Is silver spring a decent place to live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to communitycrimemap.com and see all the crime and the amount of sexual predators living in silver spring.

Wow, Arlington & Alexandria take the prize for most crime. Glad I don't live in those places. Silver Spring seems to have much less by comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, I'll bite on this thread.

Speaking as a longtime former resident of 20901 and now a current resident of 20910, Silver Spring is not as bad as the naysayers claim, nor is it an equal to Takoma Park or Bethesda (not that most people in SS would ever want to live in Bethesda).

First of all, Silver Spring is huge. It takes up nearly 1/3 of the county, so a clear definition of what Silver Spring is, needs to be defined.

I'll stick with the Georgia Avenue strip from the D.C. line to 495 for my 2 cents. It's got some great houses, neighborhoods, old shops and nice people who reside in the area. It also attracts miscreants and ne'er do wells who like to commit acts ranging from petty crimes and scaling upwards to rape and murder. Some people like pretend that these facts did not happen or are irrelevant. Some people like to pretend that these acts happen en masse at a daily rate. Neither attitudes are helpful.

Silver Spring is stuck in trying become something but can't since it cannot come up with a solution to its consistent problems that prevents it from becoming what the county prints up on their brochures.

Maybe things will trend better once the demolition project of the purple line finally gets completed and some better businesses start popping up in downtown and outward, but that remains to be seen. Having some family friendly restaurants and shops instead of vape shops, weed dispensaries and nightclubs would be a start.

Also a SS Resident for nearly 10 years. I have lived downtown and currently live just outside the Beltway, and I agree. I also used to live in Virginia, and if I could have afforded to buy property in a good area Arlington or Alexandria, that would have been my first choice. Since we were looking in 2016, SS was one of the few affordable places to buy a single-family home that was close enough to DC. There is not as much "wealth" here and most of the people who live here make "modest" incomes (I put these in quotes because compared to the rest of the country, salaries and education level remain high). Most of my neighbors are small business owners, skilled tradespeople, work for NGOs/Feds, or working middle-tier office jobs. I don't have kids, but friends and neighbors who do seem to be happy with the schools.

The downtown area used to be a bit better, but it's been a construction zone for years due to the transit center upgrades and the glacial pace of the purple line construction. There seems to be more turnover with retail and restaurants, and sadly, the stuff that seems to stay are the vape shops . Most of the crime appears to be related to car break-ins and package theft.

[Anonymous]

Silver Spring is sketchy and the schools aren’t good but there are some cute old homes that probably would have been torn down in more desirable areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Citing a DSW and a Five Below as reasons why Wheaton Mall is a destination? I can’t.

I’ll take Jacadi Paris, Restoration Hardware, and Lady M in Tysons Galleria please.

You’re kind of making people’s point about how MoCo is going downhill with your post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Citing a DSW and a Five Below as reasons why Wheaton Mall is a destination? I can’t.

I’ll take Jacadi Paris, Restoration Hardware, and Lady M in Tysons Galleria please.

You’re kind of making people’s point about how MoCo is going downhill with your post.

Not everyone makes a religion out of going to the mall.

[Anonymous]

One thing that’s noticeable and sad about the expensive parts of MoCo is the lack of retail compared to other similar neighborhoods in the country. Chevy Chase and Potomac in particular. Compare the retail options in Chevy Chase DC and Friendship Heights to a place with similar housing in Boston like Brookline and it is night and day in terms of the quality of stores and the relatively complete lack of sketchiness in Brookline compared to these neighborhoods. Ditto similar neighborhoods with expensive pre WW2 SFHs in the close in the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia or in Northern New Jersey, Scarsdale NY, and nicer Connecticut suburbs. Going out to shop or eat is depressing compared to these places.

And yes, people who live in these places can go to Bethesda but why in the world are the areas in DC near Chevy Chase Circle or in MD and DC near Friendship Heights on the same level as places in these other regions when you consider how much money is in the area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Citing a DSW and a Five Below as reasons why Wheaton Mall is a destination? I can’t.

I’ll take Jacadi Paris, Restoration Hardware, and Lady M in Tysons Galleria please.

You’re kind of making people’s point about how MoCo is going downhill with your post.

Yes let’s place a fashion mall in Wheaton instead, that’s guaranteed to turn it into a ghost town and attract what you don’t want. The mall works perfectly fine for the area - not every shopping center can be high-end, but doesn’t mean the area is ’going downhill’.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Citing a DSW and a Five Below as reasons why Wheaton Mall is a destination? I can’t.

I’ll take Jacadi Paris, Restoration Hardware, and Lady M in Tysons Galleria please.

You’re kind of making people’s point about how MoCo is going downhill with your post.

Yes let’s place a fashion mall in Wheaton instead, that’s guaranteed to turn it into a ghost town and attract what you don’t want. The mall works perfectly fine for the area - not every shopping center can be high-end, but doesn’t mean the area is ’going downhill’.

+1. I've been shopping at Wheaton Plaza since there was a Montgomery Ward where the Target now is. It's never been high-end, and it wasn't intended to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Citing a DSW and a Five Below as reasons why Wheaton Mall is a destination? I can’t.

I’ll take Jacadi Paris, Restoration Hardware, and Lady M in Tysons Galleria please.

You’re kind of making people’s point about how MoCo is going downhill with your post.

Yes let’s place a fashion mall in Wheaton instead, that’s guaranteed to turn it into a ghost town and attract what you don’t want. The mall works perfectly fine for the area - not every shopping center can be high-end, but doesn’t mean the area is ’going downhill’.

+1. I've been shopping at Wheaton Plaza since there was a Montgomery Ward where the Target now is. It's never been high-end, and it wasn't intended to be.

+2 if "going downhill" means I can shop at DSW and Target, sign me up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Citing a DSW and a Five Below as reasons why Wheaton Mall is a destination? I can’t.

I’ll take Jacadi Paris, Restoration Hardware, and Lady M in Tysons Galleria please.

You’re kind of making people’s point about how MoCo is going downhill with your post.

Yes let’s place a fashion mall in Wheaton instead, that’s guaranteed to turn it into a ghost town and attract what you don’t want. The mall works perfectly fine for the area - not every shopping center can be high-end, but doesn’t mean the area is ’going downhill’.

+1. I've been shopping at Wheaton Plaza since there was a Montgomery Ward where the Target now is. It's never been high-end, and it wasn't intended to be.

+2 if "going downhill" means I can shop at DSW and Target, sign me up

+3. These are the stores where I shop. I have no idea that "Jacadi Paris" is, so I don't need or want one at my mall.

[Anonymous]

Silver spring is a big ghetto and I wouldn't live there if you give a million $s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Citing a DSW and a Five Below as reasons why Wheaton Mall is a destination? I can’t.

I’ll take Jacadi Paris, Restoration Hardware, and Lady M in Tysons Galleria please.

You’re kind of making people’s point about how MoCo is going downhill with your post.

Yes let’s place a fashion mall in Wheaton instead, that’s guaranteed to turn it into a ghost town and attract what you don’t want. The mall works perfectly fine for the area - not every shopping center can be high-end, but doesn’t mean the area is ’going downhill’.

+1. I've been shopping at Wheaton Plaza since there was a Montgomery Ward where the Target now is. It's never been high-end, and it wasn't intended to be.

+2 if "going downhill" means I can shop at DSW and Target, sign me up

+3. These are the stores where I shop. I have no idea that "Jacadi Paris" is, so I don't need or want one at my mall.

Wheaton mall is trash and stop going there before it turns crazier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Silver spring is a big ghetto and I wouldn't live there if you give a million $s

This basically describes all of northern Virginia except McLean and great falls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Citing a DSW and a Five Below as reasons why Wheaton Mall is a destination? I can’t.

I’ll take Jacadi Paris, Restoration Hardware, and Lady M in Tysons Galleria please.

You’re kind of making people’s point about how MoCo is going downhill with your post.

Yes let’s place a fashion mall in Wheaton instead, that’s guaranteed to turn it into a ghost town and attract what you don’t want. The mall works perfectly fine for the area - not every shopping center can be high-end, but doesn’t mean the area is ’going downhill’.

+1. I've been shopping at Wheaton Plaza since there was a Montgomery Ward where the Target now is. It's never been high-end, and it wasn't intended to be.

+2 if "going downhill" means I can shop at DSW and Target, sign me up

+3. These are the stores where I shop. I have no idea that "Jacadi Paris" is, so I don't need or want one at my mall.

Wheaton mall is trash and stop going there before it turns crazier.

Wheaton mall is nice. Contrast it with pentagon city, which seems to require a huge police squad just to keep the crime at bay. And just to the south in Alexandria, the kids can’t even go to school in person and have to do remote learning because the kids don’t know how to behave.

[Anonymous]

It's not even comparable. If one has a choice between silver spring vs Rockville, nova, Bethesda etc etc you would never go in SS. Such a silly argument