I think there are parts of PG county that fit the bill here, though most overdramatic posters on this board would deny it. It does lack diversity, though. PGCPS has solid magnet high schools.

Anonymous wrote:You might be able to find a place at the right price in the right schools along the I-270 corridor near Germantown/Clarksburg. Commute will be borderline on an hour. It's pretty diverse (our local middle school is under 50% white and a great school). 500k is a possibility for a house.

But which schools you are zoned into is going to be the key factor. Some are great and some aren't so you have to pay close attention.

270 is a nightmare in rush hour during non Covid times. I would steer clear of this side of moco

Burtonsville. We loved Burtonsville Elem and have heard great things about Paint Branch HS. You need to like past the great school
Ratings though. Good teacher retention, lots of diversity, older homes so less expensive. Also Fairland park is close by and has awesome walking /honking trails.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Almost anywhere in Anne Arundel would meet your requirements except for the diversity -that's a little trickier.

Annapolis High School pyramid is definitely worth a look for a diverse school that meets your other requirements. Unfortunately within the school there's definitely a lot of defacto segragation between the magnet/white/richer students and the more diverse/less affluent general ed students. I suspect that's true of nearly all "diverse" schools though.

We considered Annapolis previously and the lack of diversity is definitely what swayed us against it. I don’t think we would feel comfortable going from an almost 100% Black neighborhood to the opposite. Which sucks because there are some new builds that are even within our price range out there.

God I wish people on this board would actually know what they are talking about before posting.

Annapolis High School is 31.5% white! 26% black and 35% Hispanic.
I’d say it’s a whole lot more diverse than the vast majority of schools out there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crofton

90% white

What? No it’s not, not even close. Crofton Middle is over 30% Black/Hispanic.

Anonymous wrote:Almost anywhere in Anne Arundel would meet your requirements except for the diversity -that's a little trickier.

Annapolis High School pyramid is definitely worth a look for a diverse school that meets your other requirements. Unfortunately within the school there's definitely a lot of defacto segragation between the magnet/white/richer students and the more diverse/less affluent general ed students. I suspect that's true of nearly all "diverse" schools though.

We considered Annapolis previously and the lack of diversity is definitely what swayed us against it. I don’t think we would feel comfortable going from an almost 100% Black neighborhood to the opposite. Which sucks because there are some new builds that are even within our price range out there.

Almost anywhere in Anne Arundel would meet your requirements except for the diversity -that's a little trickier.

Annapolis High School pyramid is definitely worth a look for a diverse school that meets your other requirements. Unfortunately within the school there's definitely a lot of defacto segragation between the magnet/white/richer students and the more diverse/less affluent general ed students. I suspect that's true of nearly all "diverse" schools though.

Another vote for Greenbelt.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Bowie definitely seems like it could be a good option if we can get a house for the best school pyramid. Any idea on how often school boundaries change in PG county? I had to switch schools a lot growing up simply due to the schools being rezoned.

They are about to do a major boundary survey in PGCPS. I wouldn't expect the boundary for Ogle and Tasker Middle Schools or Bowie High would change much. When they do make changes they will be phased in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crofton

90% white

Wrong. Crofton middle school is 60% white, 20% black

Bowie HS is almost 70% black. How is that diverse?

OP here. Bowie definitely seems like it could be a good option if we can get a house for the best school pyramid. Any idea on how often school boundaries change in PG county? I had to switch schools a lot growing up simply due to the schools being rezoned.

You might be able to find a place at the right price in the right schools along the I-270 corridor near Germantown/Clarksburg. Commute will be borderline on an hour. It's pretty diverse (our local middle school is under 50% white and a great school). 500k is a possibility for a house.

But which schools you are zoned into is going to be the key factor. Some are great and some aren't so you have to pay close attention.

Howard County (I see people have mentioned Laurel but even parts of Columbia are within an hour of DC).
Odenton/Gambrills (also right in MARC so you could have a really chill train commute into Union Station and not deal with traffic)
Some of the schools in and near Annapolis are great

The main thing is to get out of MoCo. I even know people who have been happy with the schools in PG County but you have to be selective and do your research. But prices are much more reasonable outside of MoCo, which by the way, also has some questionable schools depending on where you are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:close in
good schools
cheap

choose two. Add in diverse, and good luck

So nowhere?

We already tried the long commute and it took a serious toll on our physical and mental health. Can’t do that again.

the two things most directly driving home prices are commute and schools. If you check both of those boxes, the area will be popular and likely expensive. There may be somewhere at the edge of that hour commute in Frederick, but you are adding minority white to the criteria, so that box probably won't get checked

Nowhere in Frederick is an hour commute into DC, at least not any time M-F on any kind of day shift. I live here, it's sad but true.

How long is the commute during rush hour? My commute used to be 2 hours in the afternoons where we lived previously.

Pre-covid I had a colleague who lived in Frederick and he left home between 4:15 and 4:30 to arrive before 6:00. He left the building between 2:30 and 3:00, and said he could get home before 4:15. And yes, he constantly looked frayed.