Moving to dc....

[Anonymous]

Wow, those lottery numbers are... okay, so we really, really need to pick our housing choice carefully. Got it!! I guess in the second round not that much changes either.

Will look at Hearst, yes. And will try and get down there for the open house. Capital Hill looks the most likely on paper because of the cost of housing and the ease of getting a pet-friendly place. (That was another thing I liked about SW--all those older complexes allow pets.)

As an aside, and not because it's practical, I guess, I love Brookland's architecture. Maybe someday.

[Anonymous]

It kind of surprises me that you are moving from nyc but expect to pay three thousand for an actual house that allows three pets in dc in an area with good to decent schools. Are those what prices are like in Brooklyn? There are houses for 3000, but most are more like 3200 to 4000. And many don't allow pets.

No, you'd never get a house for 3K in Brooklyn... but I'm still living in a fantasy that we'll get more for our money in DC. Shhh, don't disillusion me! I promised the kid we would either have a pool or a backyard if we had to leave her friends--fortunately, she has a very flexible idea of what a "backyard" is. We have a pretty good deal in Brooklyn now too. We're waiting on the offer letter too. Maybe the budget can be stretched.

[Anonymous]

A lot of the rentals on Capitol Hill go through one of two agencies - Yarmouth Management and Formant. If you only look at Craigslist you'll miss a bunch of listings. Just FYI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It kind of surprises me that you are moving from nyc but expect to pay three thousand for an actual house that allows three pets in dc in an area with good to decent schools. Are those what prices are like in Brooklyn? There are houses for 3000, but most are more like 3200 to 4000. And many don't allow pets.

No, you'd never get a house for 3K in Brooklyn... but I'm still living in a fantasy that we'll get more for our money in DC. Shhh, don't disillusion me! I promised the kid we would either have a pool or a backyard if we had to leave her friends--fortunately, she has a very flexible idea of what a "backyard" is. We have a pretty good deal in Brooklyn now too. We're waiting on the offer letter too. Maybe the budget can be stretched.

I posted earlier and we thought the same thing moving from Brooklyn. DC is expensive (at least housing) so no discount here!

[Anonymous]

Wilson Aquatic Center - free, lovely public pool across the street from Tenleytown / AU metro stop !

McLean Gardens has a community outdoor pool - my daughter is super-envious of her friend who lives there (and attends Hearst)

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/apa/4417712221.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/apa/4416046813.html

i forget how big your pets are...

[Anonymous]

They're small, and the cat's really old. We won't have him much longer.

Those look pretty good, I like the first one especially.

[Anonymous]

The race/class thing is certainly unavoidable and, in my mind, yet another factor that makes Capitol Hill a difficult place to recommend. The socio-economic strata play out from top to bottom and people in this town simply do not join or meld together under common purpose the way they do in NYC. Old tensions are very much alive and revived, and though as an AA I've always been cognizant of it, I continue to be shocked--no exaggeration or facetiousness--at the way it manifests around the issue of schools. You really need to know what you're walking into at some of these schools. Yes, it's all changing but in some cases the rapid pace is just exacerbating the problem.

You may have your idea of diversity, but here it's about the tight bond between race and class. And one of the things that stops my heart every time I come across it is a generally-held belief that lower-income people don't care about education--which as you know couldn't be further from the truth. On this forum (and, I assume, in conversation among white people) you'll learn that OOB (out of boundary) and "engaged parents" are factors by which to gauge the quality of a school. Low income = low scores and parents who just don't care about their kids' education.

That's why I suggested areas like Dupont, U Street, Columbia Heights, Mt. Pleasant, Petworth. (Parts of the Hill are like this as well, I'm just less familiar with them) The lines aren't so stark, the attitudes are a little more progressive and, based on my experience of having lived in both NYC and DC, they're where you'll most likely find the same wavelength. Just my two-cents of course, because people are going to jump all over me about how they love the diversity in their school.

You may also find what you're looking for in a charter, where diversity is built in and parents really are working together across race/class lines.

[Anonymous]

DC is different than other cities in that a lot of it is shutdown on weekends and at night. You might find a close-in suburb to be more livable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, those lottery numbers are... okay, so we really, really need to pick our housing choice carefully. Got it!! I guess in the second round not that much changes either.

Will look at Hearst, yes. And will try and get down there for the open house. Capital Hill looks the most likely on paper because of the cost of housing and the ease of getting a pet-friendly place. (That was another thing I liked about SW--all those older complexes allow pets.)

As an aside, and not because it's practical, I guess, I love Brookland's architecture. Maybe someday.

Yeah, it's really not much cheaper. I had the same idea moving here from NYC and London- We'll save money! We'll have spare bedrooms and access to a pool! "We'll be car-less and save even more!"

Nope, nope, nope.

You will actually find many things to be more expensive- services, for example. Sitters and nannies, repair guys etc. All more expensive than NYC imo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is different than other cities in that a lot of it is shutdown on weekends and at night. You might find a close-in suburb to be more livable.

Okay, this person lives in the suburbs and hasn't been in DC after hours since the 90s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is different than other cities in that a lot of it is shutdown on weekends and at night. You might find a close-in suburb to be more livable.

I don't agree with this statement.

[Anonymous]

check this out! a house, a yard - have to ask about the pet part I guess, walkable to metros (3 w/ in 1 mile), walkable to hearst (in boundary), parks, wisconsin avenue buses to glover park and g-town are near by...

i think you originally said you wanted a house?

for under $3K

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/apa/4415744010.html

[Anonymous]

You may have your idea of diversity, but here it's about the tight bond between race and class. And one of the things that stops my heart every time I come across it is a generally-held belief that lower-income people don't care about education--which as you know couldn't be further from the truth. On this forum (and, I assume, in conversation among white people) you'll learn that OOB (out of boundary) and "engaged parents" are factors by which to gauge the quality of a school. Low income = low scores and parents who just don't care about their kids' education.

Stops my heart too, and it's what I want to avoid. In my experience, it's almost opposite. Upper class white parents are much more laissez faire about homework, attendance, uniform compliance, and discipline because they can afford to be. I know a ton of parents with more modest means who hire tutors, send their kids to summer school, saturday school, push them constantly.... it's funny in New York now, all the schools like 321 in Park Slope and Brooklyn New School are opting out of testing. Meanwhile other schools have been working so hard to get high test scores because it's a proud achievement--I don't have answers, this is just what I see.

That's why I suggested areas like Dupont, U Street, Columbia Heights, Mt. Pleasant, Petworth. (Parts of the Hill are like this as well, I'm just less familiar with them) The lines aren't so stark, the attitudes are a little more progressive and, based on my experience of having lived in both NYC and DC, they're where you'll most likely find the same wavelength. Just my two-cents of course, because people are going to jump all over me about how they love the diversity in their school.

I love all the areas you mention... so there's Powell, West, Ross...?

[Anonymous]

And Tubman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The race/class thing is certainly unavoidable and, in my mind, yet another factor that makes Capitol Hill a difficult place to recommend. The socio-economic strata play out from top to bottom and people in this town simply do not join or meld together under common purpose the way they do in NYC. Old tensions are very much alive and revived, and though as an AA I've always been cognizant of it, I continue to be shocked--no exaggeration or facetiousness--at the way it manifests around the issue of schools. You really need to know what you're walking into at some of these schools. Yes, it's all changing but in some cases the rapid pace is just exacerbating the problem.

You may have your idea of diversity, but here it's about the tight bond between race and class. And one of the things that stops my heart every time I come across it is a generally-held belief that lower-income people don't care about education--which as you know couldn't be further from the truth. On this forum (and, I assume, in conversation among white people) you'll learn that OOB (out of boundary) and "engaged parents" are factors by which to gauge the quality of a school. Low income = low scores and parents who just don't care about their kids' education.

That's why I suggested areas like Dupont, U Street, Columbia Heights, Mt. Pleasant, Petworth. (Parts of the Hill are like this as well, I'm just less familiar with them) The lines aren't so stark, the attitudes are a little more progressive and, based on my experience of having lived in both NYC and DC, they're where you'll most likely find the same wavelength. Just my two-cents of course, because people are going to jump all over me about how they love the diversity in their school.

You may also find what you're looking for in a charter, where diversity is built in and parents really are working together across race/class lines.

I am not sure where PP lives or her children attend school, but it's certainly not IB for schools like Brent or Maury which have "flipped." While you see mosty "white" faces, there is more than a fair amount of diversity, just not in the black/white dichotomy traditionally called diversity in DC.

There may be some simmering resentment at other Hill schools such as Ludlow-Taylor or Payne (site of the infamous PTA insurrection) where the IB attendance zone has gentrified and yet the upper grades are in substantial part an OOB population not reflective of the racial and SES makeup of those living nearby. Brent suffered through similar tensions for awhile but they have now been put to rest.