Comparing Silver Spring and Arlington

[Anonymous]

OP, please be aware that there is a poster whose full time job seems to be posting disparaging things about Silver Spring and Silver Spring schools on every single post in which SS is mentioned. She derails every discussion. Please try to ignore her. SS is great. We have been here for 13 years, and we love it. We have had great experience with schools too.

[Anonymous]

What about Kensington?

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/10104-Thornwood-Rd_Kensington_MD_20895_M50277-18652?view=qv

I've lived in Kensington and now Arlington. I personally do not think that I would send my kids to any school in SS except for maybe Flora Singer or Oakland Terrace.

Yorktown and Blair are nothing alike when it comes to the general population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Kensington?

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/10104-Thornwood-Rd_Kensington_MD_20895_M50277-18652?view=qv

I've lived in Kensington and now Arlington. I personally do not think that I would send my kids to any school in SS except for maybe Flora Singer or Oakland Terrace.

Yorktown and Blair are nothing alike when it comes to the general population.

Really? Those are great schools, but Forest Knolls, Highland View, Sligo Creek, Woodlin and Westover are all at least as good, if not better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks for your help. I’m trying to get a short commute to NOMA, so being near a metro (or being able to drive and park at a metro) is good, and I want good schools. I am open to suggestions about where I should be looking in Silver Spring.

This is near Forest Glen metro and zoned to Flora Singer Elementary:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/2629-Holman-Ave-20910/unit-2629/home/10957593

These are near Wheaton metro and zoned to Oakland Terrace:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/44-Pennydog-Ct-20902/unit-103/home/11116670
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/10956-Rampart-Way-20902/home/11116496

Both schools have good reputations. Oakland Terrace is just starting a dual language immersion program there.

[Anonymous]

This is OP. The linked houses look great to me. Why is this so much less expensive than what I've been looking at in Arlington and Vienna? What am I missing?

[Anonymous]

More good townhouse options:

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/10261-Green-Holly-Ter-20902/home/11113492

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/10938-Pebble-Run-Dr-20902/home/11111173

There are a lot of townhouses between Wheaton and the beltway. The schools on both sides of Georgia Avenue are good, as mentioned: Flora Singer, Oakland Terrace, Glen Haven, and Rock View. These are more well-liked than the schools further north along Georgia. Also Forest Knolls is great, but there are hardly any townhouses or condos in that area.

[Anonymous]

I live in silver spring and love it. But look st your overall costs. Taxes will be higher here so cost may even OT even with the cheaper house price. Many don’t like the diversity and schools and many do. I would suggest coming here on a weekend and walking around. Downtown areas and where you’d live. Forest knolls is a lovely neighborhood. As is four corners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The linked houses look great to me. Why is this so much less expensive than what I've been looking at in Arlington and Vienna? What am I missing?

They're fine townhousey areas. Not shiny and new, nothing fancy. It'll be a mix of some families with kids, some singles, some retirees. It's convenient to transit and shopping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The linked houses look great to me. Why is this so much less expensive than what I've been looking at in Arlington and Vienna? What am I missing?

Those places really are exceptionally inexpensive. I live in SS, and have rarely seen anything under $400k in the past few years,

[Anonymous]

This is OP. The linked houses look great to me. Why is this so much less expensive than what I've been looking at in Arlington and Vienna? What am I missing?

1. The schools are bad, very bad. Everyone avoids the Silver Spring schools unless they can't afford anything else.

2. The jobs are in DC and in VA. There are very few jobs in Montgomery County and none on the horizon. There are so many commuters from MD to VA now that its almost impossible. The reserve commute is wide open. This is hurting the east and west.

3. Taxes are more of a problem now unless you are super rich. MD and Montgomery County taxes are higher and now that you can't deduct them its a bigger hit. Hoping that the Dems will repeal the tax bill.

4. Crime. Poverty has been out of DC and landed in Montgomery County. There is a concentration of no to low income housing in Silver Spring. Gangs are active in Silver Spring, Wheaton and Gaithersburg.

5. County revenue is not healthy. The county is losing tax revenue, property values are stagnate, no new businesses or losing businesses, and the population is shifting to be poorer. This means that county taxes will have to increase or services will need to be cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$500 or $550 max

four Corners, Forest Glen, Glen Haven

I second this

I used to live in Arlington near ballston and now live in glenview (the Glen haven ES district)

I like silver spring way better! How lucky that it's better for your commute to live here vs Virginia

Here are some houses in my area you can check out:
https://www.redfin.com/school/133480/MD/Silver-Spring/Glen-Haven-Elementary-School

[Anonymous]

If you are willing to go up to $500k, you can find some single family homes in good neighborhoods.
Woodmoor: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/10403-Crestmoor-Dr_Silver-Spring_MD_20901_M64330-65982?view=qv
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/10329-Crestmoor-Dr_Silver-Spring_MD_20901_M64539-34910?view=qv
Indian Spring: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/205-E-Franklin-Ave_Silver-Spring_MD_20901_M64742-08711?ex=MD647460230&view=qv
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/9700-Marshall-Ave_Silver-Spring_MD_20901_M58833-18799?ex=MD648161322&view=qv
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3-Franklin-Ave_Silver-Spring_MD_20901_M58002-78907?view=qv

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The linked houses look great to me. Why is this so much less expensive than what I've been looking at in Arlington and Vienna? What am I missing?

What you’re looking at the price discount that comes with presence of nonwhite people. Ignore all the “omg bad schools!” people. What they’re saying is that there are some black and Hispanic people there, presumably more than in Arlington and Vienna.

-8 years at Oakland Terrace

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The nicer parts of Silver Spring are about as good as South Arlington ascetically. Schools are comparable between the two with Yorktown being a little better than Blair but Takoma Park being better than any middle in Arlington. But the previous poster is correct Silver Spring is much bigger so it varies a lot. There are parts to avoid like Wheaton or White Oak

I grew up in Silver Spring and live in Arlington now, I still maintain some rental properties in SS. I will say Silver Spring to Arlington is a hard commute for about the last 5 years, between the increased population and the work on Rock Creek it can be miserable unless you live a block from a metro and work a block from the metro. Piney Branch is getting undrivable

Wut?

Aesthetically, maybe?

Yes, because the leafy streets of Woodside Park and surrounding neighborhoods are just awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. The linked houses look great to me. Why is this so much less expensive than what I've been looking at in Arlington and Vienna? What am I missing?

What you’re looking at the price discount that comes with presence of nonwhite people. Ignore all the “omg bad schools!” people. What they’re saying is that there are some black and Hispanic people there, presumably more than in Arlington and Vienna.

-8 years at Oakland Terrace

No, I think the price discount is that more people are commuting to areas closer to Arlington. We were looking in both SS and S Arlington about a decade ago. We wound up in Arlignton because it was better for our commutes, but the house prices was higher than comps in SS. Monthly payment was less, though, because of taxes. Anyway, if SS is better for your commute, you should live in SS.