What's the deal with Potomac?

[Anonymous]

Potomac seems like it was built up later than Bethesda was, so you’ll see more of those mid range McMansion subdivisions there than you will in Bethesda, which is an old inner ring suburb.

No, Bethesda isn't an inner ring suburb. That term generally refers to pre-WWII/suburbs -- around here, like Chevy Chase MD or Takoma Park or downtown Silver Spring (or Westmoreland Hills). Bethesda is mostly a sprawling car-based postwar suburb, made up of modest brick boxes and split levels for the GS crowd and larger 50's-70's homes, now interspersed with some oversized (for their lot) McCraftsman bungalows that are fast becoming the DMV's new two-income cliche (and will no doubt eventually go out of style as all popular styles do). The skill of Bethesda developers in re-positioning drab Bethesda as having the inner-ring charm of a Bronxville or Shaker Heights has got to be one of the most successful reinventions in modern real estate history (and/or a tribute to DCUM's gullibility).