Chevy Chase MD
If you are looking for information about Chevy Chase, Maryland, you are in the right place. I am going to cover everything about Chevy Chase, Maryland when it comes to location, real estate, what’s fun to do here and if it’s good for families. I’ll also toss in some extra tidbits of information you will want to know. Your first question is probably is this town named after the actor or is the actor named after the town. I’ll get to that and more! I do these videos for you every week and break down living in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. I’ve lived here over 20 years and I know these areas. I go deeper than anybody. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the new videos.
Location
Chevy Chase MD sits on the northwest border of Washington, DC. It’s a neighborhood if you’re on the DC side, and either a town or a CDP or Census Designated Place if you’re on the Montgomery County, Maryland side. What’s a CDP? A CDP is the counterpart to an incorporated place which are self-governing like cities or towns or villages. The boundaries of a CDP can be slightly fluid as they are not legally recognized. People always get very confused on how Chevy Chase is structured. Chevy Chase has seven sections. There’s the CDP of Chevy Chase, the Town of Chevy Chase, then there are 5 self-governed villages – the Village of Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase Section 3, Chevy Chase Section 5, Martin’s Additions and North Chevy Chase. The villages all have their own governing boards. It’s adorable and yet so scary at the same time because of the rules. Village revenue is made up as follows: 50% from income taxes, 25% from property tax and 25% from speeding enforcement. The closest metro stop is over the DC line on Wisconsin Ave, at the Friendship Heights station.
Real Estate
When people want to move to or live in Chevy Chase, you don’t really hear them saying they need to live in one village over another or the town or the CDP. People go to Chevy Chase to escape DC, to get more space or to get into Montgomery County Schools. Since it’s inside the beltway, the location offers convenience to the city amenities and easy commuting to downtown. Chevy Chase is residential with retail along the major corridor of Wisconsin Ave. In fact, this is a theme of the development in Maryland. Retail and commercial areas are relegated to specific places instead of being spread here and there. There are apartments and condos here – mostly high-rise communities with many amenities and high fees. These buildings have a New York City feel to them, and the only people who won’t be blown away by the high monthly condo fees are actual New Yorkers. Condos start in the high $100,000’s for a studio or sometimes a one bedroom. Prices for one bedrooms are available at all price points to the high $300,000’s and then you will find that you can get into a 2 bedroom at the $400,000 price point. There are condos up to the $2M’s here, with more square footage than you can find in many single family homes. Because they are in high-rises, they often come with amazing views and outstanding amenities. Chevy Chase is mostly single-family homes. While you can find a few homes below $1M, they will either be smaller houses or need substantial renovation. The average price over the last six months of closed homes is $1.812M. The median price is $1.694M. The range of prices rises steadily through the $1M’s and well into the $2M’s. You will see some jumps into the $3M – $4M range as well for larger homes on more land. There are many styles of home here to include Colonials, Bungalows, Tudors, Contemporary, Mid-Century, Cape Cod and Craftsman. The 4-H Headquarters was here in Chevy Chase, but they have left for greener pastures (see what I did there?) and the site will become a senior living community.
Fun
If you have $100K to drop for the initiation fee, you can hob nob at the exclusive private Chevy Chase Club in Chevy Chase Village. If you don’t have $100K, and are looking for something less expensive, like, free – then Meadowbrook Park is for you! You can pick up the trails into Rock Creek Park and walk or bike to the DC Zoo. You can also walk or bike over to downtown Silver Spring. Chevy Chase offers a great jumping off point to so much There’s also Meadowbrook Stables if you want to take riding lessons. There are tons of sports fields at so many areas throughout the park. I can’t talk to you yet about the fledgling retail scene on Wisconsin Ave. It’s closing up, revamping, and starting over. There are still high-end shops here there but this is definitely a work-in-progress.
Is Chevy Chase Family Friendly?
Make no mistake about it – people move here for schools. Montgomery County Schools are highly rated and sought after and Chevy Chase schools are no joke. They are all top rated, you can’t go wrong here with public education. Elementary is split into 2 different schools. Rosemary Hills serves the lower grades, then Chevy Chase Elementary is 3rd to 5th grades. Everyone goes to Silver Creek Middle School and Bethesda Chevy Chase High School which locally we call “BCC.” We talked about the easy access to Rock Creek Park and the trails. Don’t miss Candy Cane City, the playground so named in Meadowbrook Park because, well….the playground looks like candy canes. Close by is Glen Echo Park which is an arts/cultural center with classes and camps and there’s Great Falls National Park MD. On the other side of Rock Creek is Silver Stars Gymnastics in Silver Spring which is a popular place for kids from toddler age to teens.
Food
You are surrounded by good food here. Clydes, a local DC favorite is on Wisconsin Avenue in Friendship Heights. Martin’s Addition has a strip of stores and lay claim to some of the gems of Chevy Chase. La Ferme is French, and of course named “most romantic restaurant” by Bethesda Magazine in 2016. They have country farmhouse decor, a large fireplace, live piano music and a covered patio if you want to sit outside. Brookeville Market is a small grocery store, also in Martin’s Addition. Olympia Café has salads, wraps, and sandwiches, and is also in Martin’s Addition. But there are some hidden gems to know about in neighboring Chevy Chase DC, Bethesda and Silver Spring. Parkway Deli is the NYC deli famed for their Matzo Ball Soup, in Silver Spring. In DC you have Parthenon on Connecticut Avenue inside DC line and they serve some awesome Greek food. You heard it here from this Greek! Macon Bistro & Larder is well known for its southern cooking – fresh biscuits, gourmet burgers. The “larder” side supplies carry out-ready pickles, cookies, and pies. And there’s Broad Branch Market which is a gourmet deli / grocery store. That’s just a sample, I can’t even get into Bethesda. There are tons and tons of restaurants up the street in Bethesda. They need their own video. We’ll get to those in a video just for Bethesda. Grocery Stores are everywhere! Safeway on Connecticut Avenue inside the DC line, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, MacGruders.
Did you know
Chevy Chase is one of the wealthiest and most highly educated places in the country and for sure in the DC Area, Chevy Chase is home to many prominent DC Politicians. Also the Geico Headquarters is here. I really love that gecko and his commercials. Chevy Chase the actor was not named after the area. But his grandmother nicknamed him Chevy after the same English “Ballad of Chevy Chase” for which this area was named.
Are there Places for Dogs?
No. Google Chevy Chase Dog Park and let me know how that works out for you. Oh, right, I’m supposed to be doing the work. Okay, in Sept 2019 – Chevy Chase Village board voted 5 to 2 to dismantle the only dog park Chevy Chase had. There’s a fantastic Washington Post Article that starts out with “Everyone knows there’s a problem with Chubbs” and that is the article you must find. The Cliff’s Notes Version is that they had a dog park, dogs barked, and then it was dismantled – costing the village hundreds of thousands of dollars and many contentious meetings. It was ugly, and it was memorialized online where you can read all about it. If you want dog parks, you will have to leave Chevy Chase. But, you always have the trails in Meadowbrook and Rock Creek Park, Great Falls and trail along the river. If you have any questions about Chevy Chase Maryland, let me know!
