Would you live in Takoma Park, MD with young family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a former New Yorker, I am shocked at the racism by some of the people on this website and in the metro DC area. The comments on the "white sheet" and standardized testing were really uncalled for. Raised in a very culturally diverse section of Queens, I am not used to the constant attitude that ALL white people have "white privilege" that I see on this forum, and in the DC/MD area.)

I am a high school teacher (Btw I worked full-time right out of high school and put myself through college; I didn't qualify for low interest student loans or any other "aid", as I lived in my parent's home and they made "too much", even though I had to help with THEM with the bills. It took me almost 7 years to get my 4-yr degree; that was my "white privilege".)

Anyway, my experience has been that lower income people tend to raise children who come to school less prepared and with less respect for authority, than other children. Most teachers understand that a child raised in poverty (and many times abused) will behave quite differently than a child from other socioeconomic classes.

I do not know about TP, but I would not buy in an area with a lot of low income housing (or in an area with a big heroin problem)

Well you can write off EOTP and the eastern shore from your home searchs. Don't worry most people with resources do the same

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We almost purchased a home and then decided not to. Here's why:

1. The commute into downtown (where we work) is long. You have to cross through local traffic and it takes twice as long as it should just based on distance alone.
2. The schools are not good, despite what some may say. See the scores for yourself. Talk to some of the teachers about having to teach to the middle (which isn't so middle). We wanted a good public school option.

I'm not going to argue with someone else's experience, but it sounds like PP here is describing a driving commute. I can see that being a challenge, but driving into the city also seems like such a waste of living as close in as Takoma Park. Why not just ride the Metro?

The schools are an interesting case. TPES is well regarded, as is Piney Branch but I can see what a PP said about stratification. If you look at the scores, poor kids do significantly worse at Piney Branch than the statewide average. That is a bit worrying, because I always figure you should look at the scores of the kids who aren't getting outside enrichment to see how the school is really doing. If you look at the schools around Piney Branch, poor kids test better at the other schools, even schools with much higher percentages of poor children.

BUT...it seems middle class kids do fine wherever, which pretty much confirms what we already know about test scores.

I live in Takoma Park (and love it) and am also surprised by the test scores for lower-income children. I'm not sure what is behind it. Is there a higher immigrant population than in other areas (which can mean language barriers in addition to income differences)? Or is the teaching of quality of the education actually worse than other areas nearby. Our children haven't started school yet so I really don't know.

Yes, many very new immigrant families. And quite a few of those are refugees or from conflict torn areas so the kids sometimes are coping with trauma as well as culture shock and extreme poverty.

This and they will be in section 8 housing and show little to no regard for the property. These families do not value education-that is why the scores are low. I have lived in a nice neighborhood in MOCO that had section 8 housing in parts of it. Awful. Random crap outside the house (Think tires, random couches etc...) and a total disrespect for other's property (would throw their garbage outside on the ground). Do not buy in an area that has section 8.

This is incredibly tone-deaf and culturally insensitive. If you were a refugee from a war-torn country 3rd world country, you might not be accustomed to neatly setting out your recycling either. That's not desirable, but it can change. As for valuing education, many of the immigrant families I have met in Takoma Park do value it very much. Their kids are bilingual (mine is not!). They work hard and they are disciplined and honest people.

People come in all shapes and sizes: rich, poor, American, foreign. To imply that all immigrants are irredeemably feral makes you look totally bigoted and unaware of the complexities of life outside of a McLean bubble of riches. Shame on you.

They don't own so they don't care about property values. Obviously everyone who buys property cares about their property value. If I'm driving through a neighborhood and see trash strewn across the front yard I will not buy there. And that's reality for many people. Your neighbors actions directly effect your investment. So you can go on and on about being sensitive to other cultures but we will see how much you care about that when you lose 100k on your house due to neighbors who dgaf. But sure-you are a better person than me. I care about living next to neighbors who own and have a vested interest in the neighborhood. I don't care what color they are or what country they are from-as long they respect the property. You don't see that in areas with low income housing. It's just a fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are raising our 2 kids in takoma park and we absolutely love it. They are 2 and 4. Our neighbors are wonderful and there is a huge sense of community. People are down to earth. Great combo of small town plus urban feel. There are entire weekends we don't get in car because farmers market, parks, places to eat all walking distance. We are so happy.

Get back to us when they start attending school. You're still caught up in your fantasy. Reality will kick in when your snowflakes have to share a classroom with a child who doesn't value education or have respect for authority. Tell us how much you love TP when your darlings are older. This will not be your forever home nor will you raise your children in TP. You will eventually seek a better place and schools for your children just like the others who thought they could establish roots in TP. Write back to us in five years and let us know how things are going.

[Anonymous]

This is a bizarre thread. We feel priced out of TP with a budget of $850K. We are staying put for now in nearby SS which we love but may move to a bigger house at some point. TP MD is a prime choice but the houses see are looking at are pricey. Families I know love the schools. Close to the city plus a metro stop so confused about commute complaints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are raising our 2 kids in takoma park and we absolutely love it. They are 2 and 4. Our neighbors are wonderful and there is a huge sense of community. People are down to earth. Great combo of small town plus urban feel. There are entire weekends we don't get in car because farmers market, parks, places to eat all walking distance. We are so happy.

Get back to us when they start attending school. You're still caught up in your fantasy. Reality will kick in when your snowflakes have to share a classroom with a child who doesn't value education or have respect for authority. Tell us how much you love TP when your darlings are older. This will not be your forever home nor will you raise your children in TP. You will eventually seek a better place and schools for your children just like the others who thought they could establish roots in TP. Write back to us in five years and let us know how things are going.

Nice try. My block in TP is filled with parents with advanced degrees with kids from K - 12th who have all raised their kids in TP and whose children are thriving in local public school. My own kids will be in 1st and 3rd, this is our forever home an our roots are firmly and happily planted in this wonderful community.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Not sure what all the TP shade is about.

I grew up near TP and have family and friends who live there now with young kids. I also lived in SW DC, NW DC, Bethesda, Vienna and Arlington, at different points of my adult life, so I have some context.

Overall, TP is a great place to raise kids. There are a ton of families with there with young kids. Don't believe me, just drive by and around on a nice day.

TP checks most if not all of the basic boxes: good schools, good (enough) food options, close to city and metro, lots of parks, lots of kid centered activities, generally safe, access to affordable housing (in parts).

Assuming commute/family proximity are not an issue, I only see two areas where TP might not be a good fit for a young family:

1) If you are looking for a white/asian enclave.
It seems on DCUM: white/Asian enclaves=good; areas w/ higher levels of black/brown folks=bad. TP is very diverse. Both in income class and racial/ethnic demographics. PoC make up between somewhere in the range of 50% of TP. Most homeowners are white, so if you are buying, particularly in the DT area, its pretty much a white enclave from a housing perspective-- less so on the outskirts of TP. If you are renting, its likely you will be part of a very diverse mix, and in many cases, if you are white, you will be a minority. The schools are very diverse, with a roughly 60/40 nonwhite/white split.

If this level of racial diversity bothers you in the least bit, then TP is not for you.

2) If you are looking for a high SES enclave.
Typically this goes hand in hand in white/asian enclaves in the DMV area. TP has a fair amount of middle/low income residents- most are PoC, but plenty of whites too. The schools FARMS rates straddle on being high, but not very high. Typically concentrations of kids from lower income families comes with lower test scores compared to white enclaves. This is true for TP.

Crime in TP is better than other parts of east MoCo, but higher than white enclaves like Bethesda simply due to proximity. Crime is pretty much a block by block thing- general rule is that the farther you live away from poorer parts of DC, PG, MoCo, the less crime you will experience (although I grew up in a TP hood right next to PG for 19 yrs and we never crime issues). TP is definitely has more city-like crime (petty thefts, car break-ins), and is more similar to parts of NW DC like Shaw, from a crime perspective. This just means if you get yourself and home alarm system, lock your car, and employ other city/street smarts, you and your family will be fine. If any of this is too much to think about, then TP is likely not for you.

My best advice would be to drive in the neighborhood and actually speak to some families. They will give you better feedback than shade I see thrown on here at TP due to its racial/income demos. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I lived in TP for 15 years. PP at 1:37 nailed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a bizarre thread. We feel priced out of TP with a budget of $850K. We are staying put for now in nearby SS which we love but may move to a bigger house at some point. TP MD is a prime choice but the houses see are looking at are pricey. Families I know love the schools. Close to the city plus a metro stop so confused about commute complaints.

I'm sorry but there are plenty of great houses in TP, in walking distance to Metro for less than $850k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a former New Yorker, I am shocked at the racism by some of the people on this website and in the metro DC area. The comments on the "white sheet" and standardized testing were really uncalled for. Raised in a very culturally diverse section of Queens, I am not used to the constant attitude that ALL white people have "white privilege" that I see on this forum, and in the DC/MD area.)

I am a high school teacher (Btw I worked full-time right out of high school and put myself through college; I didn't qualify for low interest student loans or any other "aid", as I lived in my parent's home and they made "too much", even though I had to help with THEM with the bills. It took me almost 7 years to get my 4-yr degree; that was my "white privilege".)

Anyway, my experience has been that lower income people tend to raise children who come to school less prepared and with less respect for authority, than other children. Most teachers understand that a child raised in poverty (and many times abused) will behave quite differently than a child from other socioeconomic classes.

I do not know about TP, but I would not buy in an area with a lot of low income housing (or in an area with a big heroin problem)

LMAO, you think kids from lower income families lack respect for authority than rich kids? Wow, for a teacher you sure are ignorant. Rich kids here look down on authority figures like school officials and the police because they perceive them as lower status than their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former New Yorker, I am shocked at the racism by some of the people on this website and in the metro DC area. The comments on the "white sheet" and standardized testing were really uncalled for. Raised in a very culturally diverse section of Queens, I am not used to the constant attitude that ALL white people have "white privilege" that I see on this forum, and in the DC/MD area.)

I am a high school teacher (Btw I worked full-time right out of high school and put myself through college; I didn't qualify for low interest student loans or any other "aid", as I lived in my parent's home and they made "too much", even though I had to help with THEM with the bills. It took me almost 7 years to get my 4-yr degree; that was my "white privilege".)

Anyway, my experience has been that lower income people tend to raise children who come to school less prepared and with less respect for authority, than other children. Most teachers understand that a child raised in poverty (and many times abused) will behave quite differently than a child from other socioeconomic classes.

I do not know about TP, but I would not buy in an area with a lot of low income housing (or in an area with a big heroin problem)

LMAO, you think kids from lower income families lack respect for authority than rich kids? Wow, for a teacher you sure are ignorant. Rich kids here look down on authority figures like school officials and the police because they perceive them as lower status than their parents.

I wouldn't bother with PP. He/She: 1) doesn't understand what white privilege is or actively denies it regardless of reality, and 2) holds alarmingly ignorant views, which he/she may deem "non-PC", about the drive, motivations and values of poor kids and families.

2 is especially scary for me as a someone who grew up in a poor community. It would be naive to think PP's negative views of poor kids does not impact how he/she deals/engages these kids in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what parts of Takoma Park are considered unsafe?

the ones with brown immigrants
and it's not really unsafe either

What about the 14 year old shot at the metro a couple of days ago? Takoma def has the good block bad block vibe but what it absolutely also has is it surrounded by many of the worst areas in all the DC metro area. The spill over from Langley Park, Cheverly, Brightwood, silver spring and Takoma DC absolutely effect the quality of life. Takoma may be a cute middle school that was configured to avoid much of the piney branch corridor but it still ends up at high school with all the eastern kids. If that is good enough for someone else's kids that is cool, just not mine.

what about the crime in Georgetown or the crazy man that shot people in Bethesda mall?
Evidently TP is not for you, so move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a former New Yorker, I am shocked at the racism by some of the people on this website and in the metro DC area. The comments on the "white sheet" and standardized testing were really uncalled for. Raised in a very culturally diverse section of Queens, I am not used to the constant attitude that ALL white people have "white privilege" that I see on this forum, and in the DC/MD area.)

I am a high school teacher (Btw I worked full-time right out of high school and put myself through college; I didn't qualify for low interest student loans or any other "aid", as I lived in my parent's home and they made "too much", even though I had to help with THEM with the bills. It took me almost 7 years to get my 4-yr degree; that was my "white privilege".)

Anyway, my experience has been that lower income people tend to raise children who come to school less prepared and with less respect for authority, than other children. Most teachers understand that a child raised in poverty (and many times abused) will behave quite differently than a child from other socioeconomic classes.

I do not know about TP, but I would not buy in an area with a lot of low income housing (or in an area with a big heroin problem)
Your ignorance is showing and I doubt you are from New York. It sounds like you don't understand "Privilege" and are all up in your feelings thinking someone got help you did not.
Get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We almost purchased a home and then decided not to. Here's why:

1. The commute into downtown (where we work) is long. You have to cross through local traffic and it takes twice as long as it should just based on distance alone.
2. The schools are not good, despite what some may say. See the scores for yourself. Talk to some of the teachers about having to teach to the middle (which isn't so middle). We wanted a good public school option.

I'm not going to argue with someone else's experience, but it sounds like PP here is describing a driving commute. I can see that being a challenge, but driving into the city also seems like such a waste of living as close in as Takoma Park. Why not just ride the Metro?

The schools are an interesting case. TPES is well regarded, as is Piney Branch but I can see what a PP said about stratification. If you look at the scores, poor kids do significantly worse at Piney Branch than the statewide average. That is a bit worrying, because I always figure you should look at the scores of the kids who aren't getting outside enrichment to see how the school is really doing. If you look at the schools around Piney Branch, poor kids test better at the other schools, even schools with much higher percentages of poor children.

BUT...it seems middle class kids do fine wherever, which pretty much confirms what we already know about test scores.

I live in Takoma Park (and love it) and am also surprised by the test scores for lower-income children. I'm not sure what is behind it. Is there a higher immigrant population than in other areas (which can mean language barriers in addition to income differences)? Or is the teaching of quality of the education actually worse than other areas nearby. Our children haven't started school yet so I really don't know.

Yes, many very new immigrant families. And quite a few of those are refugees or from conflict torn areas so the kids sometimes are coping with trauma as well as culture shock and extreme poverty.

This and they will be in section 8 housing and show little to no regard for the property. These families do not value education-that is why the scores are low. I have lived in a nice neighborhood in MOCO that had section 8 housing in parts of it. Awful. Random crap outside the house (Think tires, random couches etc...) and a total disrespect for other's property (would throw their garbage outside on the ground). Do not buy in an area that has section 8.

This is incredibly tone-deaf and culturally insensitive. If you were a refugee from a war-torn country 3rd world country, you might not be accustomed to neatly setting out your recycling either. That's not desirable, but it can change. As for valuing education, many of the immigrant families I have met in Takoma Park do value it very much. Their kids are bilingual (mine is not!). They work hard and they are disciplined and honest people.

People come in all shapes and sizes: rich, poor, American, foreign. To imply that all immigrants are irredeemably feral makes you look totally bigoted and unaware of the complexities of life outside of a McLean bubble of riches. Shame on you.

They don't own so they don't care about property values. Obviously everyone who buys property cares about their property value. If I'm driving through a neighborhood and see trash strewn across the front yard I will not buy there. And that's reality for many people. Your neighbors actions directly effect your investment. So you can go on and on about being sensitive to other cultures but we will see how much you care about that when you lose 100k on your house due to neighbors who dgaf. But sure-you are a better person than me. I care about living next to neighbors who own and have a vested interest in the neighborhood. I don't care what color they are or what country they are from-as long they respect the property. You don't see that in areas with low income housing. It's just a fact.

No it is not.

[Anonymous]

"Good enough schools"
"Safe enough"
"Good enough places to eat"

So I guess if "good enough" is right for you then go for it.

I will "excellent schools" and "very safe."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Good enough schools"
"Safe enough"
"Good enough places to eat"

So I guess if "good enough" is right for you then go for it.

I will "excellent schools" and "very safe."

What are you quoting? And where do you live?