Sell me on Silver Spring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is really nice, but you can’t get around the whiteness and the history. And obviously that’s what people mean by “good schools.”

Is anyone keeping people of color out now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is where souls go to die. Rockville, Frederick, anything thing is better than heinous and hoitey Bethesda with its zero parking, congestion, and office park overload. Blah blah blah. It’s the Arlington of MoCo.

Oh yes, the drug & opioid epidemic ground zero, crime riddled Frederick is MUCH better than Bethesda.
I'm sure given the option of a free home in either location, you'd far prefer to live in Frederick, right? 🤣

Oh, and please spare us the part where you extolle all of the virtues of Frederick, ok?
I grew up there.

Nothing, absolutely nothing you can say would make Frederick a better place to raise your family than Bethesda.

Any place is better than Frederick to raise a family... ANY PLACE.

I live in Rockville now, so I have no dog in this Silver Spring fight, but for you to make such a ridiculous, laughable and untrue statement, shows that you have ZERO clue of what you speak of.

It sounds like you have a lot of unresolved trauma in your family of origin. That absolutely can color your opinion of a place. I live in Takoma Park, and like most people here, I would never ever want to live in Bethesda. We have friends in Frederick who have kids who love it. The parks are great and the college town vibe is a positive. I also like Columbia, MD and Severna Park. Rockville, too, checks a lot of boxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is really nice, but you can’t get around the whiteness and the history. And obviously that’s what people mean by “good schools.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville Pike used to be a disaster and the epitome of ugly semi-urban sprawl but Rockville has been redoing much of the area to create more walkable and pleasant spaces. I wonder if SS could be redone in the same way.

What is walkable in Rockville?

There is a whole livable downtown Rockville. It's just not on Rockville Pike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry, didn’t mean to offend anyone. I like the diversity in SS and some of the neighbourhoods are nice. People seem friendly.
It’s just that I have been to downtown SS many times now and it is a bit depressing. I’m fine with urban grit but there is something about the SS downtown that I find jarring. It is not designed well and many of the buildings are ugly and rundown. I love ethnic food. It’s just that the area feels utterly charmless. The WF is nice but the parking lot there gets crazy on the weekends. I was surprised at the traffic and congestion in downtown on Friday evenings. I just feel it would add to my stress level if I had to go there a lot. The farmers market is very nice. Maybe it is fine to live there but avoid downtown and instead frequent Takoma Park, Bethesda and Rockville instead. Even the metro station looks imposing and uninviting. Good to hear there are nice parks around. We are also looking at Kensington. I’m not a huge Bethesda fan but I would say the Bethesda downtown beats SS by a mile. I guess that visual aesthetics are important to me. I could never live in an ugly house even if the inside was very nice.

I'm surprised you find downtown bethesda "charming". That is not how I would describe it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is really nice, but you can’t get around the whiteness and the history. And obviously that’s what people mean by “good schools.”

You don’t think POC care about good schools? How insulting. I am POC and absolutely care about good schools and safety. I’m able to afford Bethesda and wouldn’t choose SS over it due to schools alone. In the end, I chose neither but I would never choose SS due to the schools. There’s the ugliness but that’s a secondary concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in downtown SS and love it. We are a ten minute walk from Rock Creek Park, so easy to get to downtown DC, lots of playgrounds. If we could buy in close-in SS (Woodside) or those townhouses across from the metro station I would feel like I've made it in life. We are people who prefer hole in the wall Ethiopian food to high end Bethesda restaurants, and Bethesda has too many White people for me honestly. I grew up in Bethesda and it's nice, but so not me.

When did this become acceptable to say? Smh.

When whit ppl pay a premium to avoid minorities like in Bethesda and AU Park.

Or maybe they just pay a premium for a nicer downtown with better schools? Why shouldn’t they if they have the money and it’s their preference... not EVERY discussion has to come back to race.... it’s exhausting

Thanks for playing the caucasian naivete game in 2021. As if better schools are not directly linked to racist zoning, white flight and deliberately underfunded schools. This is not even novel or scandalous info. Idk what country you live in but in America, the country where ppl enslaved people to avoid doing work and then created policies to over centuries to ensure those some ppl would never ever be their equals, it usually always HAS to come back to race.

But enjoy your white enclave!

Imagine how exhausting it is to be black and actually be subject to the effects of racism every day.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a big fan of any of the "downtown" areas in this part of MD. Honestly, DTSS is probably my favorite. I HATE the underground parking in Bethesda. It's obnoxious and takes forever. I am not a big fan of most of the restaurants in Bethesda, though there are a few good ones.

Friendship Heights is the worst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m fine with urban grit but there is something about the SS downtown that I find jarring. It is not designed well and many of the buildings are ugly and rundown.

That's called small business. Many people consider it an asset to a community.

No it’s not. I’m a NP. Downtown Silver Spring is charmless because it is mostly chains. OP is completely right. I live in Takoma Park and rarely go to downtown silver spring because it is so devoid of character. But I wouldn’t let that put me of living in silver spring. There are charming neighborhoods and that’s more important.

I used to think DTSS was charmless but it really grew on me. On a nice summer night everyone is out having fun! Good food, and I would happily go to AFI Silver every weekend for the rest of my life.

That said, neither DTSS nor Bethesda seem very well designed to me. I think they both need better planning to navigate the type of density they have.

[Anonymous]

I'm in 20901 and LOVE my diverse neighborhood and my awesome community. I love my kids' schools. We are close enough to walk to Sligo Creek Park or Northwest Branch trail and go to both often. We can get to DTSS in 10 mins, Bethesda Row in about 15, Pike and Rose in about 15, and Kensington/Garrett Park in about 15. We can get to downtown DC in just over 30 mins. Of course you need to double those amounts when there's traffic...Don't buy a house for what the "downtown" area has to offer unless you are only looking for a walkable community. Buy a house that is affordable and works for you/your family and find a community you like. There are plenty of great neighborhoods in Silver Spring!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville Pike used to be a disaster and the epitome of ugly semi-urban sprawl but Rockville has been redoing much of the area to create more walkable and pleasant spaces. I wonder if SS could be redone in the same way.

What is walkable in Rockville?

The Pike and Rose shopping center is nice. Has some good restaurants and shops and condos. It looks nicer than DTSS.

But have you actually walked it? I have and card fly down the narrow streets and hate stopping at the stop signs. It’s even a bus route. So no, it isn’t as walkable as you like to pretend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville Pike used to be a disaster and the epitome of ugly semi-urban sprawl but Rockville has been redoing much of the area to create more walkable and pleasant spaces. I wonder if SS could be redone in the same way.

What is walkable in Rockville?

The Pike and Rose shopping center is nice. Has some good restaurants and shops and condos. It looks nicer than DTSS.

But have you actually walked it? I have and card fly down the narrow streets and hate stopping at the stop signs. It’s even a bus route. So no, it isn’t as walkable as you like to pretend.

This and pike and rose is brand new. Less than 5 years old so it was designed all at once. SS is old, has what the oldest urban mall in the US? Its making progress but it takes time. I live here but i dotn care much for aesthetics and love the people and the diversity and my woody neighborhood and close parks and the creek. If those things dont appeal to you, thats ok, move where youll be happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville Pike used to be a disaster and the epitome of ugly semi-urban sprawl but Rockville has been redoing much of the area to create more walkable and pleasant spaces. I wonder if SS could be redone in the same way.

What is walkable in Rockville?

There is a whole livable downtown Rockville. It's just not on Rockville Pike.

And it isn’t walkable. Downtown Rockville has the same issue as Pike and Rose. Narrow streets that people fly down. Even in front of the theater cars drive fast. Lots of closed businesses over there. It’s off of 355 which is a death trap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a big fan of any of the "downtown" areas in this part of MD. Honestly, DTSS is probably my favorite. I HATE the underground parking in Bethesda. It's obnoxious and takes forever. I am not a big fan of most of the restaurants in Bethesda, though there are a few good ones.

Friendship Heights is the worst.

Before the pandemic, our family would drive to downtown SS most weekends for dinner or shopping and I *really* appreciated the two big parking garages there that made it super easy to park. No searching for on-street parking and they were free on the weekends.

One nice thing about SS (versus Bethesda) is that the Metro ride between SS and Union Station is all above ground, so you actually get to see the sun during your commute to and from DC. Plus you can surf the web freely on your phone throughout the entire ride, not just in Metro stations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New poster here. We have a budget that caps out at $1 million. Could we find a decent house in a nice SS neighborhood. We have two kids. We have been looking within DC but now I’m wondering if we should also look further out.

Yes. If my budget had been a touch higher, I'd have looked in the neighborhood that I think is called Twelve Oaks. This sold recently, and is central to everything: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8401-Cedar-St-Silver-Spring-MD-20910/37283013_zpid/

This is Silver Spring address but Takoma Park schools: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7919-Takoma-Ave-Silver-Spring-MD-20910/37313316_zpid/

It's shocking to me that a 1928 house with radiator heat and in desperate need of renovations, sold for almost $1M! 🤯

FYI, that has absolutely nothing to do with the home being in Silver Spring, because I'm shocked that anyone would pay that much money for such an old home anywhere in this area (not to mention, all of the issues that come with owning an old house brings).

Am I missing something here?

People love radiator heat, what are you talking about?