Renting for DCPS vs MCPS

[Anonymous]

I’ve seen this topic come up before (DCPS vs MCPS) but we are specifically concerned about the logistics of moving/renting in MD and somewhere down the line losing our spot at our MCPS elementary if the owner decides to sell. We have a rising Kindergartener and we are going to sell our place in DC and rent somewhere. We originally planned on finding a rental in the WOTP usual suspect school districts (we especially liked Murch when we visited) but we were casually looking at rentals in close-to-DC MCPS neighborhoods. We found a place that looks great and is super close to the MCPS elementary and a nearby park and library. But we’re worried there’s a chance we might not be able to stay at the same rental for all of elementary and it’d be a lot harder to find another rental in the same MD school district vs in DC, where it seems like there’s a better chance we could find another rental in the same neighborhood and/or be close enough and allowed to continue on through 5th grade at least. MCPS seems pretty strict about only letting the kid finish the current grade out if you had to move. Any renters who were in the same position and still chose MCPS (or didn’t and are glad they rented in DC)? There are other things that we’d miss about DC (sidewalks for one!) but it’s mostly the elementary continuity that worries us the most.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I rented twice in the BCC Cluster for a total of 16 years. We left Eaton ES in DC because it was clear that 1 DC would not be able to get mild learning disability needs met in DC.

In MoCo, in each instance, I rented a SFH that was clearly owned as a rental - small and clean and renovated just enough for the rental market. In each case, the landlords never raised the rent after I moved in. They were smart and preferred to have a stable ling term tenant to the expenses of turnover.

It's not that hard to rent in the BCC cluster. There are constantly 1-3 year rentals for people moving for jobs (lots of diplomatic community people). There are areas of rentals in Bethesda, Friendship Heights, Chevy Chase Lake, Rock Creek Forest and Silver Spring. I felt pretty confident that had I unexpectedly been asked to move I could have found something else in cluster, even if not ideal.

I think similar is true of Takoma Park and areas of the DC. cluster in MoCo.

Our kids benefited from access to selective magnet middle schools that DC does not have. But, relatives sent their kids to Janney, Deal, Jackson-Reed and their kids liked it, & the family had a nice circle of friends and neighbors.

Experiences are not the same btwn the 2 but both are good options.

Also, the BCC cluster has a kind of odd set up in that North Chevy Chase ES (3-5) and Chevy Chase ES (3-5) are paired with Rosemary Hills ES (K-2). So kids from RHPs are split after 2nd into CCES and NCCES, so there is a natural re-mixing of friendships, together with parents coming from some privates (Beauvoir, Lowell, Sheridan, etc.) that makes it easy for new students to enter. In that case you could rent for 3rd and only have to stay 3 years before school boundary widens for MS.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for the response! The place we were looking to rent is in the Pyle/Whitman district. Do you know if the rental inventory for SFH is generally comparable to the BCC cluster? Right now I see a lot of apartments available in the BCC area. How was your transition from DC to MoCo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve seen this topic come up before (DCPS vs MCPS) but we are specifically concerned about the logistics of moving/renting in MD and somewhere down the line losing our spot at our MCPS elementary if the owner decides to sell. We have a rising Kindergartener and we are going to sell our place in DC and rent somewhere. We originally planned on finding a rental in the WOTP usual suspect school districts (we especially liked Murch when we visited) but we were casually looking at rentals in close-to-DC MCPS neighborhoods. We found a place that looks great and is super close to the MCPS elementary and a nearby park and library. But we’re worried there’s a chance we might not be able to stay at the same rental for all of elementary and it’d be a lot harder to find another rental in the same MD school district vs in DC, where it seems like there’s a better chance we could find another rental in the same neighborhood and/or be close enough and allowed to continue on through 5th grade at least. MCPS seems pretty strict about only letting the kid finish the current grade out if you had to move. Any renters who were in the same position and still chose MCPS (or didn’t and are glad they rented in DC)? There are other things that we’d miss about DC (sidewalks for one!) but it’s mostly the elementary continuity that worries us the most.

You should ask Jeff to move this to the MCPS forum
using the “report” button. You will get more people with relevant experience there.