Tell me about bannockburn?

[Anonymous]

I love the look/feel of bannockburn. Am wondering what it's like to live there. What is the community like? Are there little gems that make life nice like diners or playgrounds? Do most residents commute to DC? Is that hell?

[Anonymous]

It sort of spits the difference between close in Bethesda and Cabin John. There is a great pool and many families go to either Glen Echo shopping center or the cabin John one with Wild Tomatoe. It is a gem of a community with arguably the best school cluster in the entire D.C. metro. With a small intimate elementary school and the best Middle School in Maryland and then the highest rated open access high school in whole metro.

[Anonymous]

Bannockburn is a real "neighborhood." It has an old golf course club house that is used for frequent community events such as the annual music festival, Spring Show, Ice Cream Social, Halloween Parade, happy hours, pot luck dinners, Super Bowl parties, etc. The club house is rented out by a cooperative nursery school that has been around for 60 years. There are two small playgrounds on the clubhouse property. There are actually two swimming pools in the neighborhood that neighbors frequent in the summer. Cabin John Local Park is down MacArthur BLvd. just over the one lane bridge and Glen Echo Park is just across the street from Bannockburn. Go onto the Bannockburn community website to read all about the neighborhood and it's history. Many neighbors are on the very liberal side of things, but there are some more right leaning folks as well. The re is a nice neighborhood listserve to keep you in the know. It is a great place to bring up children. The elementary school has an active parent community. Pyle and Whitman are superb schools.

Many people commute into D.C. by Metro which is RideOn Bus accessible. Some people pay for parking near the Metro in Friendship Heights. Some people drive in. Depending upon where you work and what time you drive in or home will determine the length of your commute.

If you want to know anything more specific, ask away.

[Anonymous]

Here is the Washington Post's profile of the neighborhood.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/neighborhood-profile-bannockburn/2012/02/21/gIQAd1CIYR_story.html?utm_term=.b7a7a6767c29

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for this night. A few questions for you.

Do folks go into the city much or does life happen in Bethesda?

What's the best route to commute to gallery place if you need to be there by 9am (but have some flexibility). Most likely leave around 5.

Is it hard to get into that nursery school?

we'd be really reaching to live there budget wise. HHI is $320. I wish that was enough money to feel like you're living well but it doesn't seem to go far in DC. there are many huge houses in the neighborhood. I have to imagine they are millionaires lots of time over. Does it feel like normal people live there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for this night. A few questions for you.

Do folks go into the city much or does life happen in Bethesda?

What's the best route to commute to gallery place if you need to be there by 9am (but have some flexibility). Most likely leave around 5.

Is it hard to get into that nursery school?

we'd be really reaching to live there budget wise. HHI is $320. I wish that was enough money to feel like you're living well but it doesn't seem to go far in DC. there are many huge houses in the neighborhood. I have to imagine they are millionaires lots of time over. Does it feel like normal people live there?

We both work in DC, one by metro center and the other by judiciary. Former drives, latter drives to Bethesda and then takes metro. May switch to driving to FH once no longer have to be in Bethesda for daycare. We will do some date nights in DC, but we also go frequently to Bethesda and both Rockville and parts of VA are only 15-20 minutes away so we have a lot of places we like in those places as well.

Not sure about the nursery school.

Not sure what your budget is on that HHI, but you probably can find something as long as you don't need huge and/or completely new.

[Anonymous]

OP if you like the feel of Bannockburn, you should check out Mohican Hills and Glen Echo Heights. Similar vibe but a little closer in - you can drive downtown via Mass Ave or Clara Barton Pkwy, or you can take a bus to Friendship Heights and metro from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP if you like the feel of Bannockburn, you should check out Mohican Hills and Glen Echo Heights. Similar vibe but a little closer in - you can drive downtown via Mass Ave or Clara Barton Pkwy, or you can take a bus to Friendship Heights and metro from there.

Those are even more expensive than Bannockburn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for this night. A few questions for you.

Do folks go into the city much or does life happen in Bethesda?

What's the best route to commute to gallery place if you need to be there by 9am (but have some flexibility). Most likely leave around 5.

Is it hard to get into that nursery school?

we'd be really reaching to live there budget wise. HHI is $320. I wish that was enough money to feel like you're living well but it doesn't seem to go far in DC. there are many huge houses in the neighborhood. I have to imagine they are millionaires lots of time over. Does it feel like normal people live there?

[Anonymous]

Wood Acres is also worth checking out-same Middle and High schools and excellent ES. More down to earth feel-which is hard to come by in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

>>Many people commute into D.C. by Metro which is RideOn Bus accessible. Some people pay for parking near the Metro in Friendship Heights. Some people drive in. Depending upon where you work and what time you drive in or home will determine the length of your commute. <<

Not OP but how much would the parking near FH cost per, and how long would that drive/train combo take, to say, Metro Center at 7am?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for this night. A few questions for you.

Do folks go into the city much or does life happen in Bethesda?

What's the best route to commute to gallery place if you need to be there by 9am (but have some flexibility). Most likely leave around 5.

Is it hard to get into that nursery school?

we'd be really reaching to live there budget wise. HHI is $320. I wish that was enough money to feel like you're living well but it doesn't seem to go far in DC. there are many huge houses in the neighborhood. I have to imagine they are millionaires lots of time over. Does it feel like normal people live there?

I believe you can do it on that HHI but it will really depend on a lot of different things. How big of a mortgage will you be taking on, how many kids do you have, do you spend a lot of money on luxuries and travel, etc. plenty of people live here on less than what you make, but many bought into the neighborhood before housing prices shot up.
The nursery school is not hard to get into. I would call to find out the details. I would also visit the school. The director is a lovely person.

As far as commute, I would recommend a dry run of various different routes. I commute to a different location and likely at a different time of day than you. It makes a big a difference leaving at 6 in the morning than leaving at 8:30 in the morning.

We tend to stick with Bethesda when going out though that has diminished quite a bit since all of the new buildings in downtown Bethedsa. Parking can be a pain the butt. That is really a personal preference and plenty of people go into D.C. We are right over the border.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for this night. A few questions for you.

Do folks go into the city much or does life happen in Bethesda?

What's the best route to commute to gallery place if you need to be there by 9am (but have some flexibility). Most likely leave around 5.

Is it hard to get into that nursery school?

we'd be really reaching to live there budget wise. HHI is $320. I wish that was enough money to feel like you're living well but it doesn't seem to go far in DC. there are many huge houses in the neighborhood. I have to imagine they are millionaires lots of time over. Does it feel like normal people live there?

I believe you can do it on that HHI but it will really depend on a lot of different things. How big of a mortgage will you be taking on, how many kids do you have, do you spend a lot of money on luxuries and travel, etc. plenty of people live here on less than what you make, but many bought into the neighborhood before housing prices shot up.
The nursery school is not hard to get into. I would call to find out the details. I would also visit the school. The director is a lovely person.

As far as commute, I would recommend a dry run of various different routes. I commute to a different location and likely at a different time of day than you. It makes a big a difference leaving at 6 in the morning than leaving at 8:30 in the morning.

We tend to stick with Bethesda when going out though that has diminished quite a bit since all of the new buildings in downtown Bethedsa. Parking can be a pain the butt. That is really a personal preference and plenty of people go into D.C. We are right over the border.

I forgot to mention that there is a range of prices on houses in this neighborhood. There are million dollar McMansions and lower priced older homes. Some need more fixing up than others. It's not just for millionaires in this neighborhood. There is a neighborhood called Bannockburn Estates that is geared more toward the millionaire set that has quite a different feel than Bannockburn which includes Fairway Hills and another subdivision. It is basically the houses bounded by Wilson Lane, MacArthur Blvd, and Goldsboro Road. Check out the website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for this night. A few questions for you.

Do folks go into the city much or does life happen in Bethesda?

What's the best route to commute to gallery place if you need to be there by 9am (but have some flexibility). Most likely leave around 5.

Is it hard to get into that nursery school?

we'd be really reaching to live there budget wise. HHI is $320. I wish that was enough money to feel like you're living well but it doesn't seem to go far in DC. there are many huge houses in the neighborhood. I have to imagine they are millionaires lots of time over. Does it feel like normal people live there?

I believe you can do it on that HHI but it will really depend on a lot of different things. How big of a mortgage will you be taking on, how many kids do you have, do you spend a lot of money on luxuries and travel, etc. plenty of people live here on less than what you make, but many bought into the neighborhood before housing prices shot up.
The nursery school is not hard to get into. I would call to find out the details. I would also visit the school. The director is a lovely person.

As far as commute, I would recommend a dry run of various different routes. I commute to a different location and likely at a different time of day than you. It makes a big a difference leaving at 6 in the morning than leaving at 8:30 in the morning.

We tend to stick with Bethesda when going out though that has diminished quite a bit since all of the new buildings in downtown Bethedsa. Parking can be a pain the butt. That is really a personal preference and plenty of people go into D.C. We are right over the border.

I forgot to mention that there is a range of prices on houses in this neighborhood. There are million dollar McMansions and lower priced older homes. Some need more fixing up than others. It's not just for millionaires in this neighborhood. There is a neighborhood called Bannockburn Estates that is geared more toward the millionaire set that has quite a different feel than Bannockburn which includes Fairway Hills and another subdivision. It is basically the houses bounded by Wilson Lane, MacArthur Blvd, and Goldsboro Road. Check out the website.

Sorry didn't write that so well. Bannockburn includes those subdivisions, not Bburn estates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wood Acres is also worth checking out-same Middle and High schools and excellent ES. More down to earth feel-which is hard to come by in Bethesda.

I have always thought Woodacres was snobbier than Bannockburn.