Seeking a hispanic-friendly neighborhood with good schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're a Glebe Elementary family and highly recommend it- friendly and diverse school. Also look into Key School, it has a two-way Spanish immersian program that is highly regarded.

We are at Glebe and are happy there, too. Fairly diverse and a good mix of cultures.

[Anonymous]

Possibly the more affluent parts of Silver Spring? Town of Kensington? We have white friends who live in ToK (We are AA) and whenever we visit, the neighbors are very friendly and all the children are playing in the street. Some of the children are Hispanic and everyone seems to get along pretty well.

I think I know what you mean, OP, about the selective socializing. It happened to us in our former neighborhood in Arlington. It is frustrating, but also a side effect of liberal whites who believe we live in a post-racial world. They may be post-racial at work (ha) but when it comes to everyday neighborhood get togethers and who is actually invited into their homes from the block, people of color are often conveniently forgotten.

Sometimes, I appreciate people who can admit their prejudices. It makes life a lot easier. When I lived in the South, I knew who had a problem with my skin color. I stayed away from them and they stayed away from me. Up here, it is not politically correct to be racist in any way, so it comes out in smaller, more nuanced ways that often hurt more.

[Anonymous]

9:18 PP is right about Kensington - it's close-in, the schools are pretty good and it seems like there's more diversity than Bethesda or Chevy Chase. (cheaper housing, too.) if you want to stay in MOCO, that's the first place I'd look, frankly.

[Anonymous]

You might want to walk around the neighborhoods you're considering some evening or weekend when people are out and about to see if people are at least superficially friendly (say hi or nod and smile) or treat you like you're casing the neighborhood. Some neighborhoods tend to have a lot of people who don't acknowledge anyone they don't know regardless of ethnicity, which I don't like, but may not be a problem to you. Bring your kid when you walk around, and you'll be more likely to strike up conversations with other parents, which should be informative.

[Anonymous]

Montgomery can be horrible. It's OK to be a total snob, as long as you're liberal, you or your spouse has a high-profile job, and you're preferably either Catholic or Jewish. You'd probably be much happier in Howard County or Northern Virginia, where there's much more acceptance of different races, ethnicities and income levels.