Anonymous wrote:I live in Kensington (zoned for Einstein) and love it. Things I like about it:

- Great neighbors/neighborhood (down to earth, keep their properties up very well, variety of backgrounds)
- Town feel. There are often activities going on in St. Paul's park during the summer, July 4th parade, Saturday farmer's market/live music, ongoing events at the Kensington town hall, Noyes library, great historic homes, historic town center, new + old/eclectic stores, etc.
- Proximity to DC...easy access via driving, MARC, or metro
- Schools. We love OTES as does every other family we have encountered. I have only heard good things from neighbors about Einstein (one kid is in IB, a few others are not).

We were deciding among Silver Spring, Kensington, and North Bethesda, and I am very, very glad we chose Kensington.

+1 to all of this.

Our kids are too young for school but neighbors have great things to say about OTES and we're excited about being in bounds for the dual immersion program.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Kensington (zoned for Einstein) and love it. Things I like about it:

- Great neighbors/neighborhood (down to earth, keep their properties up very well, variety of backgrounds)
- Town feel. There are often activities going on in St. Paul's park during the summer, July 4th parade, Saturday farmer's market/live music, ongoing events at the Kensington town hall, Noyes library, great historic homes, historic town center, new + old/eclectic stores, etc.
- Proximity to DC...easy access via driving, MARC, or metro
- Schools. We love OTES as does every other family we have encountered. I have only heard good things from neighbors about Einstein (one kid is in IB, a few others are not).

We were deciding among Silver Spring, Kensington, and North Bethesda, and I am very, very glad we chose Kensington.

Not all of us love OTES.

I live in Kensington (zoned for Einstein) and love it. Things I like about it:

- Great neighbors/neighborhood (down to earth, keep their properties up very well, variety of backgrounds)
- Town feel. There are often activities going on in St. Paul's park during the summer, July 4th parade, Saturday farmer's market/live music, ongoing events at the Kensington town hall, Noyes library, great historic homes, historic town center, new + old/eclectic stores, etc.
- Proximity to DC...easy access via driving, MARC, or metro
- Schools. We love OTES as does every other family we have encountered. I have only heard good things from neighbors about Einstein (one kid is in IB, a few others are not).

We were deciding among Silver Spring, Kensington, and North Bethesda, and I am very, very glad we chose Kensington.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The price differences you will see in Kensington depend nearly entirely on the school clusters.
School boundaries are scheduled to be studied this year in view of a possible change in ~2025, and Kensington will certainly be one of the neighborhoods that will be reworked, since parts of Kensington geographically close to Einstein HS (poorly ranked) now go to Walter Johnson (highly ranked). Property prices will correct themselves accordingly.

Conclusion: buyer beware. If you want to be sure you're making the right investment, always buy to the west of, and close to, the right high school.

Can’t have a conversation about Kensington without this PP, who presumably wants K-P moved out of WJ to make room for his ES to move in and improve his property values.

But seriously, Kensington is beautiful. Go take a look now in the spring, on a Saturday with the farmers market. You’ll love it.

You must have me confused with a lot of people

I live near downtown Bethesda and have no dog in the WJ/Einstein fight, HOWEVER, many home buyers without kids or with young children are not aware at all of how school boundaries affect real estate prices, so I want to get the word out. A house is often a family's biggest investment, so it's important to be financially literate in that regard.

In this discussion don’t forget both the lovely parkland and Beech Drive (though some sections bisect the beltway) and easy access via (long but doable) walk to, Ride On or drive to Forest Glen metro one side or Medical Center other. We’re in the BCC non-actual town of Kensington and the Purple Line stop will be just over a mile from my front door 1.1 mile.) In addition to the cute places in town-the development around the new Purple Line station is supposed to have another grocery store and I’ve heard 3-4 restaurants.

The brand new middle school is a bonus (we do private but friends like it.)

I live very close to Kensington and think it's a great area, but if you're looking to buy in Kensington just be aware of how high school affects price and that the high school you're zoned to may change (impacting value of your house). From what I know from neighbors whose kids are in high school, Einstein is a great option, but DCUM is full of Einstein naysayers and obviously that impacts resale price.

Anonymous wrote:

As PPs have said, depending on where you are in Kensington, it feeds into WJ, B-CC, or Einstein. The WJ parts tend to have older, smaller homes (with the exception the neighborhoods right around Holy Redeemer; those are larger but a lot of the kids go to HR).

Some more misinformation here. The neighborhoods right around HR - Byeford, Rock Creek Highlands and Larchmont Knolls - go to BCC, not WJ. And those houses are mostly 2500ish SF from the 60s. Rock Creek Hills and Chevy Chase View also go to BCC and those homes are generally larger with larger lots.

My mistake--I couldn't remember if the dividing line was Cedar Lane or Connecticut. Thanks for the correction.

As PPs have said, depending on where you are in Kensington, it feeds into WJ, B-CC, or Einstein. The WJ parts tend to have older, smaller homes (with the exception the neighborhoods right around Holy Redeemer; those are larger but a lot of the kids go to HR).

Some more misinformation here. The neighborhoods right around HR - Byeford, Rock Creek Highlands and Larchmont Knolls - go to BCC, not WJ. And those houses are mostly 2500ish SF from the 60s. Rock Creek Hills and Chevy Chase View also go to BCC and those homes are generally larger with larger lots.

Anonymous wrote:
The price differences you will see in Kensington depend nearly entirely on the school clusters.
School boundaries are scheduled to be studied this year in view of a possible change in ~2025, and Kensington will certainly be one of the neighborhoods that will be reworked, since parts of Kensington geographically close to Einstein HS (poorly ranked) now go to Walter Johnson (highly ranked). Property prices will correct themselves accordingly.

Conclusion: buyer beware. If you want to be sure you're making the right investment, always buy to the west of, and close to, the right high school.

This is utter BS. This house, which was just over 1,000 sq ft, received 11 bids and went pending in a week. Guess what? It’s in the Einstein cluster, but more importantly it’s walkable and on a nice tree lined street.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Kensington/10404-Muir-Pl-20895/home/11013912

This house is in the WJ cluster and is also walkable and across from a gorgeous park. It went pending in 2 days and will probably go for a $1M plus.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Kensington/10206-Kensington-Pkwy-20895/home/11106982

The key to both these homes is location. Living in a walkable neighborhood within walking distance to MARC, grocery stores and restaurants and being across the street from an English Garden (like the second home) is always going to be desirable. When 2025 comes around that second home will have appreciated so much because of its location, walkability and proximity to DC (4 miles to DC) that ANY high school zoning changes will not make it a bad investment.

When these high school zoning changes happen there are three possible outcomes:

1) Kensington-Parkwood (KP) ES stays in WJ district. This is most likely, given that WJ takes on students from two middle schools: Tilden and North Bethesda. Since Tilden MS is literally at the Woodward site it would make the most logical sense that the students who are transferred from WJ to Woodward come from Tilden, not North Bethesda.

2) KP is rezoned to Woodward. This is not that likely, for reasons stated above. If KP gets rezoned, Woodward will be a brand new high school that will probably be at least a 8/10 school, which will have a marginal impact on housing prices in Kensington.

3) KP is rezoned to Einstein. This will come after a brutal political battle, which I’m not sure MoCo legislators or the school board would like to have, so I really don’t think it is likely. On top of that, if KP is pulled out of WJ what schools are left at WJ? A lot of WJ ESs close to Woodward will obviously be rezoned to Woodward (Luxmanor, Farmland and Garrett Park are the closest ESs to Woodward) so WJ needs to retain some students. Also, if the KP to Einstein scenario happened it would mean a lower performing elementary would be pulled out. That means Einstein would probably turn into a 7/10 HS overnight, with a highly desirable IB program.

Whatever happens anyplace walkable in Kensington (that is, within half a mile from the MARC and/or Antique Row) will always be desirable. The Town of Kensington is a nice place to live. They are not bulding neighborhoods within 4 miles from DC with Victorian homes, boutique stores, restaurants and shopping where you can also walk to a great network of parks and fixed rail. If the high school it’s zoned for is a 7/10, 8/10 or a 9/10 it will not make that much or a difference by 2025, especially with the Chevy Chase Lake development coming in nearby and the “Amazon” effect driving homes around the area through the roof.

Anonymous wrote:Not OP but also looking in the area.
What are the reasons some people like Einstein?

Our kids are elementary age, but from neighbors with HS kids who went there, they've liked: VAC, IB, engaged principal, diverse community, down to earth kids. We love OTES (small classes, diverse, down to earth parents, strong principal, dual language immersion program).

What are some reasons people like WJ or BCC? You need to ask yourself that question, too, if you're going to ask it about Einstein.

The area, and the Town especially, is very family friendly with the kid bike parade on fourth of july, movies in the park once a month in the summer (w/ Bounce house), food truck night (4 - 5 food trucks every other Thursday spring/summer/fall right near the train station), lots of book fairs and events.

There is also new development going on - a wine bar just opened, a coffee/gelato shop is due shortly, and a new coffee shop and spa are opening next to the train station. Noyes children's library is great, MARC is fast to get downtown, and if you have younger kids there are a ton of parks within walking distance of most of the Town.

We moved here two years ago and really love it. Lots of dual income professional families and people are pretty engaged in what is going on in the area. Really convenient and pretty too.

Not OP but also looking in the area.
What are the reasons some people like Einstein?

Anonymous wrote:I can only tell you what I have heard but lots of Republican Catholics.

#ugh

What does them being Catholic have to do with it, bigot? Are you auditioning for Grand Wizard?

What is your budget? As previous PPs have mentioned, the school assignments will dictate the housing costs so you will find a wide range of prices--the same house in the WJ district will easily go for $200K more than the same house in the Einstein district. You will also find that houses on busy streets are much more affordable (though I guess that is the case anywhere). If you let us know your budget and what you are looking for in schools, commute, house size/style, we can better direct you to the neighborhood that would fit your needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

One part feeds into BCC - houses go fast.
One part is very conservative and families primarily go to catholic schools. Neighborhood activities focus on the church community. Great if you're catholic and want to go to catholic school.
One part feeds Einstein. Great if your child wants to become a back up dancer.

PP is an asshole and is also missing that a large part of Kensington feeds into Walter Johnson.

Came here to say this. And I don't think the part that feeds into BCC has houses go fast.

I live in a Kensington neighborhood zoned for Chevy Chase. 7 houses have sold for a million or better in the past 30 days. Two more came on the market this past weekend and are already under contract. Yes, things move quickly