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Need honest opinions on North Potomac--possible move to that area
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Anonymous
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We are looking to move to North Potomac and am concerned if it is a safe area for my wife and 2 small children. We are specifically concerned about
making sure it does not have a high crime rate, gangs, drugs etc...Also if you have any other opinions good or bad that you would not mind sharing with me regarding this area. We would be moving from Wisconsin. TIA for your responses and input. |
Anonymous
| North Potomac varies quite a bit from one place to the next. Where in N. Potomac? |
Anonymous
| We are looking at various places: Dufief region or Potomac Ridge region |
Anonymous
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North Potomac has extremely low crime rates. (I'm in Stonebridge)
Check here for specific addresses and neighborhoods. http://www.crimereports.com/ |
Anonymous
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North Potomac is an ethnically diverse area, mostly white and Asian. It's very typically suburban with planned neighborhoods. It borders the Kentlands, a larger planned community that has nice shopping but bad traffic. Kentlands was meant to be walkable for its residents and doesn't really handle the traffic from surrounding areas very well. Otherwise, shopping in North Potomac is mostly strip mall type shopping centers, albeit decent ones. Traffic in general can be rough, as it is throughout Montgomery County. The schools are good. Wootten is listed as one of the best in the County, but Quince Orchard is really good too. You will have easy access to kid-friendly things like the Germantown Splash Park, the Potomac Horse Center, and both public and neighborhood pools. The County park and playground system is really great. You will have to drive or take a bus to the Metro, which is 5 miles or so away. 270 traffic can be difficult getting to DC during rush hour. It's not crime-free, but compared to "hot spots" in the County, the crime rate is very low. Mostly thefts from vehicles.
Overall, I enjoy living in this area, but I like the suburbs. If you want a more urban atmosphere, you'll likely be disappointed. |
Anonymous
| Thank you for your thoughtful response. What you describe sounds very good to us. |
Anonymous
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9:42 is exactly right with their description. I live in Gaithersburg in the 20878 zip code (same as North Potomac, and often lumped in, although I'm technically within the Gaithersburg city limit) and my husband went to HS at Quince Orchard.
I would disagree that North Potomac varies that much....there's one area on the edge 20878 on Muddy Branch that's very close to downtown Gaithersburg that has some rough areas but I know a guy that lives there and he thinks it's fine, so maybe that's just my perception. It's all pretty safe, and the areas you're looking at are very nice. Watch out if you start looking in Germantown though or in Gaithersburg East of 270, which varies far more greatly. I would recommend the Quince Orchard or Wooton districts. Wooton is very competitive. Quince Orchard isn't rated as highly but is very good and pretty small for the area. |
Anonymous
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The area is nice. You are close to kentlands and the rio, although kentlands tends to be a bit 'step ford.' Elem and middle schools in the area are pretty good- Rachel Carson in kentlands is very overcrowd but dufief elem is pretty good, with small class sizes. The high school is quince orchard, which is not that great, IMO.
Like other pps said, crime is pretty low...mostly vehicle thefts from people who leave cars unlocked. There is a lot to do in the area and metro stops are pretty close, so it's great to be able to take the kids and hop on metro and go downtown. I also agree with pp about kentlands traffic...good shopping (whole foods, giant, petsmart) and lots of good restaurants, but the area does get pretty congested. |
Anonymous
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North Potomac is a very safe place to live, no gangs, and very kid friendly. I don't find it too diverse as it is mostly big suburban houses, a few mid sized suburban SFHs or planned communities.
For the Wooten Cluster the following areas feed into Travilah elementary and StoneMill : Potomac Chase, Hunting Hills and Belvedere all have large two acre lots and larger houses but no community center. The Willows of Potomac has large houses and I think townhouses with a good community center and smaller lots. Stonebridge has large single family houses and townhouses with a pool and community center. Dufief Mill has mid sized SFH and mid sized to small lots, classic suburbs. There are more subdivisions up muddy branch past Darnestown RD that I believe also feed Wooten. Kentland's Lakelands and Westleigh feed into Quince Orchard High. The Kentlands and the Lakelands are the only areas that provide walking access to grocery stores, restaurants, movies, etc. Driving is a must everywhere else but there are tons of kids things around this area. I don't actually agree with the traffic comment as I've never really seen any significant traffic beyond my preschool's carlane drop line in six years. At 5:30-6pm there can be traffic on Darnestown Road but frankly this moves pretty fast and is short lived. This is a great place to find very good nannies since many nannies live up past 270 where housing costs are much lower. There are many preschool and daycare options too. |
Anonymous
Very safe. It's not the ghetto, yo. |
Anonymous
Fallsgrove has a shopping center. There is a shopping center on Muddy Branch as well some people can walk to. |
Anonymous
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Okay, taking into account the PP's comment that it's not diverse, let me clarify what that may mean.
North Potomac is ethnically diverse, but it is not really socio-economically diverse. Dufeif Mill is mostly, however, white and Asian, as a PP has already mentioned. |
Anonymous
*bumping* My husband and I are also currently looking to move possibly to the North Potomac area. We have three small children and want to be sure that the neighborhood has a fair amount of children as well and great public schools. For those of you who currently live in North Potomac, what are most family friendly subdivisions that feed into the Wooton Cluster (i.e., Travilah, StoneMill or Duefief)??? For those of you who live in the Kentlands, how do you like it??? |
Anonymous
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I live in the Kentlands and we are pretty happy here. The traffic does get bad, but we usually walk everywhere. So it's not so bad if you live here. I will have been here for two years in November and while the houses being so close did not bother me at first, it is finally starting to wear on me a bit. Mostly because my neighbors next door like to be outside late at night and unless I leave my room at 1am to say something, they don't think to keep their voices down. That is not all houses though and luckily, they are very nice and have helped me out in other ways. It is definitely a bit "stepford" here...but you can be as involved as you want in the community. I am a creative type and sometimes don't feel that I fit in so much, but everyone is still very, very nice. If we end up sending DS to public school (he is 2 1/2 now), we would probably consider a move by the time he is in 6th grade. That is a while off though, but something that we think about for the future.
Overall, this is a super easy place to live and I like that I can be in the suburbs, but still walk to dinner or shopping. I like that I can take a different path whenever I want to go jogging and feel safe doing it on my own. We are content for now! |
Anonymous
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That's great information. What is the middle school for the Kentland area?
Speaking of middle schools in North Potomac, what is the reputation of Robert Frost middle school? |