New to MD: Silver Spring or College Park?

[vivo]

purple line map


http://www.purplelinemd.com/images/s...p_20090804.pdf

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by cpterp

Haha, I wouldn't call College Park "vibrant," although it is affordable (if you know where to look). It's decent, and not really new or exciting, but it's not run down or crime infested either. From I've been going there, the area hasn't really changed much (for good or bad). Some businesses such as WaWa's and an antique bookstore have closed, but they replace them with different ones. The only thing new in College Park is the M Square UMD research park near the Metro station, and hopefully the East Campus development will be built in the future.

I've been to Takoma Park numerous times and I prefer it (the Silver Spring side, not the Langley Park side). There's a reason why it costs more to live there...

Just going on the reference of an antique bookstore in College Park closing...but replaced with new ones.

Are there a few bookstores in the College Park area?

I've looked at the region from google maps, and it looks VERY residential.

Are there a particular street or two where businesses such as bookstores would be located, and I could view them on google maps, that you could suggest?

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by cpterp

Univ. Park is a slightly isolated "enclave" like Berwyn Heights or Ft Washington, although the former is suurounded by decent areas. I read about a incident in Univ. Park about a month or two ago and residents were quoted saying how low the crime rate was and how happy they were with it.

Here's the article: Student Robbed at Gunpoint in University Park (http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2009/01/26/News/Student.Robbed.At.Gunpoint.In.Univ.Park-3596847.shtml - broken link)

Don't really like how they dragged College Park's name through the mud though...

That's interesting. I didn't realize that University Park was differentiated, and in a better way than University Park. (Assumed they were basically the same).

Is anything IN University Park? Or is it just an extension of that Highway 1 that goes down College Park, and mostly residential in the UnivPark area?

[eponena]

University Park is a town - but completely residential except for the elementary school, town hall, and two churches. It is bordered by route one to the east, Route 410 to the south, Adelphi Road to the west, and the University of Maryland to the North. And yes, it does feel relatively insulated from some of the chaos of the surrounding areas without feeling isolated. I like being able to walk to the metro and to downtown College Park, but still enjoying the nice surburban neighborhood of UP.

[bballniket]

College Park isn't as bad as people make it out to be. I'd go so far and say it's not a bad place to live even if you're not a student. You can still take advantage of the eateries on campus and the campus shuttle that runs from the Student Union to the metro like every five minutes. However, away from the campus, CP is not at all pedestrian or transit-friendly. There are actually multiple bookstores: the University Book Center (on campus), Bookholders, and Maryland Book Exchange. What sucks, however, is that there's no independent coffee shop in town. Downtown College Park has ALOT of eateries and 3 bars (Thirsty Turtle, RJ Bentleys and Cornerstone). One big con for College Park is that it's EXTREMELY crowded, much of the time. US-1 (Baltimore Avenue) is the principal commuter route from Northern Prince George's County into the center of DC, and it's pretty much the only North-South road that traverses the entirety of College Park. US-1 is much more crowded than any other arterial thoroughfare in the metro area including MD-355 (Rockville Pike), MD-97 (George Avenue), MD-185 (Connecticut Avenue), US-29 (Colesville Road), and all the Virginia Arterials (Lee Highway, Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway, Arlington Boulevard, Leesburg Pike, Braddock Road, Little River Turnpike, Chain Bridge Roads, etc.)

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by BimpO

Thank you - these posts are VERY helpful.

I'm looking to purchase a home and I need something to justify high property taxes (in excess of $9000 on homes that cost less than $500,000), which must be paid year after year after year.

That's crazy high. Makes renting seem quite attractive though.

[From DC to NC]

as in horsham, pa?

i don't think any of the cities you mentioned are unreasonably unsafe. of course, there are problem areas any where you may go, especially close to shopping areas.

with that said, i personally regard greenbelt and college park as the nicer areas among those mentioned on your list. there are several nice apartment complexes in greenbelt - check out those that are off of greenbelt road in the direction of the bowie end. since college park is college town, you should have a good selection of apartments to choose from. college park has been in the news for a couple of isolated incidents but for the most part it is a safe area of typical, harmless college students.

i would not consider the pg plaza area. to shop, yes. to live, nah. it's just not my idea of a necessarily desirable area.

good luck!