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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My commute will be so much better, and I can get more house for the money. So Silver Spring, College Park, or Hyattsville? I like the idea of a college town (I went to UVA and loved Charlottesville) but I have no idea if College Park is like Cville. I want family friendly and safe. [/quote]

Hi OP.  I've lived in Cville.  I now live in University Park and commute to NoMa (or did before COVID).

Personally, I think College Park is somewhat like Cville, but without rich frat boys in Vineyard Vines.  All the folks are on here pretending that Cville is some kind of eden obviously haven't spent much time there or they simply choose to see only the portion that boat shoes travel.  Sure, there are nice restaurants and overpriced shops, but plenty of rundown homes and not so nice areas.  In fact, at least one data set has College Park as significantly safer. https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/va/charlottesville/crime  Of course, some of these posters attended UMD 25 years ago or are aware that College Park is in Prince George's County, either of which tell them all they need to know.

The Rte 1 corridor has been on a boom lately and the University is actively working to make the area into a more desirable place to live with a stronger college-town feel.  For the quirky college shops see: Board&Brew, Vigilante Coffee, Green Owl Design, and Franklins.  The area doesn't really offer many upscale dining options, but there is plenty of good food: Northwest Chinese, Shagga Coffee, Taqueria Habanero, 250 BBQ, and Banana Blossom Bistro are all good examples.  3 new grocery stores (Lidl, Safeway, Whole Foods)  have opened in last 5 years within a mile of UP and a fourth is undergoing a major renovation (Aldi).  It's not like grocery stores are some grand amenity, but I think it does help show that there is a good bit of development aimed at making the area more livable in College Park, Riverdale, UP, Hyattsville.

Of those four neighborhoods:

UP- Its a little suburban bedroom community.  Its all SFH, except is a school, two churches, and town hall.  Lots of trees and a greenspace/walking trail connects most of the town which is pretty tiny.  Strangers talk to you; packs of semi-feral kids roam streets when there isn't a pandemic.  Lots of young families. Feds and Professors mostly.  Housing stock is mostly 1920-1960s;  lots of houses are small for a SFH (1000 to 1400 sqft).  The low-end he is about $375k for one of the smaller ranches (generally 3b/1b).  High-end homes in the area are still cheap compared to the DMV more generally this went for $674k- https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4328-Clagett-Rd-University-Park-MD-20782/37545345_zpid/

Riverdale- I know the least about this area, but it seems like probably best area for appreciation.  It's sandwiched between the "Arts District" of Hyattsiville to the South and College Park to the North.  There is a MARC train into Union Station, but I don't know much about it.  Seems like the town center has had a new wave of shops open.  Town Center Market, Yoga place, Banana Blossom Bistro (Vietnamese cuisine), Riviera Tapas Bar.  Plus, a farmer's market on Thrusday.

College Park- CP is actually much bigger than the intersection of Rte. 1 and Knox Ave.  Calvert Hills is a lot like UP.  Berwyn Heights is more traditionally driving oriented suburb, but with easy access to Lake Artemisa.  On the whole, College Park is mostly fine unless you object to the idea of living next to someone who works as a plumber or painter.

Hyattsville- Has some larger, older homes with more interesting architecture.  If you are north or west of Queens Chapel, it's mostly tract housing.  The is a pretty small, walkable town center area with some shops Arrow biycyle, sangfroid distilling, and my dead aunt's books.  Plus, some chain restaruants like elevation burger, bus boys & poets, Chipolte, and Spice 6 Indian Cafe.

As far as downsides go, the metro stations in this area were poorly planned and the subsequent development has done little to fix the problem.  The area is somewhat walkable and probably very bikeable (I don't ride), but it is not really comparable to living in a city if that is what you want.  I can walk to the metro, grocery store, library, movie theater, mall, and perhaps a dozen restaurants, which I think is pretty good but your mileage may vary.  That's probably more than most folks in the Rte 1 corridor, but most can get to some things by walking.  Schools can be a bit more of a challenge.  My kid is very young, but parents here seem to like the local elementary UPES. Middle school and high school are bigger question marks.  For the high achieving set, Eleanor Roosevelt has a good, but competitive magnet program. Many parents also seem to like the local Catholic schools St. Jerome's and DeMatha.

Before COVID, my commute took 30-35 minutes.  (14 min walk about 1 mile to the metro , 16 minutes turnstile to turnstile, perhaps 1-2 minutes to get to my building at NoMa.)  Driving and parking at the PG Plaza metro was easy, but with stop lights it didn't save that much time for me.  Still, it is a nice option for days when weather is problematic or if you have other plans after work.

While you have managed to stir up the VA vs. MD debate, [b]most people aren't really deciding between College Park and McLean, because one is twice as expensive as the other. [/b] If you can afford $1M+ and choose to live in the Rte. 1 corridor, then you are going to have a significant number of people around you that don't make as much money as you do.  If that's a problem for you, then you probably do want to check out other places.

But at half that price, you have a few choices: 1) being poor in more expensive real estate (renting/townhouse); 2) moving further from the city (NOMA isn't far from Union Station for VRE/MARC/AMTRAK); 3) buying in the less expensive close in areas.

College Park/Hyattsville will get you much closer to DC than the places you can afford in Fairfax, Annadale, or Burke.  The area around Forest Glenn is a similar commute, but the neighborhood is much more suburban with fewer side walks and less to walk to immediately, but with a short drive you can be in Bethesda or Silver Spring.  The great schools numbers for the schools are higher, but you'll still have plenty of people here tut-tutting the fact that you let your kid go to Einstein or Blair.  I haven't lived in the area, but it was an area we considered and I don't think it would be a terrible choice.

tl;dr: yes, there are areas that are family friendly and safe in College Park and Hyattsville.[/quote]

Haven't read the whole thread, so not sure why these comparisons are being made, but a SFH on average is going to be about 1/3 the cost of one in McLean, not 1/2.

Good luck, OP.  Let's hope the shorter commute to NoMa actually matters at some point again in the future. [/quote]

^ a SFH on average in College Park...[/quote]

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