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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is OP. I appreciate all of the input. Only folks who know both Silver Spring and Arlington will be able to answer this but is Silver Spring thought of as “similar” (in demographics and school quality) to south Arlington and Bethesda/Chevy Chase is thought of as similar to North Arlington (whiter, wealthier, schools with higher Great Schools ratings)?

The schools matter to me A LOT, and as much as I’m skeptical of the Great Schools ratings, it’s all I have to go on. They are generally good for Silver Spring. Montgomery Blair and James Hubert Blake are both 6s. Einstein is a 5.[/quote]

I live in Arlington, but [b]I grew up in Kensington.[/b] I don't think that South Arlington and Silver Spring are really that comparable. I think that BCC is similar to W&L. I would not send my child to BCC (my brother went there and it was a joke), and I wouldn't be thrilled to send my child to W&L. I would not send my child to Blair or Einstein or any high school in Silver Spring. There is just too much gang activity in SS for me to be comfortable with. It's pretty much impossible to get a SFH in S. Arlington for under $500k now, and there are plenty of places over $1m. [/quote]

Which part of Kensington?  Also, if you grew up there and are over, say 35, you know damn well Silver Spring has changed a *lot* since your youth (and mine, on the mean streets of Bethesda).  This whole area has.  Frankly, you sound like one of the many snobs I know who live in Kensington and recoil in horror at being so close to SS.  It's pretty unpleasant.

OP, we live in SS now, zoned for one of the elementariness mentioned here, and really love it.  DH lived in Arlington while we were dating before we moved, and I think your comparison is not far off.  Bethesda to me feels more organic than super-planned Clarendon, which always felt like EPCOT or something.  DTSS is different than either--and honestly reminds me of what downtown Bethesda was when I grew up in the 70s and 80s.

As for schools, GS ratings aren't all you have to go on: find parents whose kids attend the schools and ask them.  For example, my kid has never had more than 16 kids in his class.  He was reading at a third grade level by the end of K.  Parents I know are friendly, down to earth, and diverse in many ways: race, ethnicity, occupations.  There are a good number of Feds here, and more than a few with doctoral degrees.  Point being: it's not the wasteland PPs who have no clue what it's like claim it is.  I have zero interest in my kids attending a school in which the vast majority are highly privileged.  It's not real life and it's not good for our society to pretend that it is.  I'm confident my kids are getting a good education where we are, and also that DH and I can build on what they learn in school to enrich them in whatever areas they want and/or need enriching.[/quote]

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