What's the deal with Potomac?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from CC MD to Potomac last year. For a 20% bump in price (from ~950 to ~1.15) we tripled our space (1900 to 5400 sq ft) and went from a 1/4 acre to three-acre lot.

Architecturally, we went from a dull upgraded 50's rambler in CC MD to a striking 70s modern house in the woods in Potomac. No contest.

The other big plus is that we now don't waste our time pondering the expense and time commitment of a country house -- we wake up in the country every day. And driving around the rolling hills and landscaped lots of Potomac is restful in a way the congestion of CC and Bethesda streets never was.

In practical terms, Potomac's not significantly further out - my new drive commute to Metro Center/DC is only 5-10 minutes longer (highways vs traffic lights).

As for 'walkability,' our experience was the "walkability" of CC MD and Bethesda was mostly a myth except for a handful of streets near Wisc Ave (i've actually never seen anyone but schoolchildren walk across Connecticut Ave). We walked nowhere. And driving two miles into Potomac Village for shopping and services now is a lot easier than driving the same distance into (and parking in) congested Bethesda was.

Why the good values in Potomac? A lot of original Potomac owners from the 1970s and 1980s became empty nesters -- and put their houses on the market -- simultaneously over the past decade, so that probably capped appreciation somewhat. As did the buzz around supposedly 'walkable' neighborhoods and the trendy disparagement on sites like these about so-called McMansions (because somehow 4500 sq ft Potomac colonials on two acre lots are aesthetically objectionable and nouveau riche in ways that grotesque 5500 sq ft Bethesda McBungalows on a fourth of an acre aren't...). I'm assuming that gap may right itself in the future, but even if it doesn't, we're happy to have the market's failure be our gain. At essentially the same price point, living in Potomac is a lot better for us than living in CC MD was.

I did the opposite - moved from Potomac to CC MD. Paid A LOT more to maintain sq ft and lost a huge yard... but you're kidding yourself if you think your commute is only a few minutes longer. That is pandemic traffic. It used to take me 30 minutes MINIMUM just to get to River and Bradley from just north of Potomac center. There are wonderful, wonderful things about living in Potomac, but you give up community and commutability.

This. I used to live in a really large house. It was a lot of da*n work. Even if not doing it yourself. The lawn people. The cleaners. Something always needed fixing or fixing up. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s far, and unfortunately has been ruined by large gaudy cheaply built late 90’s and 2000’s McMansions, so it just has an all around tacky, gross, cheap look to it. What’s the point of living in a outer suburban / semi-rural suburb if the picturesque, rural feel has been completely shattered by just ugly, ugly homes? Makes more sense to have an in city house, and then have a second farm property in a rural area that hasn’t been ruined yet like Loudoun or Albemarle counties.

I don’t get all the hate towards McMansions. Most of it is urban elitism anyways. Bethesda and Chevy Chase have a ton of the same type of homes as well, and there are also plenty of non-McMansion homes in Bethesda that are completely fugly/old/tiny/prison-cell-like that people will still pay $900k-$1.4M for because “wAlKaBiLiTy” and “cLoSeR tO dC.” Most neighborhoods in Bethesda are not even walkable and the difference in commute is only 8-15 minutes on average. Some people just want $1.4M-$1.8M homes that actually look and feel like $1.4-1.8M. I agree that actual walkable neighborhoods in Bethesda are preferable to living in a McMansion in Potomac, but most people don’t have the luxury to afford homes in even Potomac, but when a $1M-$1.3M budget only gets you a ratchet box colonial that looks like a frat house in a run down college town, looking further out for a nicer and more modern house is the obvious answer.

Cope harder. Bethesda sucks too — some of the poop neighborhoods in Bethesda are 100% littered with mcraftsmans, which are pretty heinous, but nothing compared to the Greek and Roman columned white and tan brick faux-architecture horrible homes in Potomac. Coupled with the fact that Montgomery county is a fiscally doomed county with zero jobs, and Potomac is a sure loser. It’s not the country, it’s a tacky suburb that was popular in the 90’s and 2000’s in the days when gas was cheap and baby boomers loved massive cheaply built houses of questionable architectural integrity.

Montgomery County will be fine. They don't need jobs. Everyone I know who lives in Potomac either has their own business or work in DC. There aren't many jobs in McLean or Great Falls, VA either. Folks work in the city.

How did you miss the existence of Tysons Corner and the Dulles corridor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from CC MD to Potomac last year. For a 20% bump in price (from ~950 to ~1.15) we tripled our space (1900 to 5400 sq ft) and went from a 1/4 acre to three-acre lot.

Architecturally, we went from a dull upgraded 50's rambler in CC MD to a striking 70s modern house in the woods in Potomac. No contest.

The other big plus is that we now don't waste our time pondering the expense and time commitment of a country house -- we wake up in the country every day. And driving around the rolling hills and landscaped lots of Potomac is restful in a way the congestion of CC and Bethesda streets never was.

In practical terms, Potomac's not significantly further out - my new drive commute to Metro Center/DC is only 5-10 minutes longer (highways vs traffic lights).

As for 'walkability,' our experience was the "walkability" of CC MD and Bethesda was mostly a myth except for a handful of streets near Wisc Ave (i've actually never seen anyone but schoolchildren walk across Connecticut Ave). We walked nowhere. And driving two miles into Potomac Village for shopping and services now is a lot easier than driving the same distance into (and parking in) congested Bethesda was.

Why the good values in Potomac? A lot of original Potomac owners from the 1970s and 1980s became empty nesters -- and put their houses on the market -- simultaneously over the past decade, so that probably capped appreciation somewhat. As did the buzz around supposedly 'walkable' neighborhoods and the trendy disparagement on sites like these about so-called McMansions (because somehow 4500 sq ft Potomac colonials on two acre lots are aesthetically objectionable and nouveau riche in ways that grotesque 5500 sq ft Bethesda McBungalows on a fourth of an acre aren't...). I'm assuming that gap may right itself in the future, but even if it doesn't, we're happy to have the market's failure be our gain. At essentially the same price point, living in Potomac is a lot better for us than living in CC MD was.

I'm glad you found such a great house--it does sound terrific. I love some of the modern homes there.

Re: walkability, it's not just about being able to walk for errands, but about having neighborhoods with sidewalks. Much of Potomac doesn't have those. I also see tons of people out walking in Bethesda and DTSS whenever I'm there, so clearly, people are walking. Some people just don't like to walk in urban environments, which is fine, but that's not universal. I lived on the Hill for years and walked everywhere (and took public transportation).

But, yeah, if being able to walk to stuff isn't a priority, and you don't mind a driving commute, there are great deals to be had in Potomac.

Nearly all the people you see walking in downtown Bethesda or DTSS drove there. Very little of Bethesda is walkable to downtown or Friendship Heights. I always laugh at the Bethesda people bragging about walkability. We lived on Capitol Hill for 10 years. We could walk out our door and get to loads of restaurants, bars, groceries, etc. That is walkable. Some brick box on a side street that happens to have a side walk off of River Road is not walkable to anything that you actually want to walk to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Outside the beltway

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from CC MD to Potomac last year. For a 20% bump in price (from ~950 to ~1.15) we tripled our space (1900 to 5400 sq ft) and went from a 1/4 acre to three-acre lot.

Architecturally, we went from a dull upgraded 50's rambler in CC MD to a striking 70s modern house in the woods in Potomac. No contest.

The other big plus is that we now don't waste our time pondering the expense and time commitment of a country house -- we wake up in the country every day. And driving around the rolling hills and landscaped lots of Potomac is restful in a way the congestion of CC and Bethesda streets never was.

In practical terms, Potomac's not significantly further out - my new drive commute to Metro Center/DC is only 5-10 minutes longer (highways vs traffic lights).

As for 'walkability,' our experience was the "walkability" of CC MD and Bethesda was mostly a myth except for a handful of streets near Wisc Ave (i've actually never seen anyone but schoolchildren walk across Connecticut Ave). We walked nowhere. And driving two miles into Potomac Village for shopping and services now is a lot easier than driving the same distance into (and parking in) congested Bethesda was.

Why the good values in Potomac? A lot of original Potomac owners from the 1970s and 1980s became empty nesters -- and put their houses on the market -- simultaneously over the past decade, so that probably capped appreciation somewhat. As did the buzz around supposedly 'walkable' neighborhoods and the trendy disparagement on sites like these about so-called McMansions (because somehow 4500 sq ft Potomac colonials on two acre lots are aesthetically objectionable and nouveau riche in ways that grotesque 5500 sq ft Bethesda McBungalows on a fourth of an acre aren't...). I'm assuming that gap may right itself in the future, but even if it doesn't, we're happy to have the market's failure be our gain. At essentially the same price point, living in Potomac is a lot better for us than living in CC MD was.

I'm glad you found such a great house--it does sound terrific. I love some of the modern homes there.

Re: walkability, it's not just about being able to walk for errands, but about having neighborhoods with sidewalks. Much of Potomac doesn't have those. I also see tons of people out walking in Bethesda and DTSS whenever I'm there, so clearly, people are walking. Some people just don't like to walk in urban environments, which is fine, but that's not universal. I lived on the Hill for years and walked everywhere (and took public transportation).

But, yeah, if being able to walk to stuff isn't a priority, and you don't mind a driving commute, there are great deals to be had in Potomac.

Nearly all the people you see walking in downtown Bethesda or DTSS drove there. Very little of Bethesda is walkable to downtown or Friendship Heights. I always laugh at the Bethesda people bragging about walkability. We lived on Capitol Hill for 10 years. We could walk out our door and get to loads of restaurants, bars, groceries, etc. That is walkable. Some brick box on a side street that happens to have a side walk off of River Road is not walkable to anything that you actually want to walk to.

[Anonymous]

For me, heating and cooling a 4,500+ square foot house always seemed too stressful between cost and running multiple zones of HVAC into the ground.

That's 3-4 separate HVAC systems.

Longer commute. Cutting ALL the grass.

Just too much of that in Potomac for me. But to each their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from CC MD to Potomac last year. For a 20% bump in price (from ~950 to ~1.15) we tripled our space (1900 to 5400 sq ft) and went from a 1/4 acre to three-acre lot.

Architecturally, we went from a dull upgraded 50's rambler in CC MD to a striking 70s modern house in the woods in Potomac. No contest.

The other big plus is that we now don't waste our time pondering the expense and time commitment of a country house -- we wake up in the country every day. And driving around the rolling hills and landscaped lots of Potomac is restful in a way the congestion of CC and Bethesda streets never was.

In practical terms, Potomac's not significantly further out - my new drive commute to Metro Center/DC is only 5-10 minutes longer (highways vs traffic lights).

As for 'walkability,' our experience was the "walkability" of CC MD and Bethesda was mostly a myth except for a handful of streets near Wisc Ave (i've actually never seen anyone but schoolchildren walk across Connecticut Ave). We walked nowhere. And driving two miles into Potomac Village for shopping and services now is a lot easier than driving the same distance into (and parking in) congested Bethesda was.

Why the good values in Potomac? A lot of original Potomac owners from the 1970s and 1980s became empty nesters -- and put their houses on the market -- simultaneously over the past decade, so that probably capped appreciation somewhat. As did the buzz around supposedly 'walkable' neighborhoods and the trendy disparagement on sites like these about so-called McMansions (because somehow 4500 sq ft Potomac colonials on two acre lots are aesthetically objectionable and nouveau riche in ways that grotesque 5500 sq ft Bethesda McBungalows on a fourth of an acre aren't...). I'm assuming that gap may right itself in the future, but even if it doesn't, we're happy to have the market's failure be our gain. At essentially the same price point, living in Potomac is a lot better for us than living in CC MD was.

I did the opposite - moved from Potomac to CC MD. Paid A LOT more to maintain sq ft and lost a huge yard... but you're kidding yourself if you think your commute is only a few minutes longer. That is pandemic traffic. It used to take me 30 minutes MINIMUM just to get to River and Bradley from just north of Potomac center. There are wonderful, wonderful things about living in Potomac, but you give up community and commutability.

I live in a beautiful Potomac neighborhood with homes that were built in the 70’s. We have 2+acre lots and an amazing community. Our neighbors are all very kind and we all look out for each other. I am able to hop on my bike and be on the canal in under 5 minutes. My husband works in downtown Silver Spring and is usually home in about 40 minutes.

[Anonymous]

For me, heating and cooling a 4,500+ square foot house always seemed too stressful between cost and running multiple zones of HVAC into the ground.

That's 3-4 separate HVAC systems.

Longer commute. Cutting ALL the grass.

Just too much of that in Potomac for me. But to each their own.

??

Newer homes are just as big in Bethesda (the most relevant comparison for Potomac) as in Potomac; a 5000 sq foot house uses two HVAC systems, not 3-4; re cutting grass, there are many wholly or partially wooded lots in Potomac (and to point out the obvious, the benefit of a larger lot with "ALL the grass" is a lot more privacy); and the commute to DC from closer-in Potomac isn't materially longer than that from adjacent further-out neighborhoods of Bethesda whose residents drive onto the Beltway or Cabin John Pkway anyway.

But hey other people's preconceived notions make for good market opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from CC MD to Potomac last year. For a 20% bump in price (from ~950 to ~1.15) we tripled our space (1900 to 5400 sq ft) and went from a 1/4 acre to three-acre lot.

Architecturally, we went from a dull upgraded 50's rambler in CC MD to a striking 70s modern house in the woods in Potomac. No contest.

The other big plus is that we now don't waste our time pondering the expense and time commitment of a country house -- we wake up in the country every day. And driving around the rolling hills and landscaped lots of Potomac is restful in a way the congestion of CC and Bethesda streets never was.

In practical terms, Potomac's not significantly further out - my new drive commute to Metro Center/DC is only 5-10 minutes longer (highways vs traffic lights).

As for 'walkability,' our experience was the "walkability" of CC MD and Bethesda was mostly a myth except for a handful of streets near Wisc Ave (i've actually never seen anyone but schoolchildren walk across Connecticut Ave). We walked nowhere. And driving two miles into Potomac Village for shopping and services now is a lot easier than driving the same distance into (and parking in) congested Bethesda was.

Why the good values in Potomac? A lot of original Potomac owners from the 1970s and 1980s became empty nesters -- and put their houses on the market -- simultaneously over the past decade, so that probably capped appreciation somewhat. As did the buzz around supposedly 'walkable' neighborhoods and the trendy disparagement on sites like these about so-called McMansions (because somehow 4500 sq ft Potomac colonials on two acre lots are aesthetically objectionable and nouveau riche in ways that grotesque 5500 sq ft Bethesda McBungalows on a fourth of an acre aren't...). I'm assuming that gap may right itself in the future, but even if it doesn't, we're happy to have the market's failure be our gain. At essentially the same price point, living in Potomac is a lot better for us than living in CC MD was.

I'm glad you found such a great house--it does sound terrific. I love some of the modern homes there.

Re: walkability, it's not just about being able to walk for errands, but about having neighborhoods with sidewalks. Much of Potomac doesn't have those. I also see tons of people out walking in Bethesda and DTSS whenever I'm there, so clearly, people are walking. Some people just don't like to walk in urban environments, which is fine, but that's not universal. I lived on the Hill for years and walked everywhere (and took public transportation).

But, yeah, if being able to walk to stuff isn't a priority, and you don't mind a driving commute, there are great deals to be had in Potomac.

Nearly all the people you see walking in downtown Bethesda or DTSS drove there. Very little of Bethesda is walkable to downtown or Friendship Heights. I always laugh at the Bethesda people bragging about walkability. We lived on Capitol Hill for 10 years. We could walk out our door and get to loads of restaurants, bars, groceries, etc. That is walkable. Some brick box on a side street that happens to have a side walk off of River Road is not walkable to anything that you actually want to walk to.

Not sure what you are laughing at. You don’t seem to know anything about downtown Bethesda - which is not near River Road but rather Wisconsin Avenue. My neighborhood has hundreds of houses in it, and people walk, run, ride bikes everywhere. I personally walk daily for exercise, which I also combine with errands - grocery store, Trader Joe’s, CVS, picking up a photos of wine, bakeries, meeting friends for lunch or a drink, etc. The last time I even moved my car was about a month ago. If you feel superior because you imagine I live in “some brick box” that’s fine by me. Have a nice day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from CC MD to Potomac last year. For a 20% bump in price (from ~950 to ~1.15) we tripled our space (1900 to 5400 sq ft) and went from a 1/4 acre to three-acre lot.

Architecturally, we went from a dull upgraded 50's rambler in CC MD to a striking 70s modern house in the woods in Potomac. No contest.

The other big plus is that we now don't waste our time pondering the expense and time commitment of a country house -- we wake up in the country every day. And driving around the rolling hills and landscaped lots of Potomac is restful in a way the congestion of CC and Bethesda streets never was.

In practical terms, Potomac's not significantly further out - my new drive commute to Metro Center/DC is only 5-10 minutes longer (highways vs traffic lights).

As for 'walkability,' our experience was the "walkability" of CC MD and Bethesda was mostly a myth except for a handful of streets near Wisc Ave (i've actually never seen anyone but schoolchildren walk across Connecticut Ave). We walked nowhere. And driving two miles into Potomac Village for shopping and services now is a lot easier than driving the same distance into (and parking in) congested Bethesda was.

Why the good values in Potomac? A lot of original Potomac owners from the 1970s and 1980s became empty nesters -- and put their houses on the market -- simultaneously over the past decade, so that probably capped appreciation somewhat. As did the buzz around supposedly 'walkable' neighborhoods and the trendy disparagement on sites like these about so-called McMansions (because somehow 4500 sq ft Potomac colonials on two acre lots are aesthetically objectionable and nouveau riche in ways that grotesque 5500 sq ft Bethesda McBungalows on a fourth of an acre aren't...). I'm assuming that gap may right itself in the future, but even if it doesn't, we're happy to have the market's failure be our gain. At essentially the same price point, living in Potomac is a lot better for us than living in CC MD was.

I'm glad you found such a great house--it does sound terrific. I love some of the modern homes there.

Re: walkability, it's not just about being able to walk for errands, but about having neighborhoods with sidewalks. Much of Potomac doesn't have those. I also see tons of people out walking in Bethesda and DTSS whenever I'm there, so clearly, people are walking. Some people just don't like to walk in urban environments, which is fine, but that's not universal. I lived on the Hill for years and walked everywhere (and took public transportation).

But, yeah, if being able to walk to stuff isn't a priority, and you don't mind a driving commute, there are great deals to be had in Potomac.

Nearly all the people you see walking in downtown Bethesda or DTSS drove there. Very little of Bethesda is walkable to downtown or Friendship Heights. I always laugh at the Bethesda people bragging about walkability. We lived on Capitol Hill for 10 years. We could walk out our door and get to loads of restaurants, bars, groceries, etc. That is walkable. Some brick box on a side street that happens to have a side walk off of River Road is not walkable to anything that you actually want to walk to.

Not sure what you are laughing at. You don’t seem to know anything about downtown Bethesda - which is not near River Road but rather Wisconsin Avenue. My neighborhood has hundreds of houses in it, and people walk, run, ride bikes everywhere. I personally walk daily for exercise, which I also combine with errands - grocery store, Trader Joe’s, CVS, picking up a photos of wine, bakeries, meeting friends for lunch or a drink, etc. The last time I even moved my car was about a month ago. If you feel superior because you imagine I live in “some brick box” that’s fine by me. Have a nice day.

*bottle* of wine

[Anonymous]

Not sure what you are laughing at. You don’t seem to know anything about downtown Bethesda - which is not near River Road but rather Wisconsin Avenue.

Actually, it sounds like PP might know more about Bethesda geography than you do. Wisconsin Ave and downtown Bethesda are on Bethesda's eastern border. And yes, a small percentage of Bethesda homes are within a few blocks of that and are indeed within walking distance of downtown Bethesda. But the vast majority of Bethesda houses -- south of River Road and Mass Ave, west of Bradley Boulevard, behind Suburban Hospital or north of NIH, on the other side of the Beltway in Carderock or Westlake, aren't within walking distance of downtown Bethesda or any other "downtown" amenity (hey, let's stroll over to the McDonald's on River Road -- but don't get hit by a truck). Which makes the claims by residents of those neighborhoods to value Bethesda's supposed 'walkability' to be a little ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from CC MD to Potomac last year. For a 20% bump in price (from ~950 to ~1.15) we tripled our space (1900 to 5400 sq ft) and went from a 1/4 acre to three-acre lot.

Architecturally, we went from a dull upgraded 50's rambler in CC MD to a striking 70s modern house in the woods in Potomac. No contest.

The other big plus is that we now don't waste our time pondering the expense and time commitment of a country house -- we wake up in the country every day. And driving around the rolling hills and landscaped lots of Potomac is restful in a way the congestion of CC and Bethesda streets never was.

In practical terms, Potomac's not significantly further out - my new drive commute to Metro Center/DC is only 5-10 minutes longer (highways vs traffic lights).

As for 'walkability,' our experience was the "walkability" of CC MD and Bethesda was mostly a myth except for a handful of streets near Wisc Ave (i've actually never seen anyone but schoolchildren walk across Connecticut Ave). We walked nowhere. And driving two miles into Potomac Village for shopping and services now is a lot easier than driving the same distance into (and parking in) congested Bethesda was.

Why the good values in Potomac? A lot of original Potomac owners from the 1970s and 1980s became empty nesters -- and put their houses on the market -- simultaneously over the past decade, so that probably capped appreciation somewhat. As did the buzz around supposedly 'walkable' neighborhoods and the trendy disparagement on sites like these about so-called McMansions (because somehow 4500 sq ft Potomac colonials on two acre lots are aesthetically objectionable and nouveau riche in ways that grotesque 5500 sq ft Bethesda McBungalows on a fourth of an acre aren't...). I'm assuming that gap may right itself in the future, but even if it doesn't, we're happy to have the market's failure be our gain. At essentially the same price point, living in Potomac is a lot better for us than living in CC MD was.

I did the opposite - moved from Potomac to CC MD. Paid A LOT more to maintain sq ft and lost a huge yard... but you're kidding yourself if you think your commute is only a few minutes longer. That is pandemic traffic. It used to take me 30 minutes MINIMUM just to get to River and Bradley from just north of Potomac center. There are wonderful, wonderful things about living in Potomac, but you give up community and commutability.

OP here - can you say more about community? Our #1 priority is having a good community feel-- houses on small lots / more density seems more conducive to that but curious about your experience in Potomac v CCMD

[Anonymous]

Our #1 priority is having a good community feel-- houses on small lots / more density seems more conducive to that but curious about your experience in Potomac v CCMD

I'm the previous commenter who moved from CCMD to Potomac (I realize not who you posed your question to). You definitely see your neighbors more in a smaller-lot community - no question. But just don't assume that's always a good thing. We had some really great neighbors in CCMD, but also a few rude/problematic ones -- eg., one regularly parked their car in front of our house rather than their own, another tried to move branches that had fallen on their property to our yard, yet another routed their downspouts across their property line and diverted the rainfall (and erosion) into our back yard. And one of the things that prompted us to consider moving was when a basketball hoop was installed in the front driveway directly across the street, and the ten year old's dribbling all afternoon sounded like a basketball was being bounced right off the front of our house -- and we realized that could continue for years. That's not misanthropic -- the kid's entitled to play basketball -- but it's just a fact that proximity can have downsides as well as attractions.

Our neighbors in Potomac are friendly - they brought by cookies and other gifts when we moved in, and we exchange pleasantries when out walking. But you don't see them as frequently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not sure what you are laughing at. You don’t seem to know anything about downtown Bethesda - which is not near River Road but rather Wisconsin Avenue.

Actually, it sounds like PP might know more about Bethesda geography than you do. Wisconsin Ave and downtown Bethesda are on Bethesda's eastern border. And yes, a small percentage of Bethesda homes are within a few blocks of that and are indeed within walking distance of downtown Bethesda. But the vast majority of Bethesda houses -- south of River Road and Mass Ave, west of Bradley Boulevard, behind Suburban Hospital or north of NIH, on the other side of the Beltway in Carderock or Westlake, aren't within walking distance of downtown Bethesda or any other "downtown" amenity (hey, let's stroll over to the McDonald's on River Road -- but don't get hit by a truck). Which makes the claims by residents of those neighborhoods to value Bethesda's supposed 'walkability' to be a little ...

Nobody who’s talking about how walkable Bethesda is talking about those areas. I agree that there’s little difference between areas out Bradley that are still in Bethesda and areas further out Bradley that are in Potomac. But when people are talking about Bethesda being walkable they’re talking about Wisconsin in donwtown Bethesda. I used to live on Rosedale and walked to work and almost everywhere else. We had one car.

[Anonymous]

People paid 1M for houses last year:
Potomac:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10337-Windsor-View-Dr-Potomac-MD-20854/37262100_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8815-Tallyho-Trl-Potomac-MD-20854/37261118_zpid/
Bethesda:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9416-Holland-Ct-Bethesda-MD-20814/37188764_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5310-McKinley-St-Bethesda-MD-20814/37176793_zpid/