Affordable housing prices + good schools

[Anonymous]

Some of y'all are seriously delusional about commute times in DC. I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no way you are getting from Annapolis to DC in rush hour in under an hour. It's 45 minutes when it's not rush hour!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville High School cluster in Montgomery County.

Not what most people consider to be affordable housing prices. You are paying unreasonable housing prices for the school district which is no longer as top-notch as it used to be. The school district has made some terrible decisions over the last few years and you are no longer getting as good a school system as the housing prices should merit.

You can get a nice SFH in the Manor Woods community that feeds into Rock Creek Valley ES or Barnsley ES for around $500K. It is a great deal and Rockville HS is truly diverse and has an IB program. The issue with MCPS is the BoE, not the curriculum or its teachers.

There's currently only one home in Manor Woods and it is $565K which is good for MoCo, but not particularly affordable per SF compared to Howard County. I looked out that area a couple of years ago when there was slightly more inventory (pre-pandemic) and this is on the lower end of comps. The cost per SF was higher back then, so while it is a good deal for MoCo, I think there are better options in HoCo that give you at least as good schools as Manor Woods. Just my 2 cents. But certainly is more affordable than many other parts of the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville High School cluster in Montgomery County.

Not what most people consider to be affordable housing prices. You are paying unreasonable housing prices for the school district which is no longer as top-notch as it used to be. The school district has made some terrible decisions over the last few years and you are no longer getting as good a school system as the housing prices should merit.

You can get a nice SFH in the Manor Woods community that feeds into Rock Creek Valley ES or Barnsley ES for around $500K. It is a great deal and Rockville HS is truly diverse and has an IB program. The issue with MCPS is the BoE, not the curriculum or its teachers.

There's currently only one home in Manor Woods and it is $565K which is good for MoCo, but not particularly affordable per SF compared to Howard County. I looked out that area a couple of years ago when there was slightly more inventory (pre-pandemic) and this is on the lower end of comps. The cost per SF was higher back then, so while it is a good deal for MoCo, I think there are better options in HoCo that give you at least as good schools as Manor Woods. Just my 2 cents. But certainly is more affordable than many other parts of the area.

Manor Woods is a wonderful and still affordable neighborhood but like everywhere else prices have been creeping up and anything closer to $500K than $600K will probably be in need of remodeling, which maybe is fine for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In PG look for homes zoned for Olge or Tasker middle school and Bowie High School. Or for home zoned to Greenbelt Middle School and Eleanor Roosevelt High.
Those schools are all majority POC if that is important to you.

If your kids are academically gifted, the options in PG expand a lot. You can live anywhere zoned for the TAG programs at Greenbelt, Tasker or Kenmoor. (North of 50-ish or in Bowie) and have great school options. The vast majority of elementary schools in PG are perfectly fine, I wouldn't put a lot of weight in the Great Schools scores, rather look at Parent ratings.
Our elementary school has a Great School rating of 4 but the parents ratings are all 5 stars. It is a great community and our kids love it there.

Tasker and Bowie high arent very good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In PG look for homes zoned for Olge or Tasker middle school and Bowie High School. Or for home zoned to Greenbelt Middle School and Eleanor Roosevelt High.
Those schools are all majority POC if that is important to you.

If your kids are academically gifted, the options in PG expand a lot. You can live anywhere zoned for the TAG programs at Greenbelt, Tasker or Kenmoor. (North of 50-ish or in Bowie) and have great school options. The vast majority of elementary schools in PG are perfectly fine, I wouldn't put a lot of weight in the Great Schools scores, rather look at Parent ratings.
Our elementary school has a Great School rating of 4 but the parents ratings are all 5 stars. It is a great community and our kids love it there.

Tasker and Bowie high arent very good.

Tasker has one of the highest Great School scores for middle schools in PG. I have a few friends with kids there and they are happy with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silver Spring.

Forest Knolls ES- 8/10
SSI Middle School- 6/10
Can try to lottery into Blair HS

you mean 4/10 Blair or 3/10 Northwood. That isn't what people with better options consider decent

It's really sad people are so ignorant they think they can reduce a school to a score. The DCC has amazing programs at the high school level. We would love to find a home at $500k in this area but housing is also getting really expensive there

It is really sad when people think they can reduce students down to their grades and test scores. Oh wait that is how the world works. Doesn't mean you aren't entitled to be happy with a 4/10 or what ever, it might meet your needs. It just means it isn't meeting many or most of the other people's and people with options might want to look else where. It also doesn't mean there aren't worse options which might make it seem appealing to you due to your limitations. Just remember there are many people who aren't limited to 500k and they want better

[Anonymous]

Gaithersburg 20878

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silver Spring.

Forest Knolls ES- 8/10
SSI Middle School- 6/10
Can try to lottery into Blair HS

you mean 4/10 Blair or 3/10 Northwood. That isn't what people with better options consider decent

It's really sad people are so ignorant they think they can reduce a school to a score. The DCC has amazing programs at the high school level. We would love to find a home at $500k in this area but housing is also getting really expensive there

It is really sad when people think they can reduce students down to their grades and test scores. Oh wait that is how the world works. Doesn't mean you aren't entitled to be happy with a 4/10 or what ever, it might meet your needs. It just means it isn't meeting many or most of the other people's and people with options might want to look else where. It also doesn't mean there aren't worse options which might make it seem appealing to you due to your limitations. Just remember there are many people who aren't limited to 500k and they want better

Then why are you in this thread? The OP specifically was asking about neighborhoods in their price range.

[Anonymous]

Come to Pasadena, MD in the Lake Shore area. Hurry before the property values become too high! Chesapeake schools!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come to Pasadena, MD in the Lake Shore area. Hurry before the property values become too high! Chesapeake schools!

Pasadena is NOT an hour from DC.

[Anonymous]

PG and Charles Counties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gaithersburg 20878

Good god no! The Wootton district is really overrated. Spent 15 years there and just left. Have the t-shirt. Here is the truth: find the cheapest house in the safest neighborhood and go private. This way you can leave - and you don’t have to pay for something (MCPS) that really is just a jobs program for the middle class. They truly are there for the summers off, pensions, sweet healthcare and decent salaries. That’s about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville High School cluster in Montgomery County.

Not what most people consider to be affordable housing prices. You are paying unreasonable housing prices for the school district which is no longer as top-notch as it used to be. The school district has made some terrible decisions over the last few years and you are no longer getting as good a school system as the housing prices should merit.

Speaking some serious truth here.

[Anonymous]

Original poster did not say majority white, instead it was vastly majority white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rockville High School cluster in Montgomery County.

Not what most people consider to be affordable housing prices. You are paying unreasonable housing prices for the school district which is no longer as top-notch as it used to be. The school district has made some terrible decisions over the last few years and you are no longer getting as good a school system as the housing prices should merit.

Speaking some serious truth here.

You could say this about any public school system in Maryland. Honestly? Move where you can afford to send your child to private school. the housing prices in "good neighborhoods" aren't justified by even the best public schools. I would rather live in a mediocre neighborhood and send my kid to private school than a "good" school district and pay outrageous prices only to realize I want to send my kid to private in a year or two.