Recommend your Bethesda/Chevy Chase Neighborhood

[Anonymous]

My god, how snobby do people get? Parked cars on the street is "trashy?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My god, how snobby do people get? Parked cars on the street is "trashy?"

+1. These are people who don't know what's important in life.

[Anonymous]

And the lovely CCsupermarket across the street is going away one of these days- that area will be like Friendship Hts soon enough. (check out the county's Chevy Chase Lake sector plan.)

FYI, the family who runs Chevy Chase Supermarket has first right of refusal for the grocery store space in the upcoming development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My god, how snobby do people get? Parked cars on the street is "trashy?"

+1. These are people who don't know what's important in life.

I disagree with them too, but, don't you think they just have different aesthetic tastes (and a lack of subtlety in expressing their views)? I chose a close-in neighborhood because I love the established trees and variety of architecture. I don't mind the parked cars. OTOH, the areas with wide streets and cookie-cutter houses often look bland to me. I suppose I could stereotype the people who live there as pretentious, but instead, I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is it not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And the lovely CCsupermarket across the street is going away one of these days- that area will be like Friendship Hts soon enough. (check out the county's Chevy Chase Lake sector plan.)

FYI, the family who runs Chevy Chase Supermarket has first right of refusal for the grocery store space in the upcoming development.

Phew! The thought of it closing makes me really really sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're looking to move and looking for suggestions. Criteria:

- Lot sizes in the 7,500 - 10,000 sq. ft. range so we can have a bit of a yard
- Streets - Prefer wider streets, at least wide enough for two cars to pass easily, prefer neighborhoods where people have garages and use them rather than park a bunch of cars on the street- Kids and kid-friendly (toddlers and young ES-age) - nearby park is a bonus
- Price - up to about $1.4mm if move-in ready, around $900,000 - $1.1mm if needs work

Bonus - (1) easy/direct commute to DC for work, (2) proximity to shopping, restaurants, etc.

We've considered:
- East Bethesda - I find most of the streets and lots to be claustrophobic - small lots, small streets
- Somerset and Chevy Chase West - not bad but expensive for what you get, some lots are pretty small
- Rollingwood - Not bad, maybe too far east for easy access to shopping, restaurants, etc? proximity to Candy Cane park is great.
- Neighborhood north of Jones Bridge between Conn. and Jones Mill (don't know the name)

thanks

Why are you so weird about the street thing? I can just imagine wanting a garage, though personally I couldn't care less. I cannot fathom why you would care whether other people use their garage or not. What is the deal? Are you such a crappy driver that you are scared of crashing into parked cars?

PP who cannot imagine wanting a garage: Where do you keep your tools, bikes and lawnmowers?

[Anonymous]

Just a note:
The area north of Jones Bridge/Ct.....and most of the Chevy Chase have a lot of noise. It's close to the beltway, so a lot of traffic noise. Air Traffic noise from helicopters from the Navy Medical Center and elsewhere. Helicopters that circles the beltway for traffic reporting. Ambulance, fire trucks.
We like our windows open for air but the noise is just ridiculous. Very loud.

[Anonymous]

I studied urban planning in graduate school, and having cars parked parallel on the streets is actually safer than people driving in and out of street (vs alley) facing garages. Kids get run over by cars backing out of garages, but kids do not get run over by cars parallel parking, because street-facing garages by design cross sidewalks and oftentimes front yards.

The PP who observed that wide streets = speeding is absolutely correct. Narrowing the streets is a speed-reducing measure.

OP, be aware that your sense of safety is at odds with your sense of aesthetics.

[Anonymous]

Why are you so weird about the street thing? I can just imagine wanting a garage, though personally I couldn't care less. I cannot fathom why you would care whether other people use their garage or not. What is the deal? Are you such a crappy driver that you are scared of crashing into parked cars?

PP who cannot imagine wanting a garage: Where do you keep your tools, bikes and lawnmowers?

Not PP, but she never said she can't imagine wanting a garage. She said she can imagine someone wanting a garage, even though she doesn't care.

I have owned two houses, rented two more and grew up in another. None had a garage. We keep our tools in the basement and bikes and lawnmowers in the shed, and our cars in the driveway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the area north of East-West highway and just east of CT ave - behind the library? Seems like that might fit the bill.
But, also sounds like OP wants to live in McMansion land, so Chevy Chase Commons is probably the best bet.

That's the Hamlet, mentioned by a PP. I grew up there. Love it.

[Anonymous]

Crestwood in DC is like this, but the schools are an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And the lovely CCsupermarket across the street is going away one of these days- that area will be like Friendship Hts soon enough. (check out the county's Chevy Chase Lake sector plan.)

FYI, the family who runs Chevy Chase Supermarket has first right of refusal for the grocery store space in the upcoming development.

That's a positive sign, but all the developer needs to do is jack up the rent on the new space and price out the family. Apparently that's what happened to Bruce Variety in Bethesda. The developer may want a "big name" tenant like Whole Foods or something.

Then the family may just be ready to retire and move on anyway. Unfortunate, but not uncommon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And the lovely CCsupermarket across the street is going away one of these days- that area will be like Friendship Hts soon enough. (check out the county's Chevy Chase Lake sector plan.)

FYI, the family who runs Chevy Chase Supermarket has first right of refusal for the grocery store space in the upcoming development.

That's a positive sign, but all the developer needs to do is jack up the rent on the new space and price out the family. Apparently that's what happened to Bruce Variety in Bethesda. The developer may want a "big name" tenant like Whole Foods or something.

Then the family may just be ready to retire and move on anyway. Unfortunate, but not uncommon.

Yes, but another variety store went in to Bruce's old spot. It is not a "big name", but much cleaner, nicer and a better selection.

[Anonymous]

Try Woodhaven and also Kenwood Park. The entire Burning a Tree neighborhood too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try Woodhaven and also Kenwood Park. The entire Burning a Tree neighborhood too.

Burning a Tree. heh heh