Germantown schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Haha, thank you for that response, made me smile. What is Derwood? I assume Bumfuckistan. So I moved from Ganglandia (gaithersburg/MV area) to Bumfuckistan and am thrilled with school and community. As former resident of MV area, there are some really nice communities with excellent amenities (pools, farmers market, shopping, parks etc.) however NONE of them are affordable TH. All TH areas are high crime/low income and should be avoided.

I will pass this information on to my friends who live in a townhouse neighborhood in Montgomery Village, near Watkins Mill HS. It will surely come as news to them.

[Anonymous]

Pp, well guess we will just have to take some risks because we are not going to be house poor in favor of a neighborhood and home we truly can't comfortably afford especially given the fact that we will be attempting to raise a baby on 1 income for a brief period of time. It's TH or bust (rent) for us.

I appreciate all the other responses though and it's been helpful in refining the search for homes and schools.

Not all of us have big law salaries or married bankers despite many who post on DCUM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Haha, thank you for that response, made me smile. What is Derwood? I assume Bumfuckistan. So I moved from Ganglandia (gaithersburg/MV area) to Bumfuckistan and am thrilled with school and community. As former resident of MV area, there are some really nice communities with excellent amenities (pools, farmers market, shopping, parks etc.) however NONE of them are affordable TH. All TH areas are high crime/low income and should be avoided.

I will pass this information on to my friends who live in a townhouse neighborhood in Montgomery Village, near Watkins Mill HS. It will surely come as news to them.

Thank god for a sense of humor here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP, do you mind listing what street/cross streets of MV you're on? I have seen a lot of Redfin listings for MV THs and we are interested, but I'd like to know more from someone who actually lives there and not someone who's just dissing on the place because they think they're community is better than everyone else.

Our list of importance is elem school, middle school, and high school can be a give or take because we may decide to go private.
We are looking to stay at least 5 years, as we believe that's how long it takes to build equity back into the purchase price of the home. We're looking for a community that is friendly for young children, and 1 or 2 working parent(s) because I may become a SAH for a brief period of time while DC is young. Things like tot lots and meet up group opportunities for the little one is essential. One reason we want to be in Germantown/Gaithersburg is because the closeness of 270 is attractive to DH and I for work commute. We don't want to be right in the hustle and bustle of city life, and we have a HHI of around 130. We're looking for a moderate to low priced TH under 350k unless brand new in which case we will make an exception up to 400k.

MV PP here. I live in a single-family community; if you could bump up your price to get in a single-family community, you won't regret it. There are none that can think of that I wouldn't recommend. I just looked at the home listings, and there are several single family homes available for just under $400k. As for townhomes, it's a little more hit or miss as far as neighborhood. There are far too many neighborhoods for me to list yes/no to, but I can say that considering what's for sale now, I'd look at the townhomes on Thomas Lea (East Village), ones in "The Reach" and "Holly Pointe" in East Village, and the homes on Duffer and Dunbridge (although I think some of these are short sales). Anything in Shadow Oak and Dorsey's Regard would be worth a look, too. The neighborhoods I'd avoid the most are McKendree, McRory, Nathan's Hill, Club Hill, and anything near Ridgeline Drive; these tend to be some of the lowest priced townhomes available.

Goshen Elementary serves East Village children; Whetstone, Stedwick and Watkins Mill ES serve the rest of MV. Whetstone is a Focus school, Stedwick is Title I, and I think WMES is Title I, also; parents used to complain about the large class sizes at Goshen, and I'm not sure if it's become a Focus school in recent years. Regardless, the elementary schools have dedicated staff members and active PTA's. My children have received a great education and have had no issues in any of the MV schools. There are also plenty of children in MV who attend catholic schools, so finding someone to carpool, if you chose to send to private school, probably wouldn't be an issue.

There are playgrounds at many of the community centers throughout MV, and there is a nice, big playground in East Village. There are active Mom's Clubs in the area, too, which is a great way to meet other SAHM's. There are also a few preschool programs in the community.

If you have any other questions, PP, I'll try to answer them for you.

[Anonymous]

Stedwick is a Focus school, not a Title I school -- or at least it was a Focus school last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the PP, do you mind listing what street/cross streets of MV you're on? I have seen a lot of Redfin listings for MV THs and we are interested, but I'd like to know more from someone who actually lives there and not someone who's just dissing on the place because they think they're community is better than everyone else.

Our list of importance is elem school, middle school, and high school can be a give or take because we may decide to go private.
We are looking to stay at least 5 years, as we believe that's how long it takes to build equity back into the purchase price of the home. We're looking for a community that is friendly for young children, and 1 or 2 working parent(s) because I may become a SAH for a brief period of time while DC is young. Things like tot lots and meet up group opportunities for the little one is essential. One reason we want to be in Germantown/Gaithersburg is because the closeness of 270 is attractive to DH and I for work commute. We don't want to be right in the hustle and bustle of city life, and we have a HHI of around 130. We're looking for a moderate to low priced TH under 350k unless brand new in which case we will make an exception up to 400k.

MV PP here. I live in a single-family community; if you could bump up your price to get in a single-family community, you won't regret it. There are none that can think of that I wouldn't recommend. I just looked at the home listings, and there are several single family homes available for just under $400k. As for townhomes, it's a little more hit or miss as far as neighborhood. There are far too many neighborhoods for me to list yes/no to, but I can say that considering what's for sale now, I'd look at the townhomes on Thomas Lea (East Village), ones in "The Reach" and "Holly Pointe" in East Village, and the homes on Duffer and Dunbridge (although I think some of these are short sales). Anything in Shadow Oak and Dorsey's Regard would be worth a look, too. The neighborhoods I'd avoid the most are McKendree, McRory, Nathan's Hill, Club Hill, and anything near Ridgeline Drive; these tend to be some of the lowest priced townhomes available.

Goshen Elementary serves East Village children; Whetstone, Stedwick and Watkins Mill ES serve the rest of MV. Whetstone is a Focus school, Stedwick is Title I, and I think WMES is Title I, also; parents used to complain about the large class sizes at Goshen, and I'm not sure if it's become a Focus school in recent years. Regardless, the elementary schools have dedicated staff members and active PTA's. My children have received a great education and have had no issues in any of the MV schools. There are also plenty of children in MV who attend catholic schools, so finding someone to carpool, if you chose to send to private school, probably wouldn't be an issue.

There are playgrounds at many of the community centers throughout MV, and there is a nice, big playground in East Village. There are active Mom's Clubs in the area, too, which is a great way to meet other SAHM's. There are also a few preschool programs in the community.

If you have any other questions, PP, I'll try to answer them for you.

I know this might be a long shot, but would you be willing to communicate off DCUM with me via email? I feel like there are some questions that I don't feel as comfortable posting on DCUM after some of the responses. Everyone's nice, but some are more helpful and more experience oriented than others.

You answered a great deal of questions I have been thinking about today on my home search, and to refine before going out to see more homes I have some ?s about SFH communities. Which ones do you recommend as the most family friendly? The ones I found are probably the same ones you mentioned just under the 400 mark. We truly don't want to buy too much house and risk losing out when we have to re-sell it later on down the road. We also want a move in ready property, but willing to do upgrades like flooring/kitchen if needed. We just don't want to buy a low cost SFH only to have to dump more than 50k into it to bring it up to date/up to county code. It's probably my biggest fear in looking into older neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

How is Hadley Farms SFH community feeding into Resnik, Redland, and Magruder?

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're looking in Montgomery Village, you should be aware of the Montgomery Village master plan update: http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/community/montgomery_village/

Just so that you don't assume that whatever is there now will always be there. It might be, or it might not. And don't buy along the master-plan route for M-83 (Midcounty Highway Extended); M-83 probably won't get built (yay!) because there's no money, but it's not dead until it's dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you're looking in Montgomery Village, you should be aware of the Montgomery Village master plan update: http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/community/montgomery_village/

Just so that you don't assume that whatever is there now will always be there. It might be, or it might not. And don't buy along the master-plan route for M-83 (Midcounty Highway Extended); M-83 probably won't get built (yay!) because there's no money, but it's not dead until it's dead.

OP, Thanks for the site with the info. Where is the current golf course located where the new homes will be built? Also, does anyone know which builders are going to develop homes there or when they will break ground to start or begin sales office models?

I want to know if we can wait out long enough, or if it makes more sense to settle into something sooner than later.

[Anonymous]

If something is on the master plan, that doesn't mean that it will happen soon. In fact, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen at all. It just means that it CAN happen. So no, I wouldn't wait.

More about the golf course redevelopment plans: http://wjla.com/news/local/debate-swirls-over-redevelopment-plans-for-shuttered-md-golf-course-112870

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If something is on the master plan, that doesn't mean that it will happen soon. In fact, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen at all. It just means that it CAN happen. So no, I wouldn't wait.

More about the golf course redevelopment plans: http://wjla.com/news/local/debate-swirls-over-redevelopment-plans-for-shuttered-md-golf-course-112870

Hmm, very interesting but what will this ultimately do to the schools in the area, primarily the ES and the HS??

Seems like at some point if this development goes through then MCPS will have to come up with some solution for the additional students that this community would surely generate.

[Anonymous]

MV poster here. Monument Realty is the group who is going to develop the golf course http://www.bloominmv.com/ There are still community meetings going on to inform residents about this project, and there is support both for and against it from the current residents. Many feel that it will revitalize MV by bringing in some new, higher-priced housing ; others want the space to remain open land.

To the PP who asked, yes, I'll email with you offline, if you'll provide an email address. If you're looking this weekend, I'd definitely look at the homes on Roman and Doolittle; both appear to be updated for the most part (although Doolittle needs new bathrooms). The home on Dellcastle has been recently flipped; the neighborhood (same as the Doolittle home) is great. The homes on Gallatan and Mercado look like they need some work, and the neighborhood isn't as nice as the previously mentioned ones. A little above $400k are the house on Kobe which looks updated and is in a terrific family neighborhood, Whetstone. The home on Ivyberry also looks nice, and is in a nice neighborhood in East Village. If you can go up in price a little more, there are more updated homes to choose from.

[Anonymous]

We moved from MV around the corner to Gaithersburg (off Snouffer School). We went from a MV Townhouse (which was neither high crime nor ganglandia) to a SFH in 20879. SFH's here go for around $400k. There's nothing wrong with living here, even if you are white and have a middle class income. Promise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved from MV around the corner to Gaithersburg (off Snouffer School). We went from a MV Townhouse (which was neither high crime nor ganglandia) to a SFH in 20879. SFH's here go for around $400k. There's nothing wrong with living here, even if you are white and have a middle class income. Promise.

Flower Hill is OK and so is Hunter's Woods-but a plane from the nearby Airpark may just crash through your hose.

[Anonymous]

You should also look in Rosemont, Walnut Hill, Washington Grove, Derwood Station, Summit Hall and the Gaithersburg Town Center area-many affordable homes and lots of new development near the Shady Grove Metro. ES's are good and the HS is improving. Saybrooke is also another nice neighborhood. And Quail Valley. Gaitherburg HS is a bit better than Watkins Mill.