The cherry trees are dying faster than people can replace them, so the homes reveal more of themselves each year: humble brick ramblers, built in the 1950s on postage-stamp lots a quick walk from Holy Cross church. The neighborhood is largely untouched by the wave of knockdowns and jumbo additions swamping Montgomery County. It still feels a little like the '50s.

It's called Garrett Park Estates, but we joke that it's also North Bethesda or Rockville depending on whether you're buying or selling. No doubt it'll be Strathmore one of these days in honor of the new, elegant concert hall nearby.

Of course, we'll never have as many grand trees and millionaires as Garrett Park next door, but that's okay. We still have the community pool and the shortcut to the movie theater at White Flint Mall. And -- this is key -- we have more kids. When we moved in, one was dressed in full cowboy regalia, right down to the badge and six-shooters, as if from a place and time that no longer exist.