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Anonymous wrote:BayAreatoMD wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Greenbelt. Takoma Park. Glen Echo. Frederick.
? traffic would be a nightmare. You would be going with traffic on 270, and 495 would be horrible, too. You could take 200 toll road I suppose.
Someone coming from Cupertino is going to want their neighbors to be smart, quirky, and probably liberal. They are going to appreciate heritage homes. They are used to a certain type of green space. People who work at AstraZeneca in G'burg live in all of these cities. Especially with WFH options.
You don't know Cupertiono. That area is not quirky or have any heritage homes, nor does that area have much green space, for the most part.
-former Sunnyvale/Cupertino resident
Right, a certain company pretty much bought all available land. We do have a decent size backyard and those are hard to find now. I'm looking forward to a change of pace. I'll like to bring the weather with me though.... Thank you!!
Former Bay Area PP here... I would be your BFF if you could bring the great Bay Area weather here LOL I miss it sooo much.
If you want to live near G'burg for work, and you want to avoid the "Cupertino pressure cooker", I would stay away from Wootton cluster. QO cluster is fine, but heavily into sports, but it's supposed to have a great school spirit, though again, mostly around sports.
IMO, RM cluster is a bit more well rounded-- they have IB magnet, and of course lots of AP classes, a good athletic department, a pretty awesome theater department. Of course, with the boundary study things may change, but no one really knows what that change will look like. Bayard Rustin has the Chinese Immersion program; College Garden ES has PYP IB and Julius West MS has MYP (these programs aren't a huge deal, though). RM cluster is one of the most diverse cluster in the county.
From a "things to do" perspective, I think Rio and Kentlands area have more shops/restaurants as there is a lot more new development in that area, but I also find that area really crowded.
Most of Kentland homes do not have large back yards. There are a few that do, but from what I have seen, most do not. You will get larger lot sizes outside of the Kentand area.
I'm sure you know this... but while your water bill will be much lower compared to CA, your heating and electricity bill will be much higher, but your taxes will be lower
Thank you. This is very helpful. You understand where we're coming from..... and AMEN to the TAXES
Anonymous wrote:OP take away from this thread. You will need to do your own home work.
MCPS has plenty of good schools. The fit you are looking for might not exist any where. Parents are intense no matter which schools. We all want the best for our perfect children. LOL...
Focus on your kids and your family needs.
Commute- can be horrible here reverse or not. Pick a radius you are comfortable. Google maps can even tell you at rush hours.
Public schools - quite varied and it depends on what you are looking for. Nothing is perfect, of course some are better than others.
Gaithersburg itself is divided. 355 is kind of a dividing line as is Gaithersburg closer to Germantown and Gaithersburg/North Potomac.
My personal opinion take it for what it's worth. Richard Montgomery Cluster (make sure to check out elementary school ratings, I like Richie Park or College Gardens), Wootton cluster, can have high pressure parents ,but you do you.
Stay away from Crown Farm planned development. Pulte homes there are poorly constructed, and schools not great. There was a shooting their this past week and no one seems to know where the bullets came from?
Clarksburg, Urbana, Frederick all too far and have their own issues.
Poolesville, not a fan, even with the magnet program at the high school. Too many Trump fans for me. Too insular. Yes, I said that. And it's a rough commute to parts of Gaithersburg.
Kentlands is a mixed bag. The community is nice and family oriented. Make sure to have an excellent inspection if buying there. Schools are middle of the road, some people think they are awesome, some opt for private immediately. Walkable to shopping, pools, parks, and lots of kids. No metro.
Very helpful, Thank you! Us Parents can be partial to a fault. I've gleaned a lot of valuable information here and it's gonna help with our search.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Clarksburg is the most diverse neighborhood in the county, and safest. You can get a new construction home for less than 750k.
Here's a nice one and under budget. Not sure why its been on the market for so long.
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Clarksburg/21916-Woodcock-WAY-20871/home/169640942
It's nice inside. I've noticed a lot of SFH homes with garages in the back instead of yards. Thanks!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Greenbelt. Takoma Park. Glen Echo. Frederick.
? traffic would be a nightmare. You would be going with traffic on 270, and 495 would be horrible, too. You could take 200 toll road I suppose.
Someone coming from Cupertino is going to want their neighbors to be smart, quirky, and probably liberal. They are going to appreciate heritage homes. They are used to a certain type of green space. People who work at AstraZeneca in G'burg live in all of these cities. Especially with WFH options.
You don't know Cupertiono. That area is not quirky or have any heritage homes, nor does that area have much green space, for the most part.
-former Sunnyvale/Cupertino resident
Right, a certain company pretty much bought all available land
. We do have a decent size backyard and those are hard to find now. I'm looking forward to a change of pace. I'll like to bring the weather with me though.... Thank you!!
Anonymous wrote:OP, I used to live in the Bay Area, both in SV area and on the Peninsula. Do you have school aged children? What are you looking for?
Have you visited this area? You can so much more for your money here than in Cupertino, even in the pricier Potomac.
There are some differences between G'burg and Rockville, and even with Rockville, there is the City of Rockville (incorporated with Rockville city services) and the non incorporated parts of Rockville (they don't get Rockville city services).
Then there is N. Potomac and Potomac.
What are you looking for? what's important to you?
One thing I like about this area is the amount of green space. Food diversity is awesome except for good Mexican food.
Hey,,, Kids are in 1st and 3rd grade. School and Family friendly neighborhood are most important. I'll prefer a school/area that encourages a well-rounded approach to learning over hyper competitiveness like we have in these parts.
Anonymous wrote:Consider neighborhoods near Rockville town center. Suburban but nice to be able to walk to metro, movies, restaurants. And you'd have a short reverse commute to Gaithersburg.
For example:
https://www.redfin.com/MD/Rockville/7-W-Argyle-St-20850/home/10514202
Looked it up. I like the neighborhood. Thank you!
Took a job in Gaithersburg. We're moving from Cupertino CA and looking to buy SFH. We have 2 kids in elementary school so desired neighborhood will be safe, good public school, diverse, suburban(close to urban center) and not more than 30min commute. My spouse works from home. We're thinking not more than $750k. We've read good things about Kentlands, North Potomac and Rockville. Your recommendations are greatly appreciated.