Moving from NYC to DC suburbs...tell me why you like the DC suburbs

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

The public schools in McLean and Great Falls are the best in the state. Great Falls is rural and spread out but parts of McLean are walkable and there is easy Metro access.

I don’t understand people who think walkable to to anything in McLean is a benefit? They truly must never have lived in a city or like cities? It sounds awful to have the only things walking distance be soulless strip malls or a mush mash of little places surrounded by parking lots. It’s not the actual dry cleaner or coffee place that i yearn for, it’s the running into friends while walking all over, the variety of places, charm of the area, multiple options to sit outside, walking distance to parks, etc. and a real sense of community. We moved from the UWS to upper nw. While it was walkable to playgrounds and the library, it still felt isolated. We ended up moving again to old town, Alexandria and it feels a lot like the UWS. While we have cars and it’s easy to drive to the airport or beach or whatever, we pretty much walk everywhere. We go to the playgrounds and run into friends, there are lots of community events, the kids walk to sports, etc. The elementary school is excellent but we chose private for after that, although friends who stayed in public swear that it’s good as long as you’re in the gifted and talented classes

+1

Well, to be fair, once the Chesterbrook shopping center is fixed up, matters will improve.

It is kinda hideous and surprisingly so, considering the $$$ of the area. Friends from Winnetka, IL and Birmingham, MI have been shocked by McLean’s lack of high end shopping centers compared to what they have at home. Some things in “flyover country” can be very nice compared to what we’ve got.

I’ve been to Bloomfield, MI and sure it’s nice but come on, you actually want to live there as opposed to close to all the stuff that DC offers?

I don’t know what Winnetka IL is but same comment as above.

What does DC offer that is so special other than some museums people visit once a year?

I love DC, but I’m laughing at the ignorance of people who don’t know the US beyond a handful of places. DC has nice museums, but to act as if they are on par with some of those in other global capital cities shows how little knowledge some of these posters have. I have many well-traveled colleagues in Europe and Asia. If you ask them where they want to visit in the US, DC seldom makes the list. If you ask them about their favorite museums in the world, maybe 1 in 20 will mention something like Air and Space. If you ask about their favorite museums in the US, you are more likely to hear them mention museums in NY, Chicago. It’s perfectly valid to love DC, but understand many people here and around the world do not have the same love we have for the city.

+1

True, because the posters who claim "world class (whatever)" about DC have actually rarely resided in other places, sadly.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

You snuck in “analogous areas” when the first comparison was simply DC vs all of flyover country. That’s the comparison being made and what I objected to, but work yourself into a frenzy if you like.

[Anonymous]

Even McLean or Chevy Chase, the two most expensive suburbs in the DC area, are going to be a lot more relaxed than NW or NYC. City living is just way more competitive overall, at least for families with kids. If you live in NW you’ll be spending half your time angling for privates or explaining why you went ahead and sent your kid to Jackson-Reed or SWW. In the nicer suburbs, you have more space and privacy, people will assume you belong if you can live, and no one really cares whether you send your kids to good publics or good privates.

I get that the aesthetics of the DC suburbs aren’t on par with a lot of older suburbs in other areas, but the houses are still nice and the convenience is just as great if not greater, plus you’re not paying the exorbitant taxes that you might be paying in, say, a Larchmont or Scarsdale.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

You snuck in “analogous areas” when the first comparison was simply DC vs all of flyover country. That’s the comparison being made and what I objected to, but work yourself into a frenzy if you like.

Whatever, split hairs if it makes you feel better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

Not from the Midwest, but yes. No one with our income would live in a place that looks like Arlington in our home city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

+100%. I’ve grown to believe that many, many DMVers are genuinely delusional. The way they look down on the rest of the country is genuinely puzzling.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

I’m
Not from the Midwest, but yes. No one with our income would live in a place that looks like Arlington in our home city.

The NoVa housing stock, in particular, is terrible. So much of it was thrown up quickly post WW2, and it very much has a “thrown together” feel about. There are nice pockets here and there, but let’s stop pretending the area is what we all fantasized about in our “when I grow up” days.

[Anonymous]

I live in Bethesda in Edgemoor. Benefits are: nice yard for my dogs and kids. Friendly neighborhood. A little swim club that’s easy to walk to. Good public schools. Steps from down town coffee shops, restaurants, stores. 8 minute walk to the redline route of the metro that takes me right downtown. Walk to the grocery store, easy access to the beltway for popping out of town. Little crime, feels safe. Very clean. 10 minute drive to my job. I used to be in an apt down town that I also loved but moving out here with kids has been amazing. You can also look at some great neighborhoods in NW but everything I’m mentioning is expensive. Also take a look at Takoma Park. It’s a little groovy but people love it.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

No. Close-in Arlington or Bethesda have excellent schools and walkable (to coffee) neighborhoods.

- resident of (the horror!!) Reston

+1 I moved from another large city (not nyc) to Arlington (westover). What I like - best of both worlds, I can be downtown at a museum with my kid in about 10 minutes by car on a Saturday morning, I can still walk to coffee, a few of our favorite restaurants and the farmers market, lots of playgrounds, but I also can easily get to a grocery store (with my cargo bike on the trail or by car and enjoy the large parking lot and ease), I can easily drive places when it’s easier to with my kids but I also hate the in and out of car seats so we also have a cargo bike and tote the kids on the trails as much as possible. Next year my son will start kindergarten and we have a great public school that the neighbors all seem happy with a short walk away. No stress there which is very nice and obviously a huge privilege. Life is pretty easy. Parks and trails a block away. Neighbors who have become good friends, I can text on a Saturday morning and have impromptu get togethers with friends and their kids who are similar ages. I probably outed myself to anyone who knows me traipsing around westover on our bike but they are becoming more common by the day.

If you end up further out, we have family farther out in a suburb that isn’t walkable to shops etc and the benefits there I do see too - it’s quiet, there is a lake nearby, lots of culdesacs and neighbors are chill and friends. Kids run around (they do in Arlington too).

Whoa! This sounds great! Do you mind sharing the name of the elementary school? Is it Arlington Traditional? Is that hard to get into with the lottery? Sorry so many questions.

I’m a NYC girl who has lived in Arlington for many years now. I can’t think of any place in Arlington (the smallest county in the US) where you cannot walk to some kind of green space or park, and where you cannot walk to an elementary school. Now, because they have to balance ratios and they have a prohibition on elementary school children crossing certain major roads, your child might be bussed to school. My child was scheduled for a bus before we moved to a townhouse in a different part of Arlington, but if I wanted to walk to a school playground there were three closer to my condo than the one we were zoned for. ALL elementary schools in Arlington are good. The ones with the high proportion of lower income kids have smaller student to teacher ratios. If you stay along the Orange Line (center) of Arlington, you can definitely walk to many things. If you move to the far north, yes, you will want to drive to most things with kids.

But nothing is Manhattan or Brooklyn, so don’t expect to find it anywhere else, or NY style pizza and good bagels. But you must be coming here for a reason, so just shift your mind space.

I’m the westover pp and will just say I totally agree with this and the food.. basically my taste buds have adjusted but I swear even in the city most places aren’t as good as my previous city. There are good places but not the same so, you accept that and take the other good things. The food is probably the one thing I still miss sometimes.

The food in Arlington is just plain bad. Nearly all of it is bland and overpriced.

Moved from NYC to Arlington and it’s the one place in the DC area I’d never live in again. It’s really the worst of both worlds. It’s crowded but not sophisticated and suburban yet heavily paved over. And Westover is basically a giant nothingburger - the Italian Store (either location) is barely one step up from a Sbarro.

This.

And I lived in DC for over 15 years - different places like Georgetown, Kalorama, City Center - and then moved to Arlington (CC Hills). I love it here and will never live anywhere else. I was tired of the constant crime, restaurants that people raved about but in reality were not that good, and no friendly neighbors. I actually love the food scene in NoVa - lots of great ethnic restaurants, easy parking, accessible to other parts of the city, and no crime. And our neighbors are amazing. It's a real community here.

I think it's all about personal preference.

[Anonymous]

I lived in NYC and now I live in Chevy Chase. We walk everywhere here: preschool, ballet, music, park, restaurants, coffee, grocery and shops.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

The public schools in McLean and Great Falls are the best in the state. Great Falls is rural and spread out but parts of McLean are walkable and there is easy Metro access.

I don’t understand people who think walkable to to anything in McLean is a benefit? They truly must never have lived in a city or like cities? It sounds awful to have the only things walking distance be soulless strip malls or a mush mash of little places surrounded by parking lots. It’s not the actual dry cleaner or coffee place that i yearn for, it’s the running into friends while walking all over, the variety of places, charm of the area, multiple options to sit outside, walking distance to parks, etc. and a real sense of community. We moved from the UWS to upper nw. While it was walkable to playgrounds and the library, it still felt isolated. We ended up moving again to old town, Alexandria and it feels a lot like the UWS. While we have cars and it’s easy to drive to the airport or beach or whatever, we pretty much walk everywhere. We go to the playgrounds and run into friends, there are lots of community events, the kids walk to sports, etc. The elementary school is excellent but we chose private for after that, although friends who stayed in public swear that it’s good as long as you’re in the gifted and talented classes

+1

Well, to be fair, once the Chesterbrook shopping center is fixed up, matters will improve.

It is kinda hideous and surprisingly so, considering the $$$ of the area. Friends from Winnetka, IL and Birmingham, MI have been shocked by McLean’s lack of high end shopping centers compared to what they have at home. Some things in “flyover country” can be very nice compared to what we’ve got.

I’ve been to Bloomfield, MI and sure it’s nice but come on, you actually want to live there as opposed to close to all the stuff that DC offers?

I don’t know what Winnetka IL is but same comment as above.

What does DC offer that is so special other than some museums people visit once a year?

I love DC, but I’m laughing at the ignorance of people who don’t know the US beyond a handful of places. DC has nice museums, but to act as if they are on par with some of those in other global capital cities shows how little knowledge some of these posters have. I have many well-traveled colleagues in Europe and Asia. If you ask them where they want to visit in the US, DC seldom makes the list. If you ask them about their favorite museums in the world, maybe 1 in 20 will mention something like Air and Space. If you ask about their favorite museums in the US, you are more likely to hear them mention museums in NY, Chicago. It’s perfectly valid to love DC, but understand many people here and around the world do not have the same love we have for the city.

+1

True, because the posters who claim "world class (whatever)" about DC have actually rarely resided in other places, sadly.

Wait, why are we talking about other global capital cities now? I’ve been all over Europe and a few places in Asia and never said DC was better.

I’m just saying so you actually want to live in Bloomfield, MI? DC is a large city and has a lot going on. Give me any city (NY, SF, Chicago etc) and I’d rather live in those areas than in a small town. That’s just me.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

The public schools in McLean and Great Falls are the best in the state. Great Falls is rural and spread out but parts of McLean are walkable and there is easy Metro access.

I don’t understand people who think walkable to to anything in McLean is a benefit? They truly must never have lived in a city or like cities? It sounds awful to have the only things walking distance be soulless strip malls or a mush mash of little places surrounded by parking lots. It’s not the actual dry cleaner or coffee place that i yearn for, it’s the running into friends while walking all over, the variety of places, charm of the area, multiple options to sit outside, walking distance to parks, etc. and a real sense of community. We moved from the UWS to upper nw. While it was walkable to playgrounds and the library, it still felt isolated. We ended up moving again to old town, Alexandria and it feels a lot like the UWS. While we have cars and it’s easy to drive to the airport or beach or whatever, we pretty much walk everywhere. We go to the playgrounds and run into friends, there are lots of community events, the kids walk to sports, etc. The elementary school is excellent but we chose private for after that, although friends who stayed in public swear that it’s good as long as you’re in the gifted and talented classes

+1

Well, to be fair, once the Chesterbrook shopping center is fixed up, matters will improve.

It is kinda hideous and surprisingly so, considering the $$$ of the area. Friends from Winnetka, IL and Birmingham, MI have been shocked by McLean’s lack of high end shopping centers compared to what they have at home. Some things in “flyover country” can be very nice compared to what we’ve got.

I’ve been to Bloomfield, MI and sure it’s nice but come on, you actually want to live there as opposed to close to all the stuff that DC offers?

I don’t know what Winnetka IL is but same comment as above.

What does DC offer that is so special other than some museums people visit once a year?

I love DC, but I’m laughing at the ignorance of people who don’t know the US beyond a handful of places. DC has nice museums, but to act as if they are on par with some of those in other global capital cities shows how little knowledge some of these posters have. I have many well-traveled colleagues in Europe and Asia. If you ask them where they want to visit in the US, DC seldom makes the list. If you ask them about their favorite museums in the world, maybe 1 in 20 will mention something like Air and Space. If you ask about their favorite museums in the US, you are more likely to hear them mention museums in NY, Chicago. It’s perfectly valid to love DC, but understand many people here and around the world do not have the same love we have for the city.

+1

True, because the posters who claim "world class (whatever)" about DC have actually rarely resided in other places, sadly.

Wait, why are we talking about other global capital cities now? I’ve been all over Europe and a few places in Asia and never said DC was better.

I’m just saying so you actually want to live in Bloomfield, MI? DC is a large city and has a lot going on. Give me any city (NY, SF, Chicago etc) and I’d rather live in those areas than in a small town. That’s just me.

People on DCUM regularly, outwardly look down on Chicago, so it’s funny you mention that. Which is hilarious from an international perspective because DC is several notches below Chicago in terms of awareness, interest, and cultural importance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

Look at Bethesda/ Chevy Chase, OP. I am talking 20816 and 20815 zip codes. Check them out. Schools are good and not far from downtown DC or downtown Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

Not from the Midwest, but yes. No one with our income would live in a place that looks like Arlington in our home city.

DP but yeah I don’t get it. I’d rather drive out a bit further out like Loudoun to buy a house than a tiny old shack like the ones in Arlington. I don’t understand the appeal at all.