Anonymous wrote:PG County's Finest:

http://patch.com/maryland/bowie/pg-county-man-arrested-torture-murders-dc-family-0

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PG County's Finest:

http://patch.com/maryland/bowie/pg-county-man-arrested-torture-murders-dc-family-0

Right...because crime and criminals don't happen in other places...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PG County's Finest:

http://patch.com/maryland/bowie/pg-county-man-arrested-torture-murders-dc-family-0

Right...because crime and criminals don't happen in other places...

Great retort, bro!

For example, crime rates in Nigeria are clearly worse:
https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=13917

"Pirates attacks in the Gulf of Guinea have increased in recent years. Armed gangs boarded both commercial and private vessels to rob travelers. The navy has limited capacity to respond to criminal acts at sea."

and

"Driving is a major safety concern. Although traffic laws exist, enforcement remains almost non-existent."

Anonymous wrote:Well i live in PG county and although i am not happy with the school choices i am able to either afford private or apply for the lottery. I have to travel to expose my child to things however, i do not mind. I am able to afford a comfortable lifestyle, a great yard and i have people of all cultures come by to visit and they are not afraid to visit. I also have a friend that just came to the states and she wish she could afford a home in pg county, compared to her living standards in another country. Do i want better yes. However, working in the city with children who are less fortunate than i. I am not complaining. For those who are able to move and live in another area and not live check to check i am happy for you. For those who cannot do not follow others on the forum appreicate what you have and expose your children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my home in PG looking over a lake and some neighbors playing golf now. Looking forward to our gorgeous community pool opening in a couple months. Love that my family has plenty of room to live and entertain and that we are not paying a huge mortgage so we can afford to send DD to an excellent private school. So, no, not sick of anything.

Yeah I remember feeling that way too, until my $1M house (Oak Creek) sunk in value to $400K. And there are still short sales on my block for $500K. We are next in line to dump our place. We are burning money my staying and its not worth it to painfully commute to the good private schools in DC. Our PG dream has died. Over it. For sale. Goodbye.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my home in PG looking over a lake and some neighbors playing golf now. Looking forward to our gorgeous community pool opening in a couple months. Love that my family has plenty of room to live and entertain and that we are not paying a huge mortgage so we can afford to send DD to an excellent private school. So, no, not sick of anything.

Yeah I remember feeling that way too, until my $1M house (Oak Creek) sunk in value to $400K. And there are still short sales on my block for $500K. We are next in line to dump our place. We are burning money my staying and its not worth it to painfully commute to the good private schools in DC. Our PG dream has died. Over it. For sale. Goodbye.

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I don't get it. I grew up in PG, Landover, Palmer Park and Riverdale mostly. I remember marveling at Bowie and Greenbelt and other areas and generally finding places like Bladensburg and Capital Heights to be a little ghetto, but we shopped where we needed and even hung out at Iverson Mall regularly (it was the perfect teen hangout in the 90s). There are beautiful parks everywhere, where we had our pick to picnic and have family reunions and kickball competitions. Our churches were excellent and we did a lot of community stuff at Seat Pleasant Community Center, the Bladensburg Public Playhouse, it wasn't nearly as bad as people make it seem. Not perfect, there was crime lurking in certain places but if you were a decent family with nerdy /churchy kids, no one was bothering you. We were out and about all the time and as teenagers, my sisters and I caught the Metro everywhere and were safe because we had street sense (had to be back before dinner of course).

All that said, I saw Oak Creek and remember when it was first being built. I also saw Woodmore and now Fairwood (which is nicely landscaped and designed much better). But Oak Creek in comparison was literally mansions in the middle of nowhere. Even me with a working class background knew that it was a complete mistake to buy out there. There are NO neighborhood amenities. Everywhere is a minimum 5 mile drive away from you, even fast food. Its just a bunch of UMC people staring at themselves inside huge, lofty houses with shiny appliances, and baby trees in the backyard that makes the place look desolate. Hubby and I recently came back to the county to tour the area, and it STILL looks like that. Why on earth would anyone buy a McMansion to be surrounded in nothingness?

This happens all the time and then the buyer gets pissed after a few years because their house value decreased and then they call foul. But why did you sink all of your money into a house without considering the surrounding area/neighborhood? No one wants to move to the boondocks just to have a big house anymore--I'd much prefer Landover Hills over Oak Creek!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my home in PG looking over a lake and some neighbors playing golf now. Looking forward to our gorgeous community pool opening in a couple months. Love that my family has plenty of room to live and entertain and that we are not paying a huge mortgage so we can afford to send DD to an excellent private school. So, no, not sick of anything.

Yeah I remember feeling that way too, until my $1M house (Oak Creek) sunk in value to $400K. And there are still short sales on my block for $500K. We are next in line to dump our place. We are burning money my staying and its not worth it to painfully commute to the good private schools in DC. Our PG dream has died. Over it. For sale. Goodbye.

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I don't get it. I grew up in PG, Landover, Palmer Park and Riverdale mostly. I remember marveling at Bowie and Greenbelt and other areas and generally finding places like Bladensburg and Capital Heights to be a little ghetto, but we shopped where we needed and even hung out at Iverson Mall regularly (it was the perfect teen hangout in the 90s). There are beautiful parks everywhere, where we had our pick to picnic and have family reunions and kickball competitions. Our churches were excellent and we did a lot of community stuff at Seat Pleasant Community Center, the Bladensburg Public Playhouse, it wasn't nearly as bad as people make it seem. Not perfect, there was crime lurking in certain places but if you were a decent family with nerdy /churchy kids, no one was bothering you. We were out and about all the time and as teenagers, my sisters and I caught the Metro everywhere and were safe because we had street sense (had to be back before dinner of course).

All that said, I saw Oak Creek and remember when it was first being built. I also saw Woodmore and now Fairwood (which is nicely landscaped and designed much better). But Oak Creek in comparison was literally mansions in the middle of nowhere. Even me with a working class background knew that it was a complete mistake to buy out there. There are NO neighborhood amenities. Everywhere is a minimum 5 mile drive away from you, even fast food. Its just a bunch of UMC people staring at themselves inside huge, lofty houses with shiny appliances, and baby trees in the backyard that makes the place look desolate. Hubby and I recently came back to the county to tour the area, and it STILL looks like that. Why on earth would anyone buy a McMansion to be surrounded in nothingness?

This happens all the time and then the buyer gets pissed after a few years because their house value decreased and then they call foul. But why did you sink all of your money into a house without considering the surrounding area/neighborhood? No one wants to move to the boondocks just to have a big house anymore--I'd much prefer Landover Hills over Oak Creek!

I live in Upper Marlboro and bought my house in 2008 for 330k and it’s now worth $490k so I’m not sure where you’re getting your data. I’ll definitely pass on Landover!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my home in PG looking over a lake and some neighbors playing golf now. Looking forward to our gorgeous community pool opening in a couple months. Love that my family has plenty of room to live and entertain and that we are not paying a huge mortgage so we can afford to send DD to an excellent private school. So, no, not sick of anything.

Yeah I remember feeling that way too, until my $1M house (Oak Creek) sunk in value to $400K. And there are still short sales on my block for $500K. We are next in line to dump our place. We are burning money my staying and its not worth it to painfully commute to the good private schools in DC. Our PG dream has died. Over it. For sale. Goodbye.

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I don't get it. I grew up in PG, Landover, Palmer Park and Riverdale mostly. I remember marveling at Bowie and Greenbelt and other areas and generally finding places like Bladensburg and Capital Heights to be a little ghetto, but we shopped where we needed and even hung out at Iverson Mall regularly (it was the perfect teen hangout in the 90s). There are beautiful parks everywhere, where we had our pick to picnic and have family reunions and kickball competitions. Our churches were excellent and we did a lot of community stuff at Seat Pleasant Community Center, the Bladensburg Public Playhouse, it wasn't nearly as bad as people make it seem. Not perfect, there was crime lurking in certain places but if you were a decent family with nerdy /churchy kids, no one was bothering you. We were out and about all the time and as teenagers, my sisters and I caught the Metro everywhere and were safe because we had street sense (had to be back before dinner of course).

All that said, I saw Oak Creek and remember when it was first being built. I also saw Woodmore and now Fairwood (which is nicely landscaped and designed much better). But Oak Creek in comparison was literally mansions in the middle of nowhere. Even me with a working class background knew that it was a complete mistake to buy out there. There are NO neighborhood amenities. Everywhere is a minimum 5 mile drive away from you, even fast food. Its just a bunch of UMC people staring at themselves inside huge, lofty houses with shiny appliances, and baby trees in the backyard that makes the place look desolate. Hubby and I recently came back to the county to tour the area, and it STILL looks like that. Why on earth would anyone buy a McMansion to be surrounded in nothingness?

This happens all the time and then the buyer gets pissed after a few years because their house value decreased and then they call foul. But why did you sink all of your money into a house without considering the surrounding area/neighborhood? No one wants to move to the boondocks just to have a big house anymore--I'd much prefer Landover Hills over Oak Creek!

I live in Upper Marlboro and bought my house in 2008 for 330k and it’s now worth $490k so I’m not sure where you’re getting your data. I’ll definitely pass on Landover!

My data? Right here in this thread!

I was responding to someone who claimed that they paid 1M for their Oak Creek home that sank in value more than 50 percent. If that is the case, Oak Creek development is not doing what they are supposed to do to keep those housing prices up. Like, do they at least have an HOA?

Of course Landover isn't the best place (that was the point of the comparison), but I'd rather be there than in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. I shouldn't have to burn $10 in gas and 30 minutes of commuting time just to eat out at a decent restaurant with the fam.

Right down the street from Oak Creek is an excellent brand new public library (South Bowie I think), and that is literally all they have going for them. Still it is not easy to get to. It should've been walking distance to that community, along with a coffee shop and a few small businesses, community center, with a nice playground, etc. That's what middle class families are looking for. Single professionals/couples with money just go to DC or some other urban center.

Have you seen King Farm in Gaithersburg? That's the place to model after.