As long as RM draws from Lincoln Park and First Street it will be a rough school.

If you are interested in Kensington and the Walter Johnson Cluster, for neighborhoods look at Parkwood, Town of Kensington (only a handful of streets), Garrett Park and Garrett Park Estates. Each of those neighborhoods will have housing in your budget.

I'd narrow my "house list" to those in a particular cluster. Realtors should be famliar with the cluster zones. You can also look them up at the MCPS website.

Anonymous wrote:I would start at the house. Once you find a house you like, then you can look at the neighborhood schools. I recommend staying near the Metro rather than moving west of the 270. Rockville and Kensington are both nice cities.

Do people agree with this approach? Seems like a risk - falling in love with a house that turns out to be in a "bad" school or area.

I'm in 20850 and love it! My daughter is in Lakewood now (has been a fabulous school for her) and will attend Frost and then Wootton. We have great parks, walk a block to the neighborhood pool, have tree lined streets and feel totally safe. Not to mention bike paths, parks, trails, and easy access to 270. A great community environment.

Anonymous wrote:That's nowhere near the Metro, though.

Not too far of a ride from Twinbrook or Rockville, right up wootton parkway then left to Rockville or straight over 355 and first right down to twinbrook.

I'm in the RM cluster, too. My eldest is at RM, not in the IB program, and it's really not the chaotic, inner-city nightmare some people seem to make it out to be .

She takes a robust selection of AP classes and is doing well. I'm completely not worried about her safety or her chances at a decent college.

Same goes for our neighborhood. We've been there for almost a decade and have experienced no crime. I never feel unsafe, either for myself or for my children.

Hey, I like Kensington a lot. When we were looking at houses, our final choice was between one in Kensington and the one we bought in Rockville. Honestly, you'll be fine either way.

I vote for Kensington. You can get a great house for $800, even in the BCC cluster (Rock Creek Hills, Town of Kensington, but make sure you double check the school boundries).

Rock Creek Hills is in the B-CC cluster and the Town of Kensington is in the Walter Johnson cluster. But I would recommend Kensington as well.

I am a Rockville resident in the Richard Montgomery cluster. I would disagree with the description of it being a really rough place. My kids are at the MS and we have many neighbors at RM. I don't know anyone who is unhappy and feels it is "rough". They are great kids and are involved in lots of nice activities. There are 25 extra spots in the IB program reserved just for our cluster which is a nice benefit.. We have enjoyed many city camps and rec activities, the pool, the new town center. I am sure Kensington is great too but I don't have too much hands on experience to talk about it.