Impressions of Glen Echo Heights?

[Anonymous]

Looking at the neighborhood. There are many beautiful (and expensive) homes and the hills and trees are unique. But there are also some questionable properties. What's the overall feel?

[Anonymous]

way too many trees

[Anonymous]

You can't walk to anything. Anything. Otherwise, I love it.

[Anonymous]

Not quite true. You can walk to the Sangamore shopping center, which has a Starbucks, a CVS, a Subway, a grocery store, a martial arts studio, a ballet school for kids, a beer and wine store and a couple of restaurants. And Ride On bus service is easy to access and can get you to the Metro in about 10 minutes. And let's not forget that you can walk to Glen Echo Park and to the towpath without too much trouble. But it's true it's not Edgemoor on the rim of downtown Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Too remote. If you like sunshine, I wouldn't move there. Otherwise, very pretty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't walk to anything. Anything. Otherwise, I love it.

You can walk down to the Canal and the Potomac.

[Anonymous]

I used to live there. It definitely has a mix of houses - there are still quite a few of the original 1950s small houses standing next to arts and crafts mega houses. It's eclectic but never really bothered me but then I grew up here so have seen the transition. We lived in an original small split level, which is still there. The people tend to be nice, and interesting. Mohican Pool is a good feature (and should be really nice when it's done). A decent number of people use the public schools (Whitman district) but some are in parochial and private schools. We did both - I didn't find that anyone judged us when our kids were in private school.

We moved only due to space (and are still nearby and still in the Whitman/Wood Acres cluster).

[Anonymous]

It's a beautiful neighborhood. We really like the vibe here. Friendly, very nice folks.

[Anonymous]

Bump. We're moving here this spring from DC. I'm wondering how many elementary-aged kids there are in the neighborhood and also would love to hear more about the overall vibe.

[Anonymous]

I love driving through Glen Echo- I find it really peaceful and it's so different than most areas around here. I don't live there, but I think it looks great. I'd much rather that then one of the touted "walkable" areas that are way too congested and busy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bump. We're moving here this spring from DC. I'm wondering how many elementary-aged kids there are in the neighborhood and also would love to hear more about the overall vibe.

We have lived in Glen Echo Heights for 15 years in two different houses. There is definitely a character to it that you won't find in too many other neighborhoods. It is very varied in terms of the houses and people. The trees and hills are special. Actually GEH was "the wrong side of the tracks" 25-30 years ago. It's where people went who couldn't afford Sumner or even Wood Acres. It attracted lots of characters living in all kinds of house--some fancy, some artsy, some run down. It was still largely that way when we moved in but it has been changing over time. Sadly there are more and more tear downs being replaced by over-sized development-looking houses. But there still are artists and eccentrics and houses that wouldn't cut it in other neighborhoods. GEH is not for people who yearn for rows of manicured lawns and sidewalks. It's different and fun and the people who live there really like being there.

[Anonymous]

We love the neighborhood. Beautiful, peaceful. Love the trees (but we still get plenty of light in our house--coming from someone who is obsessed with light). Good number of elementary school kids, but a nice mix of kids of different ages as well.

[Anonymous]

My parents live in the neighborhood. There are tons of families moving in. Walking around a few months ago I was surprised my the number of families I saw walking around. It's a really great neighborhood. Close to DC, downtown Bethesda and in 10-15 years hopefully the new Westbard mixed use space.

[Anonymous]

There are lots and lots of elementary school aged kids in the neighborhood now because so many new families are moving in. There are still many original cottages and some inexpensive ramblers. Most of the lots are 10-12,000 sq feet, so many of the old homes are being torn down for the new builds.

The neighborhood still has many of the original home owners, but they are beginning to pass away or move to assisted living. Our street had several original owners and many new families. During storms, the new owners would shovel and shop for some of the older residents.

Most of the people are kind of eclectic and they tend to skew pretty far left. There are your range of government employees, businessmen and lawyers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bump. We're moving here this spring from DC. I'm wondering how many elementary-aged kids there are in the neighborhood and also would love to hear more about the overall vibe.

We have lived in Glen Echo Heights for 15 years in two different houses. There is definitely a character to it that you won't find in too many other neighborhoods. It is very varied in terms of the houses and people. The trees and hills are special. Actually GEH was "the wrong side of the tracks" 25-30 years ago. It's where people went who couldn't afford Sumner or even Wood Acres. It attracted lots of characters living in all kinds of house--some fancy, some artsy, some run down. It was still largely that way when we moved in but it has been changing over time. Sadly there are more and more tear downs being replaced by over-sized development-looking houses. But there still are artists and eccentrics and houses that wouldn't cut it in other neighborhoods. GEH is not for people who yearn for rows of manicured lawns and sidewalks. It's different and fun and the people who live there really like being there.

Agree. Another factor of course was restrictive covenants in both Sumner and Wood Acres. So the Jews (including my grandparents) ended up in GEH. Growing up I always thought Wood Acres had the fancy houses and Sumner the mansions.