Elementary School Recommendations for Family moving to DC from Australia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread ever. For all the rah raving about diversity and picking on posters who want high performance and diversity, when it comes down to it everyone merely pushes the rich white wannabe suburbs known as WOTP?? Screw that.

This OP has been looking in Takoma and Brookland. Stop steering them toward the elites. OP, I’m in Brookland and it’s great. You can try the lottery and have a pathway. If it’s a no go, move to Takoma Park. Skip the snooty NW and it’s oh so diverse World Bank employees and share the true diversity of DC with your children as much as you can.

a) OP wants a guarantee, not the lottery. She can afford $1.25m for a house, so she can afford to live where the highest-performing schools are located.
b) "move to Takoma Park...and share the true diversity of DC" makes no sense since Takoma Park is in Maryland.

And OP is smart to want a guarantee. She already has school age kids. It's not clear she would even be able to do the lottery for the first year. Even if she could, she would have ONE shot. It would be crazy to put yourself in a position where you would potentially have to move immediately.

This is very different from someone pregnant or with a newborn giving Brookland a go. They would have at least 5 years and could probably do a few years of EEC inbound while having a few years to try their luck at the lottery.

I would still strongly consider Takoma Park as opposed to AU. Similar vibe re suburban feel, but more funky/fun. Or, Shepard area as others have suggested.

I like both neighborhoods (live in AU Park, but had almost bought in TP), but the commute would be a lot more difficult from TP if her office is near Georgetown. And in Takoma Park you really want to be in a historic district to be in a walkable area and near the metro. Much of Takoma Park is not that walkable.

However, she said her main office is near Gtown, but that she'll be working in wards 4-8. TP would be a lot closer to Wards 4 and 5. So I think it depends on how often she'll need to be in her main office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park is a nice neighborhood, but OP should be aware that buying there would mean that her kids have to cross the park (by car or bus) in order to get to middle and high school. Same for her if she works in Georgetown. Commute-wise, it would be better for all of them if they live west of the park.

Also, while Shepherd Elementary is fine, it is not on par with the Deal and Hardy feeders west of the park.

OP Here: Thank you very much for this advice. Which park should we be west of? Thanks!

As the other PP said, it's Rock Creek Park that runs north-south through the city. Due to Washington's history of segregation, the areas west of RCP (WOTP) are the historically whiter, wealthier ones, where the public schools have a longer history of upper middle class attendance and are therefore generally high performing. They are more suburban in character and have lower levels of violent crime. They are also the areas where upper middle class international families tend to gravitate, partly due to the fact that most embassies are west of the park, but there are also many international transplants in those neighborhoods who have no connections to the embassies.

Neighborhoods east of RCP (EOTP) will be more urban, more racially diverse, have more crime, and generally lower performing schools (although there are some high performing schools EOTP as well). This is not to say that they are unsafe (most are not), but there is definitely more violent crime than WOTP if you look at the statistics (google DC crime map if this is of concern to you). Some neighborhoods EOTP are also rather suburban, but many will be more interesting in terms of restaurants and bars and have more of a feel of being in the city.

Since the best public middle schools and the only good public high school in DC are WOTP, I would recommend settling there. Yes, it is true that there is a dedicated bus that takes kids to Deal/Wilson from feeder neighborhoods EOTP, but if you live in AU Park/Tenleytown, or in the eastern parts of Chevy Chase DC, your kids will be able to walk or bike to school, which in my opinion is invaluable.

I live EOTP and generally agree with this summary of things. However, I would say that there is a fair amount of international diversity in some EOTP neighborhoods too--perhaps more so now than in years past. For example, I can think of neighbors who speak French, Spanish, German, Italian, Swahili, Amharic, Finnish, etc. in ours. Also have neighbors from anglophone countries (UK, Caribbean, etc.).

I realized I can't think of anyone from Australia or New Zealand, though--but lots of other parts of the world represented.

PP again. One other minor sticking point--not all EOTP neighborhoods have higher crime rates than WOTP. On the crime "heat" maps, our neighborhood is the same color (green) as WOTP. However, it is true that we are closer to higher crime areas than WOTP, so if that's a significant concern, then WOTP is definitely a better bet.

The crime "heat" maps can be misleading because they don't distinguish between violent crime and property crime. Violent crime is what really matters to me, so I prefer to look at the MPD map that gives detailed data.

[Anonymous]

Just move to Bethesda already.

[Anonymous]

I find it funny that the Only DC crowd is transplanting their obsession with the DC address on a foreigner who won’t likely give two Fs once they come here and look around. Magic 8 ball sees a future Arlington or Bethesda resident and not someone you hope mores to your “up and coming” area with their 1.25 mil that self fulfills it will be as interesting as Cap hill one day stick one hopes for.

People from far away don’t get the 200 year old artificial border of DC and think the other areas are far away. Once they see that most of DC is actually suburban and the Arlington and Bethesda would be considered inside the city just about anywhere else they choose nice and economically stable every time just about.

[Anonymous]

Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it funny that the Only DC crowd is transplanting their obsession with the DC address on a foreigner who won’t likely give two Fs once they come here and look around. Magic 8 ball sees a future Arlington or Bethesda resident and not someone you hope mores to your “up and coming” area with their 1.25 mil that self fulfills it will be as interesting as Cap hill one day stick one hopes for.

People from far away don’t get the 200 year old artificial border of DC and think the other areas are far away. Once they see that most of DC is actually suburban and the Arlington and Bethesda would be considered inside the city just about anywhere else they choose nice and economically stable every time just about.

But so freaking boring.

[Anonymous]

The OP says they are dual national citizens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it funny that the Only DC crowd is transplanting their obsession with the DC address on a foreigner who won’t likely give two Fs once they come here and look around. Magic 8 ball sees a future Arlington or Bethesda resident and not someone you hope mores to your “up and coming” area with their 1.25 mil that self fulfills it will be as interesting as Cap hill one day stick one hopes for.

People from far away don’t get the 200 year old artificial border of DC and think the other areas are far away. Once they see that most of DC is actually suburban and the Arlington and Bethesda would be considered inside the city just about anywhere else they choose nice and economically stable every time just about.

You can find nice and economically stable in DC as well, and her commute will be better. So will walkability, unless she is really close to downtown Bethesda. I can see very close-in Bethesda working, but would recommend avoiding the bridge traffic if she is planning to drive in and out during rush hour.

Most people don't buy in DC for the address, but I know that thought makes you feel better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

Oh, she wants 5 bedrooms? She won't find that in WOTP DC at her budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

Because OP says she wants to know that the schools she has a right to attend are high-performing from K-12. That's not Eastern (and probably not any of the middle schools yet either). When she discussed her desire for a small and progressive high school, someone did suggest Capitol Hill for elementary/middle and then private high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

And because she wants decent schools through high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

Oh, she wants 5 bedrooms? She won't find that in WOTP DC at her budget.

She needs at least 4 - has 4 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

And because she wants decent schools through high school.

Dumb question but...so does everyone with kids basically leave CH by high school? That seems so dumb. I just mean you'd think with all the money and power centered there they'd have gotten a good HS by now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread ever. For all the rah raving about diversity and picking on posters who want high performance and diversity, when it comes down to it everyone merely pushes the rich white wannabe suburbs known as WOTP?? Screw that.

This OP has been looking in Takoma and Brookland. Stop steering them toward the elites. OP, I’m in Brookland and it’s great. You can try the lottery and have a pathway. If it’s a no go, move to Takoma Park. Skip the snooty NW and it’s oh so diverse World Bank employees and share the true diversity of DC with your children as much as you can.

Brookland is about the last place anyone should recommend to someone who says guaranteed good schools are her top priority. And with a budget of 1.25M, OP is part of "the elites", so of course people are going to steer her there.