Where to live in MoCo for a Suburb Hater?

[Anonymous]

A lot of elementary schools in Silver Spring are good, as are some high schools. What bad Silver Spring schools are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

So I would steer away from upper NW DC, Bethesda, ChCh and the other west MoCo suburbs. Try Brookland or Brightwood or Petworth in DC (do your due diligence on crimes stats). Take a good look at Silver Spring - lots of diversity and funk there. Look again at Takoma, although that can be rarified in its own way.

Good luck, and let us know if you find what you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Which are the good SS elementary, MS and high schools? I looked at the stats on the MoCo schools website and was not impressed, compared with CC and Bethesda schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to burst your bubble, OP, but you sound just as insular and superior as the suburbanites you claim to detest. Go back and read your own post: Your neighbors are left-leaning but not politically aware...they give to charity but it's only lip service...they may be racially and ethnically diverse but they don't get the "real world"... The very clear implication is that you believe yourself to be oh so much better than everyone else around you, because you presumably are politically aware, genuinely charitable and truly in sync with the real world. But you're not competitive like they are, or smug either. Give me a break.

And for whatever it's worth, if the lack of dependence on cars and the capacity to avoid any contact with abject poverty is your definition of suburbia then most of NW DC definitely qualifies as suburbia. Nothing wrong with that, in my view. But if you're so insistent on separating yourself from suburbia and all its many failings, you should definitely be looking at other parts of DC, and not at any of the close-in neighborhoods of MD or VA. There are lots of transitional neighborhoods where you can feel morally superior about passing by homeless people and still engage in the time-honored Washington sport of placing your kids in some fancy private schools. Better yet, move to SE!

Either way, all those of us who consider ourselves to be decent, hard-working people, who live in the suburbs or in NW so that our kids can go to decent public schools and still see us at night after our oommutes, won't miss your brand of hypocrisy for a second.

Dear PP,
Thank you for saving me the trouble of writing this. Also, you said it better (and more nicely) than I would have.

-New poster.

[Anonymous]

Try Capitol Hill.

[Anonymous]

The neighborhoods around the Bethesda Metro, particularly East Bethesda. See attached link.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/12166.page#69929

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which are the good SS elementary, MS and high schools? I looked at the stats on the MoCo schools website and was not impressed, compared with CC and Bethesda schools.

What you say you want simply doesn't exist. The areas that have more flavors, colors, economic diversity, whatever, generally reflect that in their public schools. Which means you will have higher rates of FARMS, ESL, and other issues that are then reflected in the test scores. You want to live in a funky urban setting, you know, so your kids can see poor people, but you want your neighborhood school to be affluent and enriched without the messiness of those "poor people issues". Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I have smart kids and nice stuff. I just don't have that 'I'm better than you' attitude.

Possibly one of the (unintentionally) funniest statements on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which are the good SS elementary, MS and high schools? I looked at the stats on the MoCo schools website and was not impressed, compared with CC and Bethesda schools.

What you say you want simply doesn't exist. The areas that have more flavors, colors, economic diversity, whatever, generally reflect that in their public schools. Which means you will have higher rates of FARMS, ESL, and other issues that are then reflected in the test scores. You want to live in a funky urban setting, you know, so your kids can see poor people, but you want your neighborhood school to be affluent and enriched without the messiness of those "poor people issues". Yikes.

Have to say, OP, this PP has got a good point. I'm one of the earlier PPs who felt you were so worried about your kids' schools that you should move to the 'burbs. But after you described your current experience of the suburbs I realize that you would not be happy in upper NW or the 'burbs.

But what you want doesn't exist -- You want the perfect school for your kids but you don't want to live in an economically segregated area. I think you would like Capitol Hill, possibly Hill East where I live, and with some work and vigilance the school options are doable -- but they're not guaranteed and they're not perfect. (But our kids get other advantages that kids in MoCo don't get -- it's a tradeoff whichever way you go and most of us have learned to accept that.)

You should make a decision and then, whatever it is, stop feeling sorry for yourself. Sorry, I know that's harsh but that's the reality of our society as it stands. Deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anyone live in Silver Spring and like your ES? Please, which are the better SS schools?

[Anonymous]

Kensington? Too suburban? More mixed economically?

[Anonymous]

i have always tried to avoid snarky and not helpful responses on this board, but OP's attitude really bothers me. OP, you asked for honest, so here it is: please, continue your search for utopia in moco or the like -- leave arlington to those of us who don't waste our time worrying about about the purity of our neighbors' political views or charitable contributions (and perhaps if you stopped spending your time discussing how superior you are to all of your neighbors you would have time to research it as an option).

I have smart kids and nice stuff. I just don't have that 'I'm better than you' attitude.

Yes you do, you just don't base it on money. Your "I'm better than you" attitude is the worst of all, actually, because no one benefits from it. when you grow up, you might realize that charities will take, appreciate, and use your rich-but-unenlightened contributions regardless of whether it is only lip service. and yes, while it would be great for all kids to want to devote time and attention to the homeless with some frequency, your average homeless person doesn't care if a kid shows up once a day or once a year to pass out soup -- he just wants a meal.

your clueless sanctimony may be the reason you've never liked any of the places you have lived. do those of us in the dc metro area a favor and stay put.

[Anonymous]

Woodlin, Rock Creek Forest, Oakland Terrace, and Rosemary Hills are all supposed to be good, I think. Would be curious to hear other opinions.

[Anonymous]

Kensington- seems like there is a "rich" part and a more diverse part and the more expensive part feeds into better schools. Frustrating for those of us who can't afford to pay 800k+ for a house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kensington- seems like there is a "rich" part and a more diverse part and the more expensive part feeds into better schools. Frustrating for those of us who can't afford to pay 800k+ for a house.

Lots of people pay more like 600k for a house in those parts of Kensington. Of course, the houses are smaller than what someone would get for 800k, too.