Anonymous wrote:Potomoac is hot again. It was hot in the 1980s and 1990s then seemed to go through a period where it wasn't as desirable due to distance from DC, but now it's super desirable given that people are realizing that DC is a s***hole. Great schools, no riff raff, little to no crime, great amenities, and nice housing stock (with the exception of some gawdy mansions).

+1

So many new mansions and mega mansions being built out there currently

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is more prestigious than Potomac. Whitman cluster wins.

There’s a good chunk of Potomac that sends to Whitman.

I generally consider it to be Potomac once you get outside the beltway on river, but the actual line for zip code purposes is a somewhere just past congressional and Norwood.

Agree with this. Bethesda is close in and densely populated. Lots of cars people, bikers, shops, restaurants, and transportation.

Potomac is out there, outside of the Beltway. More room. More green. When our kid attended Norwood and I was describing its location to someone unfamiliar with the school, I would describe the location out River Road, and add that while it's "in" Bethesda and has a Bethesda address, it feels like Potomac.

Anonymous wrote:Lol you are smug for a new person that can't spell the name right!

+1

Anonymous wrote:I've lived in Montgomery County all my life and I'd say that currently Bethesda is more prestigious than Potomac. Potomac was more prestigious in the 80s and 90s, but since Generation X and Millennials have always greatly valued being close in to DC, Bethesda became more prestigious. I live in Potomac and the houses in my neighborhood have increased a ton in value like everywhere else. Proximity to DC isn't as important anymore, since nobody wants to work from the office.

I agree with you. It changed as more and more small ranch houses were bulldozed for enormous homes in Bethesda. There are many Potomac-y large houses on half acres or more land in Bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:This is a major troll post! Look at your time stamps OP and your cuteness in misspelling. Enjoy chatting with yourself?

Yep.


Troll!!

I've lived in Montgomery County all my life and I'd say that currently Bethesda is more prestigious than Potomac. Potomac was more prestigious in the 80s and 90s, but since Generation X and Millennials have always greatly valued being close in to DC, Bethesda became more prestigious. I live in Potomac and the houses in my neighborhood have increased a ton in value like everywhere else. Proximity to DC isn't as important anymore, since nobody wants to work from the office.

Anonymous wrote:Potomac has always been more desirable.
Bethesda will have surpassed Potomac the day they will film The Real Housewives of Bethesda. For now The Real Housewives of Potomac rule.

But on that show I think only one woman actually lives in Potomac.

What neighborhoods call themselves and what the USPS wants to call them for mail delivery don't always align. Sometimes even when incorporated municipalities are involved.

This is a silly argument.

Completely understandable question by OP (notwithstanding the subsequent troll attacks) and also a completely understandable (if misleading) statement by her friend (and related to geography not 'prestige'). People generally tend to associate Bethesda with the area down by 'downtown' Bethesda and along River Road - inside the Beltway - and consider Potomac to be what's on the other side of the Beltway. But in fact Bethesda addresses extend for some stretch outside the Beltway too, out to Seven Oaks Rd and Bradley Blvd and along MacArthur Blvd. Those areas are closer to Potomac Village than to downtown Bethesda, and many of the houses and lots feel more like Potomac than Bethesda, and if I lived there - off Bradley Blvd or MacArthur Blvd - I'd probably just answer, if asked in a casual way, that I live in Potomac rather than explaining "well technically i live in Bethesda but in the small part of Bethesda that's outside the Beltway adjacent to Potomac."

Which also underscores why some of the sweeping statements made on this site - "I'd only look at houses in Bethesda - it's so much closer/walkable/low-key than Potomac" are kind of silly, but obviously silly isn't disqualifying on DCUM.

Potomac has always been more desirable.
Bethesda will have surpassed Potomac the day they will film The Real Housewives of Bethesda. For now The Real Housewives of Potomac rule.

Congressional is technically in Bethesda but no one associates that area as "Bethesda." I think it's an easier way to tell someone familiar with that you live close to the village versus downtown Bethesda or NWDC.

We live in Westmoreland Hills which is Bethesda. The lifestyle of my area and the "Potomac" Bethesda is wildly different as that area more aligns with Potomac (large homes, lots, spread out, etc). Obviously, their address is Bethesda but they more or less live in Potomac.

Bradley Blvd is the dividing line

Anonymous wrote:This is a major troll post! Look at your time stamps OP and your cuteness in misspelling. Enjoy chatting with yourself?

NP. I am all for calling out trolls- I don’t get how the time stamps indicate that on this thread. Would someone mind going off topic for a minute to explain?

I just looked it up. And, Potomac is listed as an unincorporated community and a census designated place. A census designated place is for statistical purposes only. That leaves room to call the area you live in what you want. Sort of like North Bethesda except more established.

Anonymous wrote:My friend lives in Potomac and her house is half the value of a tiny row house in 20007. Why do people think everybody in Potomac lives in a McMansion?

Because real Potomac the houses are all huge. Fake Potomac like up by Winston Churchill no one thinks of that as real Potomac. Close in Democracy Blvd is dividing line.

Anonymous wrote:I thought Potomac was an old has been. Isn’t Bethesda preferable? Your friends must be stuck in the 80s.

I thought bethesda was preferable as well.