There's a house on Greenbriar near the SS Metro that is $700,000 and that I would buy in a second if I had the money. The main floor is gorgeous.

Well anyway, OP asked about Silver Spring. I'm sure she/he has good reasons for specifying that area, as we did when we were looking at settled in Silver Spring.

We live in Sligo Park Hills. Our house is under a mile from the SS Metro and we walk it frequently (or take the bus - another benefit of living near SS Metro is that it is a big bus hub so there are great bus routes). It's 1/2 mile from the SS Downtown area, which has a regular theater, the AFI, lots of restaurants and shops, Whole Foods, the new Fillmore, etc.

Houses are older (1940s) but the updated ones are wonderful and have lots of charm. Everyone is so friendly - we are constantly getting together, having playdates and dinners and just hanging out in the yards.

The elementary school is an 8 out of 10 rating on great schools and there are tons of families with young children in the neighborhood and everyone I know is sending their kids to the public school and the ones that are there already are very happy with it.

Anyway, we just love it. Our house was around 500k though, so lower than your budget. But I hear similar things about the homes around Ellsworth that are even closer to the Metro. They are larger and more updated but have the same feel. I highly recommend looking in the area.

Anonymous wrote:With that budget, I would seriously consider Arlington instead. Or anywhere in Northern VA (born/raised in Silver Spring myself). SS isn't very nice. It's sort of ghetto - to me. Just being honest - lived there 20+ years (3rd generation Washingtonian).

Glad you moved out. We don't need racists in Silver Spring. So you moved to Northern Virginia hmmmm. What does that say about Northern VA?

Anonymous wrote:With that budget, I would seriously consider Arlington instead. Or anywhere in Northern VA (born/raised in Silver Spring myself). SS isn't very nice. It's sort of ghetto - to me. Just being honest - lived there 20+ years (3rd generation Washingtonian).

A lot of people do not want to live in VA, even if its "nicer."

Anonymous wrote:With that budget, I would seriously consider Arlington instead. Or anywhere in Northern VA (born/raised in Silver Spring myself). SS isn't very nice. It's sort of ghetto - to me. Just being honest - lived there 20+ years (3rd generation Washingtonian).

People who use the word "ghetto" are ghetto.

When is the last time you walked around neighborhoods close to downtown Silver Spring? 20 years ago?

Anonymous wrote:With that budget, I would seriously consider Arlington instead. Or anywhere in Northern VA (born/raised in Silver Spring myself). SS isn't very nice. It's sort of ghetto - to me. Just being honest - lived there 20+ years (3rd generation Washingtonian).

When did you move to Virginia? The 60's? The areas of silver spring walking distance to metro are well maintained, desirable areas. I guess they are lacking the shady used car dealers of arlington, but that doesn't seem to be what op was looking for.

With that budget, I would seriously consider Arlington instead. Or anywhere in Northern VA (born/raised in Silver Spring myself). SS isn't very nice. It's sort of ghetto - to me. Just being honest - lived there 20+ years (3rd generation Washingtonian).