For Westchester New York Transplants Which neighborhoods are most similar in NoVA and MD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That feeling is because Alexandria is definitely The South.
Also hybla valley and Mount Vernon / route 1 there have always been sketchy from a crime perspective.

OK, agree re Hybla Valley and Mount Vernon, but complaining that Alexandria is the South is odd. Of course a city on the border of the South isn't going to feel like New England or Westchester, but it has its own charm... If you don't like that, DC (itself, like Baltimore, a southern city) may not be the right fit for you.

This description of people who live in the NY metro area, like happy extended families where everyone waves every morning and hangs over their fence with their cup of coffee saying howdy neighbor, is 180 degrees from the place I spent 20 years of my life in.

Sense of community... more like rat race snobs and social climbers who couldn't find an excuse to say hi if you were locked in a cave with them for a month.

Depends on the town. My BIL grew up in Chappaqua as the “poor kid” because his dad left and they had to move in with his grandmother. But he and my sister are very happy living in an entirely different town which seems like Mayberry to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That feeling is because Alexandria is definitely The South.
Also hybla valley and Mount Vernon / route 1 there have always been sketchy from a crime perspective.

OK, agree re Hybla Valley and Mount Vernon, but complaining that Alexandria is the South is odd. Of course a city on the border of the South isn't going to feel like New England or Westchester, but it has its own charm... If you don't like that, DC (itself, like Baltimore, a southern city) may not be the right fit for you.

This description of people who live in the NY metro area, like happy extended families where everyone waves every morning and hangs over their fence with their cup of coffee saying howdy neighbor, is 180 degrees from the place I spent 20 years of my life in.

Sense of community... more like rat race snobs and social climbers who couldn't find an excuse to say hi if you were locked in a cave with them for a month.

Seriously. In my Chappaqua neighborhood in the 90s, the fathers would play poker in their basements while snorting coke. How do I know this? My dad went to one game when we moved there and never went back after seeing them doing lines.

This was where most of the PWC & Bear Stearns assholes lived — Westchester and Greenwich, basically. So I don’t know why anyone thinks these are terrific communities.

At least they didn’t drink sweet tea.

Well, one of them died because he came home completely drunk and fell down his stairs. Left 2 young kids.

I grew up in Mt. Kisco in the 90s. Why do I have no recollection of this?

I grew up in chappaqua in the 90s and have no recollection of this, either. It might have happened (in turned 8 in 1990 and with 3 elementary schools was perhaps shielded) but this scenario of coke fueled finance dads playing basement poker does not resonate with my experience growing up whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if you're even looking at this thread anymore, OP, as it seems to have spiraled way off from what you were asking...

But, we are also moving from Westchester, but with the experience of having lived in VA before going to NY. With your budget, the areas that are going to replicate the Westchester town/village vibe the best are 22307/22308. We too love Del Ray but it's pricey and the school district is NOT comparable to any one you'd find in Westchester.

Waynewood/Stratford Landing/Tauxemont/Hollin Hills/Hollindale provide somewhat of a small town feel. But it will be more suburban than the older NY towns. It's a different built environment, and most of these areas are just newer than Westchester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That feeling is because Alexandria is definitely The South.
Also hybla valley and Mount Vernon / route 1 there have always been sketchy from a crime perspective.

OK, agree re Hybla Valley and Mount Vernon, but complaining that Alexandria is the South is odd. Of course a city on the border of the South isn't going to feel like New England or Westchester, but it has its own charm... If you don't like that, DC (itself, like Baltimore, a southern city) may not be the right fit for you.

This description of people who live in the NY metro area, like happy extended families where everyone waves every morning and hangs over their fence with their cup of coffee saying howdy neighbor, is 180 degrees from the place I spent 20 years of my life in.

Sense of community... more like rat race snobs and social climbers who couldn't find an excuse to say hi if you were locked in a cave with them for a month.

Seriously. In my Chappaqua neighborhood in the 90s, the fathers would play poker in their basements while snorting coke. How do I know this? My dad went to one game when we moved there and never went back after seeing them doing lines.

This was where most of the PWC & Bear Stearns assholes lived — Westchester and Greenwich, basically. So I don’t know why anyone thinks these are terrific communities.

At least they didn’t drink sweet tea.

Well, one of them died because he came home completely drunk and fell down his stairs. Left 2 young kids.

I grew up in Mt. Kisco in the 90s. Why do I have no recollection of this?

Maybe you blacked out after the big binge of Westchester County?

[Anonymous]

Bethesda, 20816. You might be able to find a smaller house in your price range. Community feel and most people here are very active, walk, run, and bike everywhere despite the lack of sidewalks. Depending on where you live you can also walk/bus to friendship heights metro, Tenleytown, downtown Bethesda, spring valley shopping center, and the elementary and middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That feeling is because Alexandria is definitely The South.
Also hybla valley and Mount Vernon / route 1 there have always been sketchy from a crime perspective.

OK, agree re Hybla Valley and Mount Vernon, but complaining that Alexandria is the South is odd. Of course a city on the border of the South isn't going to feel like New England or Westchester, but it has its own charm... If you don't like that, DC (itself, like Baltimore, a southern city) may not be the right fit for you.

This description of people who live in the NY metro area, like happy extended families where everyone waves every morning and hangs over their fence with their cup of coffee saying howdy neighbor, is 180 degrees from the place I spent 20 years of my life in.

Sense of community... more like rat race snobs and social climbers who couldn't find an excuse to say hi if you were locked in a cave with them for a month.

Seriously. In my Chappaqua neighborhood in the 90s, the fathers would play poker in their basements while snorting coke. How do I know this? My dad went to one game when we moved there and never went back after seeing them doing lines.

This was where most of the PWC & Bear Stearns assholes lived — Westchester and Greenwich, basically. So I don’t know why anyone thinks these are terrific communities.

At least they didn’t drink sweet tea.

Well, one of them died because he came home completely drunk and fell down his stairs. Left 2 young kids.

I grew up in Mt. Kisco in the 90s. Why do I have no recollection of this?

I grew up in chappaqua in the 90s and have no recollection of this, either. It might have happened (in turned 8 in 1990 and with 3 elementary schools was perhaps shielded) but this scenario of coke fueled finance dads playing basement poker does not resonate with my experience growing up whatsoever.

I’m glad it wasn’t your experience. I lived in the community off of Hardscrabble Lake Drive. It was a development that we bought into in about 1994, just as it was initially being developed.

The man who died was my next-door neighbor. Not many people know the true cause of death, and I’d rather not expose his family. He died in 1998.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if you're even looking at this thread anymore, OP, as it seems to have spiraled way off from what you were asking...

But, we are also moving from Westchester, but with the experience of having lived in VA before going to NY. With your budget, the areas that are going to replicate the Westchester town/village vibe the best are 22307/22308. We too love Del Ray but it's pricey and the school district is NOT comparable to any one you'd find in Westchester.

Waynewood/Stratford Landing/Tauxemont/Hollin Hills/Hollindale provide somewhat of a small town feel. But it will be more suburban than the older NY towns. It's a different built environment, and most of these areas are just newer than Westchester.

As a NY transplant in NoVa, I would caution against moving to that section of Fairfax County.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in New Canaan, CT, went to college in the Boston area, have a sister in Newton and one in Montclair, NJ, so I've got my bona fides with respect to Tri-State and Southern New England suburbs. I've lived in the DC area for 25 years, and have raised a family in a very friendly neighborhood in Chevy Chase (MD). OP, even if you could afford to pay twice as much as your budget allows, you're not going to find what you're looking for here. There are two key reasons:

1) The suburbs here don't have downtown areas that have evolved over 100 years with a mix of locally-owned, long-lived and much-loved restaurants and stores at different price points. "Downtown Bethesda" is not the same thing -- it's like an outdoor mall.

2) The public school systems in this area are huge and many more suburban kids go to private school here than is typical in the NY and Boston suburbs. That means you don't get the same level of community involvement and cohesiveness. Even in my super-friendly neighborhood, after elementary school, the kids all split up to go to lots of different schools. If your kids go to private school after elementary (as mine did), their friends will live all over the DMV.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not awful here. Washington is an interesting place to live if you practice law or work in journalism or politics (that's what brought us here). But, if you don't have a compelling career-related reason to come here, I would urge you to consider whether you can avoid moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in New Canaan, CT, went to college in the Boston area, have a sister in Newton and one in Montclair, NJ, so I've got my bona fides with respect to Tri-State and Southern New England suburbs. I've lived in the DC area for 25 years, and have raised a family in a very friendly neighborhood in Chevy Chase (MD). OP, even if you could afford to pay twice as much as your budget allows, you're not going to find what you're looking for here. There are two key reasons:

1) The suburbs here don't have downtown areas that have evolved over 100 years with a mix of locally-owned, long-lived and much-loved restaurants and stores at different price points. "Downtown Bethesda" is not the same thing -- it's like an outdoor mall.

2) The public school systems in this area are huge and many more suburban kids go to private school here than is typical in the NY and Boston suburbs. That means you don't get the same level of community involvement and cohesiveness. Even in my super-friendly neighborhood, after elementary school, the kids all split up to go to lots of different schools. If your kids go to private school after elementary (as mine did), their friends will live all over the DMV.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not awful here. Washington is an interesting place to live if you practice law or work in journalism or politics (that's what brought us here). But, if you don't have a compelling career-related reason to come here, I would urge you to consider whether you can avoid moving.

Ok, but let’s be clear: the reason more people go to private schools here is because the county-based school districts aren’t as segregated as the NE town-based districts. There’s no reason to not go to public school in Greenwich, CT, when UMC white people don’t have to deal with any poors in their district.

Also, my suburban community has a lovely array of locally-owned restaurants and shops. So don’t generalize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in New Canaan, CT, went to college in the Boston area, have a sister in Newton and one in Montclair, NJ, so I've got my bona fides with respect to Tri-State and Southern New England suburbs. I've lived in the DC area for 25 years, and have raised a family in a very friendly neighborhood in Chevy Chase (MD). OP, even if you could afford to pay twice as much as your budget allows, you're not going to find what you're looking for here. There are two key reasons:

1) The suburbs here don't have downtown areas that have evolved over 100 years with a mix of locally-owned, long-lived and much-loved restaurants and stores at different price points. "Downtown Bethesda" is not the same thing -- it's like an outdoor mall.

2) The public school systems in this area are huge and many more suburban kids go to private school here than is typical in the NY and Boston suburbs. That means you don't get the same level of community involvement and cohesiveness. Even in my super-friendly neighborhood, after elementary school, the kids all split up to go to lots of different schools. If your kids go to private school after elementary (as mine did), their friends will live all over the DMV.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not awful here. Washington is an interesting place to live if you practice law or work in journalism or politics (that's what brought us here). But, if you don't have a compelling career-related reason to come here, I would urge you to consider whether you can avoid moving.

I'm not convinced that many more suburban kids in northern Virginia go to private schools than the NY suburbs. I grew up in north Jersey and about half my close friends left for private or Catholic schools once we hit junior high / high school age.

Many of the great private high schools in the country are in north Jersey, I almost went to Blair myself. This may be something you've observed in Chevy Chase but I've not seen any evidence that more kids here go to private. I'd like to see the numbers.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax - lots of parks, green spaces, trails, lakes and good open spaces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in New Canaan, CT, went to college in the Boston area, have a sister in Newton and one in Montclair, NJ, so I've got my bona fides with respect to Tri-State and Southern New England suburbs. I've lived in the DC area for 25 years, and have raised a family in a very friendly neighborhood in Chevy Chase (MD). OP, even if you could afford to pay twice as much as your budget allows, you're not going to find what you're looking for here. There are two key reasons:

1) The suburbs here don't have downtown areas that have evolved over 100 years with a mix of locally-owned, long-lived and much-loved restaurants and stores at different price points. "Downtown Bethesda" is not the same thing -- it's like an outdoor mall.

2) The public school systems in this area are huge and many more suburban kids go to private school here than is typical in the NY and Boston suburbs. That means you don't get the same level of community involvement and cohesiveness. Even in my super-friendly neighborhood, after elementary school, the kids all split up to go to lots of different schools. If your kids go to private school after elementary (as mine did), their friends will live all over the DMV.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not awful here. Washington is an interesting place to live if you practice law or work in journalism or politics (that's what brought us here). But, if you don't have a compelling career-related reason to come here, I would urge you to consider whether you can avoid moving.

I'm not convinced that many more suburban kids in northern Virginia go to private schools than the NY suburbs. I grew up in north Jersey and about half my close friends left for private or Catholic schools once we hit junior high / high school age.

Many of the great private high schools in the country are in north Jersey, I almost went to Blair myself. This may be something you've observed in Chevy Chase but I've not seen any evidence that more kids here go to private. I'd like to see the numbers.

The ratio of kids going to public schools in NoVA is much higher than northern NJ. Publich schools are much better too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in New Canaan, CT, went to college in the Boston area, have a sister in Newton and one in Montclair, NJ, so I've got my bona fides with respect to Tri-State and Southern New England suburbs. I've lived in the DC area for 25 years, and have raised a family in a very friendly neighborhood in Chevy Chase (MD). OP, even if you could afford to pay twice as much as your budget allows, you're not going to find what you're looking for here. There are two key reasons:

1) The suburbs here don't have downtown areas that have evolved over 100 years with a mix of locally-owned, long-lived and much-loved restaurants and stores at different price points. "Downtown Bethesda" is not the same thing -- it's like an outdoor mall.

2) The public school systems in this area are huge and many more suburban kids go to private school here than is typical in the NY and Boston suburbs. That means you don't get the same level of community involvement and cohesiveness. Even in my super-friendly neighborhood, after elementary school, the kids all split up to go to lots of different schools. If your kids go to private school after elementary (as mine did), their friends will live all over the DMV.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not awful here. Washington is an interesting place to live if you practice law or work in journalism or politics (that's what brought us here). But, if you don't have a compelling career-related reason to come here, I would urge you to consider whether you can avoid moving.

Ok, but let’s be clear: the reason more people go to private schools here is because the county-based school districts aren’t as segregated as the NE town-based districts. There’s no reason to not go to public school in Greenwich, CT, when UMC white people don’t have to deal with any poors in their district.

Also, my suburban community has a lovely array of locally-owned restaurants and shops. So don’t generalize.

Town-based districts come with really high school taxes. That’s why they don’t send kids to private schools in those communities- they live there specifically for the schools and pay $20k or more a year in taxes to be there.

And yes, there are locally owned shops and restaurants, but they’re not arranged around a Main Street like they are in the Northeast. It’s just not the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in New Canaan, CT, went to college in the Boston area, have a sister in Newton and one in Montclair, NJ, so I've got my bona fides with respect to Tri-State and Southern New England suburbs. I've lived in the DC area for 25 years, and have raised a family in a very friendly neighborhood in Chevy Chase (MD). OP, even if you could afford to pay twice as much as your budget allows, you're not going to find what you're looking for here. There are two key reasons:

1) The suburbs here don't have downtown areas that have evolved over 100 years with a mix of locally-owned, long-lived and much-loved restaurants and stores at different price points. "Downtown Bethesda" is not the same thing -- it's like an outdoor mall.

2) The public school systems in this area are huge and many more suburban kids go to private school here than is typical in the NY and Boston suburbs. That means you don't get the same level of community involvement and cohesiveness. Even in my super-friendly neighborhood, after elementary school, the kids all split up to go to lots of different schools. If your kids go to private school after elementary (as mine did), their friends will live all over the DMV.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not awful here. Washington is an interesting place to live if you practice law or work in journalism or politics (that's what brought us here). But, if you don't have a compelling career-related reason to come here, I would urge you to consider whether you can avoid moving.

Ok, but let’s be clear: the reason more people go to private schools here is because the county-based school districts aren’t as segregated as the NE town-based districts. There’s no reason to not go to public school in Greenwich, CT, when UMC white people don’t have to deal with any poors in their district.

Also, my suburban community has a lovely array of locally-owned restaurants and shops. So don’t generalize.

Town-based districts come with really high school taxes. That’s why they don’t send kids to private schools in those communities- they live there specifically for the schools and pay $20k or more a year in taxes to be there.

And yes, there are locally owned shops and restaurants, but they’re not arranged around a Main Street like they are in the Northeast. It’s just not the same.

Umm, I will say again, I lived in a high tax, top school district, in a NY suburb, and it didn't matter. Kids still went to private school... we had an entire Catholic school K-12 system in town. Del Barton and Pingry were also both very popular with parents in town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That feeling is because Alexandria is definitely The South.
Also hybla valley and Mount Vernon / route 1 there have always been sketchy from a crime perspective.

OK, agree re Hybla Valley and Mount Vernon, but complaining that Alexandria is the South is odd. Of course a city on the border of the South isn't going to feel like New England or Westchester, but it has its own charm... If you don't like that, DC (itself, like Baltimore, a southern city) may not be the right fit for you.

This description of people who live in the NY metro area, like happy extended families where everyone waves every morning and hangs over their fence with their cup of coffee saying howdy neighbor, is 180 degrees from the place I spent 20 years of my life in.

Sense of community... more like rat race snobs and social climbers who couldn't find an excuse to say hi if you were locked in a cave with them for a month.

Seriously. In my Chappaqua neighborhood in the 90s, the fathers would play poker in their basements while snorting coke. How do I know this? My dad went to one game when we moved there and never went back after seeing them doing lines.

This was where most of the PWC & Bear Stearns assholes lived — Westchester and Greenwich, basically. So I don’t know why anyone thinks these are terrific communities.

At least they didn’t drink sweet tea.

Well, one of them died because he came home completely drunk and fell down his stairs. Left 2 young kids.

I grew up in Mt. Kisco in the 90s. Why do I have no recollection of this?

I grew up in chappaqua in the 90s and have no recollection of this, either. It might have happened (in turned 8 in 1990 and with 3 elementary schools was perhaps shielded) but this scenario of coke fueled finance dads playing basement poker does not resonate with my experience growing up whatsoever.

I’m glad it wasn’t your experience. I lived in the community off of Hardscrabble Lake Drive. It was a development that we bought into in about 1994, just as it was initially being developed.

The man who died was my next-door neighbor. Not many people know the true cause of death, and I’d rather not expose his family. He died in 1998.

I guess there was more going on around me than I was aware of as a kid, not surprisingly. -PP from above and also lived off Hardscrabble closer to Douglas.

Back to the initial thread, my childhood friends who now live in DC live off of Wisconsin in Chevy Chase DC and think it's comparable in terms of neighborhood feel. Less rural than Chappaqua, which is a good thing imo.