I sometimes wonder if I live in the same SS as all the people in this thread. I walk around DTSS about twice per day and have had no problems. My house is about a five minute walk away, and I've had one package (worth about $30) go missing in 15 years. Even on a chilly night like tonight, DTSS was peaceful and normal, with lots of people skating on the Veterans Plaza ice rink and going to the many independent restaurants in the area. I'm not sure what dysfunction people are talking about. It's probably the densest area of the county, so I'm sure that crime happens, but I personally have never witnessed anything other than teens shoplifting drinks and snacks from the CVS. We have breweries, a concert venue, a performing theater venue, an independent movie theater, tons of restaurants, and a nice library -- all within a radius of a few blocks. I rarely use my car.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the DMV (and with my low housing costs here, having bought 15 years ago, I have saved enough to be able to easily afford to live in a SFH in Bethesda if that was what I wanted, but I don't).

I agree with 21:41, except that the neighborhoods around Georgia avenue between DTSS and the beltway have much lower crime than the downtown area and are pretty uniformly upper-middle class. So those areas don't tend to attract that many miscreants. But downtown is very dysfunctional to be sure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I lived on that side several years ago and agree about the Target. It is unkempt and I saw a roach in there once.

Ok, I'll bite on this thread.

Speaking as a longtime former resident of 20901 and now a current resident of 20910, Silver Spring is not as bad as the naysayers claim, nor is it an equal to Takoma Park or Bethesda (not that most people in SS would ever want to live in Bethesda).

First of all, Silver Spring is huge. It takes up nearly 1/3 of the county, so a clear definition of what Silver Spring is, needs to be defined.

I'll stick with the Georgia Avenue strip from the D.C. line to 495 for my 2 cents. It's got some great houses, neighborhoods, old shops and nice people who reside in the area. It also attracts miscreants and ne'er do wells who like to commit acts ranging from petty crimes and scaling upwards to rape and murder. Some people like pretend that these facts did not happen or are irrelevant. Some people like to pretend that these acts happen en masse at a daily rate. Neither attitudes are helpful.

Silver Spring is stuck in trying become something but can't since it cannot come up with a solution to its consistent problems that prevents it from becoming what the county prints up on their brochures.

Maybe things will trend better once the demolition project of the purple line finally gets completed and some better businesses start popping up in downtown and outward, but that remains to be seen. Having some family friendly restaurants and shops instead of vape shops, weed dispensaries and nightclubs would be a start.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My goodness! OP only asked if Silver Spring is a decent place to live, and the insecure NoVa folks came out of the woods, MAGA meetings, and klan rallies, trying to convince us that NoVa is better; when the OP never asked about NoVa. You could not make this $hit up.
The inferiority complex of VA people never cease to amaze me.

VA voted for Harris, Biden and Obama. Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax all voted for Harris by the same, or greater margins, than MoCo. The difference is that the average Dem voter in VA isn’t a frumpy loser led by a frumpy loser like Elrich. You’ll find more people wearing masks driving 15 year old Subarus by themselves in MD. More teenagers with bad haircuts and atrocious hygiene. I have never seen a mass of people in this country more depressing than the people I’ve seen in Downtown Silver Spring. People in places that cost half as much to live in look better put together and less depressed.

Dems in VA


Dems in Silver Spring

I have to admit, this is fairly accurate.

Go to communitycrimemap.com and see all the crime and the amount of sexual predators living in silver spring.

Anonymous wrote:Don't know too much about MD but wondering if you all have some insight on sliver spring and if its a nice place to live (clean and low crime).

It's very cool and underrated. I'd live there over any other area in MoCo in a heartbeat. Far more authentic, fun and affordable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

I go to the Wheaton Mall all the time. It's fine. It's not as lively or shiny as Montgomery Mall, but it's also manageable during the holidays whereas Montgomery Mall fills me with panic this time of year. And there is definitely more than Target and Costco though it's true the mall would be (and was before they came along) dying without those two stores. Some of the other stores I go to are:

DSW
Five Below
Macy's
The beer and wine place by Costco
Children's Place

I confess I have taken my child to the horrible Happy Bounce place that is cluttered and depressing. Do not recommend.

Silver spring is fine if it is best you can afford but there are lots of better places. It’s competitive for being lower and middle income for the area

I can get an article written about how bad McLean is. Doesn’t mean much. The prices speak for themselves.

Left Silver Spring for Columbia

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Wheaton Mall on a weekend and tell me it’s less depressing than Springfield, Fair Oaks, or Pentagon City malls. It’s not just about crime, a lot of young people in MoCo are dressed in pajamas all the time and look like they’ve given up at life. There’s a certain sense of despair and ennui that exists among young people in MoCo, specifically in Silver Spring and points north and east, that doesn’t exist in the same percentages of young people in NoVA and DC.

This is so weird. The Wheaton Mall has Target and Costco. It's very convenient. You think that people dress differently at Target in Wheaton than they do in Fairfax?

The Target in Wheaton is the most run down Target I’ve ever been to in my
life. Even the Target in Columbia Heights has less stuff thrown on the ground and is less of a general mess.

It’d be interesting for people who have experience going regularly between MoCo and NoVA have to say about this. I can’t be the only one to notice how depressing Wheaton and Silver Spring are compared to the rest of the region.

I'm at the Wheaton Target fairly regularly, and that's not been my experience.

I go there fairly regularly because it's convenient, but as Targets go, it's not that great. Always a mess and out of basic things. I only go to the Wheaton mall for Target and Costco, there's nothing else worthwhile.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a 32-year resident of Silver Spring 20902, I find all this very entertaining. The only thing you may need to worry about is navigating your way through the thousands of families walking their dog every day.

Same thoughts here from 20902. Silver spring is huge and DTSS will have some crime, but overall there are plenty of nice, safe, family friendly neighborhoods across multiple price points if you’re willing to live somewhere with a little diversity.

Generally I agree but if you talk to anyone in 20902 lately, they might have concerns about the increased, and repeated, car break-ins.

I'm in 20902 and we don't have break-in (or other crime) issues around us.

That's good. I know several people who live in this affected 20902 neighborhood and are concerned.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/string-car-break-ins-silver-000703208.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My goodness! OP only asked if Silver Spring is a decent place to live, and the insecure NoVa folks came out of the woods, MAGA meetings, and klan rallies, trying to convince us that NoVa is better; when the OP never asked about NoVa. You could not make this $hit up.
The inferiority complex of VA people never cease to amaze me.

VA voted for Harris, Biden and Obama. Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax all voted for Harris by the same, or greater margins, than MoCo. The difference is that the average Dem voter in VA isn’t a frumpy loser led by a frumpy loser like Elrich. You’ll find more people wearing masks driving 15 year old Subarus by themselves in MD. More teenagers with bad haircuts and atrocious hygiene. I have never seen a mass of people in this country more depressing than the people I’ve seen in Downtown Silver Spring. People in places that cost half as much to live in look better put together and less depressed.

Y'all wannabes are not only insecure, but also delusional.
Imagine someone from VA talking about hygiene!

Anonymous wrote:SS is a poo-poo place to live. Full stop.

Well, you're definitely thinking about NoVa with this comment because Silver Spring is the best place to live for families.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/maryland-city-best-place-families-live-america-fortune-magazine