Would you live in Takoma Park, MD with young family?

[Anonymous]

what parts of Takoma Park are considered unsafe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what parts of Takoma Park are considered unsafe?

the ones with brown immigrants
and it's not really unsafe either

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what parts of Takoma Park are considered unsafe?

the ones with brown immigrants
and it's not really unsafe either

We live in TP, our neighbors are Mexican, Dominican Republican and Guyanese. They are the nicest people we know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what parts of Takoma Park are considered unsafe?

the ones with brown immigrants
and it's not really unsafe either

We live in TP, our neighbors are Mexican, Dominican Republican and Guyanese. They are the nicest people we know!

I'm PP. I am sure they are. DCUM has many ppl who have very racist and antiquated ideas.

[Anonymous]

TP is awesome. We loved DTSS, and would move back to either location in a heartbeat.

What does "not safe" even mean? There is too much traffic to let your young (under 9, IMO) children roam free in the neighborhood, and you probably shouldn't advertise that you leave your doors unlocked, but the fact that not all our neighbors were exactly the same age, race, SES, was what made it feel like a real place to me.

[Anonymous]

We almost purchased a home and then decided not to. Here's why:

1. The commute into downtown (where we work) is long. You have to cross through local traffic and it takes twice as long as it should just based on distance alone.
2. The schools are not good, despite what some may say. See the scores for yourself. Talk to some of the teachers about having to teach to the middle (which isn't so middle). We wanted a good public school option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TP is awesome. We loved DTSS, and would move back to either location in a heartbeat.

What does "not safe" even mean? There is too much traffic to let your young (under 9, IMO) children roam free in the neighborhood, and you probably shouldn't advertise that you leave your doors unlocked, but the fact that not all our neighbors were exactly the same age, race, SES, was what made it feel like a real place to me.

We're in DTSS just a few blocks from the Takoma Park line and love it. I let my kids roam within a few blocks and definitely see kids riding bikes and roaming even further. It's a nice place to live. I know my neighbors, most of the kids on the block go to the local schools, and as a PP said, it feels like a real place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We almost purchased a home and then decided not to. Here's why:

1. The commute into downtown (where we work) is long. You have to cross through local traffic and it takes twice as long as it should just based on distance alone.
2. The schools are not good, despite what some may say. See the scores for yourself. Talk to some of the teachers about having to teach to the middle (which isn't so middle). We wanted a good public school option.

I work in Georgetown and it takes me 30 minutes but I leave at 7:30am. Coming home around 4 also takes about 30 minutes. This is driving. It could take up to 45-50 minutes in rush hour, so I can see that being too long for some. We can walk to the metro in 8 minutes so the downtown trip for my DH to Farragut Square is half an hour, less if I give him a ride to the metro station. YMMV here.

Schools: We actually moved to TKPK for the schools! So far it's just been TPES but I am not concerned about PBES and I know TPMS is beloved, though large. Our class sizes so far have been quite small (sub 20 each year) and I like that they have formal options for accelerated and enriched learning, which I feel my child benefits from. Rather than teaching to the middle, we've so far seen lots of differentiation. So much so that I'd almost argue there is too much separation based on learning level (and this is often along SES lines). Again, to each his or her own I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We almost purchased a home and then decided not to. Here's why:

1. The commute into downtown (where we work) is long. You have to cross through local traffic and it takes twice as long as it should just based on distance alone.
2. The schools are not good, despite what some may say. See the scores for yourself. Talk to some of the teachers about having to teach to the middle (which isn't so middle). We wanted a good public school option.

I'm not going to argue with someone else's experience, but it sounds like PP here is describing a driving commute. I can see that being a challenge, but driving into the city also seems like such a waste of living as close in as Takoma Park. Why not just ride the Metro?

The schools are an interesting case. TPES is well regarded, as is Piney Branch but I can see what a PP said about stratification. If you look at the scores, poor kids do significantly worse at Piney Branch than the statewide average. That is a bit worrying, because I always figure you should look at the scores of the kids who aren't getting outside enrichment to see how the school is really doing. If you look at the schools around Piney Branch, poor kids test better at the other schools, even schools with much higher percentages of poor children.

BUT...it seems middle class kids do fine wherever, which pretty much confirms what we already know about test scores.

[Anonymous]

We would have if we had gotten the house we bid on. Ended up buying in AU Park, where we are very happy, but I still long for that Takoma Park house and I think the neighborhood would have been fine as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what parts of Takoma Park are considered unsafe?

the ones with brown immigrants
and it's not really unsafe either

What about the 14 year old shot at the metro a couple of days ago? Takoma def has the good block bad block vibe but what it absolutely also has is it surrounded by many of the worst areas in all the DC metro area. The spill over from Langley Park, Cheverly, Brightwood, silver spring and Takoma DC absolutely effect the quality of life. Takoma may be a cute middle school that was configured to avoid much of the piney branch corridor but it still ends up at high school with all the eastern kids. If that is good enough for someone else's kids that is cool, just not mine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what parts of Takoma Park are considered unsafe?

the ones with brown immigrants
and it's not really unsafe either

What about the 14 year old shot at the metro a couple of days ago? Takoma def has the good block bad block vibe but what it absolutely also has is it surrounded by many of the worst areas in all the DC metro area. The spill over from Langley Park, Cheverly, Brightwood, silver spring and Takoma DC absolutely effect the quality of life. Takoma may be a cute middle school that was configured to avoid much of the piney branch corridor but it still ends up at high school with all the eastern kids. If that is good enough for someone else's kids that is cool, just not mine.

(sic) *affect

[Anonymous]

We are raising our 2 kids in takoma park and we absolutely love it. They are 2 and 4. Our neighbors are wonderful and there is a huge sense of community. People are down to earth. Great combo of small town plus urban feel. There are entire weekends we don't get in car because farmers market, parks, places to eat all walking distance. We are so happy.

[Anonymous]

We've been in Takoma park for 6 years. it's gone from sleepy neighborhood/city to a much more dynamic and interesting place-- fueled by longstanding diverse population base and influx of newcomers. Great coffee options in DT TP and also in Silver Spring. New better-than-decent restaurant options sit alongside longstanding neighborhood joints. Legitimately most exciting in DC DIY Music and Art venue. I take Metro to Union station most of the time but also drive including to DCA airport frequently. Airport commutes are 25-30 minutes in early morning (before 7 AM). Rush hour can be bad by car, but I'd say its 35-50 minutes depending on where you live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what parts of Takoma Park are considered unsafe?

the ones with brown immigrants
and it's not really unsafe either

What about the 14 year old shot at the metro a couple of days ago? Takoma def has the good block bad block vibe but what it absolutely also has is it surrounded by many of the worst areas in all the DC metro area. The spill over from Langley Park, Cheverly, Brightwood, silver spring and Takoma DC absolutely effect the quality of life. Takoma may be a cute middle school that was configured to avoid much of the piney branch corridor but it still ends up at high school with all the eastern kids. If that is good enough for someone else's kids that is cool, just not mine.

Violence can occur at any metro station unfortunately. That shooting is uncommon.