We have lived in Wheaton, Bethesda, and Takoma Park. I personally would not sweat the school thing too much. Particularly if you are Asian or White (like we are). My oldest son went to a high FARMs middle school and HS. He graduated near the top of his class and is currently pursing his MBA at London Business School.

If you look MCPS school data (or really anywhere in the US), Whites and Asians perform virtually the same academically in all of MCPS regardless of the fear mongering on this site regarding schools with high minorities or FARMS concentrations. If you are Black or Hispanic, and are poor or middle class, I might advise otherwise.

Pick a location that better suites your budget, space requirements, commute (if any) and/or lifestyle preference.

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda and Chevy Chase have better schools, less crime, and a better general reputation. They are, however, way more expensive than Silver Spring. Bethesda and CC housing markets are strong and will continue to hold their value well even if there is a downturn in the economy.

Silver Spring is also a great area (and would be considered even greater if not for it's close proximity to Chevy Chase and Bethesda). I think it represents much better value for the dollar and it may be poised to really take off over the next 10 years. That being said, buying in that area is a bit more of a gamble because it could also go the other way.

Silver Spring has made remarkable progress over the last 15 years. I have a tough time imagining it going anywhere but up. The schools have a ways to go -- but they are improving.

We live in 20901 and love it. Forest Knolls elementary is great, although I'm not sure what we'll do when we get to HS.

But to address the bolded, above: prices in SS seem to be suffering from the gentrification of many EOTP neighborhoods in DC. Families that might have bought in SS are now buying in places like Petworth, and it looks like prices in SS have plateaued. That doesn't look like it's affecting the neighborhoods in the BCC cluster, but definitely more areas like 20901.

I live in the neighborhood and take metro. There are two buses I am aware of that take you to the red line or you can drive and park at Strathmore or White Flint. I know several people who take the Marc and they prefer that mode of transportation. It gets you to Union Station relatively quickly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What zip codes would I look at for Kensington homes that feed into B-CC?

All of Kensington is 20895, but the Parkwood neighborhood feeds into WJ (better than BCC). Chevy Chase View, Byeforde and Rock Creek Highlands feed into BCC.
Most of the houses north of Viers Mill go to Einstein, which is not considered desirable.

This is a fantastic neighborhood. Very family friendly and down to earth. Parkwood is the Elem., and it's one of the best in MoCo:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4404-Puller-Dr_Kensington_MD_20895_M56866-17782?row=16

Other streets that are in a great neighborhood are Carriage and Culver. Garrett Park is also nice, and it's 20896. It's very close to Rockville Pike and the metro.

A question for those of you in this neighborhood - how do you find being reliant on MARC? Once you get used to it, is it pretty easy to get used to needing to make a certain train?

^^Oh, and one more important thing: I like the people in Silver Spring -- ALOT. I live in Bethesda and have friends in Silver Spring. They live in Indian Springs and have great neighbors and community events, etc.

Bethesda and Chevy Chase have better schools, less crime, and a better general reputation. They are, however, way more expensive than Silver Spring. Bethesda and CC housing markets are strong and will continue to hold their value well even if there is a downturn in the economy.

Silver Spring is also a great area (and would be considered even greater if not for it's close proximity to Chevy Chase and Bethesda). I think it represents much better value for the dollar and it may be poised to really take off over the next 10 years. That being said, buying in that area is a bit more of a gamble because it could also go the other way.

Silver Spring has made remarkable progress over the last 15 years. I have a tough time imagining it going anywhere but up. The schools have a ways to go -- but they are improving.

Anonymous wrote:
I have lived in both downtown Silver Spring and Bethesda.

I infinitely prefer Bethesda for the following reasons:

1. I like living on the edge of the urban area, so that I can have a leafy suburban house but still walk less than 5 minutes to Metro, activities and restaurants. Downtown Bethesda makes for incredibly more pleasant walking than Silver Spring.

2. I prefer paying more for my house to access good public schools than to pay less and shell out for private, because house prices in better school districts tend to go up more reliably than those in less reputable school districts. Therefore it's a better financial investment.

Agree. Would definitely choose Bethesda and it is a better investment.

Anonymous wrote:What zip codes would I look at for Kensington homes that feed into B-CC?

All of Kensington is 20895, but the Parkwood neighborhood feeds into WJ (better than BCC). Chevy Chase View, Byeforde and Rock Creek Highlands feed into BCC.
Most of the houses north of Viers Mill go to Einstein, which is not considered desirable.

This is a fantastic neighborhood. Very family friendly and down to earth. Parkwood is the Elem., and it's one of the best in MoCo:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4404-Puller-Dr_Kensington_MD_20895_M56866-17782?row=16

Other streets that are in a great neighborhood are Carriage and Culver. Garrett Park is also nice, and it's 20896. It's very close to Rockville Pike and the metro.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What zip codes would I look at for Kensington homes that feed into B-CC?

Kensington is all 20895. BCC feeder neighborhoods are Rock Creek Hills, Byeford, and Chevy Chase View. Essentially, the parts of Kensington between the beltway and roughly Dresden Street to the north, Cedar Lane to the West, and all the way to the railroad tracks (East of the Mormon Temple) to the East. Parkwood, which is bounded by the beltway, Knowles Ave, Cedar Lane and Beach Drive, feeds into WJ, as does Town of Kensington, between Knowles and Dresden. The Frankly.com site allows you to see the neighborhoods by school zones (http://bit.ly/1izjk55).

This is correct but not quite complete.

Here is a list of the legal subdivisions in 20895 zoned to BCC:
Rock Creek Hills, Chevy Chase View, Byeford, Larchmont Knolls, Rock Creek Highlands

And to WJ:
Parkwood, Town of Kensington, Kensington Estates, the part of Chevy Chase View that's west of Cedar/Summit, Garrett Park Estates, White Flint Park, the Warners, Kensington Terrace

Anonymous wrote:What zip codes would I look at for Kensington homes that feed into B-CC?

Kensington is all 20895. BCC feeder neighborhoods are Rock Creek Hills, Byeford, and Chevy Chase View. Essentially, the parts of Kensington between the beltway and roughly Dresden Street to the north, Cedar Lane to the West, and all the way to the railroad tracks (East of the Mormon Temple) to the East. Parkwood, which is bounded by the beltway, Knowles Ave, Cedar Lane and Beach Drive, feeds into WJ, as does Town of Kensington, between Knowles and Dresden. The Frankly.com site allows you to see the neighborhoods by school zones (http://bit.ly/1izjk55).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of nice neighborhoods in SS (and I'd add Kensington to the mix). Like PP, we live in 20910 and love it. We used to live in Bethesda but just found that our "tribe" wasn't there and we wanted a SFH that would allow us to walk to amenities and the Metro.

Some of this depends on your tolerance for diversity (economic and racial). I appreciate both, so the diversity in our school and neighborhood is a plus for me, but that's not going to be true for everyone. People have different thresholds for this sort of thing.

Which school district did you pick?

ESS --> TPMS --> Blair (although we may opt for Einstein for the arts)

While we have been happy at ESS and TPMS, one nice thing about 20910 is that is really close to 3 immersion programs, so if you get into the lottery for Rock Creek Forest, Sligo Creek, or Rolling Terrace, there is bus service.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of nice neighborhoods in SS (and I'd add Kensington to the mix). Like PP, we live in 20910 and love it. We used to live in Bethesda but just found that our "tribe" wasn't there and we wanted a SFH that would allow us to walk to amenities and the Metro.

Some of this depends on your tolerance for diversity (economic and racial). I appreciate both, so the diversity in our school and neighborhood is a plus for me, but that's not going to be true for everyone. People have different thresholds for this sort of thing.

Which school district did you pick?

There is only one school district for all of Montgomery County: MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of nice neighborhoods in SS (and I'd add Kensington to the mix). Like PP, we live in 20910 and love it. We used to live in Bethesda but just found that our "tribe" wasn't there and we wanted a SFH that would allow us to walk to amenities and the Metro.

Some of this depends on your tolerance for diversity (economic and racial). I appreciate both, so the diversity in our school and neighborhood is a plus for me, but that's not going to be true for everyone. People have different thresholds for this sort of thing.

Which school district did you pick?

What zip codes would I look at for Kensington homes that feed into B-CC?

Anonymous wrote:I live in SS and love it, but Silver Spring has 16 zip codes. It's huge. (Bethesda is too, but that's another story). I like 20910, where I live, and 20901 (that's roughly -- roughly -- Downtown, Seven Oaks, Woodmoor, Woodside, Four Corners). I don't think I'd live elsewhere in Silver Spring. You're going to get a lot controversy about schools.

+1

-20910 Resident and Very Happy With It