Top 5 Reasons to Move to Silver Spring, MD

Washington D.C. is a great city for so many reasons, but the nearby suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland is definitely worth taking a look at too. It has so many of the amenities of D.C. for a fraction of the costs for housing. Here are some of my reasons why I love Silver Spring and call it home!

1. So Many Transportation Options

Silver Spring MD is a northern suburb of Washington D.C. in Montgomery County, MD. The city of Silver Spring spans from the border it shares with D.C. right below the Beltway of I-495 (although not officially defined), however the Greater Silver Spring area has over 7 zip codes and also borders Howard County, MD. Now that we have a general of idea of where Silver Spring is, let’s talk about why it’s such a central location. Let’s start with how most people get around; if you’re driving then you would take the main highways and roads which are “The Beltway” I-495, East West Highway (410), Georgia Ave., and Columbia Pike (29), all of which will take you around to D.C. and surrounding areas. There are 3 major airports within a 30 mile radius, give or take which are Reagan, Dulles, and Baltimore Washington International. If you work in the office every day and just don’t want to deal with the traffic, and there’s pretty much always traffic here, don’t worry though because you have options! There are 4 different metros, soon to be 5 metros that run through Silver Spring, all of which are off of the Red Line metro system. The 5th metro stop which is currently in the works will be off of the new Purple Line system. Not only are there metros to get in and out of the city easily, but the MARC commuter train also has a stop in Downtown Silver Spring transit center.

2. Tons of Parks

Probably one of my favorite things about living in Silver Spring is the amount of parks close to all residential neighborhoods, no matter where you live in the area! There are plenty of neighborhood parks around that offer a community meeting place for residents walking their dogs, playing with their kids, or a great venue for a boutique farmers market on the weekends. Some of the most notable and largest parks in the area are Rock Creek Park (which is bigger than Central Park in NY and also runs through D.C.), Brookside, and Sligo Creek. The parks all offer biking and walking trails, beautiful scenery, and activities from tennis to basketball courts to picnic tables and grill stations. Here’s a great resource to learn more about the parks around not only Silver Spring but Montgomery County, https://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks-directory/.

3. Diversity

Silver Spring has been voted as one of the top 5 most cultural diverse cities in the country…in the entire country, according to WalletHub. This city has diversity across the board from the people being racial and cultural diverse, to religious, and economically diverse. And with that kind of diversity it only means one thing…great food and lots of options. Foodies unite! This city has tons of diverse restaurants and eateries and different grocery stores offering unique flavors and spices you might not find in other cities. For more information on the WalletHub story, check it out here, https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-and-least-ethno-racial-and-linguistic-diversity/10264/.

4. Great Urban Center

One of the interesting things about Silver Spring is its unique urban core that has defined the city. The urban core has been part of Downtown Silver Spring for over 20 years and it was just announced that it will be getting updated by the original developer. The downtown core has plenty of shopping at both the indoor and outdoor malls, restaurants, and Regal Cinemas. During the summer, its home to many community festivals and outdoor concerts and in the winter, the city center is turned into an ice skating rink. There is never a shortage of activities to do here, including the Filmore concert hall, they feature lots of underground and popular musical artists from different genres of music and the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center, where they play classic and independent films.

5. Lots of Job Opportunities

Silver Spring is home and headquarters to some of the biggest companies in the country and there are plenty of job opportunities here whether or not you move for a particular opportunity and decide to grow into another opportunity later. Here are just a few of the companies that decided to call Silver Spring home: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), TVOne Television network, and United Therapeutics.