So, I went to Bethesda yesterday

[Anonymous]

I think you would only have to "justify" living in white Bethesda if you took steps to keep people of other races out. Personally, I had no idea what races my neighbors were when I purchased my house in Chevy Chase. It so happens that of the three houses who are my direct neighbors, one neighbor is from France (though she is white), a the second family is from Afghanistan and the third family are white (but they are from Boston). So there is a level of diversity on my corner of the street. I also have a neighbor a couple for doors down from Great Brittan who is always explaining why x is America is crap compared to x in England -- so we do get a world view around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved to Bethesda from a very "diverse" area in DC, and I couldn't be happier. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

What I don't miss about "diverse" DC:
car being broken into more times than I can count
house being broken into 3 times
dysfunctional city services
cat calls and unpleasant comments
loud music, fights and gunfire in the night
the mother next door screaming at her 7 children running wild 24 hours a day
drunk and drugged up people staggering around at all hours scaring my children
dysfunctional schools
general constant low-level hostility from some of the residents

bethesda is an incredibly international place with people from all over the world living here, including many from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It is true it lacks a certain gritty underclass of crack-whores, pimps, gangstas and drug-addled ex-convicts, but hey, that is a diversity I can do without.

But lets be clear about one thing - I don't actually need to justify my decision, and certainly not to some self-righteous cow on DCUMs. I don't ask how you justify spending hours downtown monitoring the race of everyone you see.

I haven't read this entire thread, but I share the same experience as the above PP. We moved from Columbia Heights, a neighborhood we purposefully chose for diversity, because of the aforementioned things. We still love the neighborhood and our friends there, but it was tough trying to raise a small child on our "rough" block.

I don't spend much time in Bethesda, and perhaps I might have the same reaction as the OP if I spent hours there. (Which I don't have the time or inclination to do.) At the end of the day, I want a neighborhood that is welcoming, urban, and family friendly.

I don't care what color you are, what your economic status is, or what your politics are. But I WOULD care if you spent your days assessing the racial/ethnic/SES status of people in a given neighborhood, and posted your observations on an internet board without semblance of reflection or respect for people who live there.

Enough out of me.

[Anonymous]

We live in Bethesda. My DS is on a soccer team of 16 boys. All of them live in the neighborhood. I think only 4 of them have 2 american born parents. The rest are half or all various nationalities and races. You might not know from looking at them that they are "diverse" (although some are obvious). Sounds like OP would only recognize blacks and asians as diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would assume that you voted for Obama (based on the odds), but you won't live next to him. Interesting.

I thought Obama was the black man white people like because he looks black but is classically culturally white.

[Anonymous]

This has to be on the list of the all time most stupid posts on DCUMs.

People buy houses based on factors that are important to them. In my case, did the master have its own bathroom, did it have old house charm, and did it have a yard big enough for the dog? Oh, and DH won't buy a pink house or a corner lot, and neither of us like shared driveways. I did not walk the street trying to determine if the neighborhood was diverse. I knew only that the realtor chose it (and two other neighborhoods) for us because it had houses in my price range, above my price range, and below my price range.

[Anonymous]

I don't get it. Bethesda is REALLY fucking white. So are swaths of the midwest and WVA. What is the point? Where is the news here?

Just another angle on the race fight? YAWN....

[Anonymous]

Columbia Heights and Anacostia don't work as appropriate comparisons to Bethesda. Too much poverty in both areas. (Plus middle class white people don't go to Anacostia to shop. They're too scared.) It's better to compare Bethesda to places like Brightwood Park or Shepherd Park.

The pp who equated diversity with crime and poverty was wrong to do so. DC has some beautiful upper-middle and upper income black and racially mixed neighborhoods. It is possible to live in a nice middle class neighborhood that is not majority white in DC.

OP, I think you may have only been trying to understand why people would live in Bethesda but your post came across as accusatory. I understand your reaction -- I wouldn't want to live in Bethesda either and I do think there are too many white folks who are way too scared of black neighborhoods. But I think people might live in Bethesda for a lot of reasons that having nothing to do with avoiding racial diversity (as someone noted earlier). But of course you never said that people lived there for that reason but given the tone of your statement some posters may have thought that's what you meant. Anyway, I agree that it's not for me!

Sorry it's late and I'm rambling.

[Anonymous]

We are a white, black and brown family here in Bethesda. There are actually more people of color in Bethesda residential areas than you would imagine. Lots of E.Indian and Asian families as well as black and mixed race families. Downtown Bethesda is a big tourist spot these days-so you saw many working and out of town folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a white, black and brown family here in Bethesda. There are actually more people of color in Bethesda residential areas than you would imagine. Lots of E.Indian and Asian families as well as black and mixed race families. Downtown Bethesda is a big tourist spot these days-so you saw many working and out of town folks.

Exactly. Again, OP, I dare you to go to downtown Bethesda during lunchtime once BCC opens for the school year and watch the diverse crowd of highschoolers walking around. Obviously their families live in the area. Their parents probably don't WALK AROUND downtown Bethesda (they drive -- re: grocery shopping, dropping off or picking up a family member, etc.) so you are saw the adults who work in downtown Bethesda walking around outside, not those who live there.

[Anonymous]

Sort of off course, but I am here in Cape Cod and I haven't seen any black people in 5 days. Seriously. It is freaking me and my biracial child out.

[Anonymous]

" I didn't say not great. I would certainly pick a school that isn't as great because of diversity. I suppose if you don't have minority children, this may not make sense to you."

You said you'd pick a school that was not as great, if it was more diverse. So you'd pick an academically inferior school. That is what you said. And, I am saying no one I know -including me- would do that. And, btw, I have plenty of friends that would quailfy for your diversity standards. Gay, black, white, Indian, blended families, Philipino . . . none of them would sacrifice academics for diversity.

We also live in a very diverse neighborhood. But, I didn't know that when we moved in b/c I don't know many who knock on doors to see who is living down the street. It was in an area that suited us for many reasons: cost, location, school district, the house itself. And that is the point. You're saying diversity is a big thing for you in making choices. I'm saying it isn't for me b/c you experience diversity in lots of different ways every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sort of off course, but I am here in Cape Cod and I haven't seen any black people in 5 days. Seriously. It is freaking me and my biracial child out.

Hey, I am on the Cape now, too, and I know what you mean! I grew up in NH so that was sort of the norm, but after living in VA for 10 years, I really notice the lack of diversity when I am back up here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I just don't understand why someone would choose to live in an area like that.

You don't understand why anyone would ever choose to live in an area that YOU don't consider to be sufficiently racially diverse??

How about because it's where there nicest homes they can afford are located? How about because it's close to work? How about because it has great schools? How about because the county services are great? How about because you can get more land for the money? Taxes are lower? It's convenient to outdoor recreational activities? (I'm not "justifying" Bethesda, by the way. I live in Fairfax County for all of these reasons.)

It's wonderful that you value diversity first and foremost when choosing a place to live. It's THAT important to you. Great.

Now why can't you respect other people's decisions to value other factors more highly when choosing where THEY want to live?

I don't mean that I don't understand, in a condescending way. I mean, that I don't understand the motivation to live in an area where whites have sequestered themselves. I don't understand the unwillingness to live in an area that is more diverse. Diversity is not one black family, and one Asian family on the block. Diversity doesn't mean high crime either. I live on a street where about half of the homes are occupied by whites. In the three and a half years I lived here there have been two cars broken into, and both were unlocked.

Well, then explain why most well-to-do blacks live in PG county...in very nice communities in Bowie, for example. Why do THEY chose that? Who the f cares why. If you're comfortable with your living situation, good for you. Stop worrying about others' decisions and worry about yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sort of off course, but I am here in Cape Cod and I haven't seen any black people in 5 days. Seriously. It is freaking me and my biracial child out.

Hey, I am on the Cape now, too, and I know what you mean! I grew up in NH so that was sort of the norm, but after living in VA for 10 years, I really notice the lack of diversity when I am back up here.

head over to Oak Bluffs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You said you'd pick a school that was not as great, if it was more diverse. So you'd pick an academically inferior school. That is what you said. And, I am saying no one I know -including me- would do that. And, btw, I have plenty of friends that would quailfy for your diversity standards. Gay, black, white, Indian, blended families, Philipino . . . none of them would sacrifice academics for diversity.

What if DC did not fit in and is the only or one of a few XYZ race in the whole school or area and could not get that academically superior education? Or maybe DC can't even get into the school in the first place for reasons other than academic ability...