Tell me about Takoma Park

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:liberal and inviting crime

No one 'invites,' crime

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We currently live in Alexandria and love it but can’t afford more space in our current neighborhood and aren’t loving the school options. We were eyeing the Bethesda area, but for obvious reasons (expensive also and overachiever vibes) I’m wondering if Takoma Park is more our style, but I know very little about it. Non-negotiables are at least partially walkable neighborhoods with charming homes and great/good schools. Thoughts?

I prefer Silver Spring because I don't want to pay extra taxes or go through lengthly process if I need a tree removsl or get rid of any lead paint in my windows. I like to shop and visit though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We currently live in Alexandria and love it but can’t afford more space in our current neighborhood and aren’t loving the school options. We were eyeing the Bethesda area, but for obvious reasons (expensive also and overachiever vibes) I’m wondering if Takoma Park is more our style, but I know very little about it. Non-negotiables are at least partially walkable neighborhoods with charming homes and great/good schools. Thoughts?

I’d say yes - sounds like a nice fit for you. There are definitely some over achiever types but it’s far less intense than Bethesda

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:liberal and inviting crime

No one 'invites,' crime

lots of crime like rapes, violent property damage for a much smaller population
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/md/takoma-park/crime

compare that to bethesda and mclean
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/md/bethesda/crime
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/va/mclean/crime

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:liberal and inviting crime

No one 'invites,' crime

lots of crime like rapes, violent property damage for a much smaller population
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/md/takoma-park/crime

compare that to bethesda and mclean
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/md/bethesda/crime
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/va/mclean/crime

Takoma Park is large and long. Crime very much depends on where you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you understand the extra tax burden of TP.

And the schools are good but not as good as Bethesda/Potomac.

What do you mean by this? They are all part of montgomery county schools.

Be specfic

They’re not W schools. If you care about elite schools, move west of the Pike. Potomac with the similar to Takoma Park priced houses near Rockville/North Bethesda. That is the place to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You will either love it or hate it. I hate it, and will tell you the things I hate about it, which you may not hate.

It is stridently liberal. I am liberal. But because I do not have a yard sign that says "love loves here and we love all kinds of people" I suspect my neighbors, who've also heard my opinions re: the Co-Op Parking Lot Wars, do not think so. I'm not sure. We no longer speak.

If you love yoga classes, and expensive yuppie Mexican food, it may be for you. If you are a nice white family who wants some diversity around them and support for your quirky teen without ever having to inconvenience yourselves by worrying about poverty, or cultural tolerance, it may also be for you: there are hundreds of families just like yours. Parents with advanced degrees, good intentions, NPR tote bags, and family money. In the age of Trump, it could almost sound comforting, maybe.

you’re thinking of the TKPK of 25 years ago. The hippies were priced out awhile ago; it’s now more of another wealthy dc suburb.

[Anonymous]

OP here. What are these extra taxes? Are there neighborhoods or schools we should be looking for within TP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. What are these extra taxes? Are there neighborhoods or schools we should be looking for within TP?

City taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. What are these extra taxes? Are there neighborhoods or schools we should be looking for within TP?

Takoma park is a city, with its own community center, police force, library, and taxes. Silver Spring, adjacent to it and zoned for the same schools, does not. Some savvy people buy in Sligo Park Hills, or East Silver Spring to benefit from the TPK amenities without the taxes or the arcane tree laws.

The schools are all good, I guess. They're not as affluent as schools on the western end of Montgomery County. In my family's experience for college admissions this was a feature, not a bug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will either love it or hate it. I hate it, and will tell you the things I hate about it, which you may not hate.

It is stridently liberal. I am liberal. But because I do not have a yard sign that says "love loves here and we love all kinds of people" I suspect my neighbors, who've also heard my opinions re: the Co-Op Parking Lot Wars, do not think so. I'm not sure. We no longer speak.

If you love yoga classes, and expensive yuppie Mexican food, it may be for you. If you are a nice white family who wants some diversity around them and support for your quirky teen without ever having to inconvenience yourselves by worrying about poverty, or cultural tolerance, it may also be for you: there are hundreds of families just like yours. Parents with advanced degrees, good intentions, NPR tote bags, and family money. In the age of Trump, it could almost sound comforting, maybe.

you’re thinking of the TKPK of 25 years ago. The hippies were priced out awhile ago; it’s now more of another wealthy dc suburb.

Not really, if you read my post you might notice I wasn't describing hippies, only people who anxiously assemble certain signifiers to show they're some of the good ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. What are these extra taxes? Are there neighborhoods or schools we should be looking for within TP?

Takoma park is a city, with its own community center, police force, library, and taxes. Silver Spring, adjacent to it and zoned for the same schools, does not. Some savvy people buy in Sligo Park Hills, or East Silver Spring to benefit from the TPK amenities without the taxes or the arcane tree laws.

The schools are all good, I guess. They're not as affluent as schools on the western end of Montgomery County. In my family's experience for college admissions this was a feature, not a bug.

The property taxes are indeed higher than in Silver Spring, but the restrictions on cutting trees are not as onerous now. For the OP, Takoma Park has an arborist who needs to grant permission before trees are cut down. The arborist used to be really difficult. The one we have now is very reasonable. The upshot of that rule is that there are lots of mature trees in Takoma Park, and less building of giant new build houses because it is not easy to clear cut one's lot. I like that, but I guess not everyone likes that.

Sligo Park Hills and ESS are nice, but they have a very different feel from Takoma Park, esp. the historic area and the areas just outside of it. Those areas of Takoma Park are closer to the Metro, closer to nicer bars and restaurants, and generally has a much older and more diverse housing stock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you understand the extra tax burden of TP.

And the schools are good but not as good as Bethesda/Potomac.

What do you mean by this? They are all part of montgomery county schools.

Be specfic

They’re not W schools. If you care about elite schools, move west of the Pike. Potomac with the similar to Takoma Park priced houses near Rockville/North Bethesda. That is the place to be.

Elite, lol, ok. There is no such thing as an elite MCPS school. You will get just as good of an education at Blair or Einstein or BCC as you will get at the W schools. Which is to say, it will be part of a big public school with all the good and bad that comes with that, and if your kid is smart and a self starter, it will be a fine education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you understand the extra tax burden of TP.

And the schools are good but not as good as Bethesda/Potomac.

What do you mean by this? They are all part of montgomery county schools.

Be specfic

LOL, because Wheaton is the same as Whitman. All MCPS.

[Anonymous]

A lot better public college options in Virginia, so keep that in mind. You’re going from a state with UVA, Tech, W&M, and GMU to a state with UMD and not much else.

Takoma Park is nice, but way more isolated than Alexandria. Isolated from the museums in DC, isolated from major malls and shopping areas and a lot of other stuff. It’s even 30 minutes to get to Bethesda from there.