really worried about social acceptance...

[Anonymous]

Another Bethesda family (Wyngate, NB, WJ) who thinks this will be a total non-issue. There are definitely two mom families at Wyngate and the kids (and other parents) don't blink an eye.

As far as the "uptight" factor, I don't see it. I'm not from around here, so I think I have a pretty sensitive radar for this, where it does exist. There are probably a couple moms like that in our neighborhood, but its certainly not the majority. Most of the moms are pretty educated but pretty low key and not "fancy" --moved her for nice yards and a neighborhood where their kids could bike around to friends, go to the Y or local pool, and with a strong neighborhood ES. I'd say there's an even mix of moms who work FT in the labor force, ones who work PT (often from home) and ones who are FT SAHM. I have heard some people say that the WJ neighborhoods are like downmarket Bethesda, so I think if there are snooty, uptight ones, they are probably in the Whitman district! (But, to be clear, the moms I do know from the Whitman district are all super nice and not like that.) The moms that work at my office are pretty well split between the NWDC, Bethesda, Kensington, TP, Silver Spring area....and I would say there is no real discerning among us -- we're all just moms who are trying to raise our kids, do our jobs well, and be kind to others. So I think the differences between these neighborhoods are overstated. The commutes will be different, and the housing stock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone, I was hoping to hear your thoughts on a concern I have, and I would really appreciate your full honesty!

My wife and I will be buying a home in the Potomac/Bethesda area later this year. We are an two-mom family, and have an 8-month old daughter who will be attending whatever local public school we are districted for (hs will be Walter Johnson, Whitman or Churchhill).

While the schools in that area are great, I've also read that the parents can be very snooty and cold, and are typically on the more conservative side.

How accepting do you think the other kids, parents, teachers will be? Have you come across many other LGBTQ+ families in the area? I'm mainly just worried about teasing and her feeling like an outcast.

Any insight you provide will be much appreciated. Thank you.

I know two-mom families in the Bethesda/Potomac area. Some people may be snooty, but most will be accepting now.

[Anonymous]

I think you are really asking two questions:

1) Will your child face social issues or ostracization due to having two moms.

The answer to this question is no.

2) Do those neighborhoods tend to be more "conservative" than other parts of the county?

Sort of. Into Potomac, it is a little more politically conservative. In the other places you are looking, folks tend to be more economically conservative because, well, they've got theirs. You'll see folks oppose things like mutli-family dwellings or public transportation because the "wrong" sorts of people might move in.

If you are an economically conservative two-mom family, you'll fit in great.

[Anonymous]

We have a fair number of same sex parent families here in Kensington. Your child could be zoned for Oakland Terrace, a dual immersion language program. We have 2 kids in it and I so love that our kids will be fluent/very competent with Spanish by the time they are in 5th grade. Looking to continue high-level Spanish classes in MS and HS. We are zoned for Einstein which has an IB program we are interested in if our kids are too.

So many good choices in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone, I was hoping to hear your thoughts on a concern I have, and I would really appreciate your full honesty!

My wife and I will be buying a home in the Potomac/Bethesda area later this year. We are an two-mom family, and have an 8-month old daughter who will be attending whatever local public school we are districted for (hs will be Walter Johnson, Whitman or Churchhill).

While the schools in that area are great, I've also read that the parents can be very snooty and cold, and are typically on the more conservative side.

How accepting do you think the other kids, parents, teachers will be? Have you come across many other LGBTQ+ families in the area? I'm mainly just worried about teasing and her feeling like an outcast.

Any insight you provide will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Bethesda and Potomac are very accepting. If you've narrowed it down to these two places you've made a great choice As for what you read, it was likely written by an east county fear monger. There is an element in east county that actively tries to smear Bethesda and Potomac because they are trying to raise their property values. What you'll get in Bethesda and Potomac are highly educated traditional liberals who will treat you like regular people. East county is filled with wokes who will treat you like demi-gods because they never met a minority they didn't gush over to signal their piety.

I lived in Bethesda 13 years and then moved to CC four years ago. I have many friends in Takoma Park.
I don’t think you will find many people to be worried about in any of those areas in respect to bring Gay or that your daughter has two moms. It’s a non issue for the vast majority or parents and all of the kids. Really. Just by the house you love. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Being

[Anonymous]

I have lived in MoCo for 11 years (Kensington and Rockville) and fortunately have seen very little (actually no) explicit discrimination against LGBTQ families. However, you might want to ask a broader question about equity, if that is important to you. Some (not all, of course) of the liberal, progressive families accepting of LGBTQ families are much less accepting of low (or middle) income families, particularly from low SES or immigrant backgrounds. You might want to ask yourself if moving to Bethesda, rather than a more socio-economically diverse neighborhood or school district is the right fit for you. It might in fact be the right fit, and that is okay. My family has chosen to send our children to public schools in Silver Spring, despite having access to BCC, because we wanted our children to have peers with backgrounds that are more reflective of our society. Again, I don't suggest that this should be your primary concern because that is your family's decision but something to consider when you are pondering issues of social acceptance.

[Anonymous]

It’s fairly common in Bethesda to have same gender parents. I don’t know how they feel, but I don’t care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone, I was hoping to hear your thoughts on a concern I have, and I would really appreciate your full honesty!

My wife and I will be buying a home in the Potomac/Bethesda area later this year. We are an two-mom family, and have an 8-month old daughter who will be attending whatever local public school we are districted for (hs will be Walter Johnson, Whitman or Churchhill).

While the schools in that area are great, I've also read that the parents can be very snooty and cold, and are typically on the more conservative side.

How accepting do you think the other kids, parents, teachers will be? Have you come across many other LGBTQ+ families in the area? I'm mainly just worried about teasing and her feeling like an outcast.

Any insight you provide will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Bethesda and Potomac are very accepting. If you've narrowed it down to these two places you've made a great choice As for what you read, it was likely written by an east county fear monger. There is an element in east county that actively tries to smear Bethesda and Potomac because they are trying to raise their property values. What you'll get in Bethesda and Potomac are highly educated traditional liberals who will treat you like regular people. East county is filled with wokes who will treat you like demi-gods because they never met a minority they didn't gush over to signal their piety.

OP, please ignore this person who has a vendetta against east county, among other things. They jump into every thread with this nonsense.

Our downtown Silver Spring neighborhood is full of every permutation of family makeup you could imagine, and we all get along fine. Nobody gushes over the two-mom household because there are two more on our block. Seriously, nobody bats an eyelash.

[Anonymous]

Nobody cares. This is MoCo and people are very educated and accepting of all kinds of diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in MoCo for 11 years (Kensington and Rockville) and fortunately have seen very little (actually no) explicit discrimination against LGBTQ families. However, you might want to ask a broader question about equity, if that is important to you. Some (not all, of course) of the liberal, progressive families accepting of LGBTQ families are much less accepting of low (or middle) income families, particularly from low SES or immigrant backgrounds. You might want to ask yourself if moving to Bethesda, rather than a more socio-economically diverse neighborhood or school district is the right fit for you. It might in fact be the right fit, and that is okay. My family has chosen to send our children to public schools in Silver Spring, despite having access to BCC, because we wanted our children to have peers with backgrounds that are more reflective of our society. Again, I don't suggest that this should be your primary concern because that is your family's decision but something to consider when you are pondering issues of social acceptance.

This is a good point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares. This is MoCo and people are very educated and accepting of all kinds of diversity.

And yet there's a new racial incident at a W every other month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in MoCo for 11 years (Kensington and Rockville) and fortunately have seen very little (actually no) explicit discrimination against LGBTQ families. However, you might want to ask a broader question about equity, if that is important to you. Some (not all, of course) of the liberal, progressive families accepting of LGBTQ families are much less accepting of low (or middle) income families, particularly from low SES or immigrant backgrounds. You might want to ask yourself if moving to Bethesda, rather than a more socio-economically diverse neighborhood or school district is the right fit for you. It might in fact be the right fit, and that is okay. My family has chosen to send our children to public schools in Silver Spring, despite having access to BCC, because we wanted our children to have peers with backgrounds that are more reflective of our society. Again, I don't suggest that this should be your primary concern because that is your family's decision but something to consider when you are pondering issues of social acceptance.

This is a good point.

Yup, as someone who grew up in Bethesda (and went to WJ), this is spot on. The lovely neighborhood in which I grew up is now McMansion central; if the people seem low-key, it’s because they’ve largely surrounded themselves with other wealthy people, so they relax about being in a “good” neighborhood. These same people recoil with horror when they hear where our kids go to school. I’m only exaggerating slightly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares. This is MoCo and people are very educated and accepting of all kinds of diversity.

And yet there's a new racial incident at a W every other month.

It stands to reason that many kids at those schools are picking up these hateful ideas at home because it happens to often to believe otherwise. So although people can say these places are accepting the evidence suggests otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares. This is MoCo and people are very educated and accepting of all kinds of diversity.

And yet there's a new racial incident at a W every other month.

Except school is out lady, since mid-June.