Struck Out in DC school lottery....Tell/Sell me in your non-W School Cluster

[Anonymous]

Dear OP - sadly, this home just sold, but these come up every so often. Absolutely amazing neighborhood if you love nature.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/North-Potomac/14813-Coles-Chance-Rd-20878/home/10609652?utm_source=android_share&utm_medium=share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

[Anonymous]

This one is on sale, and I think more commutable to DC:

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Rockville/1940-Dundee-Rd-20850/home/10520631?utm_source=android_share&utm_medium=share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

[Anonymous]

Look carefully at the entire Wootton district, there are several hidden gems this year under $550.

If commute is ok from further away, also look at QO high school, there are several options out under $550.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
- Socioeconomic diversity but nothing above 30% FARMS/ESOL population


1. There are 2 FARMS to look at to understand the poverty demographics. The % of current students currently on FARMS and % of current students who have ever been on FARMS. Some kids drop off FARMS because their parents start earning more money but this usually isn't that much more. Some students stop submitting the paperwork in high school for FARMS so the 'has ever been on FARMS' number is better representation of need.

2. You will have a hard time finding a 500K 4 bedroom house with a nice yard anywhere with less than 30% currently on FARMS let alone ever been on FARMS.

Either up your budget or lower your expectations.

Renting is a better bet in MoCo anyway as the county is stagnating. You're likely to loose or make no equity over the next few years so renting is better financially -in this are- anyway.

Rents are high in the nicer areas of the west with the better schools and low in the eastern side. However, there are magnet programs all over the county so if you end up in Silver Spring you might be OK if you get into a magnet.


This is helpful! Thank you! We will still perhaps make a purchase after renting. Why is the county stagnating? I assume all cities or towns go through cyclical growth and downturns.

The county is in serious financial trouble.

There has been zero new business growth. The smaller and local businesses in MoCo either fail or move over to Howard and Frederick. The larger business sectors are all in VA. There have been many articles on this but MoCo is very unfriendly to businesses so they can't survive. This cuts off a source of revenue for the county and means that most people in MoCo have to commute to VA or DC for work.

MoCo demographics also hurt the revenue. The largest growing groups are retirees and lower income hispanic residents. (FTR there isn't evidence that the explosion in low income hispanic residents is from undocumented workers. ) Wealth is only concentrated in Potomac, Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Potomac in particular has a retirement bubble occurring meaning each year high income residents move into retirement but don't necessarily move reducing taxable income from that area. The other areas are all getting poorer. This means less revenue from income taxes.

Housing costs in MoCo are less expensive than VA and DC and property values have just barely made it back to 2005 levels where as DC and VA have soared above those levels. This means people have less equity. The property tax assessments in many areas are artificially high. As people retire and sell for actual market rates rather than the tax assessment, new owners are challenging the inflated assessments. This means all means less revenue from property tax. Rental household have been steadily increasing which devalues the property values further.

There is low scale panic about MCPS redrawing boundaries to move neighborhoods with higher performing whites and asians into lower performing schools for diversity. This will move to high scale panic in the next few years as it plays out. Some people will lose a lot in equity but it will overall destabilize and depress the market throughout the county. The changes don't even have to be extreme to freak out future buyers.

The schools generate a lot of negative publicity. The sex offender scandals, MCPS' policy on not removing violent kids from the schools creates incidents that make the press, the whole curriculum fiasco, and other problems drive some residents out to Howard. Frederick or VA depending on where they work.

There are just a whole host of problems. Its still a nice place to live but you need to be careful because its not a wise investment.

[Anonymous]

Sadly, I must agree. The countywide assessment idea is less than 1 year old. If it started before we bought our home, we would most definitely not buy in the county, but continue to rent.

OP, it should be possible to rent in a good school district for under 3k a month, and if townhouse is ok then around 2k.

[Anonymous]

You either need to rethink your housing wants, your budget, and/our your FARMs tolerance. We’re at Flora Singer and it’s a great school (and cluster) but we already would fail a number of your criteria.

[Anonymous]

Are you kids current K and 4th, meaning you were going for a charter in DC (Latin or Basis) or were you also trying OOB for DCPS? What is your IB? It might help to know where you are coming from when advising you on where to look in MD. The transaction costs and increased taxes might might not be worth it unless you have a more flexible timeframe to move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
- Socioeconomic diversity but nothing above 30% FARMS/ESOL population


1. There are 2 FARMS to look at to understand the poverty demographics. The % of current students currently on FARMS and % of current students who have ever been on FARMS. Some kids drop off FARMS because their parents start earning more money but this usually isn't that much more. Some students stop submitting the paperwork in high school for FARMS so the 'has ever been on FARMS' number is better representation of need.

2. You will have a hard time finding a 500K 4 bedroom house with a nice yard anywhere with less than 30% currently on FARMS let alone ever been on FARMS.

Either up your budget or lower your expectations.

Renting is a better bet in MoCo anyway as the county is stagnating. You're likely to loose or make no equity over the next few years so renting is better financially -in this are- anyway.

Rents are high in the nicer areas of the west with the better schools and low in the eastern side. However, there are magnet programs all over the county so if you end up in Silver Spring you might be OK if you get into a magnet.


This is helpful! Thank you! We will still perhaps make a purchase after renting. Why is the county stagnating? I assume all cities or towns go through cyclical growth and downturns.

The county is in serious financial trouble.

There has been zero new business growth. The smaller and local businesses in MoCo either fail or move over to Howard and Frederick. The larger business sectors are all in VA. There have been many articles on this but MoCo is very unfriendly to businesses so they can't survive. This cuts off a source of revenue for the county and means that most people in MoCo have to commute to VA or DC for work.

MoCo demographics also hurt the revenue. The largest growing groups are retirees and lower income hispanic residents. (FTR there isn't evidence that the explosion in low income hispanic residents is from undocumented workers. ) Wealth is only concentrated in Potomac, Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Potomac in particular has a retirement bubble occurring meaning each year high income residents move into retirement but don't necessarily move reducing taxable income from that area. The other areas are all getting poorer. This means less revenue from income taxes.

Housing costs in MoCo are less expensive than VA and DC and property values have just barely made it back to 2005 levels where as DC and VA have soared above those levels. This means people have less equity. The property tax assessments in many areas are artificially high. As people retire and sell for actual market rates rather than the tax assessment, new owners are challenging the inflated assessments. This means all means less revenue from property tax. Rental household have been steadily increasing which devalues the property values further.

There is low scale panic about MCPS redrawing boundaries to move neighborhoods with higher performing whites and asians into lower performing schools for diversity. This will move to high scale panic in the next few years as it plays out. Some people will lose a lot in equity but it will overall destabilize and depress the market throughout the county. The changes don't even have to be extreme to freak out future buyers.

The schools generate a lot of negative publicity. The sex offender scandals, MCPS' policy on not removing violent kids from the schools creates incidents that make the press, the whole curriculum fiasco, and other problems drive some residents out to Howard. Frederick or VA depending on where they work.

There are just a whole host of problems. Its still a nice place to live but you need to be careful because its not a wise investment.


What a way to encourage new residents to MoCo. While this is partially true, civic engagement is the responsiblity of all of MoCo citizens. If residents are unhappy with the stagnant growth why sabotage themselves by voting for progressive non-sensical policies which imports poverty and refuses new business growth? One would think that residents here would stop voting for the same county council members who espouse stupid ideas.

I have begun voting against all Democratic measures that do not bring economic growth or middle class/upper middle class families to this county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want a 4 bedroom house with a large yard in a mostly white, rich area for under $500K... yea, good luck with that.

We have a four bedroom house with a large yard in a (mostly ) "white" neighborhood for under 500k. But we live near the metro off Layhill in Eastern MoCo and the school pyramid is not what OP wants, mainly due to lots of lower rent apartments in the pyramid.

There are occasional houses in the Olney vicinity, and in 20905 that may meet OP's criteria and have a lower FARMs school pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
- Socioeconomic diversity but nothing above 30% FARMS/ESOL population


1. There are 2 FARMS to look at to understand the poverty demographics. The % of current students currently on FARMS and % of current students who have ever been on FARMS. Some kids drop off FARMS because their parents start earning more money but this usually isn't that much more. Some students stop submitting the paperwork in high school for FARMS so the 'has ever been on FARMS' number is better representation of need.

2. You will have a hard time finding a 500K 4 bedroom house with a nice yard anywhere with less than 30% currently on FARMS let alone ever been on FARMS.

Either up your budget or lower your expectations.

Renting is a better bet in MoCo anyway as the county is stagnating. You're likely to loose or make no equity over the next few years so renting is better financially -in this are- anyway.

Rents are high in the nicer areas of the west with the better schools and low in the eastern side. However, there are magnet programs all over the county so if you end up in Silver Spring you might be OK if you get into a magnet.


This is helpful! Thank you! We will still perhaps make a purchase after renting. Why is the county stagnating? I assume all cities or towns go through cyclical growth and downturns.

The county is in serious financial trouble.

There has been zero new business growth. The smaller and local businesses in MoCo either fail or move over to Howard and Frederick. The larger business sectors are all in VA. There have been many articles on this but MoCo is very unfriendly to businesses so they can't survive. This cuts off a source of revenue for the county and means that most people in MoCo have to commute to VA or DC for work.

MoCo demographics also hurt the revenue. The largest growing groups are retirees and lower income hispanic residents. (FTR there isn't evidence that the explosion in low income hispanic residents is from undocumented workers. ) Wealth is only concentrated in Potomac, Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Potomac in particular has a retirement bubble occurring meaning each year high income residents move into retirement but don't necessarily move reducing taxable income from that area. The other areas are all getting poorer. This means less revenue from income taxes.

Housing costs in MoCo are less expensive than VA and DC and property values have just barely made it back to 2005 levels where as DC and VA have soared above those levels. This means people have less equity. The property tax assessments in many areas are artificially high. As people retire and sell for actual market rates rather than the tax assessment, new owners are challenging the inflated assessments. This means all means less revenue from property tax. Rental household have been steadily increasing which devalues the property values further.

There is low scale panic about MCPS redrawing boundaries to move neighborhoods with higher performing whites and asians into lower performing schools for diversity. This will move to high scale panic in the next few years as it plays out. Some people will lose a lot in equity but it will overall destabilize and depress the market throughout the county. The changes don't even have to be extreme to freak out future buyers.

The schools generate a lot of negative publicity. The sex offender scandals, MCPS' policy on not removing violent kids from the schools creates incidents that make the press, the whole curriculum fiasco, and other problems drive some residents out to Howard. Frederick or VA depending on where they work.

There are just a whole host of problems. Its still a nice place to live but you need to be careful because its not a wise investment.

What a way to encourage new residents to MoCo. While this is partially true, civic engagement is the responsiblity of all of MoCo citizens. If residents are unhappy with the stagnant growth why sabotage themselves by voting for progressive non-sensical policies which imports poverty and refuses new business growth? One would think that residents here would stop voting for the same county council members who espouse stupid ideas.

I have begun voting against all Democratic measures that do not bring economic growth or middle class/upper middle class families to this county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

The title of the thread says it all. DH & I are moving two children to MoCo because we struck out in the lottery but are unsure of where to start. We have kinder and 4th grade. We can’t afford the W cluster and aren’t opposed to longer commute for more house.

Here are the top things we are looking for:

-Tight knit school community
-Single Family Home with spacious backyard
- Socioeconomic diversity but nothing above 30% FARMS/ESOL population
- Teachers who aren’t relatively young
- Strong PTA
- Relatively strong MATH/ELA test scores
- Near Metro Bus lines/ doesn’t have to Train accessible though
- Close to shops (grocery stores, good restaurants, etc)

Thank you in advance

Kentlands/Lakelands for RCES.

[Anonymous]

Kentlands/Lakelands for RCES.

Oh god no. The HOA is insane! Everyone is in everyone else's business. Its a 90 minute commute to DC unless you get to work from 5 am until 2 pm. The development and houses are dated and while residents are excited that a new developer is going to try to turn it around, there is not a positive history of restaurants and businesses lasting long there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

The title of the thread says it all. DH & I are moving two children to MoCo because we struck out in the lottery but are unsure of where to start. We have kinder and 4th grade. We can’t afford the W cluster and aren’t opposed to longer commute for more house.

Here are the top things we are looking for:

-Tight knit school community
-Single Family Home with spacious backyard
- Socioeconomic diversity but nothing above 30% FARMS/ESOL population
- Teachers who aren’t relatively young
- Strong PTA
- Relatively strong MATH/ELA test scores
- Near Metro Bus lines/ doesn’t have to Train accessible though
- Close to shops (grocery stores, good restaurants, etc)

Thank you in advance

A detached house on a big lot, near transit and shopping, in a low-poverty area - is something you can't get for $500,000 in Montgomery County. Pick 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want a 4 bedroom house with a large yard in a mostly white, rich area for under $500K... yea, good luck with that.

We have a four bedroom house with a large yard in a (mostly ) "white" neighborhood for under 500k. But we live near the metro off Layhill in Eastern MoCo and the school pyramid is not what OP wants, mainly due to lots of lower rent apartments in the pyramid.

There are occasional houses in the Olney vicinity, and in 20905 that may meet OP's criteria and have a lower FARMs school pyramid.

OP here, which school cluster is this?

[Anonymous]

OP - I'd suggest Falls Church. Prices are rising but there are still some smaller houses in Falls Church in your price range. You can take the blue/orange line into DC and if you ever change jobs to VA you are already there.

We're considering this move now from Montgomery County and have co-workers out there who really like it. We came here from DC for the schools too but have been disappointed. I like the AAP model in VA and we're starting to think about college so in state tuition options are better in VA too.