. If you enjoy nature and historical sites there are many places to enjoy here.

I like my local community indoor pool and rec center and ice skating rink and local YMCA.

I love that my neighbors are far less pretentious and are more down to earth than many of my colleagues who are living in what are deemed by many to be the more "elite" counties here. I feel more pressure about keeping up with the Joneses and to have the best nanny or to be a stay at home wife and have the best private school and the best $700k old small house in the best school district when I go to work everyday...when I come home I am in a different world of a good mix of just hard-working working class, middle class and some upper middle class folks trying to do the best for their families in the midst of it all. I mean I work in a world where everyone has a nanny or has a stay at home wife and lives in McLean, Vienna, Bethesda, Potomac, etc. ....I want the best for my family also I just happen to think the barometer for the best does not have to be as inflated as some Washingtonian parents make it out to be.

I love my proximity to downtown DC. I spend many weekends enjoying the museums, dining, festivals etc. or just going for a walk around the tidal basin. I think if I lived further out I would not utilize the city as much.

I love my proximity to NoVa or Alexandria and Arlington specifically...are close by and I enjoy shopping, dining, and movies there as well.

I love my location for commuting to DC and to NoVa jobs within an hour or less which is pretty decent for the DC area to get anywhere in less than an hour even if working and living in the same county.

I enjoy my affordable and newer construction home with a more modern layout than many homes in other areas. For a comparable house in some of the more "preferred counties" I'd have to spend more than twice what my mortgage is right now. I do not like the idea of a gigantic jumbo mortgage even if I can easily afford it. I prefer the idea of financial freedom, not having to be stuck in a certain job to make the mortgage payments and having more disposable income to benefit my family in more direct ways. If I decide we do not want to deal with the public schools...then the money saved can easily be redirected to private ones with the money saved on housing costs and if we decide to stick with public then we can afford full time tutors if need be to supplement. Frankly...I am not fond of any of the public school education options in this country whether in a great school district or not. I think we focus to much on passing tests versus real learning and exploration which is what my public education was many moons ago in Missouri. Our system is also failing boys in this country...and not just minority ones...Newsweek and other major publications have cited that boys are falling off and there is an increasing achievement gap with girls including college attendance. I think part of that is related to rigorous focus on passing tests...boys very often needs a more hands on real world educational experience to retain their interest. Also each child is very different and may learn better via different techniques than the mass community. So even if in the greatest school district the herd mentality of educating may not work best for your child.

I enjoy the mix of rural and urban that is in my area. I can drive a couple miles and feel like I am in the country and I can drive a couple miles in the other direction and feel like I am in the city. I have access to farmers markets and have neighbors not far away who own horses on their land etc.

I like that we are not overly built out. I do not feel like I am in a congested overbuilt area with houses on top of each other.

I like that I am not too far for many of my friends to come by for parties and to link up with people. I have friends that have moved far out exurbs like Haymarket and Manassas etc. and we rarely see each other anymore and folks complain about having to venture out to their homes for gatherings.

I like that prop tax is reviewed every 3 years in lieu of annually and that we have a cap of no more than a 10% increase so even if assessed higher they have to phase it in over the 3 years. The prop tax is high for what we get for it but we also have homes that are generally far more affordable so it is a trade off..$500 less a month in prop tax could be $500 more a month in mortgage payments elsewhere. I also have to consider the landmass of what our very large county has to cover in services versus other smaller counties.

Those are a few things I like about living here.
 
Old 08-06-2009, 04:19 PM
 
1,831 posts, read 4,426,897 times
Reputation: 1262
Quote:
Originally Posted by TechlawyerinPG View Post
I have been in the Ft. Washington area since 2003 and love it here. Yes there are some things I cannot buy here, I do not like my county leadership and did NOT vote for them, most of my medical care is in DC or Alexandria hospitals in lieu of my local area, and as an expectant mom my choices in childcare and schools seem more limited than other areas and I though I am a minority I prefer not to send my child to a majority minority school system...I prefer more diversity but also do not want them to be 5% of the school population...all that said there are many things I like here.

I like the diversity. I work as a corporate lawyer in generally a less diverse environment and I appreciate coming home to more diversity. Black, white, korean, latino, vietnamese, filipino, middle eastern are all represented in my neighborhood.

I like my local soul food options, ethnic hair care options, ethnic bookstores and nightlife that caters to my culture. I also love my abundant filipino neighbors and enjoy their local restaurants.

I love being near the Potomac river and I spend a lot of time there on nice weekend days exploring the national parks, paths, the Harbor, marinas, etc. I didn't end up choosing a home with a river view but there are many here and it is my hope to upgrade to one in the future. If you enjoy nature and historical sites there are many places to enjoy here.

I like my local community indoor pool and rec center and ice skating rink and local YMCA.

I love that my neighbors are far less pretentious and are more down to earth than many of my colleagues who are living in what are deemed by many to be the more "elite" counties here. I feel more pressure about keeping up with the Joneses and to have the best nanny or to be a stay at home wife and have the best private school and the best $700k old small house in the best school district when I go to work everyday...when I come home I am in a different world of a good mix of just hard-working working class, middle class and some upper middle class folks trying to do the best for their families in the midst of it all. I mean I work in a world where everyone has a nanny or has a stay at home wife and lives in McLean, Vienna, Bethesda, Potomac, etc. ....I want the best for my family also I just happen to think the barometer for the best does not have to be as inflated as some Washingtonian parents make it out to be.

I love my proximity to downtown DC. I spend many weekends enjoying the museums, dining, festivals etc. or just going for a walk around the tidal basin. I think if I lived further out I would not utilize the city as much.

I love my proximity to NoVa or Alexandria and Arlington specifically...are close by and I enjoy shopping, dining, and movies there as well.

I love my location for commuting to DC and to NoVa jobs within an hour or less which is pretty decent for the DC area to get anywhere in less than an hour even if working and living in the same county.

I enjoy my affordable and newer construction home with a more modern layout than many homes in other areas. For a comparable house in some of the more "preferred counties" I'd have to spend more than twice what my mortgage is right now. I do not like the idea of a gigantic jumbo mortgage even if I can easily afford it. I prefer the idea of financial freedom, not having to be stuck in a certain job to make the mortgage payments and having more disposable income to benefit my family in more direct ways. If I decide we do not want to deal with the public schools...then the money saved can easily be redirected to private ones with the money saved on housing costs and if we decide to stick with public then we can afford full time tutors if need be to supplement. Frankly...I am not fond of any of the public school education options in this country whether in a great school district or not. I think we focus to much on passing tests versus real learning and exploration which is what my public education was many moons ago in Missouri. Our system is also failing boys in this country...and not just minority ones...Newsweek and other major publications have cited that boys are falling off and there is an increasing achievement gap with girls including college attendance. I think part of that is related to rigorous focus on passing tests...boys very often needs a more hands on real world educational experience to retain their interest. Also each child is very different and may learn better via different techniques than the mass community. So even if in the greatest school district the herd mentality of educating may not work best for your child.

I enjoy the mix of rural and urban that is in my area. I can drive a couple miles and feel like I am in the country and I can drive a couple miles in the other direction and feel like I am in the city. I have access to farmers markets and have neighbors not far away who own horses on their land etc.

I like that we are not overly built out. I do not feel like I am in a congested overbuilt area with houses on top of each other.

I like that I am not too far for many of my friends to come by for parties and to link up with people. I have friends that have moved far out exurbs like Haymarket and Manassas etc. and we rarely see each other anymore and folks complain about having to venture out to their homes for gatherings.

I like that prop tax is reviewed every 3 years in lieu of annually and that we have a cap of no more than a 10% increase so even if assessed higher they have to phase it in over the 3 years. The prop tax is high for what we get for it but we also have homes that are generally far more affordable so it is a trade off..$500 less a month in prop tax could be $500 more a month in mortgage payments elsewhere. I also have to consider the landmass of what our very large county has to cover in services versus other smaller counties.

Those are a few things I like about living here.
Hear, hear!
 
Old 08-06-2009, 06:31 PM
 
Location: Maryland
96 posts, read 119,499 times
Reputation: 34
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayman1981 View Post
Very interesting, in that there are three comments here. I betcha if this was other counties people would be pouring out praises. Thanks for the people who have responded. It's got to be more folks who enjoy living in the county.
These threads pop up month after month and it's the same people who defend PG,it's not good and it's not bad....it' just is.Don't take anyone else's word ...look up the facts for yourself.
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