AU Park vs Silver Spring for family with young kids?

[Anonymous]

Hi- we currently live in downtown Silver Spring, and are thinking about moving back into DC. Is AU Park comparable to SS? How are they different?

[Anonymous]

I love AU park, I live is SS. Everyone walks so you see your neighbors. They know everyone at the park. I vote for AU park.

[Anonymous]

Well, AU Park is much more expensive, and SS has Metro access. What other things are you thinking of in terms of comparisons?

[Anonymous]

OP Here. What I love about my SS neighborhood is that the people are very friendly, we know and hang out with our neighbors and their kids, who are mostly young (under 8). We have a great neighborhood listserv, and lots of family friendly neighborhood events. Wondering if we can have that, and a shorter commute in AU Park.

[Anonymous]

What elementary school would you be zoned for in either place? Young kids quickly become elementary-school-aged kids...

[Anonymous]

AU Park has a well-traveled listserv, it has been around for many years. The neighborhood is served by 2 Metro stations (Tenleytown and Friendship Heights), although it is possible to be pretty far from either and still be in AU Park.

Not too sure about neighborhood-wide events. I'm not personally aware of any (Halloween parade, etc.) However there are certainly block parties and the like.

AU Park children attend Janney elementary school, which is well-liked and puts up good test scores.

[Anonymous]

have friends in au park and in ss. have to admit, the ss friends seem to be the ones who talk about the great neighborhood with so many friends, etc. au folks seem to know neighbors, but the ss folks rave about their neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

I don't know much about Silver Spring but we moved to AU Park this past year and love the neighborhood. We have two kids under 3 and there are another 12 kids under 3 within a block of our house. We have a block playgroup, are planning a series of summer block parties, see everyone outside in the evenings, etc. etc.
It's a great place for families with young children!

[Anonymous]

There are events for families throughout the year at Turtle Park: May Fair, the annual sports day and ice cream social (June 28 this year), the Halloween party/parade, Saturday morning story time and Mon/Wed afternoon Turtle Time (crafts) in the winter, etc.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and also a newly formed listserv specifically for AU Park parents:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/auparkparents/

[Anonymous]

We lived in AU Park for 3 years, and it varies quite a lot from block to block. There were no other young children on our block for most of the time we lived there, and we didn't know any of the neighbors. But the parks--Turtle Park, Fort Bayard Park (at Western & River), and the playround at St Columba's--are great places to meet other parents. The first two at least are overflowing with kids, and we met some of our best friends there.

The other thing I really liked about living in AU Park was the fact that we were equidistant from Tenley & Friendship Heights, so the commute was very easy, and between the two, there is an incredible mix of shopping, including a Whole Foods at Tenley and a new one to come at FH. It was also an easy walk to the shops on Massachusetts Ave (Crate and Barrel, CVS, etc.). Many doctors' offices are nearby, either in FH or on Mass Ave, and it's an easy drive to Bethesda.

The one drawback: there are not that many activities/classes in the immediate neighborhood, esp. since the library next to Janney closed. There is no story time at the Borders, so you have to drive to Politics & Prose or the B&N in Bethesda. (Not sure what they're doing at the interim library, but for us it was a real schlep.) The closest music class for most of the time we lived there was at the Chevy Chase Community Center or CCBC (MusiKids), although a Music Together class opened up more recently at Middle C Music in Tenleytown.