Is it possible to buy a decent house for $500K or lower in a safe neighborhood with good schools?

[Anonymous]

PP: her husband commutes to Gaithersburg. From Alexandria- this would be a hellish commute. She's better off looking in northern Mont County- Derwood, Olney, Rockville, Gaithersburg..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about Rockville?

Try 20853 - Manor Woods

We live here and like it alot. nice families, quiet, an very low crime compared to silver spring.

Check out crimereports.com to see assaults, break-ins etc in the neighborhood you're considering. We decided to avoid SS/TP because of the crime.

[Anonymous]

Brookville just north of Olney would be nice and my impression has been the schools are good. This is WAY too far for someone commuting to DC I think (let alone my drive to Arlington) but for a commute to Gaithersburg, especially once the ICC is built, it should be pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Rockville?

Try 20853 - Manor Woods

We live here and like it alot. nice families, quiet, an very low crime compared to silver spring.

Check out crimereports.com to see assaults, break-ins etc in the neighborhood you're considering. We decided to avoid SS/TP because of the crime.

LOVE 20853 (I grew up there). Should be decent for commuting to Gaithersburg, although there will be traffic at rush hour. Still, you'd probably be on regular roads (not the beltway) and there are always alternative routes. Depending on where in Gaithersburg you're going, it could be as little as 15-20 minutes (could be more also, just depends on where exactly you are coming from/going to). Also, if you head north on 270 in the morning, you're doing a reverse commute.

[Anonymous]

NP here: is 20853 Manor Woods safe though????

[Anonymous]

OP - what areas have you been looking in where you have not been finding decent options?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here: is 20853 Manor Woods safe though????

Yes! I dont have the crime stats infront of me but I can tell you as someone who has lived there for many,many years- I definitely felt very safe. I'm sure there are crimes here and there but this is not an area where crimes are prevalent like they are in Montgomery Village in Gaithersburg or my friend's neighborhood in SS where her house and her car has been broken into multiple times in 5 years. My husband and I in fact would love to eventually move our family to this zip code- great place to raise kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks everyone for your recs! I do love the houses that 10:54 posted. I am not familiar with Takoma Park but will definitely look into it. It is important that it has a nice rec center and library for my little one. And my DH commutes to Gaithersburg so unfortunately much of Virginia would be a trickier commute. Although I do like the idea of Vienna. Again, it is super helpful all of you who have recommended a neighborhood. I haven't officially gotten over my "sticker shock" of houses in this area.

If you commute to Gaithersburg then check out Derwood. It's very affordable and conveniently located (DH commutes to DC on red line from Shady Grove). We like our elementary school (Mill Creek Towne).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here: is 20853 Manor Woods safe though????

Yes! I dont have the crime stats infront of me but I can tell you as someone who has lived there for many,many years- I definitely felt very safe. I'm sure there are crimes here and there but this is not an area where crimes are prevalent like they are in Montgomery Village in Gaithersburg or my friend's neighborhood in SS where her house and her car has been broken into multiple times in 5 years. My husband and I in fact would love to eventually move our family to this zip code- great place to raise kids.

Oh yes, Manor Woods is really nice and very affordable. I'm the Derwood PP, but we looked in Manor Woods and Rock Creek Valley area as well (Lucy Barnsley ES and Rock Creek Valley ES).

[Anonymous]

In response to a PP: Brookeville/Olney isn't too far to commute to DC --- I do it every day (as do my neighbors). And the commute to Gaithersburg from Brookeville/Olney would be a snap even without the ICC --- there are plenty of backroads (especially through Laytonsville). Check out the zips 20833 and 20832. The schools are excellent.

And RE commutes: FWIW, I typically commute from Brookeville to DC (near the White House) by car via Georgia and 16th. During the summer and off hours, it's about a 50 minute commute (45 if I miss the lights) door to door. During rush hour, it's more like 1.15. Having said that, I've tried Connecticut Avenue as an alternate and it's taken 1.15 to get from downtown DC to the heart of Kensington --- so I don't know what folks are talking about when they say Kensington is close-in or a decent commute --- it's the same as commuting to Olney via Georgia Avenue. And FWIW, it's faster to get downtown via metro from Olney (Glenmont), but I hate the metro.

[Anonymous]

Yikes--is Derwood or 20853 dangerous--just checked crime reports and it looks like lots of break ins, robberies, assaults...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In response to a PP: Brookeville/Olney isn't too far to commute to DC --- I do it every day (as do my neighbors). And the commute to Gaithersburg from Brookeville/Olney would be a snap even without the ICC --- there are plenty of backroads (especially through Laytonsville). Check out the zips 20833 and 20832. The schools are excellent.

And RE commutes: FWIW, I typically commute from Brookeville to DC (near the White House) by car via Georgia and 16th. During the summer and off hours, it's about a 50 minute commute (45 if I miss the lights) door to door. During rush hour, it's more like 1.15. Having said that, I've tried Connecticut Avenue as an alternate and it's taken 1.15 to get from downtown DC to the heart of Kensington --- so I don't know what folks are talking about when they say Kensington is close-in or a decent commute --- it's the same as commuting to Olney via Georgia Avenue. And FWIW, it's faster to get downtown via metro from Olney (Glenmont), but I hate the metro.

Really? I find that even on the weekends, it takes 20-30 mins to get to the white house via 16th street starting from the MD line. How long does it take to get from Brookeville to 16th st? Or maybe the traffic flow on the weekends is different from the week?

[Anonymous]

20833 zip is perfect for you.

[Anonymous]

I think that there is one pro- Brookville poster on every single post about neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

yes, and Brookville gets closer, and her commute gets shorter every time she posts.