Thanks all! I have looked into Cheverly/Lanham a little bit since it is near orange line metro and also close to the MARC Penn line, but it looks like you likely have to go to Hyattsville for day care (not great if you're doing public transit every day) and the schools are not very good. I haven't looked into day cares in Greenbelt much yet, maybe same problem?

A friend who's a teacher in PGCPS recommended Greenbelt and Bowie for schools, but Bowie looks too far out and spread out. We can only afford suburban life but there are different kinds of suburbs, having to buy a second car is kind of our stubborn line in the sand.

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC but love Greenbelt. We have considered moving many times. However, our friends with kids in Greenbelt go to private schools. The MS/HS options are poor unless your kid gets into magnet. You can’t pin your hopes on your kid magically getting into a magnet.

ERHS is a solid high school, even the non-magnet programs. I know many people who send their kids there.

I’ve heard mixed reviews of the middle school but no first hand experience.

I like Old Greenbelt a lot and we seriously considered moving there. We ended up in Cheverly because it’s on the Orange line. It’s within your budget but inbounds MS and HS suck. I don’t know anyone in town who send their kids to them but many families navigate the magnet programs successfully.

The only non-magnet MS/HS pyramids I would consider for my kids are Tasker or Ogle to Bowie High or Greenbelt Middle to ERHS. Frankly, the other high schools non-Magnet programs are 95-100% non-white and I can’t put my white kids in that social situation in the older grades. It has been ok in ES so far but they are having some social problems in upper elementary.

We lived in greenbelt for a few years and loved it. Thought it was the bees knees before moving to Arlington lol. Not all places in gb are created equal, but there are some great houses in Windsor green. Downside of that is people never move so it’s hard to catch one on sale. We lived in old greenbelt in the co op. Super granola back there and everyone was really nice. We walked to the little shops and restaurants and the farmers market all the time. Very dog friendly as well, us and all of our neighbors had Atleast one pet. Plenty of kids running around, tons of green space, a huge park, nice pool, several churches, fire department, and police station. The co op is practically self contained. It’s also racially diverse, even tho the majority (60%+) of the people in old greenbelt are white, you have everything sprinkled in. Outside of the co op is mostly aa, African immigrant, Hispanic, and Asian.

Our house and location was good for a season (in and fresh out of grad school, just starting our careers). Didn’t have much money so we dealt with the crappy kitchen and one bathroom (with a pedestal sink). Getting a house with more than one bathroom is rare, but sometimes the 1970s ones go on sale or someone does an addition to the 1940s homes. They don’t stay on the market long. A SFH back there is a unicorn, if you see one.. buy it! Outside of the co op and Windsor green, don’t live by spring hill lake/franklin square apartments.

I wholeheartedly believe that greenbelt has the best location for any commute in MD to dc or Baltimore. You are right on 295 and 495, and there’s usually no traffic getting on those roads. Once you get closer to the city or Baltimore is when you hit traffic.

The schools are decent, the HS is great (I’m a graduate of ERHS). Greenbelt elementary and middle have made strides in the past few years, and the middle school is a feeder to ERHS.

If you didn’t feel like reading all this... greenbelt is great.

We live in DC but love Greenbelt. We have considered moving many times. However, our friends with kids in Greenbelt go to private schools. The MS/HS options are poor unless your kid gets into magnet. You can’t pin your hopes on your kid magically getting into a magnet.

We were looking in Bowie off of Lanham-Severn road, but have brought our search closer in which is Greenbelt, but haven’t found any nice single family homes we like.

Greenbelt is great and has decent schools for PG County. The locations is close to DC and you have the option of Metro, MARC, and driving getting into the city.

Neighboring College Park is also great and has a ton of new development. I have lived in the area going on 3 years now and think it is the best value in the DC area!

Come to Bowie...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:400k? yeah you need to join us in PGC. It's not too bad. I am optimistic about the new CE.

Yeah, PG County it is! What is CE?

Best metro stops are Farragut west or North, so not great, but I use bikeshare and that looks like it would be a lot faster than metro or bus from Gallery Place. Spouse works in Baltimore so that commute would improve.

County Executive

If your stop is on the blue line consider somewhere near largo. There has been a lot of development there lately and you could get a good return on your investment. I personally bought in Lanham for my commute and my house has almost doubled in value in the last 6 years. There has been so much development in PG.

Anonymous wrote:400k? yeah you need to join us in PGC. It's not too bad. I am optimistic about the new CE.

Yeah, PG County it is! What is CE?

Best metro stops are Farragut west or North, so not great, but I use bikeshare and that looks like it would be a lot faster than metro or bus from Gallery Place. Spouse works in Baltimore so that commute would improve.

Also check out Hyattsville?

What stop/area are you commuting to?

400k? yeah you need to join us in PGC. It's not too bad. I am optimistic about the new CE.

We love Greenbelt. Super walkable very cute and community oriented. That said, it's not for everybody.

How do you like it? Does it feel isolated? What is the community like? How bad/long is the metro commute to DC really? I'm coming to terms with what we can afford (up to $400k, schools matter, 2 kids), but nervous about how far out it is. Any recommended alternatives?