What is it like to live in Kensington MD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kensington is somewhat dominated by the Catholic school/parish Holy Redeemer. If you are Catholic, it’s a very tight knit community.

I’ve always heard this, but it must be a small area of Kensington. I’m in north Kensington and don’t know anyone who is Catholic. I don’t think I’ve met any any families with kids that don’t send their kids to Rock View.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever I go to the Kensington Safeway, I'm always impressed by the number of 1160 AM Christian Talk radio bumper stickers I see.

So weird, I’ve never noticed that.

I wish I understood this reference. Could you elaborate?

It seems like OP is trying to suggest it’s a super Christian or conservative area. We are a very Christian family and literally never noticed these stickers anywhere let alone Safeway. I think a PP is right that it must be on an employee’s vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kensington is somewhat dominated by the Catholic school/parish Holy Redeemer. If you are Catholic, it’s a very tight knit community.

The few blocks around it maybe but not Kensington.

Yes -- the area around Holy Redeemer is a close-knit Catholic community, somewhat conservative politically. But is that actually part of Kensington, or is it part of Chevy Chase? It's called Chevy Chase View, but maybe that's just a real estate designation. In any case, that neighborhood is between Connecticut Avenue and Cedar Lane. On the other side of Cedar Lane is Kensington-Parkwood -- really nice, friendly neighborhood where I'd say most kids go to public schools. There's a swim and tennis club on the Kensington-Parkwood side of Cedar Lane. Many families from both of those neighborhoods belong to the club.
I live in the Town of Chevy Chase, not Kensington, but my kids, who are in HS and college, have friends who live in K-P.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kensington is somewhat dominated by the Catholic school/parish Holy Redeemer. If you are Catholic, it’s a very tight knit community.

I’ve always heard this, but it must be a small area of Kensington. I’m in north Kensington and don’t know anyone who is Catholic. I don’t think I’ve met any any families with kids that don’t send their kids to Rock View.

North Kensington isn’t Kensington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to live in DC and now live in the Oakland Terrace part of Kensington, which is not in Town of Kensington.

The old part of Kensington, TofK, to the east of CT Ave, is super cute. It’s the old country houses etc.

My area is fine. It’s 1950s housing. Nice people. OTES is Spanish immersion which is nice. Feeds to Einstein which is very diverse which we like but some people don’t like their kids to be around so many brown kids so they criticize it. I can walk to the farmers market etc. The houses zoned for Walter Johnson tend to cost more for comparable ones zoned for Einstein because some people would rather their kid take a forty minute bus ride to a whiter school than walk to the more diverse Einstein. (But those same people will plant Black Lives Matter flags in their yards!)

My issue is that it’s just so far to get anywhere interesting. Like a half hour or more drive to the fun things in DC. If you don’t care about that, then it’s a nice place to live. I’m surprised the housing prices are still as low as they are.

I wrote this and I just saw your question asking if there were any pros to living in Kensington vs Chevy chase or Bethesda.

The answer is no except Kensington is a little less wealthy. IMO that is a plus when raising kids. But I’d rather live in close in CC or close in Bethesda because they’re closer to dc, the housing stick is generally nicer, etc. the plus to Kensington is that it’s cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever I go to the Kensington Safeway, I'm always impressed by the number of 1160 AM Christian Talk radio bumper stickers I see.

So weird, I’ve never noticed that.

I wish I understood this reference. Could you elaborate?

It seems like OP is trying to suggest it’s a super Christian or conservative area. We are a very Christian family and literally never noticed these stickers anywhere let alone Safeway. I think a PP is right that it must be on an employee’s vehicle.

Hi I’m OP. This was someone else that suggested it hence my confusion. I haven’t been to Maryland yet!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:(Apologies if this has already been asked several times) What is it like to live in Kensington, MD? Are there are any pros to living in Kensington versus other close by areas like Bethesda/Chevy Chase besides the cost of homes? Also please forgive my ignorance, I am researching neighborhoods from out of state but hope to visit soon to get a better sense of the lay of the land.

Its in MD, that's all you need to know. #terrible

I’m confused. I didn’t mean to offend by my question?

That's just DCUM being DCUM.

Kensington is nice, especially the Town of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The houses zoned for Walter Johnson tend to cost more for comparable ones zoned for Einstein because some people would rather their kid take a forty minute bus ride to a whiter school than walk to the more diverse Einstein. (But those same people will plant Black Lives Matter flags in their yards!)

OP, I don't know what this person's grudge is about, but maybe they should stick to talking about what they like about their own neighborhood rather than making accusations about whole neighborhoods full of people.

FWIW, I think Kensington is a lovely place to live. It's a large area, with many different neighborhoods, served by many different schools. The vibes might vary by street or by area, so once you find some specific housing options, you could always come back for more specific input about individual neighborhoods and schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The houses zoned for Walter Johnson tend to cost more for comparable ones zoned for Einstein because some people would rather their kid take a forty minute bus ride to a whiter school than walk to the more diverse Einstein. (But those same people will plant Black Lives Matter flags in their yards!)

OP, I don't know what this person's grudge is about, but maybe they should stick to talking about what they like about their own neighborhood rather than making accusations about whole neighborhoods full of people.

FWIW, I think Kensington is a lovely place to live. It's a large area, with many different neighborhoods, served by many different schools. The vibes might vary by street or by area, so once you find some specific housing options, you could always come back for more specific input about individual neighborhoods and schools.

I’m just stating the truth. I’m explaining to her why she will see the same houses a block apart with much different prices. Some people are willing to pay a premium to send their kid to a whiter school that is a forty minute bus ride away because they don’t like the fact that Einstein is less wealthy and less white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m just stating the truth. I’m explaining to her why she will see the same houses a block apart with much different prices. Some people are willing to pay a premium to send their kid to a whiter school that is a forty minute bus ride away because they don’t like the fact that Einstein is less wealthy and less white.

Look, I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you're making accusations about people (me) you don't know. I'm not sure why you have such vitriol but you're not doing yourself (or the points you're trying to make) any favors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kensington is somewhat dominated by the Catholic school/parish Holy Redeemer. If you are Catholic, it’s a very tight knit community.

I’ve always heard this, but it must be a small area of Kensington. I’m in north Kensington and don’t know anyone who is Catholic. I don’t think I’ve met any any families with kids that don’t send their kids to Rock View.

North Kensington isn’t Kensington.

Tell that to the post office I guess?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kensington is somewhat dominated by the Catholic school/parish Holy Redeemer. If you are Catholic, it’s a very tight knit community.

I’ve always heard this, but it must be a small area of Kensington. I’m in north Kensington and don’t know anyone who is Catholic. I don’t think I’ve met any any families with kids that don’t send their kids to Rock View.

There are a lot of Holy Redeemer (and other private school families) in north Kensington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m just stating the truth. I’m explaining to her why she will see the same houses a block apart with much different prices. Some people are willing to pay a premium to send their kid to a whiter school that is a forty minute bus ride away because they don’t like the fact that Einstein is less wealthy and less white.

Look, I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you're making accusations about people (me) you don't know. I'm not sure why you have such vitriol but you're not doing yourself (or the points you're trying to make) any favors.

NP, but come on. The price differential between houses zoned for OTES and those zoned for KPES is public record. Demographic differences between the respective high schools (Einstein vs. WJ) are also public record. It's reasonable to wonder about the inconsistency between planting Black Lives Matter signs in your front yard while you pay a premium to NOT send your kids to schools with higher proportions of Black and Brown kids. Actions have consequences.

OP, home prices for OTES have increased with the immersion program, but it's still less than other nearby neighborhoods. We're also Kenmont members and love the pool--it's super friendly and welcoming. If you have any interest in summer swim for your kids, they have a terrific coaching staff. Kensington definitely isn't the most exciting place to live, but it's a good location and reasonably close to things. It's not that much farther from downtown DC than upper NW DC, and proximity to the Beltway means easy access to various places, traffic permitting.

[Anonymous]

OP, just fyi I believe the Marc train at Kensington does not run on weekends , and on weekends it is one way - into DC in the morning and out of DC in the afternoon. The Metro (there is a Metro station in Bethesda, also in Wheaton nearish to Kensington) rubs both ways and on weekends (though there are frequent service interruptions).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kensington is somewhat dominated by the Catholic school/parish Holy Redeemer. If you are Catholic, it’s a very tight knit community.

I’ve always heard this, but it must be a small area of Kensington. I’m in north Kensington and don’t know anyone who is Catholic. I don’t think I’ve met any any families with kids that don’t send their kids to Rock View.

North Kensington isn’t Kensington.

And this is the problem with Kensington. It's split into three different school zones (really four if you add in Holy Redeemer) and there is definitely a pecking order with Town of Kensington thinking they are at the top and North Kensington being degraded to "basically being Wheaton" by anyone who lives in a non-Einstein area. They can't stand that middle-class people claim to live there, even though Kensington is basically seen as the poor man's Bethesda/Chevy Chase. It's one of the reasons we moved from Kensington. Nice place to live but I hated the pissing contest.