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Where to live with 2 kids, Dupont job, occasional NY commute
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Anonymous
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Hello all, I decided to rely on your collective wisdom for insight into a nice, well-priced, easy-to-commute neighborhood. My wife and I are moving to DC in August and we have two boys (3mo and 3y). I'll be working in Dupont Circle and my wife will be in school (requiring one weekly commute to NY).
Our price range is $1800 - 2500 for a 2bd apartment (2ba also pref). Our criteria is: price, commute time, access to good daycares, parks, people on the streets/not a boring neighborhood, access to restaurants and a "whole foods" type market. We've considered the following neighborhoods, is my assessment correct? Can we find a good 2bd for under $2200? Dupont - like the neighborhood, but I feel like we're priced out? Capitol Hill - eastern market seems great, but neighborhood seems pricey, and good parts are spotty? Silver Spring, MD - the commute to Dupont seems far Van Ness - commute seems great, but is it sleepy? Friendship Heights - long commute? |
Anonymous
| I would vote for Silver Spring. It will be convenient for the Red Line to both Dupont circle and Union Station if your wife is taking the train or bus to NY. If you go to the Metro website, which I think is wmata.com, you should be able to get a time estimate of the commute. It takes me less than 20 minutes of actual train time from Silver Spring to Gallery Place. So dupont Circle may be 30 minutes on the train, but likely a bit less. |
Anonymous
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As you have children, I say Bethesda. The rents may be higher but the schools are fantastic and the area is very safe, walkable etc. Close to metro, inside the beltway, tons of activities, tons of restaurants, parks galore, access to the Capitol Crescent Trail where you can bike, run, walk to your heart's content.
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Anonymous
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Another vote for downtown SS. You can find a 2-bedroom in that price range (possibly even a 3-bedroom at the top of that price range), we love living there with a small child, it's not too far from Union station on the red line, daycares are a little more affordable in comparison with much of the DC area, and the commute to Dupont is do-able (about 25 min on metro), so door to door would probably be about 40-45 min depending on exactly where you live/work.
In terms of daycare, you would have lots of options for the 3yo, less so for the infant. |
Anonymous
| Since your children are not school aged and you are renting, there is no reason to pay a higher premium for schools-- your budget probably does not support Bethesda. $2200 for a 2-bedroom in downtown SS is very doable. There are tons of parks/playgrounds to walk to, Gymboree, Great Kids Village (a children's playspace), farmers market and library, there are concerts every weekend downtown, a sprayground fountain, lots of interesting things that are walkable, diversity of great restaurants. Now there are less upscale shops than Bethesda, but we don't find that to be an issue. |
Anonymous
| There is also a Whole Foods in downtown Silver Spring. |
Anonymous
Agree that Bethesda does not make sense given the age of your children (you can always move when they are ready for school). Also Bethesda covers a very large area and not all of it is close to public transit or the other things that you are looking for. |
Anonymous
It's a shame that Van Ness is so sleepy street life-wise, because there's some good pre-War apartment housing stock mixed in with the mid-Century. You should still look at Dupont, though price-wise you're a little limited. Have you tried Columbia Heights or Mt. Pleasant (but close to 16th St. for connectedness purposes)? Also look at Lanier, which is the northern part of Adams Morgan. Look elsewhere in Adams Morgan, too, but I think you'll find prices a little limiting in the western part. I don't know anything about prices in the West End... would this be good for OP? If you drop the second bathroom, you'll find more options. |
Anonymous
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Minimum in West End is $2200 for a 1br/den. Its a pretty pricey place and will probably only have 1 bathroom.
Best bet is probably downtown Silver Spring - check out the Blairs. |
Anonymous
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I would think that daycare/preschool would probably be easiest to find in Silver Spring - from what I understand, it's really difficult to find good child care in DC proper. (I live in Fairfax and work in DC and found daycare near home instead of work mostly for that reason.) The commute to DC should be pretty nice from Silver Spring and you'll have shopping and restaurants and movies nearby. I like what they've done with the business district there.
If you could find child care in DC, my preference would probably be Capitol Hill - there's an area near Peabody School and Union Station that is pretty nice - right around 4th & D NE. Close to Union Station metro, which is red line. Eastern Market area is nice, too, but then you have to transfer to red line or walk from farragut West on orange/blue. If you stay West of about 12th or 13th in NE and SE, and South of E NE, the neighborhoods are pretty decent. (I think it gets sketchier as you cross 15th St East or get closer to H St NE, which isn't totally developed yet.) Capitol Hill has nice street traffic, there's a Safeway at 14th & E SE and some cute shops and restaurants, plus the weekend farmer's market. And there are a bunch of cute little parks, some with playground equipment. Here's a place near Eastern Market that looks nice and appears to be in your price range for a 2 BR/2 BA: http://tinyurl.com/23gqx5w |
Anonymous
| You might consider Logan Circle, in addition to Silver Spring. It's within walking distance to the Dupont metro, there's a Whole Foods, Stead Park/Playground, the DC JCC (also has a preschool with full-time hours), and a lot of young families. It's not as expensive as Dupont, but it is getting pricier. |
Anonymous
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Speaking as someone who lives in Dupont and whose husband commutes weekly to NY, I highly recommend Dupont or Logan Circle. Bus and train to NY are 10-20 minutes from Dupont, depending on where you live and what you are taking. There is a Whole Foods in Logan that is a short walk from Dupont depending on where you live. You may not get all the "house" you want. We also walk to the Trader Joes in the West End.
The Hill fits your criteria, except that it is far from a WF type store. Also, your assessment of it is spot on. When we lived there, we always drove to the WF, which was a pain. I don't know much about Silver Spring, so no comment there. My husband and I are city people, so we sacrifice space for being able to walk everywhere and for shorter commutes. |
Anonymous
| mount pleasant has a very cool vibe, it's own main drag and is an easy walk to CH metro and stores. there are buses that run right to Dupont from there (the 42). |
Anonymous
Really!? |
Anonymous
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FYI, there are buses to NYC from Bethesda. I've taken them. Very well run and convenient.
http://www.tripperbus.com/ http://www.vamoosebus.com/ |