Buyer Beware
-
8/16/2015
I have been a resident of Takoma Park since 1987. During that time, I have watched it change from a haven for artists and musicians to a yuppified, pretentious, superficial environment, where now, even your next door neighbors may snub you if they think they paid more for their house than you did. The streets are insanely narrow, often torn up, and you have to play chicken to get around people on the street. For two years, we haven't been able to use our sidewalks because of ongoing repairs and road construction. Granted, the tree canopy is wonderful, and sometimes we have deer walking right up our street. The birds are wonderful. The community events sponsored by the city are subject to a high degree of nepotism, thereby sacrificing quality in many cases. Leaving Takoma Park can be a shock because of the horrible traffic you encounter along New Hampshire Ave. and other streets exiting the city. The local Co-op is wonderful, but food costs here are astronomical. The schools have a lot of drugs, and the PTA's and school officials pretend they don't. We have a reputation for being ecological, but I don't see that. The farmer's market is ridiculously overpriced. I never buy anything there. We have a wonderful hardware store downtown with a friendly, helpful staff, and some cute restaurants that are well supported. I have lived here without a car for about 10 years now, and I successfully can do so because of the public transportation in this area although the Metro has become increasingly unreliable and unsafe as the years have gone by. We recently had a serious fire on the Metro that killed one person and injured a large number of other people. I personally witnessed a fire on the Metro and had to exit the car. So, don't believe everything you read about Takoma Park. If you want privacy, take a look on Google Earth. The houses are extrmely close together, and I recently heard my next door neighbor sneeze inside of his home with the windows closed. You can hear your neighbor's babies crying inside their homes. Takoma Park is a heavily dog-friendly city. If you don't like dogs, don't move here. It has its share of bad dog owners along with lots of responsible dog owners. However, it has taken 20 years to get the city to agree to establish a leash free dog park, and in my neighborhood, people have illegally off-leashed their dogs for years in a local park. If you are not a young couple with children or planning to start of family, you may feel displaced here. Weigh the good with the bad; there's plenty of both.
Kathleen | Takoma Park, MD