Middle class African American DCUMers, where are you living?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I live in PG and absolutely love it (NT kid is in a public magnet), but have to advise against it if your child has an IEP and and autism diagnosis.

I do have a couple of dear friends in Howard County who have great things to say about the schools there.

Grew up in PG and would absolutely not recommend it. Terrible schools for one. Secondly, it's not very diverse unless you consider mostly AA with a sprinkling of low income whites and a small filipino enclave as diverse.

Howard County is NOT diverse. It has just as many white people as PG County has black people. Living in a mostly white county does not make it diverse. Also I think Howard County is to far from Bethesda. It's a bit country also but some people like that.

Hey, hey. I'm AA from Howard County. Columbia is VERY diverse. Western Howard County (where I'm from) is not as diverse, but you would be surprised at how diverse it has become.

So which areas in Howard County would you recommend? Columbia, but anywhere else?

I'd recommend Fulton, North Laurel, Columbia. Ellicott City is great but the commute down to Bethesda would be long. Fulton/Maple Lawn is also walking distance to Cedar Lane, which is an education center in Howard County. I live in Maple Lawn and it's diverse. You can check the stats for the local schools- Reservoir, Lime Kiln and Fulton.

[Anonymous]

Another shout out for downtown Silver Spring (20910). My street alone has at least 2 gay couples and at least 2 multi-racial families (ours included). What PP says about the farmer's market in downtown SS is very true-- you'll see people of all stripes.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I live in PG and absolutely love it (NT kid is in a public magnet), but have to advise against it if your child has an IEP and and autism diagnosis.

I do have a couple of dear friends in Howard County who have great things to say about the schools there.

Grew up in PG and would absolutely not recommend it. Terrible schools for one. Secondly, it's not very diverse unless you consider mostly AA with a sprinkling of low income whites and a small filipino enclave as diverse.

Howard County is NOT diverse. It has just as many white people as PG County has black people. Living in a mostly white county does not make it diverse. Also I think Howard County is to far from Bethesda. It's a bit country also but some people like that.

Hey, hey. I'm AA from Howard County. Columbia is VERY diverse. Western Howard County (where I'm from) is not as diverse, but you would be surprised at how diverse it has become.

So which areas in Howard County would you recommend? Columbia, but anywhere else?

I'd recommend Fulton, North Laurel, Columbia. Ellicott City is great but the commute down to Bethesda would be long. Fulton/Maple Lawn is also walking distance to Cedar Lane, which is an education center in Howard County. I live in Maple Lawn and it's diverse. You can check the stats for the local schools- Reservoir, Lime Kiln and Fulton.

I also live in the Fulton school district, although not in Maple Lawn. 1980's and 1990's SF homes with 3-5 BRs & yards (unlike Maple Lawn) for $400s and up. Area is walkable, with friendly, diverse neighborhoods. Ours is a mix of Caucasian, AA, Indian. Korean, Pakistani, transratial/mixed, and a few Eastern European folks. International night at the school is amazing! Cedar Lane is, I thought, a school for special needs kids although there are kids with varying needs sprinkled throughout the regular schools. Commute is approx. 45 minutes down 29 or 95 and faster off-peak. FYI, Laurel exists three ways in three counties: Howard, Anne Arundel, and Prince George's -- and the mix and housing stock and schools and overall feel is very different in each area. Howard County Laurel is very much like Columbia without HOA restrictions.

[Anonymous]

Good snapshot of school info, diversity, etc. -

http://www.hcpss.org/f/schools/profiles/prof_hs_reservoir.pdf

Also check out the link for Cedar Lane:

http://cls.hcpss.org/about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20853, not sure how the HS fits your needs, but the other criteria are decently matched.

20853= Rockville HS which has a very good autism program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I live in PG and absolutely love it (NT kid is in a public magnet), but have to advise against it if your child has an IEP and and autism diagnosis.

I do have a couple of dear friends in Howard County who have great things to say about the schools there.

Grew up in PG and would absolutely not recommend it. Terrible schools for one. Secondly, it's not very diverse unless you consider mostly AA with a sprinkling of low income whites and a small filipino enclave as diverse.

Howard County is NOT diverse. It has just as many white people as PG County has black people. Living in a mostly white county does not make it diverse. Also I think Howard County is to far from Bethesda. It's a bit country also but some people like that.

Hey, hey. I'm AA from Howard County. Columbia is VERY diverse. Western Howard County (where I'm from) is not as diverse, but you would be surprised at how diverse it has become.

So which areas in Howard County would you recommend? Columbia, but anywhere else?

I'd recommend Fulton, North Laurel, Columbia. Ellicott City is great but the commute down to Bethesda would be long. Fulton/Maple Lawn is also walking distance to Cedar Lane, which is an education center in Howard County. I live in Maple Lawn and it's diverse. You can check the stats for the local schools- Reservoir, Lime Kiln and Fulton.

Be careful where you pick in North Laurel. It has one of the highest crime rates in the County. Whiskey Bottom in particular. Parts of Highridge. Anything out near Route 1. I'm not saying you can't find a good neighborhood, just be cautious. I am not trying to dog the place, but I grew up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I live in PG and absolutely love it (NT kid is in a public magnet), but have to advise against it if your child has an IEP and and autism diagnosis.

I do have a couple of dear friends in Howard County who have great things to say about the schools there.

Grew up in PG and would absolutely not recommend it. Terrible schools for one. Secondly, it's not very diverse unless you consider mostly AA with a sprinkling of low income whites and a small filipino enclave as diverse.

Howard County is NOT diverse. It has just as many white people as PG County has black people. Living in a mostly white county does not make it diverse. Also I think Howard County is to far from Bethesda. It's a bit country also but some people like that.

Hey, hey. I'm AA from Howard County. Columbia is VERY diverse. Western Howard County (where I'm from) is not as diverse, but you would be surprised at how diverse it has become.

So which areas in Howard County would you recommend? Columbia, but anywhere else?

If you are looking for diversity, Columbia or Ellicott City. The western parts of the county are still VERY WHITE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only my husband will be commuting to Bethesda (Walter Reed). He will be working long and odd hours, so he actually doesn't mind a long-ish commute because he won't be driving during peak times. In general, we aren't scared of driving and a 45 minute commute is normal where we're from and what we're used to.

Montgomery County would be nice, and we've had a positive experience with the school district in the past.

To the PP who mentioned TP, thanks! We're looking there, but inventory seems really scarce and some of the neighborhoods are out of price range, but we haven't ruled it out.

PP @ 10:09, can you tell me a little about Ward 4? We would actually love to live in DC proper, but we're just uncertain about the special ed services.

10:09. We live in Shepherd Park, which is very diverse, good schools, LGBT-friendly, and a quick commute to WR, but homes here typically start around 800K. The ones that start for <650K usually need significant work. There are Ward 4 neighborhoods nearby in your price range--Takoma, Brightwood--however, these areas are zoned for less desirable high schools, which is why I wouldn't necessarily recommend DC in general given your criteria.

If your husband works off-hours, some areas of Takoma Park may be doable. My coworker drives from TP to near WR and it only takes him ~25 minutes--but he leaves early in the am.

In general, Rockville, Silver Spring, and Takoma Park might be the best areas to target given your budget and needs. You also may want to post in the special needs forum re: best areas of MoCo for SN services.

Good luck!

+1 FWIW I am white, OP, but lived in Brightwood and know from talking to my AA neighbors that they were not generally thrilled with the schools for either bright, high-achieving kids or for those with special needs. The schools pretty much cater to the average kid. The area is diversifying but I would say there is still a bit of wariness amongst folks - I found that people tended to stick to themselves. We lucked out with GREAT neighbors on our street who welcomed us with open arms, but I found it was a bit hard to get to know people in general (and honestly, the other white people were the absolute worst about this). Folks were friendly enough - i.e. saying hello when you passed - but didn't display a great willingness to get to know you all that well. I think that will change over time and overall, it was a great, affordable neighborhood with a solid group of longtime residents who anchor the whole place. Silver Spring is similar in housing price points but may serve you better for schools. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Wish I could respond to every poster who helped us, but thanks for doing so! You've made our house hunt so much easier. We're flying to the area this week and have successfully narrowed down our points of interest to SS, TP, Gaithersburg, and Fulton. We'll make the drive from Ellicott City and Frederick just to see how awful/not awful they are, but it seems like Silver Spring is the most ideal area for us on *paper*.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're an AA family and live in McLean. It's not terribly diverse in terms of AAs, but there are a lot of international folks, Asians, some LGBT (at least in our neighborhood). Schools are fantastic (FFX Co has some of the best in the country), and the commute to Bethesda is pretty easy. Not walkable though, which I don't like. The budget may not fit unless you're willing to look at townhouses?

We actually prefer townhouses. We've always lived in them and we are most comfortable in that environment. But still in McLean, someone would have to sell a few organs to afford a townhouse there.

I should also mention that despite having a college aged kid, we are both pretty young and active still (37) and want to live in a neighborhood with young, active people.

I've read and posted at the Special Needs forum, but there aren't many parents who can relate to our experience (as is the case for most families with special needs kids), as our kid is on the moderate to severe part of the spectrum. But in general, it seems going the DC public school with hopes of getting them to pay for private school route is not recommended, and apparently DC is cracking down on that.

We also considered Frederick, but even though my husband will be commuting in the wee hours of the morning, I'm really not okay with saddling him with that kind of commute. And I'm not sure of the diversity there either, although it seemed like a pleasant place to visit when we lived in Damascus.

I'm confused. Why would you skip over Clarksburg from Damascus and go to Frederick? Clarksburg is diverse and is right off the 270. It is not isolated like Damascus because it is all newer developments and are spaced close together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're an AA family and live in McLean. It's not terribly diverse in terms of AAs, but there are a lot of international folks, Asians, some LGBT (at least in our neighborhood). Schools are fantastic (FFX Co has some of the best in the country), and the commute to Bethesda is pretty easy. Not walkable though, which I don't like. The budget may not fit unless you're willing to look at townhouses?

We actually prefer townhouses. We've always lived in them and we are most comfortable in that environment. But still in McLean, someone would have to sell a few organs to afford a townhouse there.

I should also mention that despite having a college aged kid, we are both pretty young and active still (37) and want to live in a neighborhood with young, active people.

I've read and posted at the Special Needs forum, but there aren't many parents who can relate to our experience (as is the case for most families with special needs kids), as our kid is on the moderate to severe part of the spectrum. But in general, it seems going the DC public school with hopes of getting them to pay for private school route is not recommended, and apparently DC is cracking down on that.

We also considered Frederick, but even though my husband will be commuting in the wee hours of the morning, I'm really not okay with saddling him with that kind of commute. And I'm not sure of the diversity there either, although it seemed like a pleasant place to visit when we lived in Damascus.

I'm confused. Why would you skip over Clarksburg from Damascus and go to Frederick? Clarksburg is diverse and is right off the 270. It is not isolated like Damascus because it is all newer developments and are spaced close together.

I genuinely like Frederick and all that it has to offer. It has a real town and community feel, restaurants, theaters, shopping, grocery stores, etc., while Clarksburg just feels like nothing but a huge cluster of homes without much to offer by way of lifestyle and community. Haven't ruled Clarksburg out, but it's just not a neighborhood I would be excited to live in. Plus, it seems a little pricey for what is offered.

[Anonymous]

MCPS would be a good fit. And anywhere in MoCo wouldn't be a horrible commute. I would look at Rockville neighborhoods.

Check out MCNeeds yahoo group for information on school programs to ask about in addition to things like the ARC, Lollipop kids, that may be good for activities and support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only my husband will be commuting to Bethesda (Walter Reed). He will be working long and odd hours, so he actually doesn't mind a long-ish commute because he won't be driving during peak times. In general, we aren't scared of driving and a 45 minute commute is normal where we're from and what we're used to.

Montgomery County would be nice, and we've had a positive experience with the school district in the past.

To the PP who mentioned TP, thanks! We're looking there, but inventory seems really scarce and some of the neighborhoods are out of price range, but we haven't ruled it out.

PP @ 10:09, can you tell me a little about Ward 4? We would actually love to live in DC proper, but we're just uncertain about the special ed services.

Look for houses in the neighborhood off of East-West Highway in between Grubb Road and Beach Drive. Also look at the neighborhood just past E.West Highway and Beach Drive going north. You'll be 20 minutes from Walter Reed.

[Anonymous]

If you can go as high as 610k here is your house in Chevy Chase off East West Highway, 20 minutes drive from Walter Reed and walking distance to a very convenient bus:

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Chevy-Chase/8510-Grubb-Rd-20815/home/10999882

[Anonymous]

Seriously your price range does not exist in DC proper. Do not consider anything any further out than Silver Spring or Chevy Chase. Commuting ruins your life in the DC area. It is brutal.