Bethesda vs Severna Park vs Western Howard County
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Anonymous
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If money and commute was not an issue, which of these three would you pick? IMO they all have pros and cons which make it tough
Bethesda Pros: highly educated, top schools, right outside of DC, nice walkable downtown, metro access, closer to amazing restaurants, good international diversity, good trails, very good mall, close to Tysons, and good healthcare options Bethesda Cons: super expensive, housing stock is mostly either very old or new tear downs, lack of economic diversity, high academic pressure in schools, not super close to things to do outside of DC, and elitism Severna Park Pros: On the water and near Annapolis, somewhat more affordable than Bethesda, close to Baltimore, top schools, B&A bike/hiking trail, and strong neighborhood cohesion Severna Park Cons: Further away from DC, not many good places to shop or dine in the immediate area, closest malls are Arundel Mills and Annapolis Mall, which are so-so, lots of big box stores and generic chains, lack of racial diversity, is somewhat redneck/waterbilly, lack of transit connectivity, and can feel very insular Western Howard County Pros: Top schools, good racial and international diversity, brand new and large homes, near both Columbia and Montgomery County for shopping and dining, and plenty of nice parks nearby Western Howard County Cons: High academic pressure in schools, elitism, traffic, lack of transit connectivity, pretty far from DC, and depending on where in the area you are, the farms can reek of cow manure in the summer and you may smell it near your house . Given that each place has its pros and cons, it’s a hard choice! |
Anonymous
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These are three very different locations and demographics, though probably more an overlap between western HoCo and Severna Park. What do you want? What is important to you? Diversity, whether racial or economic, isn't important to me, for example, but is clearly very important to some people.
All things being equal I'd probably narrow down to either waterfront Severna Park (non-waterfront is unremarkable and no idea why you think it has more of a strong community feel than the other two) or Bethesda. Severna Park for the waterfront lifestyle or Bethesda for the connectedness and convenience. But I also imagine very few buyers are choosing between Severna Park and Bethesda. Working in DC I'd never pick Severna Park. |
Anonymous
| Waterfront Severna park hands down. |
Anonymous
| If money and commutes are non-issues, give me waterfront Annapolis. But alas, they are, so I will take CC or Bethesda. |
Anonymous
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1. Western HoCo
2. Bethesda 3. Severna Park- just too hickish |
Anonymous
| Also I would never even consider non-waterfront SP. |
Anonymous
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Severna Park resident here who previously lived in DC for many years. Real estate is significantly more affordable and you can get a waterfront house here for $1.5-2M and up. Renovated or new 3000+ sq ft houses in water-privileged neighborhoods are about $800,000 to $1.2M. Smaller houses or fixer uppers are in the $600k to 800k range.
The community feel is strong but different from Bethesda. Most homes are in neighborhoods built between the 1960s and 1990s with pool clubs, boat docks, some beaches and other community amenities. Severna Park is entirely centered around families with children...any young, single adults here are likely still living with their parents. Socializing centers around boating, pool clubs and sports. The lifestyle is like a throwback to my 80s childhood, but on the water. My kids have a lot of freedom, biking to friends' houses and the pool. My kids have their boating licenses and their own modest boat...what a way to grow up. The public schools are great and well-run and we've been very happy in terms of both academics and how well our kids have adjusted. Housing is almost entirely single family homes. The only apartments I'm aware of are for seniors. As a result there's very little economic diversity. There's not much racial diversity either although there are more families moving here from other parts of the DMV...so schools are maybe 85% white instead of 95% maybe 10 yrs ago. Most people are very well educated but Bethesda I'm sure has a much higher rate of people with advanced degrees. I can think of one person in my neighborhood with a PhD. I have a fair number of neighbors that didn't go to college and either have had military careers , work in law enforcement or are blue collar business owners. There are many Feds here, split between those at Ft Meade (NSA or military) and those at a wide variety of agencies in DC. The commute to DC is pretty brutal and there's no public transit there except for a commuter bus. The area is also more politically conservative than DC but leans lightly blue and is trending more blue over time (every precinct here voted for Harris in the last election by 5-20pts; local elected offices like the County Executive and some state representatives that were Republican-held for decades are now held by Democrats.). Nearby areas like Pasadena are super red, while Annapolis is more strongly blue. People that have been here for multiple generations are much more conservative than newcomers, which tend to move here from DC, Baltimore, Philly or all over the country or internationally with the military or foreign service. There are a lot of locally owned businesses here and a few good restaurants and crab houses, but for the most part, I head back to the DC area for a great meal or interesting shopping. I like being close to DC (but not having to commute there); we go once a month or so to see friends or take the kids to museums, etc. We're also 30 minutes to the Baltimore Inner Harbor or Camden Yards and are 5 miles from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I'm far more likely to go under the bridge in a boat than drive over it in a car. |
Anonymous
I grew up near SP and this would be my ranking. |
Anonymous
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My female cousin grew up in SP and got a PhD and is a professor. The schools do a good job. It would be fine for pure whitebread suburbanites (people who wouldn't go to DC on a weekend for fun).
I am more of a Bethesda person myself but I hated my brief, snob-infested experience in MCPS and so I moved away from DMV to go to grad school, buy real estate, and raise kids. I had college friends who were MCPS-educated and I worked in DC for 7 years after college. |
Anonymous
| 100% Bethesda. Hoco second, never severna park, personally. |
Anonymous
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Bethesda. Only Bethesda.
I grew up in SP and would never live there. Close minded rednecks who think they are high class. It is still awful and women in their 50s still think they are in HS. |
Anonymous
| Hoco for sure. People are educated and schools are good like Bethesda but without the same level of snobbery. In a nutshell, cardiologists, fewer lobbyists. |
Anonymous
Maybe but like 27th in their class and work for Kaiser and married to SAHM. More like defense sales reps and GS13s from ft Meade |
Anonymous
Making fun of GS-13s is snobby. Because of income levels. Also making fun of the military. Not cool. |
Anonymous
Case in point, op! Nice nephrologists and their librarian wives in HoCo >>> this pp from Bethesda. |