Anonymous wrote:NoVa guy, why does any of this matter to you? I seriously want to know. Who cares if some people prefer Bethesda? People are well-aware of the economic trajectory around of MD and still choose it. It isn't an attack on you.

I care because I want MD to reverse course because it’s a vital part of our region. You need to elect reps that will help you reverse course. With all there fed cuts now is not the time to be anti job growth / development.

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Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

I'm PP, and sorry, but you're wrong. The Mercedes, Honda, and Audi dealerships have not been there forever. The Mercedes dealership was not there in the early 2000s. And the driveway access/storefronts that Honda and Audi have on Arlington were absolutely not there in the early 2000s, or even 10 years ago.

Either way, my point stands. Downtown Bethesda went from having zero car dealerships in the 80s/90s/early 2000s to 2-4 (depending on how you count), which I think is a very odd decision for such prime real estate.

The Mercedes dealership was there since 1986 (https://bethesdamagazine.com/2019/11/25/bethesda-euro-motorcars-starts-reconstruction-of-showroom/).

Regardless, the fact remains that these aren't traditional car dealerships with acres of parking lots. They have a very small footprint, with almost all of their inventory in multilevel garages that are not streetfront.

If you're trying to look at ways that downtown Bethesda has changed, perhaps rather than focusing on the addition of small luxury car dealerships like Volvo and Audi, you should focus on the ultimate low-end eyesore -- gas stations. There are basically none left in downtown Bethesda. They are, however, plentiful in Arlington.

Also, all the fast food restaurants have disappeared in downtown Bethesda, whereas a decade or so ago, you could find a Burger King and McDonalds.

I think some posters on this board just like to be stuck in the past, and they have a unique ability to only remember good things from the past (while forgetting all of the negative things from the past). The arc of Bethesda has been incredibly positive, and I would not want to go back to the way it was in the 80s and 90s

You don’t realize that in comparing Bethesda to Arlington you’re losing the argument. Bethesda used to be so nice in the late 90s and early 2000s that no one would even compare it to Arlington, which was more comparable to Silver Spring. Now if you tried to make the argument that Silver Spring was nicer, safer, had more amenities, and had a brighter future than Arlington people would laugh you out the room. The point being that places like Arlington, Del Ray, Vienna, and a bunch of other locations in NoVA are MUCH nicer than they were in 2000-2005. You can’t same for many places in suburban MD. Is Potomac much nicer than it was in 2000-2005? Rockville? Silver Spring?

Yes, Bethesda might be nicer, but the fact that it is even comparable to Arlington now is an indictment on how much trouble MD has with keeping pace with VA and DC. The irony is that the only places in DC that aren’t nicer than they were in 2005 are the neighborhoods along the Red Line in Upper NW, which are right next to Bethesda. Friendship Heights, Cleveland Park, and Tenleytown were much nicer in 2000-2005.

NoVa guy, why does any of this matter to you? I seriously want to know. Who cares if some people prefer Bethesda? People are well-aware of the economic trajectory around of MD and still choose it. It isn't an attack on you.

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Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

Comparing Tysons to Bethesda is pointless. They’re dissimilar places and Tysons isn’t trying to be Bethesda. A better comparison to Bethesda is the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington. Ballston used to be a wasteland 20 years ago and now has a lot of the same kind of retail and eateries that Bethesda has.

The overall point is that NoVA has been getting dramatically more investment in the past 10-20 years compared to MoCo and PG. I don’t think there’s any disputing this.

Agree. I grew up in Bethesda and now live in Arlington. Arlington was not a desirable place to live when I was young. Arlington is MUCH nicer than it used to be and quite expensive. It definitely has better restaurants than Bethesda. It's also a lot bigger and has a lot more commercial business.

This is not true at all. I have been curious about this, and one thing I've noticed is that houses in Bethesda and Arlington have both gone up approximately 10x in value since about the early 1980s. It's actually pretty interesting how it's true for both areas. I personally grew up in Bethesda, and it was not nice in the 1980s. You can look up pictures from then to confirm.

Bethesda boosters keep moving the goalposts. The argument is about the past 20 years and the trajectory of NoVa compared to Silver Spring and Bethesda. Not how nice Bethesda has become since 1980 or 1960. I’m sure there is more to do in Bethesda than there was in 1913.

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Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

I'm PP, and sorry, but you're wrong. The Mercedes, Honda, and Audi dealerships have not been there forever. The Mercedes dealership was not there in the early 2000s. And the driveway access/storefronts that Honda and Audi have on Arlington were absolutely not there in the early 2000s, or even 10 years ago.

Either way, my point stands. Downtown Bethesda went from having zero car dealerships in the 80s/90s/early 2000s to 2-4 (depending on how you count), which I think is a very odd decision for such prime real estate.

Honda dealership was there in 1989: https://www.ourismanhonda.com/

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Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

I'm PP, and sorry, but you're wrong. The Mercedes, Honda, and Audi dealerships have not been there forever. The Mercedes dealership was not there in the early 2000s. And the driveway access/storefronts that Honda and Audi have on Arlington were absolutely not there in the early 2000s, or even 10 years ago.

Either way, my point stands. Downtown Bethesda went from having zero car dealerships in the 80s/90s/early 2000s to 2-4 (depending on how you count), which I think is a very odd decision for such prime real estate.

The Mercedes dealership was there since 1986 (https://bethesdamagazine.com/2019/11/25/bethesda-euro-motorcars-starts-reconstruction-of-showroom/).

Regardless, the fact remains that these aren't traditional car dealerships with acres of parking lots. They have a very small footprint, with almost all of their inventory in multilevel garages that are not streetfront.

If you're trying to look at ways that downtown Bethesda has changed, perhaps rather than focusing on the addition of small luxury car dealerships like Volvo and Audi, you should focus on the ultimate low-end eyesore -- gas stations. There are basically none left in downtown Bethesda. They are, however, plentiful in Arlington.

Also, all the fast food restaurants have disappeared in downtown Bethesda, whereas a decade or so ago, you could find a Burger King and McDonalds.

I think some posters on this board just like to be stuck in the past, and they have a unique ability to only remember good things from the past (while forgetting all of the negative things from the past). The arc of Bethesda has been incredibly positive, and I would not want to go back to the way it was in the 80s and 90s

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

Comparing Tysons to Bethesda is pointless. They’re dissimilar places and Tysons isn’t trying to be Bethesda. A better comparison to Bethesda is the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington. Ballston used to be a wasteland 20 years ago and now has a lot of the same kind of retail and eateries that Bethesda has.

The overall point is that NoVA has been getting dramatically more investment in the past 10-20 years compared to MoCo and PG. I don’t think there’s any disputing this.

Agree. I grew up in Bethesda and now live in Arlington. Arlington was not a desirable place to live when I was young. Arlington is MUCH nicer than it used to be and quite expensive. It definitely has better restaurants than Bethesda. It's also a lot bigger and has a lot more commercial business.

This is not true at all. I have been curious about this, and one thing I've noticed is that houses in Bethesda and Arlington have both gone up approximately 10x in value since about the early 1980s. It's actually pretty interesting how it's true for both areas. I personally grew up in Bethesda, and it was not nice in the 1980s. You can look up pictures from then to confirm.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

Comparing Tysons to Bethesda is pointless. They’re dissimilar places and Tysons isn’t trying to be Bethesda. A better comparison to Bethesda is the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington. Ballston used to be a wasteland 20 years ago and now has a lot of the same kind of retail and eateries that Bethesda has.

The overall point is that NoVA has been getting dramatically more investment in the past 10-20 years compared to MoCo and PG. I don’t think there’s any disputing this.

Agree. I grew up in Bethesda and now live in Arlington. Arlington was not a desirable place to live when I was young. Arlington is MUCH nicer than it used to be and quite expensive. It definitely has better restaurants than Bethesda. It's also a lot bigger and has a lot more commercial business.

This is what Maryland boosters are ignoring. The thread is about the trajectory of the regions. Arlington used to be a craphole compared to Bethesda in the 90s and was on par with Silver Spring. Now look at retail options, housing prices, and any other metric you want to judge Arlington and Silver Spring by.

This close-in Silver Spring house was $538,000 in 2005 and is only selling for $735,000 today. That’s pitiful appreciation for this area in 20 years. This same house would be $1M at least in a comparable neighborhood in Arlington by now.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/522-Dartmouth-Ave-20910/home/10967986

Housing appreciating should not be a thing.

And this is the kind of thinking that keeps MD in the rear view mirror and businesses very far away. Couldn’t have thought of a better anecdote if I tried.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

I'm PP, and sorry, but you're wrong. The Mercedes, Honda, and Audi dealerships have not been there forever. The Mercedes dealership was not there in the early 2000s. And the driveway access/storefronts that Honda and Audi have on Arlington were absolutely not there in the early 2000s, or even 10 years ago.

Either way, my point stands. Downtown Bethesda went from having zero car dealerships in the 80s/90s/early 2000s to 2-4 (depending on how you count), which I think is a very odd decision for such prime real estate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

Comparing Tysons to Bethesda is pointless. They’re dissimilar places and Tysons isn’t trying to be Bethesda. A better comparison to Bethesda is the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington. Ballston used to be a wasteland 20 years ago and now has a lot of the same kind of retail and eateries that Bethesda has.

The overall point is that NoVA has been getting dramatically more investment in the past 10-20 years compared to MoCo and PG. I don’t think there’s any disputing this.

Agree. I grew up in Bethesda and now live in Arlington. Arlington was not a desirable place to live when I was young. Arlington is MUCH nicer than it used to be and quite expensive. It definitely has better restaurants than Bethesda. It's also a lot bigger and has a lot more commercial business.

This is what Maryland boosters are ignoring. The thread is about the trajectory of the regions. Arlington used to be a craphole compared to Bethesda in the 90s and was on par with Silver Spring. Now look at retail options, housing prices, and any other metric you want to judge Arlington and Silver Spring by.

This close-in Silver Spring house was $538,000 in 2005 and is only selling for $735,000 today. That’s pitiful appreciation for this area in 20 years. This same house would be $1M at least in a comparable neighborhood in Arlington by now.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/522-Dartmouth-Ave-20910/home/10967986

Housing appreciating should not be a thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

Comparing Tysons to Bethesda is pointless. They’re dissimilar places and Tysons isn’t trying to be Bethesda. A better comparison to Bethesda is the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington. Ballston used to be a wasteland 20 years ago and now has a lot of the same kind of retail and eateries that Bethesda has.

The overall point is that NoVA has been getting dramatically more investment in the past 10-20 years compared to MoCo and PG. I don’t think there’s any disputing this.

Agree. I grew up in Bethesda and now live in Arlington. Arlington was not a desirable place to live when I was young. Arlington is MUCH nicer than it used to be and quite expensive. It definitely has better restaurants than Bethesda. It's also a lot bigger and has a lot more commercial business.

This is what Maryland boosters are ignoring. The thread is about the trajectory of the regions. Arlington used to be a craphole compared to Bethesda in the 90s and was on par with Silver Spring. Now look at retail options, housing prices, and any other metric you want to judge Arlington and Silver Spring by.

This close-in Silver Spring house was $538,000 in 2005 and is only selling for $735,000 today. That’s pitiful appreciation for this area in 20 years. This same house would be $1M at least in a comparable neighborhood in Arlington by now.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/522-Dartmouth-Ave-20910/home/10967986

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Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

Comparing Tysons to Bethesda is pointless. They’re dissimilar places and Tysons isn’t trying to be Bethesda. A better comparison to Bethesda is the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington. Ballston used to be a wasteland 20 years ago and now has a lot of the same kind of retail and eateries that Bethesda has.

The overall point is that NoVA has been getting dramatically more investment in the past 10-20 years compared to MoCo and PG. I don’t think there’s any disputing this.

Agree. I grew up in Bethesda and now live in Arlington. Arlington was not a desirable place to live when I was young. Arlington is MUCH nicer than it used to be and quite expensive. It definitely has better restaurants than Bethesda. It's also a lot bigger and has a lot more commercial business.

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Anonymous wrote:My grandma settled in bethesda in the 50s… so yes I remember when it was nicer.

I moved to Bethesda in 1964, as a 3 year old. I prefer the Bethesda of today, much more going on, lots of places to eat and shop. When I was a kid we had a Hot Shoppes and auto body shops in downtown Bethesda, plus the Strosniders/Bruce Variety shopping strip. It was pretty basic.

+1. It had the sorts of places that people today would look down on today -- a sitdown Pizza Hut restaurant, Roy Rogers, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, McDonalds. When people say it was nicer at some point in the past, I have no idea what they miss about it.

I disagree. I grew up in Bethesda from the mid-80s to the mid-2000s and thought it was great. I miss Louisiana Express, Rio Grande (Uncle Julio's in the new location, if it's even still there, isn't the same), Il Forno, Matuba. Tons of other great restaurants I'm not thinking of right now. I live in DC but still go to Bethesda frequently or my kids' activities, and I still enjoy it now, but it was great back then too. I am bummed out by the number of car dealerships in the downtown area. what a poor choice. They cause a lot of congestion. (Just last night, Arlington Rd. was down to one lane during rush hour because of a huge trucking delivering new cars.) Those were always on Rockville Pike when I was growing up; not sure why that changed. That downtown Bethesda retail space could be used for so many better things.

The obsession with crime on this post, when talking about any area, is just odd. Bethesda was not unsafe in the 80s/90s/2000s and is not unsafe now.

The only two dealerships in downtown Bethesda that are more than just a storefront are the Mercedes and Honda dealerships, and both have been there forever and have a small footprint (they're not the eyesores you see in Tysons). If you've been around long enough to remember the restaurants you named, then you've been around long enough to know that the Mercedes dealership on Arlington Rd has always been there and sometimes has delivery trucks. I think the only new addition is the Volvo storefront across the street, which maybe has one or two cars on display.

Comparing Tysons to Bethesda is pointless. They’re dissimilar places and Tysons isn’t trying to be Bethesda. A better comparison to Bethesda is the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington. Ballston used to be a wasteland 20 years ago and now has a lot of the same kind of retail and eateries that Bethesda has.

The overall point is that NoVA has been getting dramatically more investment in the past 10-20 years compared to MoCo and PG. I don’t think there’s any disputing this.

I'm disputing it. Please define "dramatically more investment," and let's keep the comparison between Bethesda and Rosslyn-Ballston. When I drive in Bethesda, it feels like every square inch has been developed, and they're putting up more high-rises as we speak in downtown Bethesda. I understand that Bethesda may not be home to companies you know off the top of your head, but plenty of companies do in fact choose to locate in Bethesda. For instance, a newer builder on Wisconsin is occupied by companies like ProShares, UBS, and Fox5 DC. I understand that Arlington may have more office buildings, but the vacancy rate there is about 25%.

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Anonymous wrote:Yeah Silver Spring has been going downhill (still love AFI Silver tho, best repertory movie theater in the country).

Bethesda is still really nice, better than any place in NoVa to me. But other than Bethesda I’d take the Clarendon-Ballston-Arlington Forest region over any place in MoCo

Silver Spring has not gone downhill. Like lots of places, it had some crime issues during covid, but it's a very safe and wonderful place to live. It has great dining options, including two breweries and tons of ethnic restaurants, as well as tons of entertainment options (AFI, Fillmore, Black Box, chain movie theater, ice skating rink), and every single thing you need for daily life (Whole Foods, Safeway, Giant, Mom's Organic). I think lots of the hatred comes from people who need majority-white neighborhoods to feel safe.

It absolutely has gone downhill. I was born in 1975 and had white friends and relatives who lived and grew up in Silver Spring. It was mostly a middle class area. Around 1990 or maybe a bit earlier, people from central and south American started coming in and really brought Wheaton and the surrounding areas to working class/lower class. Crime came along with that. It is much more dangerous than it was when I was growing up.

Anonymous wrote:OP doesn't remember that 2000 Bethesda was New Bethesda that replaced run down Old Bethesda.

OP doesn't understand how suburban sprawl spits out new development, burns it out, and then builds something new elsewhere.

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