Silver spring is wonderful but PP is right - SS is huge and there are parts that have terrible schools and crime. From DTSS up to Four Corner-ish is fab. The people who live there are younger but many educated families with kids are moving there for 13:01's reasons. Eventually the cost of gas and commuting from 'hip' rockville will bring more people to walkable close in places.

I live in Silver Spring and I love it!
Great School (Go Flora Singer Sea Turtles)
Access to metro
Easy commut to DC
Decent downtown -- shops and restaurants
We're good!

Alexandria was #16, btw.

Ugh, I avoid Rockville like the plague. The quotes around "civilization" seem well placed to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silver Spring is huge! Do the parts with Title 1 schools, high crime, foreclosures, and crappy schools count?

Signed,

Grew up in two different parts of Silver Spring, bought a starter home there and bolted for a safer area with better schools

Im from SS too - you couldn't pay me to move there. The schools are terrible, or bordering horrible. And the high crime. Plus its very far from "civilization" in rockville. no thanks.

I live in Silver Spring and like it. I grew up in Potomac and you could not pay me to move to Potomac. I prefer Silver Spring. And Rockville is civilization? Really, I never think of Rockville as any more or less civilized than other places.

10:43 here. I would think Arlington or Bethesda would be the winner based on those criteria.

Then Wheaton should be up there.

I live in SS and love it. But these rankings are meaningless. I mean, look what they're basing it on.


Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
Live music venues per capita
Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
Fast Food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better)
Percentage of restaurants that are fast food (the lower the better)

These stats are based on youger age, which is going to slant towards the cheaper areas

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silver Spring is huge! Do the parts with Title 1 schools, high crime, foreclosures, and crappy schools count?

Signed,

Grew up in two different parts of Silver Spring, bought a starter home there and bolted for a safer area with better schools

Im from SS too - you couldn't pay me to move there. The schools are terrible, or bordering horrible. And the high crime. Plus its very far from "civilization" in rockville. no thanks.

What.

Anonymous wrote:Silver Spring is huge! Do the parts with Title 1 schools, high crime, foreclosures, and crappy schools count?

Signed,

Grew up in two different parts of Silver Spring, bought a starter home there and bolted for a safer area with better schools

Im from SS too - you couldn't pay me to move there. The schools are terrible, or bordering horrible. And the high crime. Plus its very far from "civilization" in rockville. no thanks.

Anonymous wrote:So it was beaten by Towson. Yeah, that's a useful ranking.

Been to Towson recently? Sure, I would personall put Bethesda ahead of it, but it is a pretty cool place.

Silver Spring is huge! Do the parts with Title 1 schools, high crime, foreclosures, and crappy schools count?

Signed,

Grew up in two different parts of Silver Spring, bought a starter home there and bolted for a safer area with better schools

So it was beaten by Towson. Yeah, that's a useful ranking.

Presented without comment, although I'm sure there will be many:

http://www.movoto.com/blog/top-ten/exciting-suburbs/