How has MoCo declined since you’ve lived here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm a white uber liberal lawyer who grew up in MoCo and lives here. My job is in the anti-poverty/social justice arena.

If every time a person mentions a poverty-related issue someone screams racism, then we will never actually discuss the poverty-related issues.

Thanks for your perspective -- that's interesting. In terms of older people and selling their homes, aren't people willing to buy as-is for a lower price? I think older people, at least in our part of MoCo (Bethesda) are getting hit by increasing property taxes since their property values continue to go up. At the same time, developers are willing to buy any home and just tear it down.. as-is is certainly fine for them, and I can see people who are priced out the market willing to buy a fixer-upper if it means they can afford to buy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm a white uber liberal lawyer who grew up in MoCo and lives here. My job is in the anti-poverty/social justice arena.

If every time a person mentions a poverty-related issue someone screams racism, then we will never actually discuss the poverty-related issues.

Thanks for your perspective -- that's interesting. In terms of older people and selling their homes, aren't people willing to buy as-is for a lower price? I think older people, at least in our part of MoCo (Bethesda) are getting hit by increasing property taxes since their property values continue to go up. At the same time, developers are willing to buy any home and just tear it down.. as-is is certainly fine for them, and I can see people who are priced out the market willing to buy a fixer-upper if it means they can afford to buy.

Candidly, I wasn't referring to the elderly in Bethesda. As you say, builders will happily buy tear downs as is.

Think about the elderly residents in the eastern side of the county. Nobody is willing to buy a 3 bedroom tear down in Aspen Hill. Heirs are literally lining up to turn over dilapidated housing to the county, and they simply aren't equipped to take it.

And this is just one issue that nobody is talking about or dealing with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm a white uber liberal lawyer who grew up in MoCo and lives here. My job is in the anti-poverty/social justice arena.

If every time a person mentions a poverty-related issue someone screams racism, then we will never actually discuss the poverty-related issues.

Thanks for your perspective -- that's interesting. In terms of older people and selling their homes, aren't people willing to buy as-is for a lower price? I think older people, at least in our part of MoCo (Bethesda) are getting hit by increasing property taxes since their property values continue to go up. At the same time, developers are willing to buy any home and just tear it down.. as-is is certainly fine for them, and I can see people who are priced out the market willing to buy a fixer-upper if it means they can afford to buy.

Candidly, I wasn't referring to the elderly in Bethesda. As you say, builders will happily buy tear downs as is.

Think about the elderly residents in the eastern side of the county. Nobody is willing to buy a 3 bedroom tear down in Aspen Hill. Heirs are literally lining up to turn over dilapidated housing to the county, and they simply aren't equipped to take it.

And this is just one issue that nobody is talking about or dealing with.

And at the risk of pointing out the obvious: the reason why builders are willing to invest in tear downs in Bethesda, CC and parts of Kensington, etc. is because the neighborhoods and schools have remained upscale and predominantly white...guaranteeing desirability among buyers and $$$$. So yes, race and socioeconomics have an impact...just as location matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2018 average SAT scores are another measure of MoCo's decline:

Fairfax 1213
Arlington 1191
Montgomery 1167

Link??
When Fairfax and Arlington can win the "it's academic " competition, we will take them seriously.

Terp Boy, get a grip. These are county-wide averages for thousands of kids, not three kids on a quiz show that takes about 23 minutes to tape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2018 average SAT scores are another measure of MoCo's decline:

Fairfax 1213
Arlington 1191
Montgomery 1167

Link??
When Fairfax and Arlington can win the "it's academic " competition, we will take them seriously.

Terp Boy, get a grip. These are county-wide averages for thousands of kids, not three kids on a quiz show that takes about 23 minutes to tape.

I would like to think the poster(s) who treat it's academic and the like as the be all and end all of measuring county schools are trolls. But sadly there are probably people who believe that is an important measuring stick and/or are grasping at straws to come up with arguments to support their views.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2018 average SAT scores are another measure of MoCo's decline:

Fairfax 1213
Arlington 1191
Montgomery 1167

Link??
When Fairfax and Arlington can win the "it's academic " competition, we will take them seriously.

Terp Boy, get a grip. These are county-wide averages for thousands of kids, not three kids on a quiz show that takes about 23 minutes to tape.

If you can't even win or excel at this simple competition, how can anyone take you guys seriously?
Maybe you lead the AP scores? No? That’s not the case?
Win this simple competition first, then we can talk

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2018 average SAT scores are another measure of MoCo's decline:

Fairfax 1213
Arlington 1191
Montgomery 1167

Link??
When Fairfax and Arlington can win the "it's academic " competition, we will take them seriously.

Terp Boy, get a grip. These are county-wide averages for thousands of kids, not three kids on a quiz show that takes about 23 minutes to tape.

If you can't even win or excel at this simple competition, how can anyone take you guys seriously?
Maybe you lead the AP scores? No? That’s not the case?
Win this simple competition first, then we can talk

LOL... Since when is a game show the yardstick for academic success of a county? You're really reaching on that one, champ!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I win in terms of length of time in MoCo. My parents moved to Wheaton in 1959, when I was 1. Our first neighborhood was a mix of working class families (with the Dads having completed high school) and professional middle class families (with Dads having completed college). The homes were all single family 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes with a car in every driveway.

By 1970, we moved into an upper-middle class Wheaton neighborhood, with five- and six-bedroom houses, walking distance to a country club and near the horse stables. Our parents were all college grads, and kids all took tennis and golf lessons at the club (and the more adventurous of us took riding lessons). Some went to private school, but most went to the perfectly decent public school.

My parents still live in that house, now almost 50 years later. Multiple (probably illegal) immigrant families double and triple up, and there are five and six cars in front of many houses. The country club is long gone, for sure. The high school is more than 70% FARMS, a very high percentage ESOL, and is rated dead last in the county, at a 3. Because of that, you can pick up a 3,000 SF house for around $400k. The nearby strip shopping center is full of trash, empty liquor bottles, and sometimes dirty diapers.

So my area of MoCo has gone downhill, waaaaaay downhill.

Let me guess. You're white?

Wow, I'm soooo sorry your wealthy Country Club suburb has been infested by brown people.
And notice how PP describes her ideal MoCo as full of single (probably white) family homes where DADS (as opposed to Moms) were educated and brought home the bacon. Were there wives all June Cleavers who stayed home vacuuming in pearls?

Why don't we build a wall and keep all the immigrants and brown people out and keep your 1950s fantasy world in? #MAGA.
And you people think Elrich is the NIMBY. smh.

First, I described it as the Dads working because that was what it was like when my parents moved in 50 years ago. It's. It is not what I would have wanted, or want now. Assumption on your part.

Second, stop with the "infested with brown people" racist nonsense. It's a lie liberals keep repeating rather than face the truth - that an influx of poor, unskilled people unable to support themselves and reliant on taxpayer support to feed their kids is coming at a big cost to Americans living near where they settle.

Third, I am sympathetic to the elderly people who bought these homes 50+ years ago and have seen a big portion of the equity dry up just as they are about to need it for assisted living. Why are you so sympathetic to illegal immigrants, and not elderly Americans who worked all their lives and now find their neighborhoods in decline?

+1 MoCo traditionally has cared nothing for its long-term residents. Pols more concerned with competting to be more liberal than California. PP, a bill passed to help elderly stay in homes - but income was way low. Did that help your parents or do they “make too much” on a federal pension or some such?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I win in terms of length of time in MoCo. My parents moved to Wheaton in 1959, when I was 1. Our first neighborhood was a mix of working class families (with the Dads having completed high school) and professional middle class families (with Dads having completed college). The homes were all single family 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes with a car in every driveway.

By 1970, we moved into an upper-middle class Wheaton neighborhood, with five- and six-bedroom houses, walking distance to a country club and near the horse stables. Our parents were all college grads, and kids all took tennis and golf lessons at the club (and the more adventurous of us took riding lessons). Some went to private school, but most went to the perfectly decent public school.

My parents still live in that house, now almost 50 years later. Multiple (probably illegal) immigrant families double and triple up, and there are five and six cars in front of many houses. The country club is long gone, for sure. The high school is more than 70% FARMS, a very high percentage ESOL, and is rated dead last in the county, at a 3. Because of that, you can pick up a 3,000 SF house for around $400k. The nearby strip shopping center is full of trash, empty liquor bottles, and sometimes dirty diapers.

So my area of MoCo has gone downhill, waaaaaay downhill.

Let me guess. You're white?

Wow, I'm soooo sorry your wealthy Country Club suburb has been infested by brown people.
And notice how PP describes her ideal MoCo as full of single (probably white) family homes where DADS (as opposed to Moms) were educated and brought home the bacon. Were there wives all June Cleavers who stayed home vacuuming in pearls?

Why don't we build a wall and keep all the immigrants and brown people out and keep your 1950s fantasy world in? #MAGA.
And you people think Elrich is the NIMBY. smh.

First, I described it as the Dads working because that was what it was like when my parents moved in 50 years ago. It's. It is not what I would have wanted, or want now. Assumption on your part.

Second, stop with the "infested with brown people" racist nonsense. It's a lie liberals keep repeating rather than face the truth - that an influx of poor, unskilled people unable to support themselves and reliant on taxpayer support to feed their kids is coming at a big cost to Americans living near where they settle.

Third, I am sympathetic to the elderly people who bought these homes 50+ years ago and have seen a big portion of the equity dry up just as they are about to need it for assisted living. Why are you so sympathetic to illegal immigrants, and not elderly Americans who worked all their lives and now find their neighborhoods in decline?

This is important to explore.

I'm a white uber liberal lawyer who grew up in MoCo and lives here. My job is in the anti-poverty/social justice arena.

If every time a person mentions a poverty-related issue someone screams racism, then we will never actually discuss the poverty-related issues.

Yes, the children born here are citizens who are entitled to an education and social services (if/when necessary). But we need to realize that their parents' immigration status typically precludes them from working jobs above the table and paying taxes. Yes, they work; but they typically work jobs that don't pay taxes (or some might work with fake SS#s).

A possible solution is legal assistance to address their status. Another option is immigration reform.

But we (including anti-poverty advocates) rarely get to those in the weeds solutions because we get distracted with racism.

The overcrowding issues are problematic. We had 5 families living in a ranch style house in my prior neighborhood in 20906. 5 couples; at least 8 kids based on the # of cribs and toddler beds I counted when I walked through the open house. While I admired their pluck and self-sufficiency, there are obvious negative impacts on the neighborhood as well as the kids living inside the home (as evidenced by the multiple calls to the police for domestic situations). This house wasn't an outlier; there were dozens of such homes in my old neighborhood by the time we moved out. Ten years later, the entire neighborhood and schools have declined dramatically. They crossed a tipping point. And there is an impact on surrounding shopping centers which struggle to find anchor stores and restaurants precisely because of the racial and socioeconomics (anchor chains rely heavily on that data).

The elderly in MoCo have a dramatically declining standard of living. They are on fixed incomes and barely getting by thanks to increasing medical bills. Many are only able to remain housed thanks to support from their kids. Many have lost their homes. Many can't afford to sustain their homes, yet they can't afford to downsize (leave the home that's paid for) because they can't afford rent or a modest place in leisureworld because their home (while paid for) has fallen into such disrepair it will be tough to sell---or will sell for far less than its worth. Remember: moco has a serious pinhole leak issue with its pipes in the housing stock where blue collar and lower paid white collar elderly people reside.

I could go on, but I suppose the point is this: let's stop pretending that moco hasn't changed. It has. Dramatically. Instead of complaining, and instead of ignoring, let's discuss and identify solutions that improve the situation for everyone. That means we will need to discuss crime, too.

Thank you. I am the PP to whom you responded, and also a poster who has been called a "f*cking a-hole racist" for describing the problem I see in my parents' neighborhood. They bought a large house (well, large for the times....5-bedrooms and close to 3000sf) in what was decidedly an UMC neighborhood 50 years ago. The public school, while not the top in the County, was perfectly fine, and kids almost all went all to college. Most parents were college grad themselves.

Now, they have multiple families squeezed into single houses, half-a-dozen old beaters parked in front, and the school is 70% FARMS with a large contingent ESOL. Worst school in the county, and rated a 3. The problem is that the elderly people, including my parents and their elderly neighbors of 50 years, have watched their property values drop, just as they are nearing the time they need the equity for assisted living. Some of these facilities - we've explored - require deposits of as much as $500,000, which had (largely) been in their home equity.

But now, these houses, similar models which currently sell for $700k - $800k in Rockville, have seen their value drop from around $650K to the 400s. (One sold last year for $395k, but it had been a rental for a few years, and was probably trashed.)

It is disingenuous to pretend that elderly people, who have worked hard all their lives, are not paying a steep price when uneducated, poor, and non-English speaking move in en masse, triple up in neighboring houses, and turn the adjacent schools to majority FARMS and cause a consequent drop in property values. What I object to is the venom that so many liberals (not you, obviously) spew forth when the negative ramifications of unchecked immigration of poor people is brought up - especially on elderly living on Social Security and modest (not government) pensions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I win in terms of length of time in MoCo. My parents moved to Wheaton in 1959, when I was 1. Our first neighborhood was a mix of working class families (with the Dads having completed high school) and professional middle class families (with Dads having completed college). The homes were all single family 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes with a car in every driveway.

By 1970, we moved into an upper-middle class Wheaton neighborhood, with five- and six-bedroom houses, walking distance to a country club and near the horse stables. Our parents were all college grads, and kids all took tennis and golf lessons at the club (and the more adventurous of us took riding lessons). Some went to private school, but most went to the perfectly decent public school.

My parents still live in that house, now almost 50 years later. Multiple (probably illegal) immigrant families double and triple up, and there are five and six cars in front of many houses. The country club is long gone, for sure. The high school is more than 70% FARMS, a very high percentage ESOL, and is rated dead last in the county, at a 3. Because of that, you can pick up a 3,000 SF house for around $400k. The nearby strip shopping center is full of trash, empty liquor bottles, and sometimes dirty diapers.

So my area of MoCo has gone downhill, waaaaaay downhill.

Let me guess. You're white?

Wow, I'm soooo sorry your wealthy Country Club suburb has been infested by brown people.
And notice how PP describes her ideal MoCo as full of single (probably white) family homes where DADS (as opposed to Moms) were educated and brought home the bacon. Were there wives all June Cleavers who stayed home vacuuming in pearls?

Why don't we build a wall and keep all the immigrants and brown people out and keep your 1950s fantasy world in? #MAGA.
And you people think Elrich is the NIMBY. smh.

First, I described it as the Dads working because that was what it was like when my parents moved in 50 years ago. It's. It is not what I would have wanted, or want now. Assumption on your part.

Second, stop with the "infested with brown people" racist nonsense. It's a lie liberals keep repeating rather than face the truth - that an influx of poor, unskilled people unable to support themselves and reliant on taxpayer support to feed their kids is coming at a big cost to Americans living near where they settle.

Third, I am sympathetic to the elderly people who bought these homes 50+ years ago and have seen a big portion of the equity dry up just as they are about to need it for assisted living. Why are you so sympathetic to illegal immigrants, and not elderly Americans who worked all their lives and now find their neighborhoods in decline?

+1 MoCo traditionally has cared nothing for its long-term residents. Pols more concerned with competting to be more liberal than California. PP, a bill passed to help elderly stay in homes - but income was way low. Did that help your parents or do they “make too much” on a federal pension or some such?

Thanks. I'm the PP.

I'm not aware of that program nor did my parents mention it to me. Regardless, it's not that they can't afford to stay in their home....it's been paid off for 20 years. It's that due to immigrwnts tripling up and lowering their property values, they can't afford a nice assisted living place because of the ridiculous "buy-in." (We've seen ranges around $500,000, and they'd still have a monthly fee of $3000+.) Before the neighborhood went downhill, they had plenty of money in equity to cover it, and then some.

So, we are looking at cheaper places with less of a buy-in, but then the monthly rates are much higher. The point is that the neighborhood definitely went downhill and the house lost hundreds of thousands of dollars when poor, non-English speakers moved in and started tripling up in houses - and I question why liberals get so nasty when it is pointed out that there is indeed a hardship caused to elderly people by unchecked immigration of poor, unskilled people congregating in their neighborhoods.

The larger point is why all the sympathy goes to poor, and likely illegal, new immigrants and none to elderly Americans who have paid taxes for 60 years, supported their families, and followed the law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With an exception of very rich Potomac/CC/Bethesda areas, the whole county has gone down significantly. I mean SIGNIFICANTLY!!

Agreed, to much of something is not always the best. I’d feel this way if country bumpkins from the hills of West Virginia were imported here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I win in terms of length of time in MoCo. My parents moved to Wheaton in 1959, when I was 1. Our first neighborhood was a mix of working class families (with the Dads having completed high school) and professional middle class families (with Dads having completed college). The homes were all single family 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes with a car in every driveway.

By 1970, we moved into an upper-middle class Wheaton neighborhood, with five- and six-bedroom houses, walking distance to a country club and near the horse stables. Our parents were all college grads, and kids all took tennis and golf lessons at the club (and the more adventurous of us took riding lessons). Some went to private school, but most went to the perfectly decent public school.

My parents still live in that house, now almost 50 years later. Multiple (probably illegal) immigrant families double and triple up, and there are five and six cars in front of many houses. The country club is long gone, for sure. The high school is more than 70% FARMS, a very high percentage ESOL, and is rated dead last in the county, at a 3. Because of that, you can pick up a 3,000 SF house for around $400k. The nearby strip shopping center is full of trash, empty liquor bottles, and sometimes dirty diapers.

So my area of MoCo has gone downhill, waaaaaay downhill.

Let me guess. You're white?

Wow, I'm soooo sorry your wealthy Country Club suburb has been infested by brown people.
And notice how PP describes her ideal MoCo as full of single (probably white) family homes where DADS (as opposed to Moms) were educated and brought home the bacon. Were there wives all June Cleavers who stayed home vacuuming in pearls?

Why don't we build a wall and keep all the immigrants and brown people out and keep your 1950s fantasy world in? #MAGA.
And you people think Elrich is the NIMBY. smh.

First, I described it as the Dads working because that was what it was like when my parents moved in 50 years ago. It's. It is not what I would have wanted, or want now. Assumption on your part.

Second, stop with the "infested with brown people" racist nonsense. It's a lie liberals keep repeating rather than face the truth - that an influx of poor, unskilled people unable to support themselves and reliant on taxpayer support to feed their kids is coming at a big cost to Americans living near where they settle.

Third, I am sympathetic to the elderly people who bought these homes 50+ years ago and have seen a big portion of the equity dry up just as they are about to need it for assisted living. Why are you so sympathetic to illegal immigrants, and not elderly Americans who worked all their lives and now find their neighborhoods in decline?

This is important to explore.

I'm a white uber liberal lawyer who grew up in MoCo and lives here. My job is in the anti-poverty/social justice arena.

If every time a person mentions a poverty-related issue someone screams racism, then we will never actually discuss the poverty-related issues.

Yes, the children born here are citizens who are entitled to an education and social services (if/when necessary). But we need to realize that their parents' immigration status typically precludes them from working jobs above the table and paying taxes. Yes, they work; but they typically work jobs that don't pay taxes (or some might work with fake SS#s).

A possible solution is legal assistance to address their status. Another option is immigration reform.

But we (including anti-poverty advocates) rarely get to those in the weeds solutions because we get distracted with racism.

The overcrowding issues are problematic. We had 5 families living in a ranch style house in my prior neighborhood in 20906. 5 couples; at least 8 kids based on the # of cribs and toddler beds I counted when I walked through the open house. While I admired their pluck and self-sufficiency, there are obvious negative impacts on the neighborhood as well as the kids living inside the home (as evidenced by the multiple calls to the police for domestic situations). This house wasn't an outlier; there were dozens of such homes in my old neighborhood by the time we moved out. Ten years later, the entire neighborhood and schools have declined dramatically. They crossed a tipping point. And there is an impact on surrounding shopping centers which struggle to find anchor stores and restaurants precisely because of the racial and socioeconomics (anchor chains rely heavily on that data).

The elderly in MoCo have a dramatically declining standard of living. They are on fixed incomes and barely getting by thanks to increasing medical bills. Many are only able to remain housed thanks to support from their kids. Many have lost their homes. Many can't afford to sustain their homes, yet they can't afford to downsize (leave the home that's paid for) because they can't afford rent or a modest place in leisureworld because their home (while paid for) has fallen into such disrepair it will be tough to sell---or will sell for far less than its worth. Remember: moco has a serious pinhole leak issue with its pipes in the housing stock where blue collar and lower paid white collar elderly people reside.

I could go on, but I suppose the point is this: let's stop pretending that moco hasn't changed. It has. Dramatically. Instead of complaining, and instead of ignoring, let's discuss and identify solutions that improve the situation for everyone. That means we will need to discuss crime, too.

Thank you. I am the PP to whom you responded, and also a poster who has been called a "f*cking a-hole racist" for describing the problem I see in my parents' neighborhood. They bought a large house (well, large for the times....5-bedrooms and close to 3000sf) in what was decidedly an UMC neighborhood 50 years ago. The public school, while not the top in the County, was perfectly fine, and kids almost all went all to college. Most parents were college grad themselves.

Now, they have multiple families squeezed into single houses, half-a-dozen old beaters parked in front, and the school is 70% FARMS with a large contingent ESOL. Worst school in the county, and rated a 3. The problem is that the elderly people, including my parents and their elderly neighbors of 50 years, have watched their property values drop, just as they are nearing the time they need the equity for assisted living. Some of these facilities - we've explored - require deposits of as much as $500,000, which had (largely) been in their home equity.

But now, these houses, similar models which currently sell for $700k - $800k in Rockville, have seen their value drop from around $650K to the 400s. (One sold last year for $395k, but it had been a rental for a few years, and was probably trashed.)

It is disingenuous to pretend that elderly people, who have worked hard all their lives, are not paying a steep price when uneducated, poor, and non-English speaking move in en masse, triple up in neighboring houses, and turn the adjacent schools to majority FARMS and cause a consequent drop in property values. What I object to is the venom that so many liberals (not you, obviously) spew forth when the negative ramifications of unchecked immigration of poor people is brought up - especially on elderly living on Social Security and modest (not government) pensions.

No disrespect to your family but I really can't muster too much sympathy for your family, or other baby boomers, when they were able to buy a home in the 70's on a single income, pay it off within 20-30 years, and still have a ton of equity.

There's no dispute that MoCo has changed and some areas have gotten better and grown, while others have declined or were never that great to begin with. But, it seems like the main issue is that you're frustrated that your parents don't have sufficient funds to retire to a luxury community. From your narrative, I believe you are describing the area around Layhill Road, where the Layhill Country Club used to be? If so, you failed to point out that the country club closed due to a lack of demand (like all country clubs in the us), and is now a new housing development where homes start at $500k. The neighborhoods with houses built in the 70's aren't nearly as large as you describe and sell from $450k-$550k, which is pretty reasonable for the area, schools and size of the houses. Plus, many of those homes are older and need updating. Yes, Kennedy HS is the lowest-ranked HS in MoCo, but it's been that way since the late 90's, this is nothing new. Moreover your point of the houses being valued at $650K fails to mention that this value was based on values from 2005-2006 before the housing collapse, and was never realistic to begin with. So, I'm really not understanding your complaint about equity. Perhaps your parents should have sold in 2006?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I win in terms of length of time in MoCo. My parents moved to Wheaton in 1959, when I was 1. Our first neighborhood was a mix of working class families (with the Dads having completed high school) and professional middle class families (with Dads having completed college). The homes were all single family 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes with a car in every driveway.

By 1970, we moved into an upper-middle class Wheaton neighborhood, with five- and six-bedroom houses, walking distance to a country club and near the horse stables. Our parents were all college grads, and kids all took tennis and golf lessons at the club (and the more adventurous of us took riding lessons). Some went to private school, but most went to the perfectly decent public school.

My parents still live in that house, now almost 50 years later. Multiple (probably illegal) immigrant families double and triple up, and there are five and six cars in front of many houses. The country club is long gone, for sure. The high school is more than 70% FARMS, a very high percentage ESOL, and is rated dead last in the county, at a 3. Because of that, you can pick up a 3,000 SF house for around $400k. The nearby strip shopping center is full of trash, empty liquor bottles, and sometimes dirty diapers.

So my area of MoCo has gone downhill, waaaaaay downhill.

Let me guess. You're white?

Wow, I'm soooo sorry your wealthy Country Club suburb has been infested by brown people.
And notice how PP describes her ideal MoCo as full of single (probably white) family homes where DADS (as opposed to Moms) were educated and brought home the bacon. Were there wives all June Cleavers who stayed home vacuuming in pearls?

Why don't we build a wall and keep all the immigrants and brown people out and keep your 1950s fantasy world in? #MAGA.
And you people think Elrich is the NIMBY. smh.

First, I described it as the Dads working because that was what it was like when my parents moved in 50 years ago. It's. It is not what I would have wanted, or want now. Assumption on your part.

Second, stop with the "infested with brown people" racist nonsense. It's a lie liberals keep repeating rather than face the truth - that an influx of poor, unskilled people unable to support themselves and reliant on taxpayer support to feed their kids is coming at a big cost to Americans living near where they settle.

Third, I am sympathetic to the elderly people who bought these homes 50+ years ago and have seen a big portion of the equity dry up just as they are about to need it for assisted living. Why are you so sympathetic to illegal immigrants, and not elderly Americans who worked all their lives and now find their neighborhoods in decline?

This is important to explore.

I'm a white uber liberal lawyer who grew up in MoCo and lives here. My job is in the anti-poverty/social justice arena.

If every time a person mentions a poverty-related issue someone screams racism, then we will never actually discuss the poverty-related issues.

Yes, the children born here are citizens who are entitled to an education and social services (if/when necessary). But we need to realize that their parents' immigration status typically precludes them from working jobs above the table and paying taxes. Yes, they work; but they typically work jobs that don't pay taxes (or some might work with fake SS#s).

A possible solution is legal assistance to address their status. Another option is immigration reform.

But we (including anti-poverty advocates) rarely get to those in the weeds solutions because we get distracted with racism.

The overcrowding issues are problematic. We had 5 families living in a ranch style house in my prior neighborhood in 20906. 5 couples; at least 8 kids based on the # of cribs and toddler beds I counted when I walked through the open house. While I admired their pluck and self-sufficiency, there are obvious negative impacts on the neighborhood as well as the kids living inside the home (as evidenced by the multiple calls to the police for domestic situations). This house wasn't an outlier; there were dozens of such homes in my old neighborhood by the time we moved out. Ten years later, the entire neighborhood and schools have declined dramatically. They crossed a tipping point. And there is an impact on surrounding shopping centers which struggle to find anchor stores and restaurants precisely because of the racial and socioeconomics (anchor chains rely heavily on that data).

The elderly in MoCo have a dramatically declining standard of living. They are on fixed incomes and barely getting by thanks to increasing medical bills. Many are only able to remain housed thanks to support from their kids. Many have lost their homes. Many can't afford to sustain their homes, yet they can't afford to downsize (leave the home that's paid for) because they can't afford rent or a modest place in leisureworld because their home (while paid for) has fallen into such disrepair it will be tough to sell---or will sell for far less than its worth. Remember: moco has a serious pinhole leak issue with its pipes in the housing stock where blue collar and lower paid white collar elderly people reside.

I could go on, but I suppose the point is this: let's stop pretending that moco hasn't changed. It has. Dramatically. Instead of complaining, and instead of ignoring, let's discuss and identify solutions that improve the situation for everyone. That means we will need to discuss crime, too.

Thank you. I am the PP to whom you responded, and also a poster who has been called a "f*cking a-hole racist" for describing the problem I see in my parents' neighborhood. They bought a large house (well, large for the times....5-bedrooms and close to 3000sf) in what was decidedly an UMC neighborhood 50 years ago. The public school, while not the top in the County, was perfectly fine, and kids almost all went all to college. Most parents were college grad themselves.

Now, they have multiple families squeezed into single houses, half-a-dozen old beaters parked in front, and the school is 70% FARMS with a large contingent ESOL. Worst school in the county, and rated a 3. The problem is that the elderly people, including my parents and their elderly neighbors of 50 years, have watched their property values drop, just as they are nearing the time they need the equity for assisted living. Some of these facilities - we've explored - require deposits of as much as $500,000, which had (largely) been in their home equity.

But now, these houses, similar models which currently sell for $700k - $800k in Rockville, have seen their value drop from around $650K to the 400s. (One sold last year for $395k, but it had been a rental for a few years, and was probably trashed.)

It is disingenuous to pretend that elderly people, who have worked hard all their lives, are not paying a steep price when uneducated, poor, and non-English speaking move in en masse, triple up in neighboring houses, and turn the adjacent schools to majority FARMS and cause a consequent drop in property values. What I object to is the venom that so many liberals (not you, obviously) spew forth when the negative ramifications of unchecked immigration of poor people is brought up - especially on elderly living on Social Security and modest (not government) pensions.

No disrespect to your family but I really can't muster too much sympathy for your family, or other baby boomers, when they were able to buy a home in the 70's on a single income, pay it off within 20-30 years, and still have a ton of equity.

There's no dispute that MoCo has changed and some areas have gotten better and grown, while others have declined or were never that great to begin with. But, it seems like the main issue is that you're frustrated that your parents don't have sufficient funds to retire to a luxury community. From your narrative, I believe you are describing the area around Layhill Road, where the Layhill Country Club used to be? If so, you failed to point out that the country club closed due to a lack of demand (like all country clubs in the us), and is now a new housing development where homes start at $500k. The neighborhoods with houses built in the 70's aren't nearly as large as you describe and sell from $450k-$550k, which is pretty reasonable for the area, schools and size of the houses. Plus, many of those homes are older and need updating. Yes, Kennedy HS is the lowest-ranked HS in MoCo, but it's been that way since the late 90's, this is nothing new. Moreover your point of the houses being valued at $650K fails to mention that this value was based on values from 2005-2006 before the housing collapse, and was never realistic to begin with. So, I'm really not understanding your complaint about equity. Perhaps your parents should have sold in 2006?

What kind of crazy argument is that? Older couples still enjoying their houses in 2006 should have sold well before they needed to move into an assisted living or retirement community because they could predict that low-educated, unskilled, non-English speaking immigrants would cram in three families to a house and bring down the caliber of the school and the property values?

You're blaming the victims - the elderly - by saying "well, your fault.... you should have moved 10 yeaes ago." How about blaming the illegal immigrants living three families to a house and causing the problem?

[Anonymous]

I think it's very easy for people who don't actually live in neighborhoods negatively impacted by shifting demographics to fail to understand the implications. I'll give them a pass. But our elected officials should know better.

[Anonymous]

All of you wishing for a 1950's MoCo can just move across the river to NoVa, you know.