Anyone sick of being looked down on for living in PG?

[Anonymous]

I think things in the county are looking up. We own homes in Fairfax and Loudoun counties but choose to reside in Prince George's (Upper Marlboro). I like the walking trails by my home, enjoy the farmers markets, I like the amenities in my neighborhood. We are a multiracial family and diversity is important to us...we have white, Indian, African-American, Asian neighbors on our street. I like that my house is new so we aren't constantly fixing things and large enough to comfortable accommodate a family and guests. My neighborhood is quiet and pristine. Not a bad commute downtown for work.I have a couple friends from NoVa considering PG after coming to visit our home. I do drive 25 mins to Annapolis to do my shopping on the weekends and I am concerned about the school system (my children are not yet school age)

[Anonymous]

No. Other areas in the region are overpriced. I have a friend who paid $600K for a 2-bedroom home in Capitol Hill...it has had more problems than you can count and has been broken in to at least once in the last year. There are housing projects a couple blocks away. Also have a friend who spends a would-be mortgage payment to rent a rather uninspiring townhouse in Fairfax. Another friend spends an outrageous amount to live in Alexandria, where the schools are pretty horrible. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

We own a house in Hyattsville and a second house elsewhere in the county. We're white with professional jobs. Kids attend public schools (dedicated TAG) and we're mostly happy with that experience.

I don't get the hate for PGCo. We rented in MoCo for years before having kids, but when it came time to buy, we could only get what we wanted for the money in PG.

[Anonymous]

Im originally from PG, moved to Moco to marry, and now am divorcing. Cant wait to move back to PG where people are friendlier overall.

[Anonymous]

Also, I've read that PG County had a bad reputation even when it used to be all white. Not sure why this county gets such hate. My husband's family made a lot of money from selling their homes in DC in areas that used to considered bad that now everyone wants to live in. So you never know how an area will flip.

Huh. My mom grew up in PG county (Temple Hills), and my grandparents lived there. I used to go all the time, and it wasn't exactly hood (at least in '90s). It wasn't upscale the way that parts of Bethesda are, but it was your typical middle class suburban area. My mom said that as DC started to gentrify, the area started to get poorer with more crime (also became more black).

My mom's experience growing up there was that it was a very diverse suburb. She is biracial (white/asian, however that was much less common growing up in the '60s than it is now), and she had friends who were black, hispanic, Jewish, immigrants, etc. My grandfather settled there after he retired from the military, and apparently there were a bunch of military families in PG. I guess some members of my grandfather's family thought the area was *too* diverse. However, now if you look up her high school, it's ~95% black, rather than truly diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Also, I've read that PG County had a bad reputation even when it used to be all white. Not sure why this county gets such hate. My husband's family made a lot of money from selling their homes in DC in areas that used to considered bad that now everyone wants to live in. So you never know how an area will flip.

Huh. My mom grew up in PG county (Temple Hills), and my grandparents lived there. I used to go all the time, and it wasn't exactly hood (at least in '90s). It wasn't upscale the way that parts of Bethesda are, but it was your typical middle class suburban area. My mom said that as DC started to gentrify, the area started to get poorer with more crime (also became more black).

My mom's experience growing up there was that it was a very diverse suburb. She is biracial (white/asian, however that was much less common growing up in the '60s than it is now), and she had friends who were black, hispanic, Jewish, immigrants, etc. My grandfather settled there after he retired from the military, and apparently there were a bunch of military families in PG. I guess some members of my grandfather's family thought the area was *too* diverse. However, now if you look up her high school, it's ~95% black, rather than truly diverse.

You are being willfully misleading. Temple Hills was very much hood as far back as the eighties when your Dear white Mom lived there. Iverson Mall, yuck.

[Anonymous]

You are being willfully misleading. Temple Hills was very much hood as far back as the eighties when your Dear white Mom lived there. Iverson Mall, yuck.

My mom lived there in the 60s-70s. By the '80s she was grown up. Perhaps the neighborhood turned in the '80s?

My grandparents lived there through the mid-late '90s. I'm just saying their block didn't feel "hood" in the '90s--it was mostly retirees. I was a kid, though, so what did I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd love to hear more specific feedback on neighbourhoods. We bought our first house in old town Laurel a few years ago and honestly have planned on leaving PG before our DC starts kindergarten in 5 years. I see how MoCo coasts on reputation and has plenty of bad/mediocre schools, but our local schools in Laurel are terrible. I also miss living closer to the city (we used to rent in Takoma Park). We are committed to public school, at least for elementary. Was thinking of Four Corners Silver Spring area, but any suggestions on where we should look in PG instead of MoCo? The things you all are saying about making friends and feeling connected to your neighborhood are really encouraging to me. I also have to say that relying purely on the hope of a lottery spot, particularly in the northern half of the county where the wait lists are crazy, seems way too chancy for me - I feel like I would have to be ok with the zoned elementary. Thanks!

You wouldn't get walkability, but Bond Mill Elementary School is excellent, and the surrounding neighborhood in West Laurel is terrific. (20707)

For elementary, the PP is right. Bond Mill is a fantastic elementary, arguably the best int the county. Additionally, we live just outside the zone for Bond Mill and we are zoned for Vansville which is also a good elementary. I have 2 years before I need to worry about it, but I may request an OOB placement for Bond Mill, but if not, we will be okay with Vansville. For middle school, we are zoned for MLK Jr Middle School and that is also a good middle school. Alternatively we may apply for the charter school at CMIT which will include middle school (up to 8th grade). For High School unless we get into the charter for Eleanor Roosevelt in Greenbelt, the pickings are slim. We'll see by then, but if we don't get into ERS, the current thought is to look for private for high school.

Truly, you aren't very far from decent schools here in PG.

+1

I grew up in West Laurel, and was happy to hear that Bond Mill is still a great school! MLK was ok, sort of a mixed bag. ERHS is great, if you can get in.

[Anonymous]

PP who asked for specific neighbourhood ideas. Thank you all for your responses and ideas. Laurel is feeling way too far from DC for me but we will revisit Hyattsville and Mt. Rainier when it's time to leave (old town) Laurel before kindergarten. My concern is definitely the very limited middle and high school magnet options here in PG....public elementary is great but 6-7 years of private middle and high school (potentially) before then having to pay for university is a bit daunting. I am hardly overjoyed with the areas of MoCo we can afford, but the breadth and number of magnet options there is so much more extensive...ugh.

[Anonymous]

Last I saw, MLK middle was on par or close to Samuel Ogle in terms of test scores. I hear it is one of the better middle schools in the county.

I also thought Beltsville Academy (K-8) was pretty good as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are white (Middle Eastern) and while it's not nice to live in an area with a stigma, in the end we are laughing all the way to the bank- we are saving tons of money, can afford luxuries, etc. We are living the upper-middle class existence the rest of the country gets to enjoy, and we get the amenities of the DC area. Really, anyone who doesn't live in PG is kind of paying a "black people tax" because that's the only reason I can see for our house being so much cheaper than comparable ones in Moco.

So much this! I hate the stigma of living here, but we are also laughing all the way to the bank. We live in a lovely, safe neighborhood with wonderful neighbors of all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Our mortgage is 1/3 of similar families around the DC area for the same house, with a shorter commute.

I'm so torn. I want everyone to know PG isn't the cesspool that people believe it is, but at the same time I don't want people to start moving here and turning it into the same old strip mall world of NoVA.

+2, or bringing their traffic and pretentiousness with them. People are actually kind in PG.

[Anonymous]

I am torn on this one. We suffer with homeownership out here (bought a house appraised for $610K in 2006 and its now appraised for $375K). And while we did not over-leverage out equity and can afford the mortgage, it absolutely SUCKS that the $150K we put down as 20% deposit has vanished. We cannot even sell for what we owe. Add on to that the schools are terrible in our hood and we are schleping back and forth to DC privates, it really does not feel like that that great of an existence. Our kids cannot fully participate in play dates or after school stuff because we have an hour drive in the evenings. We honestly feel trapped out here and are praying that we can short sell our house and leave. I dont know why anyone with kids to get through school would choose to live in PG.

[Anonymous]

I live in Laurel. On my block we have 3 white families, 2 black families, a Filipino family, an African family, and a middle eastern family. Our house hasn't gained value in the past 10y, but also hasn't lost any either.

I love our proximity to DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis. I wish we had better small (non-chain) restaurants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Laurel. On my block we have 3 white families, 2 black families, a Filipino family, an African family, and a middle eastern family. Our house hasn't gained value in the past 10y, but also hasn't lost any either.

I love our proximity to DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis. I wish we had better small (non-chain) restaurants.

+1.

But some good ones in the nearby area (not all in Laurel):

One of our favorites, Ted's Hickory Grill on MD-198 in Burtonsville
Pasta Plus, Italian
Mega Chicken, MD-198 in Maryland City (great Peruvian style chicken)
Curry Leaf, US-1 and Cypress Streets, Indian
Myong Dong, Korean on US-1 in Beltsville (intersection with MD-212 Powder Mill Rd)

Caveat: I have heard that Da Rae Won in Beltsville on Garrett Ave behind the 7-11 at US-1 and Garrett is better than Myong Dong, but I have not tried it yet, so can't say for sure. I have been to Myong Dong and enjoy that a lot

There are a ton of other little Mom & Pop places around with various Central American cuisines but I haven't tried a lot of them yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am torn on this one. We suffer with homeownership out here (bought a house appraised for $610K in 2006 and its now appraised for $375K). And while we did not over-leverage out equity and can afford the mortgage, it absolutely SUCKS that the $150K we put down as 20% deposit has vanished. We cannot even sell for what we owe. Add on to that the schools are terrible in our hood and we are schleping back and forth to DC privates, it really does not feel like that that great of an existence. Our kids cannot fully participate in play dates or after school stuff because we have an hour drive in the evenings. We honestly feel trapped out here and are praying that we can short sell our house and leave. I dont know why anyone with kids to get through school would choose to live in PG.

This is so true for people who bought in 2005 - 2006, can't sell and cant move.