Renting in downtown Bethesda or Friendship Heights with teen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you moving here from NYC?

We did private school in an apartment here. It was something that we had to continuously defend to our neighbors (“Too good for public? Bad plan to spend money on tuition rather than a mortgage.”) AND DD’s classmates (It’s soooo small. Come to our house where we have a family room and yard?” )

We liked it, but the comments from both sides got old.

Yes, we are. We don’t want to deal with the requirements of a house and we are away about a quarter of the year so we’d prefer a lower maintenance, lower risk situation.

I think you should try to be in whichever place is closer to the school.

Both are fine for the school. Teen needs autonomy and we want to not have to rely on driving. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I don't think this is a weird ask. We live in a SFH in between Bethesda and Friendship Heights and there are lots of apartment buildings closer to the metro stops. My kids are little, and I know there are definitely a lot of younger kids in the buildings on Park Avenue near Friendship Heights....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Friendship, you'll find that that the largest population in the buildings are senior citizens, not 20 somethings. But there are also plenty of teenagers. My mother lives in the Willoughby, which would be a good fit except that it doesn't allow pets, and when my son spent the night there was an entire school bus full of students heading to Westland Middle School from there. We were in another building, that did allow pets but wasn't "higher end" and we had plenty of kids as well.

I'm not sure which buildings allow pets, but you'll definitely find community in those neighborhoods.

This is helpful, thank you. Your mom’s building looks nice.

Willoughby is an outdated dump. There is a newer building on Willard across the street next to WF that is all rentals. i know people that like it

[Anonymous]

What’s your budget?

Upstairs at Bethesda Row is a spectacular place to live and a mix of ages. There are retirees, young families, to upper 20s to mid 30s DINKs and a few small families with older children though these are admittedly rarer. (But definitely exist).

Common denominator is people paying a big premium for great walkability and a great overall building. We lived there 3 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s your budget?

Upstairs at Bethesda Row is a spectacular place to live and a mix of ages. There are retirees, young families, to upper 20s to mid 30s DINKs and a few small families with older children though these are admittedly rarer. (But definitely exist).

Common denominator is people paying a big premium for great walkability and a great overall building. We lived there 3 years.

Thanks for the suggestion. I’d say up to $5000 or $5500. Would that work there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a fairly unique ask. I lived here from NYC too and it just isn’t a thing in the same way.

There are some solidly middle class buildings in Chevy Chase DC with kids, but they are not really upscale buildings, with an exception or two — the new one at military for instance. But it is a very nice area.

Also, Cathedrals heights near St. Albans/NCS has some good options. Neat neighborhood but no metro alas.

There are plenty of newish upscale building in Bethesda, but they are geared more toward singles and childless couples. At the same time, there is a lot more teenager stuff to do in downtown Bethesda. Shops, people watching, food.

Friendship (on the Maryland side) is like the oldest zip code in the USA. And there is less teenage energy around Mazza then there was a few decades ago sadly.

As pp said, you will unfortunately likely spend a lot of time explaining why you chose apartment living. But no big deal if you don’t mind

Thank you. I used to live in DC and I figured this would be an odd ask. Thing is, we are gone a lot and we’ve already done the suburban house and yard thing. Then we lived overseas and now in the city and we are used to being able to walk everywhere and take public transit. Don’t want to be tethered to a car and a big house and yard and people to take care of them. Will look at downtown Bethesda more this weekend, thanks.

Why not live IN dc? This will be a lot more common someplace like Kalorama or another part of the city with similar density.

This is an unusual thing to do in Bethesda because most people want space and a yard. Which is why they live in Bethesda to begin with! Also for public schools.

[Anonymous]

Friendship Heights is in DC, but yes, I see your point. We want to be close to Bethesda/Chevy Chase to be near my mother. Also my daughter is interested in building ga with a pool and that’s mostly a new building thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Friendship Heights is in DC, but yes, I see your point. We want to be close to Bethesda/Chevy Chase to be near my mother. Also my daughter is interested in building ga with a pool and that’s mostly a new building thing.

That’s fine. However I’d prioritize other families with a similar lifestyle and friends for my child over a pool. Drive and see your mom on the weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s your budget?

Upstairs at Bethesda Row is a spectacular place to live and a mix of ages. There are retirees, young families, to upper 20s to mid 30s DINKs and a few small families with older children though these are admittedly rarer. (But definitely exist).

Common denominator is people paying a big premium for great walkability and a great overall building. We lived there 3 years.

Thanks for the suggestion. I’d say up to $5000 or $5500. Would that work there?

https://upstairsbethesda.com/floorplans/brk15-2/

The building tops out at $4500 for a 1300 square foot 2/2 with den with a terrace overlooking the shops restaurants below. That’s a great budget and you can basically rent anything anywhere fitting your criteria except a three bedroom at the woodley.

[Anonymous]

OP look at renting a place in the Elizabeth, it’s got a pool and it’s slowly turning over from retirees to families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s your budget?

Upstairs at Bethesda Row is a spectacular place to live and a mix of ages. There are retirees, young families, to upper 20s to mid 30s DINKs and a few small families with older children though these are admittedly rarer. (But definitely exist).

Common denominator is people paying a big premium for great walkability and a great overall building. We lived there 3 years.

Thanks for the suggestion. I’d say up to $5000 or $5500. Would that work there?

https://upstairsbethesda.com/floorplans/brk15-2/

The building tops out at $4500 for a 1300 square foot 2/2 with den with a terrace overlooking the shops restaurants below. That’s a great budget and you can basically rent anything anywhere fitting your criteria except a three bedroom at the woodley.

This sounds great. Thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP look at renting a place in the Elizabeth, it’s got a pool and it’s slowly turning over from retirees to families

maths is! Pets okay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP look at renting a place in the Elizabeth, it’s got a pool and it’s slowly turning over from retirees to families

maths is! Pets okay?

Sorry had thumbs in wrong place. Thanks, I meant.

[Anonymous]

I own a condo in downtown Bethesda and my tenants of 4 years just notified us that they will be moving in August. It is a 1,200 sq ft apartment, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I will probably start advertising it next month, but if you’re interested I can give you more info.
To your specific questions, there is a mix of retirees and families. Most of the families are young (pre school and elementary school) but I think there are a few teenagers. The area is very walkable with the free Bethesda circulator stopping a few feet from the building, which is great for an independent teenager.

[Anonymous]

I’d stay on Willard - either Wisconsin Place above Whole Foods Foods or 4701. I know there are private school families at each. And dogs. And a bit away from the crazy Bethesda downtown.