Tradeoffs when purchasing a rowhome

[Anonymous]

We're ready to put an offer in on a Dupont rowhome; trading off space to be near to everything and in-bounds for the school we want (2 adults 1 preschool aged kid).

The only thing that makes this a tough pill to swallow is seeing the giant, newly renovated homes in other neighborhoods (Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, etc) for the same or less. We tried to love Georgetown but preferred Dupont/Foggy Bottom/West End more.

At the end, we feel the tradeoff for being in the neighborhood we want/near everything makes up for the lack of space, but maybe it's a mistake - anyone been through this?
I keep telling myself we're being picky - this house is well within 'normal' size; everyone lived in smaller homes and managed just fine, etc. etc.

Current owners are moving to the suburbs with 3 kids, meanwhile.

[Anonymous]

Are you planning for more kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you planning for more kids?

Nope, one and done

[Anonymous]

Location location location.
How small is this rowhouse? If it's at least 900-1000 sf, that's still bigger than many 50s SFHs. Get used to pruning unnecessary items and thnak your lucky stars your commute is far shorter than it would be if you lived in a less pricey neighborhood.
And enjoy the Sunday Freshfarm market!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Location location location.
How small is this rowhouse? If it's at least 900-1000 sf, that's still bigger than many 50s SFHs. Get used to pruning unnecessary items and thnak your lucky stars your commute is far shorter than it would be if you lived in a less pricey neighborhood.
And enjoy the Sunday Freshfarm market!

Thanks! We are talking just under 1400 sf. We want to be walkable to work/school/errands, which this one. We looked at some in the 800-900, but it was really tight, especially spread over more than 1 level.

We knew we wouldn't get perfection with price, location, size and chose to trade size. Hoping it was a good pick.

[Anonymous]

I'm a New Yorker and a 1400 sf rowhouse is a dream. It's a perfect size for a family of 3. What would you want more space for? Location > stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're ready to put an offer in on a Dupont rowhome; trading off space to be near to everything and in-bounds for the school we want (2 adults 1 preschool aged kid).

The only thing that makes this a tough pill to swallow is seeing the giant, newly renovated homes in other neighborhoods (Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, etc) for the same or less. We tried to love Georgetown but preferred Dupont/Foggy Bottom/West End more.

At the end, we feel the tradeoff for being in the neighborhood we want/near everything makes up for the lack of space, but maybe it's a mistake - anyone been through this?
I keep telling myself we're being picky - this house is well within 'normal' size; everyone lived in smaller homes and managed just fine, etc. etc.

Current owners are moving to the suburbs with 3 kids, meanwhile.

Dupont is great because there is a lot to offer. With a preschool kid, however, the school situation will get complicated quickly if you stay in the DC area. Before you know it, you're going to be thinking about middle schools and high schools. If you're considering independent schools, I strongly recommend looking at upper NW and Bethesda now. I know that some of these neighborhoods seem soul sucking but travel time is VERY real. If you're thinking public or charter for middle and high school, also look carefully at the options and what the daily commute would look like.

[Anonymous]

We are one and done and lived in a 1500sq place in Shaw for a decade (until we wanted to move closer to kids new school).

I miss all the walkable things in Shaw (now that we are less walkable). Do it OP, if you like city life - you will love it.

[Anonymous]

12:11 here. I've lived on the outer edge of Capitol Hill for 20+ years. in the early years, I was always driving to the suburbs for fresh produce. Then Giant, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's moved into the area and now I'm walking so much more and it makes a huge different in my quality of life. If this rowhouse you plan to make an offer on is walkable to everything, that is such a game changer. and 1400 sf is pretty good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a New Yorker and a 1400 sf rowhouse is a dream. It's a perfect size for a family of 3. What would you want more space for? Location > stuff.

Nice, we're moving from the NY metro. Lived in the city in a tiny apartment 10 years ago, moved to the suburbs for space and have regretted it ever since. I miss the city life, but the NY prices for a 1bd + the monthly fees were too much and we couldn't make ourselves do it. Our house is pretty sparse because we never really filled it out after moving from the apartment, so I'm not too worried about that at least.

DC offers the walkability we are wanting, it seems more manageable and both our jobs are based in the area anyhow, even if everyone is remote for the time being. I'm probably just a chronic over-thinker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Dupont is great because there is a lot to offer. With a preschool kid, however, the school situation will get complicated quickly if you stay in the DC area. Before you know it, you're going to be thinking about middle schools and high schools. If you're considering independent schools, I strongly recommend looking at upper NW and Bethesda now. I know that some of these neighborhoods seem soul sucking but travel time is VERY real. If you're thinking public or charter for middle and high school, also look carefully at the options and what the daily commute would look like.

If we stick with our in-bounds school, we'll stay there through middle school but agree on high school. We don't have a game plan, a lot is going to depend on our kid to some extent and where they will do best. Having the same school for K-Middle seems like a good thing, but we'll see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:11 here. I've lived on the outer edge of Capitol Hill for 20+ years. in the early years, I was always driving to the suburbs for fresh produce. Then Giant, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's moved into the area and now I'm walking so much more and it makes a huge different in my quality of life. If this rowhouse you plan to make an offer on is walkable to everything, that is such a game changer. and 1400 sf is pretty good!

Thanks, we're looking for much of the same - our quality of life has been majorly impacted by having to drive absolutely everywhere now.
We waste so much time shuttling ourselves around to nearby things that should be walkable, except there are no sidewalks. Initially we moved here due to the quick commute to NYC by train (that part is great), but the day-to-day activities are a major hassle and time-waste. Also everything privatized means $$$ to just to to the pool or the park.

[Anonymous]

We left Logan Circle for Capitol Hill for similar reasons. We got a 1800 sq ft rowhome here vs the 1000-1200 sq ft condos (or a few smaller duplexes) in that area. The trade off was worth it to us with 2 kids, though, and with work from home, we aren’t downtown as much. However, we still do miss being closer to downtown. We had 15 min walks to work or really to anywhere versus 30-45 min now.

It’s all a trade off. I don’t think you can go wrong. (Well, “going wrong” would be the outer ‘burbs for me personally, because I really dislike that lifestyle, but everyone has their own preferences.) If you have one kid, I’d worry way less about the space, though.

[Anonymous]

Choosing Dupont over the Hill seems weird to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're ready to put an offer in on a Dupont rowhome; trading off space to be near to everything and in-bounds for the school we want (2 adults 1 preschool aged kid).

The only thing that makes this a tough pill to swallow is seeing the giant, newly renovated homes in other neighborhoods (Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, etc) for the same or less. We tried to love Georgetown but preferred Dupont/Foggy Bottom/West End more.

At the end, we feel the tradeoff for being in the neighborhood we want/near everything makes up for the lack of space, but maybe it's a mistake - anyone been through this?
I keep telling myself we're being picky - this house is well within 'normal' size; everyone lived in smaller homes and managed just fine, etc. etc.

Current owners are moving to the suburbs with 3 kids, meanwhile.

You could also got a five bedroom in the suburbs for the same money but do you actually want to live there?? Don’t compare yourself to others or do what you think you’re “supposed” to do.