Bethesda vs Vienna/GF/Reston? Violent crime in MoCo is concerning

[Anonymous]

Hi, we lived in Bethesda for years, moved to the midwest, and now we are planning a move back. We really enjoyed Bethesda before and assumed that is where we will return. However, my friends in the area have told me that violent crime is way up: carjackings, armed robbery and glass broken out/vandalism in stores across downtown Bethesda. Last week an employee at the CVS on Wisconsin was stabbed. (Yikes! I used to go to that CVS!) A friend in CC is thinking of moving. We are not interested to spend $$ and feel unsafe going out. My read is that there are some deep problems in Montgomery County leading to the spike in crime and I am concerned that it will get worse.

My husband is in tech and his company's HQ is in the Dulles corridor. His team has always been 100% remote since before the pandemic. However, if we lived near the HQ he would like to go into the office some. Also, I read that violent crime in Fairfax was 1/2 of what it has been in MoCo recently. Housing prices and taxes are also lower in NOVA. They have a more robust police department and their judicial system seems stricter. We don't care about the public schools as we have always done private.

When I write it out like this, NOVA seems like the best choice. However, we have a strong emotional attachment to Bethesda related to our previous years there. I would like to smooth over my unease about violent crime in MoCo but am unsure. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I live a block from that CVS and was also a little shocked at that stabbing (they did arrest the guy btw) but I don’t feel unsafe walking around.

Maybe there are reasons for you to live in Va but I donmt thi k fear of violent crime is a reason to stay away from Bethesda.

Of course this forum has people whose mission it is to complain about MoCo politics and policies and who are apparently on a mission to convince everyone MoCo will be a dystopian hellhole unless we adopt Singapore-style public canings so you can certainly expect to hear a different view on this thread (I’m going to assume for now this is a bona fide question and not a softball for those people to tee off on).

[Anonymous]

There are more private schools in MoVo but the public schools in the NoVa equivalents of Bethesda are excellent.

[Anonymous]

^ MoCo

[Anonymous]

Buy in VA.

[Anonymous]

Oh stop.

VA has Youngkin enough said.

Way saver in MOCO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buy in VA.

Never again ever

[Anonymous]

With all due respect, if you feel unsafe going out in Bethesda you should move back to the midwest.

[Anonymous]

NoVa is more expensive for a reason.

[Anonymous]

I live in Ashburn near the Dulles corridor. The worse crimes we have is maybe a soccer mom getting a speeding ticket. Besides that, very quiet and safe. Make the move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live a block from that CVS and was also a little shocked at that stabbing (they did arrest the guy btw) but I don’t feel unsafe walking around.

Maybe there are reasons for you to live in Va but I donmt thi k fear of violent crime is a reason to stay away from Bethesda.

Of course this forum has people whose mission it is to complain about MoCo politics and policies and who are apparently on a mission to convince everyone MoCo will be a dystopian hellhole unless we adopt Singapore-style public canings so you can certainly expect to hear a different view on this thread (I’m going to assume for now this is a bona fide question and not a softball for those people to tee off on).

Oh stop. This forum is dominated by the “but Virginia has Youngkin and red necks in the state!!!” crowd, who crap on Virginia any chance they get. You also couldn’t get through your post without your bias becoming extremely evident.

[Anonymous]

Very interested in peoples perspectives on this too. Are muggings a realistic concern in downtown Bethesda now? They are in my DC neighborhood and I’m considering moving but don’t want to shell out $$$ to run into the same problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very interested in peoples perspectives on this too. Are muggings a realistic concern in downtown Bethesda now? They are in my DC neighborhood and I’m considering moving but don’t want to shell out $$$ to run into the same problem

No, it's not a concern. The incidents are rare although crime everywhere has gone up.If you're concerned about Bethesda you should be concerned with Tysons too. A woman was raped at gunpoint there a couple of months ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very interested in peoples perspectives on this too. Are muggings a realistic concern in downtown Bethesda now? They are in my DC neighborhood and I’m considering moving but don’t want to shell out $$$ to run into the same problem

It’s too early to tell. A couple of unsettling things have happened recently in the downtown. It’s not currently anything like what is going on in DC.

[Anonymous]

We've been hearing a lot about gun battles at Tyson's lately. Sounds very safe.