Anonymous wrote:We live near Kentlands and like this area very much. That said, while I work in Bethesda, dh commutes downtown and it takes him forever, so we are looking to relocate to Bethesda to alleviate his commute and allow me to drop him off at the NIH metro instead of needing two cars. You get a LOT more for your money near Kentlands/Dufief/Stonebridge/Fallsmead than closer in, still with good schools, but if there is a chance your dh will work downtown, you might want to know more about which metro lines he'll be on so that he isn't commuting 3 hrs/day total.

There is also the MARC train (Brunswick Line).

We live near Kentlands and like this area very much. That said, while I work in Bethesda, dh commutes downtown and it takes him forever, so we are looking to relocate to Bethesda to alleviate his commute and allow me to drop him off at the NIH metro instead of needing two cars. You get a LOT more for your money near Kentlands/Dufief/Stonebridge/Fallsmead than closer in, still with good schools, but if there is a chance your dh will work downtown, you might want to know more about which metro lines he'll be on so that he isn't commuting 3 hrs/day total.

I work at NCI - and live near Kentlands. I think highly of the Quince Orchard cluster and think this is a great area to live. I am 10 minutes from work and could bike if I wanted to.

MY DH works at the Shady Grove campus and we live in a College Gardens ES neighborhood. We are closer to the campus the PP describes and a bit further from Rockville center. We can walk there but it is just uner 2 miles so only when you are really wanting a walk. We can easily walk to a small row of neighborhood shops (mostly food) which is great for the kids in the neighborhood.

I would suggest the neighborhoods in Rockville that feed into College Gardens ES and Beall ES, including West End. Both of these schools are in the Richard Montgomery High School cluster. These areas are either a quick bike ride (on dedicated bike paths) to the NCI Shady Grove campus or a 5-10 minute drive to campus. To get to metro it is a short walk (from West End) or a short bus ride (from the College Gardens neighborhood) to the Rockville metro station. In addition, these neighborhoods are walkable to Rockville town center (shops, restaurants, grocery), the beautiful new Rockville library, the City of Rockville pool, etc.

King Farm may work, too, and is bike-able to NCI via the Millennium Trail and walkable to Shady Grove metro. The boundary line between Richard Montgomery and Gaithersburg High clusters runs through this neighborhood and this would affect which middle school magnet you would be in the boundary for, so that would be something to watch.

Kentlands.

Poolesville magnet for HS is very close.

OP here. Thanks to everyone for such great feedback. It's a little overwhelming trying to narrow down our options, so we appreciate all your comments.

Anonymous wrote:
Lol. Yes, OP, come join all the scientists and doctors up here on the edge of the universe. Our school science fairs always rock.

Ha! Yes, much like Seattle around the UW. At my son's bus stop, the parents are MD/PhDs, professors, program officers at the Gates Foundation, etc...

Anonymous wrote:
However, you'll feel self-conscious at Starbucks and Barnes and Nobles because all the people at Starbucks and Barnes and Nobles in Bethesda are laughing at how their chain stores are more authentic.

Of course, we will laugh last because our Starbucks in Seattle are *actually* more authentic than theirs...

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure where the NCI campus is or if you wanted to walk there, but I would recommend a location further south on the 270 corridor than previous posters. Perhaps Ashurton ES and the schools that tracks into? Basically the Garrett Park region of Maryland is probably more walkable. While King Farm and Kentlands are walkable, they are very far out and have a contrived feel to them. But, hey, if people like them that's great. Typically Bethesda, downtown Silver Spring, and Takoma Park tend to be the type of walkable communities that I think of being a former urbanite. The communities the previous posters referred to are pretty far out, but the Grosvener metro is close. You would also have a reverse commute to Baltimore and the new ICC is worth the toll.

Hint: the NCI campus is "very far out" -- near King Farm and Kentlands, in fact!

Are you thinking NCI or NIST? I know NIST has a campus out there.

If Kentlands is "very far out", then NIST is "beyond the end of the world".

Lol. Yes, OP, come join all the scientists and doctors up here on the edge of the universe. Our school science fairs always rock.

However, you'll feel self-conscious at Starbucks and Barnes and Nobles because all the people at Starbucks and Barnes and Nobles in Bethesda are laughing at how their chain stores are more authentic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure where the NCI campus is or if you wanted to walk there, but I would recommend a location further south on the 270 corridor than previous posters. Perhaps Ashurton ES and the schools that tracks into? Basically the Garrett Park region of Maryland is probably more walkable. While King Farm and Kentlands are walkable, they are very far out and have a contrived feel to them. But, hey, if people like them that's great. Typically Bethesda, downtown Silver Spring, and Takoma Park tend to be the type of walkable communities that I think of being a former urbanite. The communities the previous posters referred to are pretty far out, but the Grosvener metro is close. You would also have a reverse commute to Baltimore and the new ICC is worth the toll.

Hint: the NCI campus is "very far out" -- near King Farm and Kentlands, in fact!

Are you thinking NCI or NIST? I know NIST has a campus out there.

If Kentlands is "very far out", then NIST is "beyond the end of the world".

Lol. Yes, OP, come join all the scientists and doctors up here on the edge of the universe. Our school science fairs always rock.