Has anyone w/ kids chosen to leave NoVA for DC?

[Anonymous]

Umm. I don't knwo about all the arguing here BUT I would leave NOVA if I could afford a place in a semi okay school district in DC. I would love to live in DC with kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

Yeah right you walk to museums. Which museums are those, exactly?

P.S. I walk to all that stuff from my N Arlington house and I'm probably closer to the Smithsonian that you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

We do all of that in our VA neighborhood.

For those of you who "have this in your VA neighborhoods" we no longer have a car, because we don't need one. So, obviously you have managed to get by without a car because you can metro and walk everywhere?

I am guessing you haven't been to the SFH neighborhoods adjacent to Clarendon Metro. We sold a car this summer. The other one is a 2006 with ~20k miles used mainly for beach and ski trips.

Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Giant, Walgreens, etc and Metro are 2 blocks way. Kids walk to local elementary. We walk to movies, gym, drycleaners, banks, bars and restaurants. Bike more than Metro, actually.

Any more ?s. we als have a yard and driveway which we didn't in the city. We also didn't have a metro nearby in our old DC hood.

Sounds great! So, why are you posting in a thread called "Has anyone w/ kids chosen to leave NoVA for DC" if you love your house in NoVA so much?

Because obviously PP is choosing to stay in VA. Too bad the schools are so poor in DC that your reading comprehension sucks!

[Anonymous]

I considered moving from our N. Arlington walkable neighborhood to DC. (We both work in DC). We have three kids. We are not GS 10s, but we are GS 14/15 which means we are not rich and cannot "live the life" (whatever that means) in DC. We are not going to be invited to fancy parties - but I am too exhausted to go to those anyway. It came down to (these things are related, I know) 1. taxes and government services, 2. cost of private schools 3. cost of homes/Square footage. Also, my commute is not that bad, we are in a walkable community 1 block from a park, in a no crime area, with great schools. Folks that have more money may have a different conclusion than us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

We do all of that in our VA neighborhood.

For those of you who "have this in your VA neighborhoods" we no longer have a car, because we don't need one. So, obviously you have managed to get by without a car because you can metro and walk everywhere?

You do what works for you, but I doubt that this manner of grocery shopping is a selling point in the eyes of anyone but a small majority. It's basically what people do when they have to make do. Most people want to spend as little time grocery shopping as possible and to expend as little physical effort doing it as possible. I don't want to shop every evening and carrying home a week's worth of groceries would be a form of torture to me. No thanks.
Not having a car is nothing to be proud of. Some families, like ours, live in walking distance to metro, schools and amenities AND have a car for the freedom it affords. I don't covet the dubious glory of dragging bags of groceries home, either.

I don't do my shopping at Costco or Whole Foods.

The Farmers Market and the grocery store are both on my walk home. I can stop at either.

You do what works for you, but I doubt that this manner of grocery shopping is a selling point in the eyes of anyone but a small majority. It's basically what people do when they have to make do. Most people want to spend as little time grocery shopping as possible and to expend as little physical effort doing it as possible. I don't want to shop every evening and carrying home a week's worth of groceries would be a form of torture to me. No thanks. All I'm saying is if that works for you, fine, but it has zero appeal to most people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

Yeah right you walk to museums. Which museums are those, exactly?

P.S. I walk to all that stuff from my N Arlington house and I'm probably closer to the Smithsonian that you

Walkable museums from DC neighborhoods:

Hillwood Museum near Van Ness
Phillips Collection - Dupont
Nat Geographic Museum - Dupont
Dumbarton House - Georgetown

I bet there are a few more near Dupont. The PP didn't say Smithsonian. But all of those are walkable DC museums depending on where you live. But other than the Phillips (which I have been to many times) the others I have only been to once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

Yeah right you walk to museums. Which museums are those, exactly?

P.S. I walk to all that stuff from my N Arlington house and I'm probably closer to the Smithsonian that you

Walkable museums from DC neighborhoods:

Hillwood Museum near Van Ness
Phillips Collection - Dupont
Nat Geographic Museum - Dupont
Dumbarton House - Georgetown

I bet there are a few more near Dupont. The PP didn't say Smithsonian. But all of those are walkable DC museums depending on where you live. But other than the Phillips (which I have been to many times) the others I have only been to once.

Seriously?? Those are the ones? I used to live in Dupont and I went to those a few times.

With school age boys we are generally on a sporting field all weekend...and while we also have 2 Farmers Markets walking distance to our VA home--it generally is much more practical to feed growing boys Whole Foods, Costco, etc. the weekly farmers market is for treats--it would not sustain my household.

I am going to throw it out there---you don't have elementary or older kids. Even Rec soccer (not yet travel) our on fields all over the district ;most not walkable or near Metros. Will you zip car every single weekend to get your kids to a game?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

Yeah right you walk to museums. Which museums are those, exactly?

P.S. I walk to all that stuff from my N Arlington house and I'm probably closer to the Smithsonian that you

Walkable museums from DC neighborhoods:

Hillwood Museum near Van Ness
Phillips Collection - Dupont
Nat Geographic Museum - Dupont
Dumbarton House - Georgetown

I bet there are a few more near Dupont. The PP didn't say Smithsonian. But all of those are walkable DC museums depending on where you live. But other than the Phillips (which I have been to many times) the others I have only been to once.

Those are the museums you'd take kids to?

Your kids must be...very different from most kids. I mean...the Phillips Collection? I'll stick to the Natural History Museum, Air and Space, Museum of American Indian, etc, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread needs to be posted on "stuff white people like"............its almost comical

"Oh, no judgement for YOU but WE want our child to be blah blah blah"

DC is not NYC, a lot of it is pretty damn suburban. Here's a novel idea, have diverse friends- the kids will be exposed from birth.

I hate this stupid comment. NYC is not all Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights. It too has a lot of pretty damn suburban. Have you been to Queens, Far Rockaway, Staten Island, etc. They are all parts of NYC and suburban.

Not getting your point here. No one aspires to live in Far Rockaway!! Queens and Staten Island are the places you go when you either can't afford Manhattan or you move out there when you have kids.

Let me break it down for you, I think what the folks on here are trying to say is that the "pro DC" group acts like DC is this great metropolitan city and they have disdain for the NoVa burbs, this then has DC getting compared to a real city like NYC-mostly Manhattan. Then it is stated that DC is very suburban so the point is, why trade suburban NoVa life for suburban DC life?

then say manhattan and not nyc. nyc is vast and more suburb than sitc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

Yeah right you walk to museums. Which museums are those, exactly?

P.S. I walk to all that stuff from my N Arlington house and I'm probably closer to the Smithsonian that you

I live in the Penn Quarter, I doubt it.

[Anonymous]

The walk to the museum perk is bs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

Yeah right you walk to museums. Which museums are those, exactly?

P.S. I walk to all that stuff from my N Arlington house and I'm probably closer to the Smithsonian that you

I live in the Penn Quarter, I doubt it.

With kids? Not many playgrounds around there.

[Anonymous]

Living in Penn Quarter is like living in the Financial District of Manhattan. Very much a niche experience for people who'd probably be happy living in a furnished residence hotel.

[Anonymous]

Sorry - but nothing in DC is like living in Manhattan. Nada.
It's just a company town grown rich at the trough of government largess...no distinct personality.
Nothing wrong with that - but one is deluded if one is seriously comparing the two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to be able to walk or metro to work (I walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to my childs school (my husband metros).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to playground (we walk).

I wanted to be able to walk or metro to entertainment (we walk to dining, museums, etc.) We walk to grocery store.

We do all of that in our VA neighborhood.

For those of you who "have this in your VA neighborhoods" we no longer have a car, because we don't need one. So, obviously you have managed to get by without a car because you can metro and walk everywhere?

You do what works for you, but I doubt that this manner of grocery shopping is a selling point in the eyes of anyone but a small majority. It's basically what people do when they have to make do. Most people want to spend as little time grocery shopping as possible and to expend as little physical effort doing it as possible. I don't want to shop every evening and carrying home a week's worth of groceries would be a form of torture to me. No thanks.
Not having a car is nothing to be proud of. Some families, like ours, live in walking distance to metro, schools and amenities AND have a car for the freedom it affords. I don't covet the dubious glory of dragging bags of groceries home, either.

I don't do my shopping at Costco or Whole Foods.

The Farmers Market and the grocery store are both on my walk home. I can stop at either.

You do what works for you, but I doubt that this manner of grocery shopping is a selling point in the eyes of anyone but a small majority. It's basically what people do when they have to make do. Most people want to spend as little time grocery shopping as possible and to expend as little physical effort doing it as possible. I don't want to shop every evening and carrying home a week's worth of groceries would be a form of torture to me. No thanks. All I'm saying is if that works for you, fine, but it has zero appeal to most people.

I lived in Europe for many years. I HATED the idea of shopping every day in the tiny stores. It was such a time suck. More power to you if it's your thing. I just prefer to take an hour and get it done on the weekends. If I don't buy it on the weekends, we don't have it until the next week. I am so over going to the grocery store everyday.