What is the most overrated area (neighborhood, town, etc) in the DC metropolitan area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PPs who think Georgetown is overrated are jealous. I worked in Georgetown for almost a year and LOVED it.

the parking in Georgetown is horrendous.

If you live in Georgetown and your home doesn't include parking, you cannot afford to live in Georgetown.

For most people, expensive="overrated." It's sad, really.

But it isn't just about me parking. If you have a party, no one has a place to park. And they get stuck in traffic and are really late. And you have to deal with all of the college kids at any of the local establishments. Just not my cup of tea. Nothing sad about that.

Well it is a little sad when poeple can't fathom that others perfer something other than what they prefer and imagine in their little brain that the only plausible reason is jealousy.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand the hype around Bloomingdale. It is next to North Capital street which I find dreadful and close to that big cementary with poor public transportation and almost mo bars and restaurants (ok, there is Big Bear). I find Shaw and Ledroit which are right next to Bloomingdale way nicer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lake barcroft

+1 drove through this area and it looks frozen in time with old homes. Reminds me of an old grand pa talking about his old college days and past years of greatness with nothing new to offer.

-1. People seek it out for the lake and the mid-century homes. If you want to put up some McMansion in the middle of homes no one will miss, you can always move to Pimmit Hills.

No one lives in lake barcroft for the old run down homes, they live there because of the lake.

Both the MCM homes and the lake are appealing.

http://www.popville.com/2013/07/blurbs-from-the-burbs-lake-barcroft-community/

The comments are funny and telling of the schools.

Jeff
July 2, 2013 at 2:53 pm
Some homes in Lake Barcroft (not right on the lake, but very, very close) run in the $500-$700 range. And as an Arlington resident, I can testifty that you get a LOT more for $700 plus in this area than you get in Arlington … but of course you lose the commuting and public school advantages offered by Arlington.

Anonymous
July 2, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Husband and I have considered it. We drove around there about a month ago. Its really beautiful and hard to believe so close to DC. We would love something on the water or at least boat access. Waterfront homes are closer to 1mil though. The downside is that its in a lousy elementary school boundary. So we might as well stick with Park View which also has a lousy neighborhood school.

Derek
July 3, 2013 at 11:58 am
As someone who attended Sleepy Hollow Elementary School in the 1980s, I (facetiously) take umbrage at your comment!

John
July 3, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Apparently you got out in time, because you can spell words like “umbrage” and “facetiously” and use them correctly in a sentence.

[Anonymous]

Another cool article about a Lake Barcroft renovation...gorgeous!

http://www.homeanddesign.com/article.asp?article=21297

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The complaints about Georgetown sound like the sort of things people say who only come here to shop. Yeah, it's going to be difficult for you to find parking sometimes but your experience isn't comparable to being a resident here.

I have a two car garage and live fairly close to the university but I ENJOY the sound of student passing by. The energy is so great here. I don't see myself living anywhere else in D.C.

How can you say it's overrated if you have never lived here and cannot afford to do it?

They don't get it and won't...which I am actually glad. One of the things I LOVED about Georgetown was actually how down-to-earth and normal the moms I met at Rose and Montrose park were--especially to across the border. There are stereotypes and there will always be there. As somebody that grew up the area and has lived in Bethesda, Arlington, Old Town and Fairfax--the people that were the most genuine were in Georgetown. We had people from my grandparents' age, parents' age, as well as our own age inviting us over all of the time. Everyone was so friendly and there was none of this 'keeping up with the Jones' crap so prevalent in a lot of the suburbs. I still get Christmas cards and emails from these people. I still stop into say 'hello' when checking on the house. It was a very nice community. Here's a tip---there are many, many places not overrun with college kids--shh.shhh.. many you wouldn't know about when you head straight to Sequoia's or the strips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another cool article about a Lake Barcroft renovation...gorgeous!

http://www.homeanddesign.com/article.asp?article=21297

I don't doubt there are some nice homes but your typical home there looks like this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another cool article about a Lake Barcroft renovation...gorgeous!

http://www.homeanddesign.com/article.asp?article=21297

I don't doubt there are some nice homes but your typical home there looks like this

There's a lot of variety. That type of house is fairly common, and still far more interesting if you're a fan of MCM than some bland Colonial with vinyl siding in a place like Pimmit Hills.

[Anonymous]

The city of Potomac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PPs who think Georgetown is overrated are jealous. I worked in Georgetown for almost a year and LOVED it.

the parking in Georgetown is horrendous.

If you live in Georgetown and your home doesn't include parking, you cannot afford to live in Georgetown.

For most people, expensive="overrated." It's sad, really.

But it isn't just about me parking. If you have a party, no one has a place to park. And they get stuck in traffic and are really late. And you have to deal with all of the college kids at any of the local establishments. Just not my cup of tea. Nothing sad about that.

Well it is a little sad when poeple can't fathom that others perfer something other than what they prefer and imagine in their little brain that the only plausible reason is jealousy.

Ah, but "overrated" implies an objective criterion. I have no problem with others who say they don't like an area. I object when people masquerade their preferences as anything extending beyond their own idiosyncracies.

For the record, I concede the point about visitors having trouble parking. As I don't live in Gtown, I didn't really think about this point.

I stand behind the statement: "For most people, expensive="overrated."

[Anonymous]

Overrated is relative to the absolute nature of the 'rating.' I.e., hard for a crappy neighborhood to be 'overrated' because it's not rated highly to begin. On the other hand, Georgetown, which is a beautiful area and loved by people that like historic architecture (and are tolerant of row homes ... many are not), has a very high absolute 'rating' and as such is more prone to assertions that it is 'overrated.' I.e., it's actual appeal to many is far less than its reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overrated is relative to the absolute nature of the 'rating.' I.e., hard for a crappy neighborhood to be 'overrated' because it's not rated highly to begin. On the other hand, Georgetown, which is a beautiful area and loved by people that like historic architecture (and are tolerant of row homes ... many are not), has a very high absolute 'rating' and as such is more prone to assertions that it is 'overrated.' I.e., it's actual appeal to many is far less than its reputation.

You're contradicting yourself, and in doing so making my point.

Gtown having a "very high absolute rating" implies that Gtown is liked by many. You then say it's overrated and that its "actual appeal to many is far less than its reputation," as if this is some wisdom beyond impeachment. It's not.

If you're trying to say that "for every generally well-regarded area, there are always many people who don't like that area," then we agree. But this is content without substance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wood Acres

Funny you said that. DH and looked for houses all over the place last year but that was the one neighborhood in which we outright refused.

[Anonymous]

Takoma Park, MD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The complaints about Georgetown sound like the sort of things people say who only come here to shop. Yeah, it's going to be difficult for you to find parking sometimes but your experience isn't comparable to being a resident here.

I have a two car garage and live fairly close to the university but I ENJOY the sound of student passing by. The energy is so great here. I don't see myself living anywhere else in D.C.

How can you say it's overrated if you have never lived here and cannot afford to do it?

They don't get it and won't...which I am actually glad. One of the things I LOVED about Georgetown was actually how down-to-earth and normal the moms I met at Rose and Montrose park were--especially to across the border. There are stereotypes and there will always be there. As somebody that grew up the area and has lived in Bethesda, Arlington, Old Town and Fairfax--the people that were the most genuine were in Georgetown. We had people from my grandparents' age, parents' age, as well as our own age inviting us over all of the time. Everyone was so friendly and there was none of this 'keeping up with the Jones' crap so prevalent in a lot of the suburbs. I still get Christmas cards and emails from these people. I still stop into say 'hello' when checking on the house. It was a very nice community. Here's a tip---there are many, many places not overrun with college kids--shh.shhh.. many you wouldn't know about when you head straight to Sequoia's or the strips.

Absolutely spot on. I love that Georgetown feels like a little village of people. I've made so many genuinely interesting and kind friends here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Overrated is relative to the absolute nature of the 'rating.' I.e., hard for a crappy neighborhood to be 'overrated' because it's not rated highly to begin. On the other hand, Georgetown, which is a beautiful area and loved by people that like historic architecture (and are tolerant of row homes ... many are not), has a very high absolute 'rating' and as such is more prone to assertions that it is 'overrated.' I.e., it's actual appeal to many is far less than its reputation.

You're contradicting yourself, and in doing so making my point.

Gtown having a "very high absolute rating" implies that Gtown is liked by many. You then say it's overrated and that its "actual appeal to many is far less than its reputation," as if this is some wisdom beyond impeachment. It's not.

If you're trying to say that "for every generally well-regarded area, there are always many people who don't like that area," then we agree. But this is content without substance.

Wrong.

Assume a widget has a "rating" of 10 as measured by some arbiter of widget quality (the reputation maker) but the totality of potential buyers think that widget is really only an 8, as compared to other widgets. On the other hand a different widget has a rating of 5 by the same arbiter, while the market of potential buyers thinks it's actually a 4. In this case, the first widget - the 10, but really an 8 - is MORE OVERRATED (see: post title) than the second widget.

The degree of "over"rating is relative to the absolute value. No doubt that Georgetown is liked by many ... many more than like lots of other areas ... but if every potential DC buyer were asked whether they believed Georgetown's actual attraction justifies the hype (from e.g., national reputation), those buyers probably would say no. As such, Georgetown is a legitimate candidate for the "most overrated area."