advice on good middle/high schools in Maryland

[Anonymous]

Though if the market ever tumbles we'd love to swoop in.

That was 2009, and the close-in/good schools market only tumbled by 10% at most. Sorry you missed it.

If you're willing to buy in PG County, everything is still selling for half of where it was in 2006.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
So here we are 10 years later and now the prices in Silver Spring, Takoma Park, and Olney are quite overheated in my opinion.

Heh. My Olney home that I bought in 2005 is still probably worth 100-150K less than I paid for it. Not sure I would call that overheated, but I agree the prices of houses are still high.

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of places in Silver Spring and Kensington that feed in Einstein in your price range. From your description, it sounds like Einstein would be a good fit for your child. Lots o f journalists in this area.

[Anonymous]

You get more bang for your buck out in olney or brookeville as compared to silver spring. The downside is the commute to dc, but the upside is more affordable homes in better school districts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't mean to be insensitive to people that were underwater on their mortgages. It's just that my husband and I have sat out the DC market for 10 years now. Even in 2002 we felt it was going up way too high too fast. We ended up moving to KC.

So here we are 10 years later and now the prices in Silver Spring, Takoma Park, and Olney are quite overheated in my opinion. It's frustrating to see home prices still so out of reach for a normal middle-class family. The DC metro basically shuts out people like us.

So I would like to see the prices come back down to reality. DC never had a steep drop as Florida, Arizona, or Nevada did. I think the DC area will have another downward correction in the next few years.

I know many DC professional journalists who have been holding out for 10 years for home prices to be rational here. We're still waiting.

I think you should - as the Spanish say - have a seat while you wait. Pricing in close-in suburbs like Silver Spring and Takoma Park are not overheated and will not be dropping soon (or ever IMO). The unemployment rate in this area is very low and many people want to live close to DC - many, many people. Housing for neighborhoods like the ones discussed on this thread has maintained its value. We live inside the Beltway in Silver Spring and the value of our house has not dropped significantly in the past several years.

Home prices are high, but not out of reach for a normal middle-class family (depending on how you define that) - but you do need to drop your expectations vis-a-vis eat-in kitchens, master baths, garages, foyers. A middle-class family can find housing, but it won't be a spacious, well-appointed house of the kind you can likely afford in KS. Then again, you will not be living in KS.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/17215-Emerson-Dr_Silver-Spring_MD_20905_M52171-23768

This one is in the Einstein cluster:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2003-August-Dr_Silver-Spring_MD_20902_M67330-94085

[Anonymous]

The market in most parts of Montgomery county is picking up again. It is no longer a buyers market in most areas. Houses in olney and brookeville have started to sell quickly again (and for full price). So I wouldnt expect prices to come down. My neighbor in brookeville recently sold his house for full price in just a couple weeks and I was shocked since I thought it was overpriced (as did my other neighbors)...so the market must be going up again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The market in most parts of Montgomery county is picking up again. It is no longer a buyers market in most areas. Houses in olney and brookeville have started to sell quickly again (and for full price). So I wouldnt expect prices to come down. My neighbor in brookeville recently sold his house for full price in just a couple weeks and I was shocked since I thought it was overpriced (as did my other neighbors)...so the market must be going up again.

Yep.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/house-hunters-in-many-areas-are-finding-its-no-longer-a-buyers-market/2012/07/26/gJQARL1ICX_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't mean to be insensitive to people that were underwater on their mortgages. It's just that my husband and I have sat out the DC market for 10 years now. Even in 2002 we felt it was going up way too high too fast. We ended up moving to KC.

So here we are 10 years later and now the prices in Silver Spring, Takoma Park, and Olney are quite overheated in my opinion. It's frustrating to see home prices still so out of reach for a normal middle-class family. The DC metro basically shuts out people like us.

So I would like to see the prices come back down to reality. DC never had a steep drop as Florida, Arizona, or Nevada did. I think the DC area will have another downward correction in the next few years.

I know many DC professional journalists who have been holding out for 10 years for home prices to be rational here. We're still waiting.

I think you should - as the Spanish say - have a seat while you wait. Pricing in close-in suburbs like Silver Spring and Takoma Park are not overheated and will not be dropping soon (or ever IMO). The unemployment rate in this area is very low and many people want to live close to DC - many, many people. Housing for neighborhoods like the ones discussed on this thread has maintained its value. We live inside the Beltway in Silver Spring and the value of our house has not dropped significantly in the past several years.

Home prices are high, but not out of reach for a normal middle-class family (depending on how you define that) - but you do need to drop your expectations vis-a-vis eat-in kitchens, master baths, garages, foyers. A middle-class family can find housing, but it won't be a spacious, well-appointed house of the kind you can likely afford in KS. Then again, you will not be living in KS.

Good luck.

It seems that most peoples expectations of what a "middle class" house is are also a bit warped. When I was growing up in Fairfax, our solidly middle class house was about 1800 sq.feet, had a carport and linoleum and Formica everywhere. People freak now if the kitchen in a house they're looking at has "outdated" granite.

[Anonymous]

It's me (from Kansas) again. Here in my KC burb we live in a huge 1942 Cape Cod with a gigantic screen porch and big backyard. But I'd still rather live in a little shack in Garrett Park any day of the week. We just don't want to pay $500,000 for it.

I'm hoping Olney could work out. My husband and I are great at finding diamonds in the rough. Hoping we move up here next summer. Thanks to all for the cogent advice!

[Anonymous]

You might like Hyattsville in PG county. There is a great community of families and it has that home town walkable feel. The new arts district is up and running. Do check it out if you are visiting the area. Middle and highschool you would have to hope to test into one of the magnets but you would get much more bang for your buck. We bought here 5 yrs ago and our oldest is 9. We are keeping our options open for middle school - might have to go private but we love living here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to everyone for the valuable information. My husband is adamant against being located on Rockville Pike as he hates the congestion. Thank you to the person who gave the info on Arnold--ugh--my Chesapeake Bay fantasy is toast. We were going to visit the area and now we won't bother. We have thought of Frederick, but certainly don't like that there's a KKK presence north of there! Yuck.

For a student wanting Montgomery Blair is there a test to get in?

I will check out Poolesville and some of the other towns mentioned, but I know I would miss the urban feel. I'm from NYC originally and I crave a walkable, artsy neighborhood. I'm sure in the DC metro it's beyond impossible with a budget of $350,000. Plus my husband wants a medium-sized house!

We passed on a huge $450,000 split level in Bethesda with gigantic lawn in early 2001. What a colossal mistake.

Maybe we should consider outer-ring Baltimore...

The information about the KKK in Thurmont is absolutely b.s. Years and years ago there used to be a small group of rednecks who liked to think that they were big and bad and part of the KKK and occasionaly burned crosses. That has not happened in over twenty years.

My friend taught there a few years back. Some KKK "queen" threatened to have her killed b/c she was an Italian. The school had to "protect" her even though it was such a joke.

Don't accuse me of spreading BS. We had a cake made for her on her birthday of a one-room school house with a sign that said, "Place your rifle here."

20 years my ass . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to everyone for the valuable information. My husband is adamant against being located on Rockville Pike as he hates the congestion. Thank you to the person who gave the info on Arnold--ugh--my Chesapeake Bay fantasy is toast. We were going to visit the area and now we won't bother. We have thought of Frederick, but certainly don't like that there's a KKK presence north of there! Yuck.

For a student wanting Montgomery Blair is there a test to get in?

I will check out Poolesville and some of the other towns mentioned, but I know I would miss the urban feel. I'm from NYC originally and I crave a walkable, artsy neighborhood. I'm sure in the DC metro it's beyond impossible with a budget of $350,000. Plus my husband wants a medium-sized house!

We passed on a huge $450,000 split level in Bethesda with gigantic lawn in early 2001. What a colossal mistake.

Maybe we should consider outer-ring Baltimore...

The information about the KKK in Thurmont is absolutely b.s. Years and years ago there used to be a small group of rednecks who liked to think that they were big and bad and part of the KKK and occasionaly burned crosses. That has not happened in over twenty years.

My friend taught there a few years back. Some KKK "queen" threatened to have her killed b/c she was an Italian. The school had to "protect" her even though it was such a joke.

Don't accuse me of spreading BS. We had a cake made for her on her birthday of a one-room school house with a sign that said, "Place your rifle here."

20 years my ass . . .

More b.s. That sounds like small town drama. If you can provide one shred of evidence of KKK activity in Thurmont in the last twenty years I will admit you are correct. I bet you can't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to everyone for the valuable information. My husband is adamant against being located on Rockville Pike as he hates the congestion. Thank you to the person who gave the info on Arnold--ugh--my Chesapeake Bay fantasy is toast. We were going to visit the area and now we won't bother. We have thought of Frederick, but certainly don't like that there's a KKK presence north of there! Yuck.

For a student wanting Montgomery Blair is there a test to get in?

I will check out Poolesville and some of the other towns mentioned, but I know I would miss the urban feel. I'm from NYC originally and I crave a walkable, artsy neighborhood. I'm sure in the DC metro it's beyond impossible with a budget of $350,000. Plus my husband wants a medium-sized house!

We passed on a huge $450,000 split level in Bethesda with gigantic lawn in early 2001. What a colossal mistake.

Maybe we should consider outer-ring Baltimore...

The information about the KKK in Thurmont is absolutely b.s. Years and years ago there used to be a small group of rednecks who liked to think that they were big and bad and part of the KKK and occasionaly burned crosses. That has not happened in over twenty years.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-10-31/news/1995304035_1_klan-ku-klux-thurmont

_BUT_, there doesn't seem to be much the last few years. I will say that in my opinion they probably wouldn't have chosen to be in Thurmont if the area wasn't supportive of that kind of attitude. I just don't see that fading away quickly.


My friend taught there a few years back. Some KKK "queen" threatened to have her killed b/c she was an Italian. The school had to "protect" her even though it was such a joke.

Don't accuse me of spreading BS. We had a cake made for her on her birthday of a one-room school house with a sign that said, "Place your rifle here."

20 years my ass . . .

More b.s. That sounds like small town drama. If you can provide one shred of evidence of KKK activity in Thurmont in the last twenty years I will admit you are correct. I bet you can't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to everyone for the valuable information. My husband is adamant against being located on Rockville Pike as he hates the congestion. Thank you to the person who gave the info on Arnold--ugh--my Chesapeake Bay fantasy is toast. We were going to visit the area and now we won't bother. We have thought of Frederick, but certainly don't like that there's a KKK presence north of there! Yuck.

For a student wanting Montgomery Blair is there a test to get in?

I will check out Poolesville and some of the other towns mentioned, but I know I would miss the urban feel. I'm from NYC originally and I crave a walkable, artsy neighborhood. I'm sure in the DC metro it's beyond impossible with a budget of $350,000. Plus my husband wants a medium-sized house!

We passed on a huge $450,000 split level in Bethesda with gigantic lawn in early 2001. What a colossal mistake.

Maybe we should consider outer-ring Baltimore...

The information about the KKK in Thurmont is absolutely b.s. Years and years ago there used to be a small group of rednecks who liked to think that they were big and bad and part of the KKK and occasionaly burned crosses. That has not happened in over twenty years.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-10-31/news/1995304035_1_klan-ku-klux-thurmont

_BUT_, there doesn't seem to be much the last few years. I will say that in my opinion they probably wouldn't have chosen to be in Thurmont if the area wasn't supportive of that kind of attitude. I just don't see that fading away quickly.


My friend taught there a few years back. Some KKK "queen" threatened to have her killed b/c she was an Italian. The school had to "protect" her even though it was such a joke.

Don't accuse me of spreading BS. We had a cake made for her on her birthday of a one-room school house with a sign that said, "Place your rifle here."

20 years my ass . . .

More b.s. That sounds like small town drama. If you can provide one shred of evidence of KKK activity in Thurmont in the last twenty years I will admit you are correct. I bet you can't.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-10-31/news/1...304035_1_klan-ku-klux-thurmont

_BUT_, there doesn't seem to be much the last few years. I will say that in my opinion they probably wouldn't have chosen to be in Thurmont if the area wasn't supportive of that kind of attitude. I just don't see that fading away quickly.