Was Your Neighborhood Nicer 20 Years Ago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sligo park hills was nicer, feels like Langley Park is spilling over and piney branch is a nightmare. Flower Ave is a mess

To be fair, hasn’t Langley park always been kinda shady? If I’m wrong please correct me.

It wasn’t this bad and it wasn’t always growing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC version. Connecticut Avenue corridor from DuPont to Chevy Chase, no. Ditto U Street, Columbia Heights, and Petworth. Everywhere else, yes.

This is not true. Barracks Row/CH, Navy Yard, the Wharf…

[Anonymous]

Mine was marginally nicer (20906). There were mostly one family and 1-2 cars per house in a neighborhood of starter homes, and lots of little kids. By the time I moved out last year it had become multiple families and cars per house, loud music blasting at all hours and a much more transient population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was always wonderful. My neighborhood is next to downtown Bethesda (Montgomery County, MD), to the west. I can walk to all the Bethesda shops and restaurants, but live in a little bubble of leafy streets with sidewalks. My aunt built a house there before the metro stop existed. The original, small homes, have gradually been replaced by much larger houses, some gaudier than others, but the variety is interesting. The public schools are some of the best in the county.

I do not regret my decision to buy here.

+1. I'm in 20814 (about 0.75 miles from the new part of downtown Bethesda, and 0.3 miles from the old part), and it's been great for the past 30 years I've lived here.

[Anonymous]

I lived in Columbia Heights from 2001 to 2004, and even though the neighborhood back then lacked the amenities it has now, I feel like it was a nicer place to live than it is now. These days, Columbia Heights is just a mess.

[Anonymous]

We live in a suburban subdivision that has 3000 sq ft houses. What I have noticed in my neighborhood is a lot of kids moving home after college and as a result, i have counted up to SEVEN cars in some driveways. We are fortunate to have sidewalks and I used to love walking my dog in the neighborhood at night. But now the cars frequently cover the sidewalk so you need to go around them and into the street and mostly it feels like going for a walk in a parking lot. We are thinking about moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC version. Connecticut Avenue corridor from DuPont to Chevy Chase, no. Ditto U Street, Columbia Heights, and Petworth. Everywhere else, yes.

Meant this the completely opposite way. Upper NW was much nicer 20 years ago as was the whole U Street, Petworth, and Columbia Heights neighborhoods. Petworth peaked in 2008-2013 and has been way more crimey ever since.

[Anonymous]

Getting better and better - major house renovations, great restaurants. Takoma Park.

[Anonymous]

Bethesda here. More restaurants but also more carjackings and shootings at the local HS. Mixed bag.

[Anonymous]

20853 in Aspen Hill/Rockville, been living here since 2001 and I can say my neighborhood is still nice, but I can see it starting to decay.

[Anonymous]

Silver Spring was probably nicer 20 years ago. It had a trendy clothing retail scene with American Apparel and others. Discovery HQ was a shining beacon for the neighborhood. The area felt safer, but not sure about the actual crime stats. 25-plus years ago, Montgomery Blair HS was still a strong anchor for the neighborhood, before it left. Since then the historic facility has largely been neglected and left to deteriorate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20853 in Aspen Hill/Rockville, been living here since 2001 and I can say my neighborhood is still nice, but I can see it starting to decay.

20853 resident here too, we’ve had too many criminal activity recently, especially with so called Latinos in our area. The local HS near us also seems to be a bit worse than I expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:City of Alexandria checking in. Yes, much, much, much nicer.

Del Ray checking in. Ehhhh. It was just turning the corner. We bought there in 2000 and it was still pretty rough around the edges.

[Anonymous]

Clifton, Va no.

[Anonymous]

No,old town Alexandria