Takoma/ Brightwood Neighborhoods DC
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Anonymous
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Can folks talk about the Takoma and Brightwood neighborhoods in DC? We are considering moving closer to a charter school that my son is enrolled in and loves. We currently live in and love Hill East, but are attracted to the idea of a larger, single family home and moving closer to the school. Being close to a metro is important.
Questions: What are folks predicting the market to do in the spring in terms of housing stock and price? There are a few detached homes on the market now in the 800K range. Is that high for the neighborhood? What do folks most like/dislike most about the neighborhoods? |
Anonymous
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You can get detached SFH's in the 600-1M range in Brightwood, and the starting more in the 700's in Takoma. I think the market will keep creeping up with no real jumps until some of the new buildings in WR come online and then there will be a jump (probably in 3-4 years).
I love living here (N. Brightwood, western edge by the park). Neighbors are friendly, we have great outdoor place between Rock Creek, Takoma rec/aquatic center, and Ft. Stephens rec center, housing stock errs on the side of charming, plenty of express buses and proximity to SS and the red line. As far as dislikes, the lone Safeway is not exactly inspiring, and there's been an uptick in possibly gang-related violence centered around the Walmart and apartments on Rittenhouse. Not enough to actually justify the "oh no GEORGIA AVE" reaction from most DCUM posters, but it's not nothing. We keep crossing our fingers that Moreland Tavern will do well and inspire more retail/restaurant/bars up in Brightwood, but Takoma has a really cute little retail strip on 4th (with one of my favorite stores of all time - the Spice Suite) and easy access to TKPK shops and restaurants. |
Anonymous
Brightwood is nowhere near any of the metro stations. |
Anonymous
13:34 here. I'm about a mile/15 minute walk from Takoma metro, and other parts of Brightwood are closer than my place. Also OP asked about Takoma, which is pretty obviously near the metro. |
Anonymous
| There were some homes labeled as Brightwood on Redfin that were within a half mile of the Takoma Metro station. |
Anonymous
That was my first thought, too, but I guess the northeastern corner of Brightwood is fairly close to Takoma station. |
Anonymous
| It's a nice, but dull part of town. |
Anonymous
Basically what this pp said. If I had an extra 100K or so to purchase a home then I would have preferred Takoma because of the metro. |
Anonymous
| They are like silver spring but with even worse schools |
Anonymous
| We don’t need to worry about schools. We luckily are already in a charter that we are happy with. It gives us flexibility to focus on other neighborhood features. Like I said earlier, I’m mainly trying to get a sense of what folks think the market will do in the spring. One of the biggest hesitations is being so far from downtown. It makes biking less of an option. |
Anonymous
| With the new dc school policy live and rent for one year in a WOTP feeder and then move to a big house in takoma and send your kids through the Wilson feeders going forward win win |
Anonymous
No win for those who actually legitimately live inbounds for those overcrowded schools. |
Anonymous
| I think Takoma DC is a fine neighborhood. The areas around the Takoma Aquatic Center is nice, walking distance to Takoma Park, and an easy drive to downtown Silver Spring. There's an advantage to having kids and being close to, but not actually in, the suburbs. It's also not that bad to get to Brookland, Petworth and back to the Hill if you want to. We live in Petworth; my mom in Takoma DC, and I work on the Hill and go to places all over for the kids. You may be walking a bit less but may have more variety in what you can access, and still be able to be downtown in 20 min if you want to be. There are a lot of cute homes in the area. You could also look in Shepherd Park to be in the Deal/Wilson school districts, but the homes are generally larger/more expensive as you go west. Both areas great places to live. |
Anonymous
| Takoma DC all the way. Inventory is pretty low - but if you can find a nice SFH that's walking distance to metro, downtown TKPK MD and the Takoma Rec Center, your quality of life is pretty good. Lots are generally a decent size, and it's a safe neighborhood. The Takoma rec amenities are great - year round pool with long hours, excellent playground, well maintained tennis courts, community garden. I really wanted to move there but never got lucky enough in charter lottery to allow it (in-bound schools are pretty lousy). My ideal neighborhood is bounded by Piney Branch, Underwood, and 3rd. |
Anonymous
The policy is the policy. People are going to take advantage of it, but it's not against the rules. |