Colonial Village/Shephard Park neighborhood in DC (crime, college)

[lak29]

I would love to hear your impressions of this neighborhood. Do you find it convenient, safe, kid-friendly? Thanks.

[akorosdc]

I don't know much about it, but from drive-throughs it looked nice to me. Reminded me a little of my neighborhood growing up. As far as convenience, you're near the Silver Spring metro station and close to the Beltway (495), which is pretty nice as far as getting somewhere. You should be able to find restaurants and stores in Silver Spring or along Georgia Avenue.

[Moth]

My wife grew up there, so I know it pretty well.

Its very lovely, quiet for the most part, and convenient to lots of things like RC Park, Silver Spring, etc. The housing stock is very appealing.

There is a bit more crime than some places as its not so far from sketchy areas that begin at Georgia Avenue. Mrs Moth has many stories of neighbors getting clobbered. The usual cautions would be in order.

This may sound a bit controversial, but I will go ahead and say it anyways. The area is mixed black and white. Things are fine between the two for the most part. But a lot of the blacks are the old DC elite and tend to raise an eyebrow towards newcomers. I saw some instances of unprovoked snobbery, not really racism, towards new arrivals, both black and white. They want things to stay the same. Its not so much race as simply class. Were you to move there, I would recommend going out of your way to win over the old timers. Be very deferential to seemingly trivial things- parking, fences, etc. And remember that a lot of them were there in the bad old days and have memories, if you get my drift.

Its analagous to college kids entering a staid local pub and turning the place into their own. The regulars would not like it so its better to proceed cautiously and win them over.

Having said that, its a nice area and I sometimes wish we had settled there. Good luck!

[CHIP72]

Living in Silver Spring on the west side of the Metro, I take near daily walks through Shepherd Park. There is some very nice housing architecture, especially closer to Alaska Avenue. A lot of what was said above, about the neighborhood having a number of old money black people, the natives being somewhat suspect of newcomers, and more roughness the closer you get to Georgia Avenue (especially the further south you go) all strike me as being accurate, based on my observations.

The only two negatives I see about Shepherd Park, at least from my point of view, are:

1) There is absolutely no commercial development in the neighborhood whatsoever; you need to go to Silver Spring or close to Georgia Avenue in the District to find retail amenities. That means you'll probably need to drive to most places, unless you live close to Georgia Avenue and/or Eastern Avenue.

2) People in Shepherd Park are serious about their politics. I moved to Silver Spring in March 2008, and many people had their political signs up then. (The DC primary was in February 2008.) They didn't take those signs down until a few weeks after the November election. Heck, a couple people STILL have their signs up. Oh, and every Presidential sign, without exception, was Obama. Heck, I didn't know what a John McCain sign looked like for many months, and I never saw a Hillary Clinton sign either!

[rlchurch]

I like just south of there. Both area are very nice, adjacent to Rock Creek Park, which is a wonderful resource. Accessible to downtown and Silver Spring. Property values have held up very well in the recent downturn.

[Dennis18708]

Thinking of moving here. How have things changed, if at all, in the past few years?