Tell me about Silver Spring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the Forest Glen posters: Which neighborhoods specifically should I be looking at? We have around a $500,000 budget. We did some open houses this weekend checked out those houses for sale that are west of Georgia, South of Plyers Mill, and East of Connecticut. The houses in our price range are bigger to the east of Oakland Terrace EC, but is the Kensington side of Silver Spring more desirable? Should we also be looking to the east of Georgia? If so, how far north (Dennis? University?) It's so confusing!!

Personally, I would look for a house in the neighborhood that is north of Forest Glen, south of Dennis, east of Georgia, and west of Sligo Creek. I don't live there but it's a very nice neighborhood with good parks, walking trails and Metro access (though you will have to cross Georgia to get there).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Forest Glen posters: Which neighborhoods specifically should I be looking at? We have around a $500,000 budget. We did some open houses this weekend checked out those houses for sale that are west of Georgia, South of Plyers Mill, and East of Connecticut. The houses in our price range are bigger to the east of Oakland Terrace EC, but is the Kensington side of Silver Spring more desirable? Should we also be looking to the east of Georgia? If so, how far north (Dennis? University?) It's so confusing!!

Personally, I would look for a house in the neighborhood that is north of Forest Glen, south of Dennis, east of Georgia, and west of Sligo Creek. I don't live there but it's a very nice neighborhood with good parks, walking trails and Metro access (though you will have to cross Georgia to get there).

Thanks. So few houses have popped up in that particular area since we started looking in April, so it must be popular!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Forest Glen posters: Which neighborhoods specifically should I be looking at? We have around a $500,000 budget. We did some open houses this weekend checked out those houses for sale that are west of Georgia, South of Plyers Mill, and East of Connecticut. The houses in our price range are bigger to the east of Oakland Terrace EC, but is the Kensington side of Silver Spring more desirable? Should we also be looking to the east of Georgia? If so, how far north (Dennis? University?) It's so confusing!!

Personally, I would look for a house in the neighborhood that is north of Forest Glen, south of Dennis, east of Georgia, and west of Sligo Creek. I don't live there but it's a very nice neighborhood with good parks, walking trails and Metro access (though you will have to cross Georgia to get there).

Thanks. So few houses have popped up in that particular area since we started looking in April, so it must be popular!

There's one about to go on the market on August Drive. Not my house but I live in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For example, you could live in Highland View, a decent neighborhood, but be zoned for New Hampshire Estates ES, which is a deal breaker.

I don't think people living in Highland view are zoned for New Hampshire Estates. The neighborhood across flower and south of East Franklin is not Highland View. I think maybe it is Sligo Branview. That neighborhood does happen to be closer to Highland view elementary school than some neighborhoods that are actually zoned for Highland View ES, but that is anotherr story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, you could live in Highland View, a decent neighborhood, but be zoned for New Hampshire Estates ES, which is a deal breaker.

I don't think people living in Highland view are zoned for New Hampshire Estates. The neighborhood across flower and south of East Franklin is not Highland View. I think maybe it is Sligo Branview. That neighborhood does happen to be closer to Highland view elementary school than some neighborhoods that are actually zoned for Highland View ES, but that is anotherr story.

The New Hampshire Estates zone is really weird, which I think is because New Hampshire Estates and Rolling Terrace are super close to one another. http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/NewHampshireEstatesOakViewES.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, you could live in Highland View, a decent neighborhood, but be zoned for New Hampshire Estates ES, which is a deal breaker.

I don't think people living in Highland view are zoned for New Hampshire Estates. The neighborhood across flower and south of East Franklin is not Highland View. I think maybe it is Sligo Branview. That neighborhood does happen to be closer to Highland view elementary school than some neighborhoods that are actually zoned for Highland View ES, but that is anotherr story.

The New Hampshire Estates zone is really weird, which I think is because New Hampshire Estates and Rolling Terrace are super close to one another. http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/NewHampshireEstatesOakViewES.pdf

I think it has more to do with the fact that Oakview and NHE are paired schools. So they have to get the whole NHE catchment area and the whole Oakview catchment area into the same schools. And those two schools are each very close to rolling Terrace ES and Highland View ES respectively.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, you could live in Highland View, a decent neighborhood, but be zoned for New Hampshire Estates ES, which is a deal breaker.

I don't think people living in Highland view are zoned for New Hampshire Estates. The neighborhood across flower and south of East Franklin is not Highland View. I think maybe it is Sligo Branview. That neighborhood does happen to be closer to Highland view elementary school than some neighborhoods that are actually zoned for Highland View ES, but that is anotherr story.

The New Hampshire Estates zone is really weird, which I think is because New Hampshire Estates and Rolling Terrace are super close to one another. http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/NewHampshireEstatesOakViewES.pdf

I think it has more to do with the fact that Oakview and NHE are paired schools. So they have to get the whole NHE catchment area and the whole Oakview catchment area into the same schools. And those two schools are each very close to rolling Terrace ES and Highland View ES respectively.

The history has almost nothing to do with geography, and is a bit of a sore subject with many people. There was a civil rights lawsuit over it when it first went into effect. I think the take away is that a lot of the school assignment zones are very counter-intuitive in that area, but it's easy to verify your assignment using MCPS's online tool. The Sligo Branview neighborhood is very cute and a lot of people get transfers to Highland View.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, you could live in Highland View, a decent neighborhood, but be zoned for New Hampshire Estates ES, which is a deal breaker.

I don't think people living in Highland view are zoned for New Hampshire Estates. The neighborhood across flower and south of East Franklin is not Highland View. I think maybe it is Sligo Branview. That neighborhood does happen to be closer to Highland view elementary school than some neighborhoods that are actually zoned for Highland View ES, but that is anotherr story.

The New Hampshire Estates zone is really weird, which I think is because New Hampshire Estates and Rolling Terrace are super close to one another. http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/NewHampshireEstatesOakViewES.pdf

I think it has more to do with the fact that Oakview and NHE are paired schools. So they have to get the whole NHE catchment area and the whole Oakview catchment area into the same schools. And those two schools are each very close to rolling Terrace ES and Highland View ES respectively.

The history has almost nothing to do with geography, and is a bit of a sore subject with many people. There was a civil rights lawsuit over it when it first went into effect. I think the take away is that a lot of the school assignment zones are very counter-intuitive in that area, but it's easy to verify your assignment using MCPS's online tool. The Sligo Branview neighborhood is very cute and a lot of people get transfers to Highland View.

What was the lawsuit about? I don't have a dog in that fight, but I've always found the boundary interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, you could live in Highland View, a decent neighborhood, but be zoned for New Hampshire Estates ES, which is a deal breaker.

I don't think people living in Highland view are zoned for New Hampshire Estates. The neighborhood across flower and south of East Franklin is not Highland View. I think maybe it is Sligo Branview. That neighborhood does happen to be closer to Highland view elementary school than some neighborhoods that are actually zoned for Highland View ES, but that is anotherr story.

The New Hampshire Estates zone is really weird, which I think is because New Hampshire Estates and Rolling Terrace are super close to one another. http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/NewHampshireEstatesOakViewES.pdf

I think it has more to do with the fact that Oakview and NHE are paired schools. So they have to get the whole NHE catchment area and the whole Oakview catchment area into the same schools. And those two schools are each very close to rolling Terrace ES and Highland View ES respectively.

The history has almost nothing to do with geography, and is a bit of a sore subject with many people. There was a civil rights lawsuit over it when it first went into effect. I think the take away is that a lot of the school assignment zones are very counter-intuitive in that area, but it's easy to verify your assignment using MCPS's online tool. The Sligo Branview neighborhood is very cute and a lot of people get transfers to Highland View.

And the house prices are actually usually not depressed due to NHE actually. I think there may be a good number of people with older kids who have their eyes on Blair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For example, you could live in Highland View, a decent neighborhood, but be zoned for New Hampshire Estates ES, which is a deal breaker.

I don't think people living in Highland view are zoned for New Hampshire Estates. The neighborhood across flower and south of East Franklin is not Highland View. I think maybe it is Sligo Branview. That neighborhood does happen to be closer to Highland view elementary school than some neighborhoods that are actually zoned for Highland View ES, but that is anotherr story.

The New Hampshire Estates zone is really weird, which I think is because New Hampshire Estates and Rolling Terrace are super close to one another. http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/NewHampshireEstatesOakViewES.pdf

I think it has more to do with the fact that Oakview and NHE are paired schools. So they have to get the whole NHE catchment area and the whole Oakview catchment area into the same schools. And those two schools are each very close to rolling Terrace ES and Highland View ES respectively.

The history has almost nothing to do with geography, and is a bit of a sore subject with many people. There was a civil rights lawsuit over it when it first went into effect. I think the take away is that a lot of the school assignment zones are very counter-intuitive in that area, but it's easy to verify your assignment using MCPS's online tool. The Sligo Branview neighborhood is very cute and a lot of people get transfers to Highland View.

What was the lawsuit about? I don't have a dog in that fight, but I've always found the boundary interesting.

I think the reason for having this pairing arrangement was ostensibly to balance the socioeconomic composition of the schools. The lawsuit, I think, alleged that the arrangement actually caused the schools to have a higher concentration of poverty and was effectively grouping all of the disadvantaged kids into one school. I'm sure I've grossly oversimplified the issue. There has been a lot of fighting about it over the years. Their was an unsuccessful effort to unpair NHE and Oak View a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It ranges anywhere from average to mediocre. Price will be a clue which is which but I would say the people who pay for the top end of silver spring are over paying and could get much better once they get into the 800k and 900k. the people in the bottom range are most likely getting a decent deal for what they are paying for as they most likely had low expectations anyway.

Basically for poor people it is great as there is just enough middle class to get some decent stores and amenities but the opposite for the middle class that settel there as they have to put up with far more poverty and problems than the typical middle and upper class suburbs. The schools tend go down hill quick when not linked to one of the few better neighborhoods

This is the Silver Spring hater who loves to dump on Silver Spring. 20910, 20901 have excellent schools, excellent communities and houses go very quickly here.

20910 schools are rated between a 4 and a 6 with one elementary (slingo creek) being an 8 but that's the highest rated school in the whole area and not every house in that zip code is zoned for it. So "excellent" schools is a stretch. YOU think they are excellent and that is fine, but statistics and facts disagree with you.

That's inaccurate. Woodlin Elementary (20910) is a 9 on great schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Forest Glen posters: Which neighborhoods specifically should I be looking at? We have around a $500,000 budget. We did some open houses this weekend checked out those houses for sale that are west of Georgia, South of Plyers Mill, and East of Connecticut. The houses in our price range are bigger to the east of Oakland Terrace EC, but is the Kensington side of Silver Spring more desirable? Should we also be looking to the east of Georgia? If so, how far north (Dennis? University?) It's so confusing!!

Personally, I would look for a house in the neighborhood that is north of Forest Glen, south of Dennis, east of Georgia, and west of Sligo Creek. I don't live there but it's a very nice neighborhood with good parks, walking trails and Metro access (though you will have to cross Georgia to get there).

Thanks. So few houses have popped up in that particular area since we started looking in April, so it must be popular!

Yep--that's a great area. They have a civic association, South Four Corners, and they're zoned for the new elementary, Flora Singer.

I live in the same parameters except north of Dennis--in what is called Sligo Woods. It's also nice up here, but a bit further from the metro. We're zoned for Forest Knolls Elementary, another great option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It ranges anywhere from average to mediocre. Price will be a clue which is which but I would say the people who pay for the top end of silver spring are over paying and could get much better once they get into the 800k and 900k. the people in the bottom range are most likely getting a decent deal for what they are paying for as they most likely had low expectations anyway.

Basically for poor people it is great as there is just enough middle class to get some decent stores and amenities but the opposite for the middle class that settel there as they have to put up with far more poverty and problems than the typical middle and upper class suburbs. The schools tend go down hill quick when not linked to one of the few better neighborhoods

This is the Silver Spring hater who loves to dump on Silver Spring. 20910, 20901 have excellent schools, excellent communities and houses go very quickly here.

20910 schools are rated between a 4 and a 6 with one elementary (slingo creek) being an 8 but that's the highest rated school in the whole area and not every house in that zip code is zoned for it. So "excellent" schools is a stretch. YOU think they are excellent and that is fine, but statistics and facts disagree with you.

Furthermore the Rock Creek Forest ES cluster feeds into Bethesda Chevy Chase HS.

That's inaccurate. Woodlin Elementary (20910) is a 9 on great schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Forest Glen posters: Which neighborhoods specifically should I be looking at? We have around a $500,000 budget. We did some open houses this weekend checked out those houses for sale that are west of Georgia, South of Plyers Mill, and East of Connecticut. The houses in our price range are bigger to the east of Oakland Terrace EC, but is the Kensington side of Silver Spring more desirable? Should we also be looking to the east of Georgia? If so, how far north (Dennis? University?) It's so confusing!!

Personally, I would look for a house in the neighborhood that is north of Forest Glen, south of Dennis, east of Georgia, and west of Sligo Creek. I don't live there but it's a very nice neighborhood with good parks, walking trails and Metro access (though you will have to cross Georgia to get there).

Thanks. So few houses have popped up in that particular area since we started looking in April, so it must be popular!

20902 resident - this is our neighborhood. I've seen two for sale signs and one coming soon sign in the last week (the coming soon sign was just today, on Belvedere... another one on lower Sanford I want to say).

Love it! Very walkable, only thing is not a many places to eat here in walking distance - but hop in your car or on metro to SS and you're there. Neighborhood is very friendly, you'll have no problem building a community. Judging by the # of Hillary signs last fall (many) versus the 1 Trump sign, which caused a bit of a ruckus after the election, I'd say we are quite left-leaning and generally a very accepting and diverse neighborhood.

I can't comment on the schools, which seems to be one of your outstanding questions. Everyone is bickering about elementary schools but has made little mention of the middle or high schools...

[Anonymous]

Moved to Capitol Hill from downtown SS and really loved the area! A lot of new places have popped up since we moved, including local restaurants, a local brewery, coffee shops, etc. Also things for kids as well.