s/o Would you move to Ward 3 if money wasn't an issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We considered moving to ward 3 and had spent some time looking for homes there. Prior to that we lived in Ward 2, bought a small rowhouse as DINKs and tried raising family there until our second kid was born. We thought ward 3 was the next logical step - getting a detached home with a little yard, garage, and still have walkability and metro access. After looking for a while we just didn't like what we were getting in our price range (up to a million) although we had plenty of properties in this price range near great elementary schools. We extended out search to Mclean and decided to move there and don't regret it a bit. We are walkable to the downtown Mclean and elementary school and there is a bus system there in case you need it, although we never used it.

Our main reasons:

- We already ended up spending most weekends driving to see family/friends scattered around DC metro area, so were accustomed to driving everywhere even while living in ward 2.
- Didn't want to worry about schools after elementary. Job security is getting worse these days and we didn't want to have to commit to having to pay for schools.
- wanted one-story living with basement and attached garage, NW DC is not the place for these types of properties, even if you have money. We were willing to compromise on 1-2 story living, but even finding a place with attached garage was challenging.
- Ward 3 didn't feel that urban to us to really have to pay extra and many places were not that walkable to metro anyway and streets didn't have sidewalks in some parts. We just didn't see the value.
- Driving to most places of interest in DC took just as long from some parts of ward 3 as from close in suburbs in NOVA.
- We never used the metro after the kids were born anyway, driving was easier to run errands, see family. Even as DINKs we only used it once in a while, preferred to walk to take cabs instead when going out. Living in ward 3 would probably have us driving or taking cabs anyway on our rare date nights out, same as we do in Mclean.

But the original question is "if money weren't an issue" and you could live anywhere you wanted in Ward 3. In my opinion, you really need to be able to comfortably spend $1.3m minimum (preferably more) on a home and have enough to additionally send your children to private (at least eventually) to live in Ward 3. If you can't do this, I definitely think the burbs are a better value and can be great as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We considered moving to ward 3 and had spent some time looking for homes there. Prior to that we lived in Ward 2, bought a small rowhouse as DINKs and tried raising family there until our second kid was born. We thought ward 3 was the next logical step - getting a detached home with a little yard, garage, and still have walkability and metro access. After looking for a while we just didn't like what we were getting in our price range (up to a million) although we had plenty of properties in this price range near great elementary schools. We extended out search to Mclean and decided to move there and don't regret it a bit. We are walkable to the downtown Mclean and elementary school and there is a bus system there in case you need it, although we never used it.

Our main reasons:

- We already ended up spending most weekends driving to see family/friends scattered around DC metro area, so were accustomed to driving everywhere even while living in ward 2.
- Didn't want to worry about schools after elementary. Job security is getting worse these days and we didn't want to have to commit to having to pay for schools.
- wanted one-story living with basement and attached garage, NW DC is not the place for these types of properties, even if you have money. We were willing to compromise on 1-2 story living, but even finding a place with attached garage was challenging.
- Ward 3 didn't feel that urban to us to really have to pay extra and many places were not that walkable to metro anyway and streets didn't have sidewalks in some parts. We just didn't see the value.
- Driving to most places of interest in DC took just as long from some parts of ward 3 as from close in suburbs in NOVA.
- We never used the metro after the kids were born anyway, driving was easier to run errands, see family. Even as DINKs we only used it once in a while, preferred to walk to take cabs instead when going out. Living in ward 3 would probably have us driving or taking cabs anyway on our rare date nights out, same as we do in Mclean.

But the original question is "if money weren't an issue" and you could live anywhere you wanted in Ward 3. In my opinion, you really need to be able to comfortably spend $1.3m minimum (preferably more) on a home and have enough to additionally send your children to private (at least eventually) to live in Ward 3. If you can't do this, I definitely think the burbs are a better value and can be great as well.

I have to admit, I anticipated this comment. True, money is an issue as we didn't feel comfortable going over a million on a home and felt we would be overextended having to pay for private schools. However.. if money is truly, TRULY not an issue, I think I would much rather see ourselves living in one of these nice 2 mil and up grand Victorian rowhomes around Dupont or somewhere in East Village part of Georgetown. I've seen a nice colonial in Gtown for 2 mil with a little yard and parking and not too many stairs, I can definitely see myself living there and loving it. I truly would be able to enjoy walking to most places I love around the city like I used to living in Ward 2. Living in ward 3 even if I had 3 mil to spend, would still make us get into the car pretty much as often as we do now living in the burbs. The bottom line was, we had to compromise anyway as far as walkability is concerned whether we would live in ward 3 or in close-in parts of NOVA. I just didn't think the quality of places we would walk to in DC NW residential parts was comparable to what we had access to living in ward 2. I am not talking about bars/restaurants, just the overall feel of the area walking around. The parks, waterfront access, circles, architecture, the vibe of the streets, variety of things you see, stuff we loved about ward 2 is not going to be in ward 3. Places we could walk to will no longer be accessible, taxi rides will be more expensive, etc. I just didn't feel like ward 3 had that much of an edge over the close-in NOVA burbs to pay more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We considered moving to ward 3 and had spent some time looking for homes there. Prior to that we lived in Ward 2, bought a small rowhouse as DINKs and tried raising family there until our second kid was born. We thought ward 3 was the next logical step - getting a detached home with a little yard, garage, and still have walkability and metro access. After looking for a while we just didn't like what we were getting in our price range (up to a million) although we had plenty of properties in this price range near great elementary schools. We extended out search to Mclean and decided to move there and don't regret it a bit. We are walkable to the downtown Mclean and elementary school and there is a bus system there in case you need it, although we never used it.

Our main reasons:

- We already ended up spending most weekends driving to see family/friends scattered around DC metro area, so were accustomed to driving everywhere even while living in ward 2.
- Didn't want to worry about schools after elementary. Job security is getting worse these days and we didn't want to have to commit to having to pay for schools.
- wanted one-story living with basement and attached garage, NW DC is not the place for these types of properties, even if you have money. We were willing to compromise on 1-2 story living, but even finding a place with attached garage was challenging.
- Ward 3 didn't feel that urban to us to really have to pay extra and many places were not that walkable to metro anyway and streets didn't have sidewalks in some parts. We just didn't see the value.
- Driving to most places of interest in DC took just as long from some parts of ward 3 as from close in suburbs in NOVA.
- We never used the metro after the kids were born anyway, driving was easier to run errands, see family. Even as DINKs we only used it once in a while, preferred to walk to take cabs instead when going out. Living in ward 3 would probably have us driving or taking cabs anyway on our rare date nights out, same as we do in Mclean.

But the original question is "if money weren't an issue" and you could live anywhere you wanted in Ward 3. In my opinion, you really need to be able to comfortably spend $1.3m minimum (preferably more) on a home and have enough to additionally send your children to private (at least eventually) to live in Ward 3. If you can't do this, I definitely think the burbs are a better value and can be great as well.

I have to admit, I anticipated this comment. True, money is an issue as we didn't feel comfortable going over a million on a home and felt we would be overextended having to pay for private schools. However.. if money is truly, TRULY not an issue, I think I would much rather see ourselves living in one of these nice 2 mil and up grand Victorian rowhomes around Dupont or somewhere in East Village part of Georgetown. I've seen a nice colonial in Gtown for 2 mil with a little yard and parking and not too many stairs, I can definitely see myself living there and loving it. I truly would be able to enjoy walking to most places I love around the city like I used to living in Ward 2. Living in ward 3 even if I had 3 mil to spend, would still make us get into the car pretty much as often as we do now living in the burbs. The bottom line was, we had to compromise anyway as far as walkability is concerned whether we would live in ward 3 or in close-in parts of NOVA. I just didn't think the quality of places we would walk to in DC NW residential parts was comparable to what we had access to living in ward 2. I am not talking about bars/restaurants, just the overall feel of the area walking around. The parks, waterfront access, circles, architecture, the vibe of the streets, variety of things you see, stuff we loved about ward 2 is not going to be in ward 3. Places we could walk to will no longer be accessible, taxi rides will be more expensive, etc. I just didn't feel like ward 3 had that much of an edge over the close-in NOVA burbs to pay more.

16:15 here .. I hear you on your points. To me, the key to being able to enjoy any place is to be able to comfortably afford it! I see so many people over-extending themselves -ie: they have the huge home in the right neighborhood but are maxed out. We chose Ward 3 (Wesley Heights) because we feel it's charming without the cookie cutter feel of the some other less urban neighborhoods, and it's also a very accessible location to get to Dupont, Georgetown etc. We can walk to a Starbucks and Whole Foods, but it's certainly not Dupont . We pondered the idea of one of the large Dupont townhomes (I agree!), but ultimately would need to spend a lot more for what we'd want if in that location. For us, if money were no object, we'd move to Kalorama - so charming and right in the heart of it all. I feel Georgetown has its charms but it's hard to get in and out of - maybe if the kids were older, we were retired and didn't need to get anywhere fast! I actually really like Glover Park too - it seems so family friendly and still has many of the urban amenities, and easier to get in/out of compared to Georgetown - but most of the homes are on the smaller size. I do like some areas in McLean - just not the McMansions or their owners!

[Anonymous]

if money were no object I would not live in DC. period (I don't now).

[Anonymous]

What's a DINK?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's a DINK?

Double Income No Kids

[Anonymous]

I would've preferred more urban, but DH did not want that for kids. Our compromise was Ward 3 (he wanted either Arlington or Bethesda). I've made my peace with it. Would prefer that the buses ran more frequently. We live in "inner" Ward 3, so we benefit from proximity to stores, parks, shops, etc. We still have sidewalks but the neighborhood is mostly detached houses. Many DCPS Ward 3 schools are quite, quite good. And, at this rate, I know many folks who plan to send their kids to Deal.

[Anonymous]

I lived in two different large detached homes in Ward 3, one two blocks from the Cleveland Park Metro, and one three blocks from the Woodley Park metro. The second had an attached garage, and everything else you could want in a home. For a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with money and everything to do with liveabilty, we moved to Virginia (also near the metro, so we didn't even give up that) and have never looked back. There are more shops and restaurants within walking distance of my house than there were in either Cleveland or Woodley Park.

I work on the east side of downtown, and my commute is now around 30 min at rush hour (15-20 min off peak). The other day, I drove from my office to a party at an embassy near the Naval Observatory, and it took over an hour to get there. There was nothing special going on, just traffic. No thanks.

Did I mention that during the approximately ten years I lived in Ward 3, my house was burgled three times? And don't get me started on my DC government horror stories.