Posted on 11/01/2023 9:03:47 AM PDT by Vigilanteman
I 100% agree with Workerbee - I lived just south of this person for almost 20 years in Western Howard County and can attest to great schools (for being in MD) and near zero crime. It’s a drive to get in to town, but well worth it as the benefits far outweigh the alternative. A very well established agent in the area is Ken Milner 410-336-1397.
Ok, Gaithersburg. There are lots of nice areas. Just avoid a commute on 270 or the Rockville Pike. Now it’s mainly a question of price and, of course, availability. In mature and affluent suburbs, there may not be many homes in good neighborhoods on the market. And the rental market is tight. If something good doesn’t turn up, she might consider renting for a year, getting to know the area, and making a quick move when something does open up.
In general, she will find nicer areas west of 270. There is plenty of diversity of the South and East Asian variety, but that’s an asset, bot a problem. She should at least be aware of the Soccerplex, Seneca Creek State Park, and the MoCo stretch of the C&O Canal.
Remind her not to cross a river.
Damascus is nice houses and schools and a long way out . . . BUT . . . it is a mile or two drive to the Shady Grove Metro stop with parking. This is how you handle commutes in that area. Metro.
Nevertheless, the SW part is not terrible bad hood wise. Also depends on where the office is. Check realtor.com.
Generally, I'd say West of 270 and south of Shady Grove Rd is ok if you're stuck on SW, but almost anything outside of an incorporated area is going to be alright. You can use the price as a measure of safety - higher the better.
Don't know what they're looking for. Presuming they may ultimately want to buy SFH later, so for now maybe do townhouse. Here are two:
https://www.realtor.com/rentals/details/5-Ambiance-Ct_North-Potomac_MD_20878_M61101-24400
https://www.realtor.com/rentals/details/11126-Cedarwood-Dr-192_Rockville_MD_20852_M61981-01248
Also, when I was helping someone else here find something, they were working with this guy who was I thought was very accommodating. Not pushy and willing to walk from listings when they didn't like something part way through the deal.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/56cf7eaa7e54f70100244ec3
Feel free to email me w/specific questions. Know the area, know the traffic.
When I lived in Clarksdale MS last year I used the crime map as a guide for where I could walk. Generally I walked very early for increased safety. I see that the area I lived in is now shaded showing more crime.
One always has to consider whether the income and promotions are worth the tradeoffs.
best of luck as it will be expensive in Md. or Northern Va.
First priority should be the kids. Are they homeschooled? If not, tell them to find a place near to a good religious school, and one with an athletic program (will be less woke) because the public school system is beyond woke.
The next priority is traffic. Tell her to study it carefully. For example, a huge radio tower field in North Bethesda was recently turned into a housing development, which added a huge amount of traffic on all the surrounding roads.
Politically, northwestern and western Montgomery County are as far from the Left as you’ll get, such as in Poolesville. Here for its demographics: https://www.zipdatamaps.com/20837
You can view precinct level data from 2020 election in Montgomery County here: https://www.zipdatamaps.com/election-atlas/county/md/montgomery-county/map-of-2020-presidential-election-results-by-voting-precinct
Unfortunately the chart is not sortable, but this seems to be the only precinct that Trump won: https://www.zipdatamaps.com/election-atlas/zipcode/md/20872/map-of-2020-presidential-election-results-by-voting-precinct
That and the only others Trump took over 40% are in and around Damascus, which is northeastern part of the county.
The highest vote for Trump in Potomac seems to be two precincts in 20854 (31/32%): https://www.zipdatamaps.com/election-atlas/zipcode/md/20854/map-of-2020-presidential-election-results-by-voting-precinct
If she goes further west, to Frederick County, there’ll be more conservatives, but not in Frederick proper. And at that point, they might as well move to Leesburg, VA across the river, although that implicates traffic.
Hope that helps. Glad to discuss privately, if you like, as I grew up there.
My slam against Montgomery County and Prince George County? Fair amount of corruption with county officials, Prosecutors, and police. Even when you start talking about Metro management (subway) in the two counties....that’s crapped-up. I lived there in Arlington for 3.5 years and virtually every week, you’d have some weird episode occur that avoided national and even local news...getting reported strictly in the regional newspapers (not WaPo).
Don’t even bring up the Silver Springs Metro station and it’s failed design.
Definitely, schools should be #1 on the list.
We’ve lived in the area for over 30 years now and they both had better be making a six-digit income to get anything in SW Montgomery County. Also, why in Maryland since not only are their firearms laws nearly communist the taxes are much worse than in Virginia.
She had better gird her loins for an extensive commute. We started with about 35 miles one way. I finally fully retired but my wife commutes three times per week and it is now 64 miles one way to the base at which she works. She uses a Van Pool and gets a stipend for doing so and it keeps the miles off of our vehicles.
Good luck.
Carroll County is where Republicans still are. Their school board even enacted an opt-out for some of the worse excesses of the draconian State of Maryland compulsory sex indoctrination agenda, at least for the youngest kids. Plus, it’s beautiful.
This site gives a lot of specific detail about the demographics of specific zip codes:
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