Comments on: Best Places to Live and Launch 2008: No. 5, Bethesda, Md.

By: Chris, Bethesda, MD

Chris, Bethesda, MD — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:30:20 +0000

I love your mentality Sarah "you can have it" i couldnt agree more.

By: Chris, Bethesda, MD

Chris, Bethesda, MD — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:26:59 +0000

Bethesda is a nice, clean town. It has many restaurants, some shopping, and theatres blocks away from each other. But that's all Bethesda has. As a young adult whose grown up in Bethesda, I can tell you that their is nothing for young teens or adults to do in this town. Dinner and a movie is the best plan for an evening out in Bethesda. There are few bars scattered around the town and the pricing is a little outrageous for young adults trying to grab a quick drink without worrying about the bill. If you're middle-aged, then this might be a nice place for an outting with your husband/wife; boyfriend/girlfriend. Otherwise, the atmosphere isn't meant for socialization amongst the younger generations.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:27:41 +0000

move

By: Mark G. Silver Spring, MD

Mark G. Silver Spring, MD — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:19:06 +0000

There is plenty out there now! In fact I think there is way too much. It's growth has been phenomenal but it has cost Bethesda it's unique socio-economic blend mixing the small town feeling of it's neighborhoods with the vigor of nearby Washington DC. It was not unusual to see Senators and Congressmen sitting elbow to elbow with blue collar workers in the authentic atmosphere of McDonald's Raw Bar or O'Donnel's Seafood Rest. (see a trend here?)

But…"It aint what it used to be" then again I guess that was the idea behind all that growth… and big money

By: Fernanda, London UK

Fernanda, London UK — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

When I was 5 I moved to Bethesda from Buenos Aires, Argentina. There was nothing there 20 years ago. I moved out 2 years ago to go to univeristy and I really miss it. It was a great place to grow up, fun, full of places to eat and its got some lovely streets. If you want busy city life its just around the corner and I would have stayed if the whole DC area and its surroundings had a bigger culture in underground art and film. Yes there's a lot of snobby rich people but there's loads of decent people as well. Its easy to stereotype but if you only know snobby people then you're hanging out with the wrong people. Yes it has gotten really expensive but if you can afford it, then its a great place to live, if you cant then go out to dinner around there and you'll love it.

By: John Willoughby,Bethesda,MD

John Willoughby,Bethesda,MD — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:51:27 +0000

First of all, The education level of Bethesda is 90% from all the foreign scientits at NIH! The rest are not that high! Having lived here now for over 30 yrs, I can say Bethesda lacks people of culture, good manners, civility, or in plain English, CLASS!Ask anyone who works in retail and all will say that the people here are the most horrible. Bethesda lost its charm when it went on a building boom. Now it's the Arlington of Maryland. I regret moving here. The Spring Valley area of Washington, D.C. is a much better place.

By: Lynne, Dacula, GA

Lynne, Dacula, GA — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:22:30 +0000

I lived in Maryland for 19 years and loved it. Bethesda is a very expensive, close-in suburb where you can qualify to live if you are a well-paid executive, new in town diplomat, or very old Washington family, and you like to name drop about where you live. It's not for your regular middle class earner, unless you feel like living in a shoe box for $1500 a month. Downtown Silver Spring is revitalizing, and my son just moved there for his first job out of college. It's still a bit pricey, but way more accessible than Bethesda.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:43:20 +0000

Sorry but you are absolutely wrong Harlem is now very expensive with beautiful architectural naboiorhoods,
That has always been there but has resurged to it's glory within the last 10 years and as far as Bethesda is concerned it is my hometown and I still love it….expensive, congested as it is love that town.

By: Bethesda, MD

Bethesda, MD — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:33:33 +0000

I love living in Bethesda!! It's the best life ever.

By: Emily, Chevy Chase, MD

Emily, Chevy Chase, MD — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:18:52 +0000

you should check out silver spring, rockville, kensington and takoma park

By: Sarah Mahany, Bethesda MD

Sarah Mahany, Bethesda MD — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:17:46 +0000

I grew up in Bethesda, and have lived nearby for all of my life. I hate it. HATE IT! Snotty, arrogant, very self-important people have made this area unpleasant. Bethesda used to be a charming, friendly place – over the weekend, a complete stranger actually helped me at a local gas station..that was a shock! The Bethesda Farm Womans' Market isn't even that – a market – it's just a place for people to sell cheap jewelry, etc..hardly a market.
And the cost of living here? Don't even start. What a nasty place this has become. The cost of living here has made it very difficult for people that make less than 50k to even survive. It is definitely not a 'great place to live'.
You can have it.

By: Meagan, Silver Spring

Meagan, Silver Spring — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:41:55 +0000

Great Place to live, and great place to be! Yes the cost of living is very high, but you can access anything in the DC metropolitian area! there are plenty of apartment buildings near the metro. take your pick. ps i love the blackfinn bar!

By: Rockville, MD

Rockville, MD — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:00:11 +0000

you have to have a salary around $150K to be able to enjoy Bethesda.

By: Scott, Baltimore, MD

Scott, Baltimore, MD — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:05:35 +0000

I have been offered a job in Bethesda but know it is very expensive. Is there a location nearby or a few metro stops away that is nice to live? Cheaper? Access to outdoor activities? Thank you.

By: N. Taxman, Austin, TX

N. Taxman, Austin, TX — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:57:44 +0000

As a Navy vet, I'm quite familiar with Bethesda; one of my progeny was born at the National Naval Medical Center. But the cost of living there is horrendous. Better to live in Howard County, about 15-20 miles north of the Beltway.

By: elizabeth baci bethesda, md

elizabeth baci bethesda, md — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:51:06 +0000

so glad you like Bethesda! Having only lived here for 4 years, I agree! Its a great place for kids, families, singles, the young and the old!
We have great green space, so close to DC, great arts, restaurants, great facilities, and the public schools are the top!

By: Emily, Chevy Chase, MD

Emily, Chevy Chase, MD — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:32:52 +0000

The funniest things about all these comments are that the insulting ones all come from people who don't actually live in Bethesda. I live five minutes away from Bethesda and havn't found much wrng with it or the people that live there. It's not perfect, but no city is. The traffic may be bad but no worse then other cities.

By: Rockville, MD

Rockville, MD — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:18:32 +0000

If Bethesda is number five then that's bad news for everybody not in the top four. First of all, Maryland, in general, is not business friendly. Montgomery County is one of the least business friendly counties in Maryland. They may offer some incentives to tech companies, but the benefits far from outweigh the costs. The traffic and business congestion in Bethesda and the surrounding areas are terrible.

There is an educated work force in Bethesda, but you'll pay for it. And if you were to set up shop ten miles south (in Northern Virginia) then you would have a lot less problems with labor unions.

I would recommend not trying to set up shop in Bethesda.

By: Bill, Gainesville, va

Bill, Gainesville, va — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:48:17 +0000

I lived in DC area all my life. DC is very upper class and image city, if you are blue collar or uneduated immigrant, I would not come to the DC area. You have many upper class blacks, but they live in Prince George's County. DC suburbs are very WASP do not get fool by this international city, the intrenational residents are rich and are dips, they are more American than Joe the Plumber. DC is hard city to live because of traffic, but DC area is very rich area, with very few poor communities, the areas they ghettos like in Washington, DC would be consider middle class communities in New York City. DC is too rich, too snobby, too WASP.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:31:30 +0000

Traffic is ridiculous!