Relocating to DC...what's life like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. In my experience, Black neighborhoods are friendlier on the whole. I've heard that's because the Black population moved up here generations ago from the South. Whatever, as a White person, I learned to say hello to people on the street once I moved into a Black neighborhood.

I'm the DC near-native PP who grew up west of the Park. When I was growing up, white people also said hello to each other on the street, and when I moved back in the 2000s they didn't anymore. except the older generation. Definitely a change. I still blithely say hello to people even in my old neighborhood (and ALWAYS in my new neighborhood). In my old neighborhood I'm often ignored. Makes me kind of crazed, actually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A SAHM who can afford a 1.8M property. And you've moved a lot. Will you move again pretty soon?

Just make sure you're happy with the schools. DC schools are hate it/love it. You really do need to know exactly what to look for in DC schools to be happy with your decision. It's easier to move to Bethesda/CC or Arlington and not have to think twice about the schools or worry about lottery.

I've lived overseas, including in major cities, and am now back in the US. It's always about taking advantage of what's on offer, not trying to recreate a previous lifestyle that really isn't doable in your current city. DC is not London or HK, but it's DC with its own advantages. On a personal level I find DC too utterly dominated by well-off urban progressives that the place has little personality and is increasingly same-same anywhere, just in different architecture. Packed with people consumed by righteous thinking and social justice but who instead have created an artificial bubble so far removed from the realities of most of America that it's eye-rolling. The suburbs are increasingly where the real diversity of different people and personalities because they've all been priced out of most of DC. That's just what it is. I'm sure you'd be very happy with the bohemian bougie coffee shop culture and identikit boutiques and hipster bistros of DC. No knock or sneer, just a realistic observation. Good luck.

NP. I was with you until you had to throw in your snotty remark to the OP at the end. Of course it's a knock or a sneer to say you're sure that she'll be happy with the bolded, based on the way you said it. You're the type of person that people on DCUM always complain about when grumbling about DC. You could have said all of that without the dig.

Hah, I was afraid someone would come back and bite me for the statement. I frequently patronize those coffeeshops (they make danged good coffee, admittedly). And it's a very pleasant lifestyle, which is heavily greased by having money. No shame in it either. I don't moralize. Perhaps just a bit dispassionate. So many of the urban areas, including even in London (perhaps especially London) that used to be known and attractive for having sheer diversity of different types of people and identities and little communities with interesting histories and ethnicities with idiosyncratic shops and restaurants, have increasingly all morphed into the same-same affluent progressive bourgie places. Seeing the same kinds of coffee shops and bistros and shops in London and Paris and Boston and SF and DC represents the homogenization of global affluence culture.

Hello to both posters...OP here. Fair point to try and not recreate other city's vibes. My challenge is that after living abroad and having that constant level of "excitement", I've had a really tough time repatriating. My husband's career is more lucrative in the US vs. the UK, so we will stay here (I'd move to London tomorrow LOL). Anyway, yes, we do like a lot of suburban "stuff". I only recently became a SAHM last August so I could take my kids to school/be home after school. Before then, they were at daycare from 7:00AM - 6:00PM. The reason we've moved so often is because we've tried to find a place in the Midwest that felt "correct" to us, but we continue to long for the urban life. Believe me, I'm so sick of moving LOL! I do appreciate your honest opinions and thank you to the poster that called out the potential "sneer". Appreciated. Regarding the comments on the "mean girls" type, I typically am not that heavily involved in those types of relationships. I often feel that my time is heavily consumed with doing the school runs, grocery shopping, cooking, changing diapers, etc. Additionally, I am an occasional remote adjunct university instructor, so that takes time away from a thriving social life as well haha. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. In my experience, Black neighborhoods are friendlier on the whole. I've heard that's because the Black population moved up here generations ago from the South. Whatever, as a White person, I learned to say hello to people on the street once I moved into a Black neighborhood.

I'm the DC near-native PP who grew up west of the Park. When I was growing up, white people also said hello to each other on the street, and when I moved back in the 2000s they didn't anymore. except the older generation. Definitely a change. I still blithely say hello to people even in my old neighborhood (and ALWAYS in my new neighborhood). In my old neighborhood I'm often ignored. Makes me kind of crazed, actually.

OP here - Thanks for your follow-up. Lots of people's lives always seem so busy now, perhaps even to say hello. Unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we just moved from NW DC to Bethesda MD.
I you want to live in NW DC, I would recommend looking at Mann, Janney, Hearst, Eaton and Murch-zoned properties. My kids went to Mann and it's a very good school. WE moved to Bethesda MD for more space and stronger middle and high schools. Good luck!

OP here - Thanks so much for your school advice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out Mt Pleasant! You have the zoo, walking distance to loads of neighborhoods, good schools, super friendly. Or Kalorama. I think both neighborhoods have a great feel.

Some recent sales that might have been a good fit.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/2026-Klingle-Rd-NW-20010/home/10009019?600390594=copy_variant&231528114=variant&utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=share_sheet
https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1825-Monroe-St-NW-20010/home/10010071?600390594=copy_variant&231528114=variant&utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=share_sheet
https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/2430-20th-St-NW-20009/home/10001473?600390594=copy_variant&231528114=variant&utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=share_sheet

OP here - Thank you for this! Yes, from my "research", Mt. Pleasant does seem like a decent choice. Is in-bounds for good schools K - 12 and I do like the proximity to the park. Appreciate your post!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love DC and I am not a lawyer or involved in politics. I work for a non-profit and my DH is a teacher. I plan to be SAHM when our kids are born. I already know plenty of SAHM in my neighborhood. I do know people like others describe, but generally they are not in my close circle. You choose your circle and it can be however you want.

OP here - Great to hear and thank you for your post. Glad there is more social circles than some of the interesting stories I'm hearing about. I'm sure they exist, but curious how obvious it will be to spot. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you wedded to DC? As a person who loved living in London, I'd strongly suggest going back there if you can. London is a much nicer place to raise kids (and I say this as a mom who spent time in both cities with small children).

DC is perfectly fine, but I'd rather live in Chicago if I wanted to prioritize living in a city.

OP here - Actually, we could theoretically live anywhere, just near a decent airport. Chicago would be great, if we didn't have to pay astronomical property taxes. It's a great city, but unfortunately, has some sizeable challenges. Currently, my husband travels a lot to DC, so we thought DC made sense. Additionally, we thought it would give a good sense of "international/diversity" to our children, we loved the thought of world-class museums and cultural attractions, better weather than Midwest, proximity to other cities/beaches/mountains....in short, things to do. Our current lifestyle that we find "uneventful" is that although we live outside a medium city, because we live in the suburbs, we hardly go to the city. If we live outside the city again, is it worth a move? Seems it would end up being a similar lifestyle at double + the price. P.S. Would move to London tomorrow, but for now, we are here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. In my experience, Black neighborhoods are friendlier on the whole. I've heard that's because the Black population moved up here generations ago from the South. Whatever, as a White person, I learned to say hello to people on the street once I moved into a Black neighborhood.

I'm the DC near-native PP who grew up west of the Park. When I was growing up, white people also said hello to each other on the street, and when I moved back in the 2000s they didn't anymore. except the older generation. Definitely a change. I still blithely say hello to people even in my old neighborhood (and ALWAYS in my new neighborhood). In my old neighborhood I'm often ignored. Makes me kind of crazed, actually.

OP here - Thanks for your follow-up. Lots of people's lives always seem so busy now, perhaps even to say hello. Unfortunately.

As someone who lived in DC for the better part of 50 years, this all made me chuckle. DC used to be a lot more of a southern town and something of backwater, hence the older, slower culture of politesse and familiarity.. Trying to be like NYC hasn't always been good for DC and in even more recent years it's not even trying to be like NYC, it's trying to be like ever other global 'cool capital' as a PP who opined on 'bohemian' coffee shops noted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. In my experience, Black neighborhoods are friendlier on the whole. I've heard that's because the Black population moved up here generations ago from the South. Whatever, as a White person, I learned to say hello to people on the street once I moved into a Black neighborhood.

I'm the DC near-native PP who grew up west of the Park. When I was growing up, white people also said hello to each other on the street, and when I moved back in the 2000s they didn't anymore. except the older generation. Definitely a change. I still blithely say hello to people even in my old neighborhood (and ALWAYS in my new neighborhood). In my old neighborhood I'm often ignored. Makes me kind of crazed, actually.

OP here - Thanks for your follow-up. Lots of people's lives always seem so busy now, perhaps even to say hello. Unfortunately.

As someone who lived in DC for the better part of 50 years, this all made me chuckle. DC used to be a lot more of a southern town and something of backwater, hence the older, slower culture of politesse and familiarity.. Trying to be like NYC hasn't always been good for DC and in even more recent years it's not even trying to be like NYC, it's trying to be like ever other global 'cool capital' as a PP who opined on 'bohemian' coffee shops noted.

OP here - thanks for this post and POV. Looking forward to visiting DC in the spring. Haven't been to DC since the middle school trip many years ago. My husband visits multiple times a month, so I'll ask him his opinion on the comment regarding "bohemian coffee shop". Funny, but can completely understand it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for this post and POV. Looking forward to visiting DC in the spring. Haven't been to DC since the middle school trip many years ago. My husband visits multiple times a month, so I'll ask him his opinion on the comment regarding "bohemian coffee shop". Funny, but can completely understand it.

DC in the spring is gorgeous, and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised at the city you find when you visit. It's especially nice to find spring already here if you're coming from the upper midwest when it hasn't quite arrived yet.

If you haven't already, you might want to follow https://dcist.com/ for hyperlocal news. The front page tends to be covid news and local politics, but if you dig into the food and arts/entertainment sections, you'll get a sense of what's happening on the fun side of DC life.

[Anonymous]

I am from Milwaukee and lived in DC for 15 years before coming back to Milwaukee this year. I personally couldn’t wait to come back to Milwaukee. Friendlier people, better food, being right next to a lake, historic architecture, beautiful housing stock, more community events and activities, and affordability. Why don’t you move to a more interesting part of Milwaukee instead of going to DC? It is a city of almost 600,000 and DC proper is only a little bigger. DC is very, very different and in a lot of not so great ways. The biggest one that stands out us housing. With some exceptions, the houses in the DC area are very small, not architecturally interesting and jaw-droppingly expensive. It is shocking. Unless, your husband has a job opportunity that pays boatloads of money and requires him to be in DC, I’m not sure I would do this. It is interesting to meet people from around the world in DC, but I wouldn’t make major life decisions based on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you wedded to DC? As a person who loved living in London, I'd strongly suggest going back there if you can. London is a much nicer place to raise kids (and I say this as a mom who spent time in both cities with small children).

DC is perfectly fine, but I'd rather live in Chicago if I wanted to prioritize living in a city.

OP here - Actually, we could theoretically live anywhere, just near a decent airport. Chicago would be great, if we didn't have to pay astronomical property taxes. It's a great city, but unfortunately, has some sizeable challenges. Currently, my husband travels a lot to DC, so we thought DC made sense. Additionally, we thought it would give a good sense of "international/diversity" to our children, we loved the thought of world-class museums and cultural attractions, better weather than Midwest, proximity to other cities/beaches/mountains....in short, things to do. Our current lifestyle that we find "uneventful" is that although we live outside a medium city, because we live in the suburbs, we hardly go to the city. If we live outside the city again, is it worth a move? Seems it would end up being a similar lifestyle at double + the price. P.S. Would move to London tomorrow, but for now, we are here

If you live in the DC burbs, the lifestyle will be 1/5 and nice for 3x the price.

[Anonymous]

I think people are friendly but then I'm a native. Vibe I would say is very buttoned up (i.e. most people are 9-5 office workers who wear button downs/polos/bussiness attire everywhere), traditional, kind of NPR liberal

[Anonymous]

I've been following this thread with interest.

Not one poster so far has recommended that you move into the heart of the city and put your elementary school aged children in one of the downtown schools and give you and them any exposure to real city living and diversity. For $1.8 million you could buy a very nice rowhome in Logan Circle or Shaw or Dupont. You could walk to absolutely everything. You could stoop on your front porch and meet your neighbors. You could put your kids in schools where there's real socioeconomic and racial diversity. In short, you could have a real DC experience.

The NW neighborhoods that other posters are recommending are for all practical purposes suburbs -- and rich ones at that. There was a firestorm on this website a few months ago after a couple of researchers at Brookings studied DCUM postings and concluded that it perpetuated segregation in the DC public school system by steering parents towards the richest and whitest schools in the city. What I'm seeing here is Exhibit A.

Take a chance, OP. You're smart, educated, and being a SAHM have time to watch over things and get involved. Your kids would thrive in a more diverse environment than what these folks have been pushing on you and be so much better off for it. Don't move to DC just to wall your kids off into the vanilla experience that DCUM is pushing on you.

[Anonymous]

I like DC and think it has a lot of positives. The people are far kinder than DCUM would lead you to believe. However, since you could live anywhere, I think it is an odd choice. People live here, by and large, because they must.