Why is Bethesda so expensive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the safe, human-sized, walkable, leafy, sidewalked, small town neighborhoods with reputable public schools close to DC are expensive.

I lived in downtown Silver Spring, and moved close to downtown Bethesda for the schools and the better quality of life as a pedestrian. Downtown Silver Spring does not have that small town feel, and it is unsafe in the evening (and sometimes during the day). As a pedestrian, it's much more pleasant to walk in downtown Bethesda than downtown Silver Spring (there are more street crossings, the shops/restaurants are closer together and the buildings mostly aren't as tall). I've personally witnessed multiple fights in the pedestrian alley in Silver Spring, none in Bethesda.

- multiethnic foreigner, living on a Bethesda street full of people from all over the world.

Don’t let your guard down. Things happen in Bethesda, too.

Pp you replied to. Yes, I stay on top of the news, because my kids are teens and out and about. But statistically, there is no comparison between the two downtowns.

And to the person laughing that there might be diversity in Bethesda, maybe they're forgetting that foreigners can be white but still provide plenty of diversity. I can tell you what I'm living - that there are more foreigners living next to me than there ever were when I lived in Silver Spring. BCC high school has a significant percentage of international students. There are World Bank families and NIH families. My kids go to the French weekend school at St Jane de Chantal, just 5 minutes away. There is a Spanish weekend school right across the street. There is a community of Japanese families in the luxury downtown apartments (because most of the mothers don't drive), and a Japanese weekend school not far away. As another PP said, the international feel is one of the things I really like about this little place.

+1. I'm a 20-year resident of Bethesda, and it is fun to meet World Bank and IMF neighbors from around the world. We've had neighbors from Germany, France, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, etc.

Also, I like that people in Bethesda tend to maintain their houses in a nice way and are courteous to their neighbors. It seems like a very well-educated community of people who behave nicely.

+1. Non-trashy people.

[Anonymous]

Competent governance, at both the county and state level. But without any overbearing city governance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the safe, human-sized, walkable, leafy, sidewalked, small town neighborhoods with reputable public schools close to DC are expensive.

I lived in downtown Silver Spring, and moved close to downtown Bethesda for the schools and the better quality of life as a pedestrian. Downtown Silver Spring does not have that small town feel, and it is unsafe in the evening (and sometimes during the day). As a pedestrian, it's much more pleasant to walk in downtown Bethesda than downtown Silver Spring (there are more street crossings, the shops/restaurants are closer together and the buildings mostly aren't as tall). I've personally witnessed multiple fights in the pedestrian alley in Silver Spring, none in Bethesda.

- multiethnic foreigner, living on a Bethesda street full of people from all over the world.

Don’t let your guard down. Things happen in Bethesda, too.

Pp you replied to. Yes, I stay on top of the news, because my kids are teens and out and about. But statistically, there is no comparison between the two downtowns.

And to the person laughing that there might be diversity in Bethesda, maybe they're forgetting that foreigners can be white but still provide plenty of diversity. I can tell you what I'm living - that there are more foreigners living next to me than there ever were when I lived in Silver Spring. BCC high school has a significant percentage of international students. There are World Bank families and NIH families. My kids go to the French weekend school at St Jane de Chantal, just 5 minutes away. There is a Spanish weekend school right across the street. There is a community of Japanese families in the luxury downtown apartments (because most of the mothers don't drive), and a Japanese weekend school not far away. As another PP said, the international feel is one of the things I really like about this little place.

+1. I'm a 20-year resident of Bethesda, and it is fun to meet World Bank and IMF neighbors from around the world. We've had neighbors from Germany, France, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, etc.

Also, I like that people in Bethesda tend to maintain their houses in a nice way and are courteous to their neighbors. It seems like a very well-educated community of people who behave nicely.

+1. Non-trashy people.

Yes, we love our neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived in downtown Bethesda and found it annoying. I did see attraction.

Few reasons. Metro closes early in DC so if I did go to DC at night I ended up expensive Uber back.

Now many practical stores. No cheap take out. No good bars or late night places.

The huge busy roads made it hard to walk.

Metro closes at 1am on weekends. Not ideal compared to when they used to close at 3am, but if you're going out all the time for nightlife, move to DC.

As for cheap take-out, just on the block of Wisconsin by Woodmont, there's Moby Dick, and Don Pollo. Then plenty more in "old" Bethesda.

Hey, don’t forget to mention Manny & Olga’s!