Would you live in Takoma Park, MD with young family?

[Anonymous]

If yes, why?
If no, why?

[Anonymous]

We looked for houses there, and ultimately decided against it, for two reasons:
1. Some parts are not as safe as we wished.
2. It looked like a nightmare commute.

[Anonymous]

We didn't choose it because we were commuting to Bethesda and Georgetown. I think the commute downtown would be great. But I have a lot of friends there who are very happy.

[Anonymous]

I live near Takoma Park and love it. I am sure it totally depends on the exact neighborhood you live in, but the downtown area is really sweet, like a small town. Lots of different activities for kids- dance schools, art schools, music schools, etc. Lots of cute family restaurants and shops. Nice farmers market on Sunday. We spend a lot of time in Takoma Park.

As far as commute goes, we drive to work and it takes us about 30 minutes. Depending on where in Takoma Park you lived, I would estimate a 45 minute drive. Not sure on bike/bus/metro.

[Anonymous]

Yes I would. But only if it made sense for my commute. But drive through the neighborhood on a weekend, and you'll see it's mobbed with families with young kids.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would. We considered it but ended up in Brookland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I would. We considered it but ended up in Brookland.

Forgot to add the why:
- liked the historic/main street Takoma Park area
- tons of kids
- have family in Montgomery and Howard Counties
- had some friends moving to Takoma Park
- MCPS generally superior to DC public schools (but I was concerned about huge system and overcrowding)
- Red Line commutes

[Anonymous]

Why in the world not? I guess if you want lots of land for the money, or work very far away, it's not the place to be. Otherwise, I'm hearing dog whistles. I don't get it. It's extremely family friendly, convenient, tons of stuff to do, great schools, etc. And I include nearly all neighborhoods in that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why in the world not? I guess if you want lots of land for the money, or work very far away, it's not the place to be. Otherwise, I'm hearing dog whistles. I don't get it. It's extremely family friendly, convenient, tons of stuff to do, great schools, etc. And I include nearly all neighborhoods in that.

Ye-es, but some streets are really not that safe. It's a highly contrasted neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why in the world not? I guess if you want lots of land for the money, or work very far away, it's not the place to be. Otherwise, I'm hearing dog whistles. I don't get it. It's extremely family friendly, convenient, tons of stuff to do, great schools, etc. And I include nearly all neighborhoods in that.

Ye-es, but some streets are really not that safe. It's a highly contrasted neighborhood.

No, you say that and I say it's SES diverse. I live in DTSS and while some streets may be "less" safe, I don't feel unsafe on any of them, just because they may be Section 8 and not $1 million homes.

[Anonymous]

I did. For 10 years. TPES, PBES, and TPMS for my older kid. She was very happy. We rented on 3 different streets from Maple near the Metro to Flower to just off NH.

[Anonymous]

Plus, I don't see how that's much different from almost any urban or semi-urban environment.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't. Takoma Park in my opinion is overrated and over priced.

[Anonymous]

I love Takoma Park. We lived in dtss with infants. We only moved because it got expensive. I never felt unsafe in dtss and hilariously enough there are more car breaks in in our new suburb that is supposed to have amazing schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plus, I don't see how that's much different from almost any urban or semi-urban environment.

It's not. If you don't want to live in urban environments move to Olney or somewhere in VA