Anonymous wrote:I am torn on this one. We suffer with homeownership out here (bought a house appraised for $610K in 2006 and its now appraised for $375K). And while we did not over-leverage out equity and can afford the mortgage, it absolutely SUCKS that the $150K we put down as 20% deposit has vanished. We cannot even sell for what we owe. Add on to that the schools are terrible in our hood and we are schleping back and forth to DC privates, it really does not feel like that that great of an existence. Our kids cannot fully participate in play dates or after school stuff because we have an hour drive in the evenings. We honestly feel trapped out here and are praying that we can short sell our house and leave. I dont know why anyone with kids to get through school would choose to live in PG.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Laurel. On my block we have 3 white families, 2 black families, a Filipino family, an African family, and a middle eastern family. Our house hasn't gained value in the past 10y, but also hasn't lost any either.

I love our proximity to DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis. I wish we had better small (non-chain) restaurants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are white (Middle Eastern) and while it's not nice to live in an area with a stigma, in the end we are laughing all the way to the bank- we are saving tons of money, can afford luxuries, etc. We are living the upper-middle class existence the rest of the country gets to enjoy, and we get the amenities of the DC area. Really, anyone who doesn't live in PG is kind of paying a "black people tax" because that's the only reason I can see for our house being so much cheaper than comparable ones in Moco.

So much this! I hate the stigma of living here, but we are also laughing all the way to the bank. We live in a lovely, safe neighborhood with wonderful neighbors of all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Our mortgage is 1/3 of similar families around the DC area for the same house, with a shorter commute.

I'm so torn. I want everyone to know PG isn't the cesspool that people believe it is, but at the same time I don't want people to start moving here and turning it into the same old strip mall world of NoVA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd love to hear more specific feedback on neighbourhoods. We bought our first house in old town Laurel a few years ago and honestly have planned on leaving PG before our DC starts kindergarten in 5 years. I see how MoCo coasts on reputation and has plenty of bad/mediocre schools, but our local schools in Laurel are terrible. I also miss living closer to the city (we used to rent in Takoma Park). We are committed to public school, at least for elementary. Was thinking of Four Corners Silver Spring area, but any suggestions on where we should look in PG instead of MoCo? The things you all are saying about making friends and feeling connected to your neighborhood are really encouraging to me. I also have to say that relying purely on the hope of a lottery spot, particularly in the northern half of the county where the wait lists are crazy, seems way too chancy for me - I feel like I would have to be ok with the zoned elementary. Thanks!

You wouldn't get walkability, but Bond Mill Elementary School is excellent, and the surrounding neighborhood in West Laurel is terrific. (20707)

For elementary, the PP is right. Bond Mill is a fantastic elementary, arguably the best int the county. Additionally, we live just outside the zone for Bond Mill and we are zoned for Vansville which is also a good elementary. I have 2 years before I need to worry about it, but I may request an OOB placement for Bond Mill, but if not, we will be okay with Vansville. For middle school, we are zoned for MLK Jr Middle School and that is also a good middle school. Alternatively we may apply for the charter school at CMIT which will include middle school (up to 8th grade). For High School unless we get into the charter for Eleanor Roosevelt in Greenbelt, the pickings are slim. We'll see by then, but if we don't get into ERS, the current thought is to look for private for high school.

Truly, you aren't very far from decent schools here in PG.

You are being willfully misleading. Temple Hills was very much hood as far back as the eighties when your Dear white Mom lived there. Iverson Mall, yuck.

Anonymous wrote:

Also, I've read that PG County had a bad reputation even when it used to be all white. Not sure why this county gets such hate. My husband's family made a lot of money from selling their homes in DC in areas that used to considered bad that now everyone wants to live in. So you never know how an area will flip.

Huh. My mom grew up in PG county (Temple Hills), and my grandparents lived there. I used to go all the time, and it wasn't exactly hood (at least in '90s). It wasn't upscale the way that parts of Bethesda are, but it was your typical middle class suburban area. My mom said that as DC started to gentrify, the area started to get poorer with more crime (also became more black).

My mom's experience growing up there was that it was a very diverse suburb. She is biracial (white/asian, however that was much less common growing up in the '60s than it is now), and she had friends who were black, hispanic, Jewish, immigrants, etc. My grandfather settled there after he retired from the military, and apparently there were a bunch of military families in PG. I guess some members of my grandfather's family thought the area was *too* diverse. However, now if you look up her high school, it's ~95% black, rather than truly diverse.

Also, I've read that PG County had a bad reputation even when it used to be all white. Not sure why this county gets such hate. My husband's family made a lot of money from selling their homes in DC in areas that used to considered bad that now everyone wants to live in. So you never know how an area will flip.