Moving from NYC to DC suburbs...tell me why you like the DC suburbs

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

I’m
Not from the Midwest, but yes. No one with our income would live in a place that looks like Arlington in our home city.

The NoVa housing stock, in particular, is terrible. So much of it was thrown up quickly post WW2, and it very much has a “thrown together” feel about. There are nice pockets here and there, but let’s stop pretending the area is what we all fantasized about in our “when I grow up” days.

NP. This isn't really accurate now, and it's too broad a generalization anyway.

I'm not sure how long ago you drove around much of NoVa, PP or where you live now, because there is huge variation between different suburbs in NoVa, and huge variation even within any one suburb.

Where we live, in Vienna, those old "thrown up quickly post WWII" houses are going, going, gone, increasingly knocked down and replaced, often with far larger houses in a wide variety of styles. Constant building of new homes where old ones were, over here. Yeah, there are still 1950s-60s houses around (I live in one) but on our suburban VA street almost all the houses now are at most 15 years old and several new homes are being built right now. Large houses, big garages, trendy styles. All over this part of NoVa.

We used to live on the Falls Church-McLean border, basically, and when I drive over that way now I see gobs of newly built apartments replacing old complexes and I see SFHs going up constantly in old neighborhoods. And that area was developed right after WWII and still had many tiny 1940s-60s houses. It's no longer correct to give a sweeping characterization of ALL of NoVa as made up of post-WWII, old, small houses with "nice pockets here and there." That has flipped and I'd say it's increasingly the opposite.

So, wait, they’re knocking down old charmless houses to put up new charmless houses (people used to call them McMansions, and yes, I’ve seen them popping all over). You aren’t helping the case for NoVa aesthetics.

You're very eager to show off the fact you haven't actually seen any of the houses I'm talking about. Maybe take a drive before you post about "aesthetics," PP.

Not all are "McMansions." I've lived in this area for almost 40 years and I know McMansions all too well.

Most of what's going up in our area are new Craftsman style homes, "modern farmhouse" style homes, and some houses that might not be unique but aren't ugly McMansions either. I'm not saying every house is a gleaming triumph of individuality, PP. But the fact you rushed to blather about charmless McMansions where you're looking does not mean that's what every other area has. Strange how you want to believe that every inch of the 'burbs must be like whatever it is YOU see where you are.

People moving here from outside the region will do just fine at locating attractive houses they like if they spend a little time looking around, an activity from which you might also benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've lived in DC for the better part of my adult life (20+ years, spanning grad school to married with three kids - 12, 10, and 7).

Capitol Hill: I lived the first chunk on the Hill; both House and Senate sides. Really loved it as a young adult; should definitely have bought a place there when I had the chance! But, to be fair - depending where you are, there's not a lot of walkable commerce - ie grocery, Target, etc. Of course delivery services have filled that gap, but it was terrible when I was a carless grad student trying to buy groceries. The metro is so unreliable now too that it's not as great an option. And, as you point out - the schools not great.

Chinatown: I also spent some time in Chinatown/Gallery Place (about when it really turned). So much fun in terms of restaurants/bars, but I wouldn't go near there now for housing.

Old Town: We bought in Old Town when we got married, and I loved it so much. Basically perfect suburban living....apart from the terrible schools and awful zoning rules (if you're a homeowner).

Alexandria (down the GW Parkway) - hated this option - commute was awful, no neighborhood to speak of (though it was pretty, and affordable). Also terrible schools.

Vienna - this is where we are now. I resisted because it was so far out, but virtual work has made it so much easier. I really love Vienna for the neighborhood feel (we lucked into an amazing cul de sace situation with families we really like). Our kids are always out and about; riding bikes, walking to/from school, running dog walking businesses. Our kids able to ride their bikes to sports practices, the pool, etc. The restaurants are not great, but seems to be improving. Traffic on Maple can be terrible, but I'm able to avoid it most of the time. The bike trail is my savior, and there are lots of parks we can walk/scoot/bike to.

You are WAY out of date on Capitol Hill. I can walk to 2 Whole Foods, 2 Trader Joes, a Giant, a Safeway and a Harris Teeter in 20 minutes (drive in 5)... not to mention Union Market, etc, etc. No groceries? It also has good elementary schools and commuting proximity to reasonable charters for middle/HS, but obviously no guarantee.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

No. Close-in Arlington or Bethesda have excellent schools and walkable (to coffee) neighborhoods.

- resident of (the horror!!) Reston

+1 I moved from another large city (not nyc) to Arlington (westover). What I like - best of both worlds, I can be downtown at a museum with my kid in about 10 minutes by car on a Saturday morning, I can still walk to coffee, a few of our favorite restaurants and the farmers market, lots of playgrounds, but I also can easily get to a grocery store (with my cargo bike on the trail or by car and enjoy the large parking lot and ease), I can easily drive places when it’s easier to with my kids but I also hate the in and out of car seats so we also have a cargo bike and tote the kids on the trails as much as possible. Next year my son will start kindergarten and we have a great public school that the neighbors all seem happy with a short walk away. No stress there which is very nice and obviously a huge privilege. Life is pretty easy. Parks and trails a block away. Neighbors who have become good friends, I can text on a Saturday morning and have impromptu get togethers with friends and their kids who are similar ages. I probably outed myself to anyone who knows me traipsing around westover on our bike but they are becoming more common by the day.

If you end up further out, we have family farther out in a suburb that isn’t walkable to shops etc and the benefits there I do see too - it’s quiet, there is a lake nearby, lots of culdesacs and neighbors are chill and friends. Kids run around (they do in Arlington too).

Westover is a perfectly nice and pleasant place to raise a family, so why lie about it? It takes "ten minutes" to get from there to a DC museum only if you go by helicopter. There's a single strip of stores and no more than a few restaurants. The housing stock is charming but also old, dated, and expensive. And there is zero diversity in the local public schools.

NP. I just checked the Google travel time from my Westover area house to the African American History Museum and it says 15 minutes. We're obviously not talking about the time it takes to park and move people in and out of cars, but "about 10 minutes" while definitely on the short side of estimates isn't really a gross exaggeration.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

I’m
Not from the Midwest, but yes. No one with our income would live in a place that looks like Arlington in our home city.

The NoVa housing stock, in particular, is terrible. So much of it was thrown up quickly post WW2, and it very much has a “thrown together” feel about. There are nice pockets here and there, but let’s stop pretending the area is what we all fantasized about in our “when I grow up” days.

NP. This isn't really accurate now, and it's too broad a generalization anyway.

I'm not sure how long ago you drove around much of NoVa, PP or where you live now, because there is huge variation between different suburbs in NoVa, and huge variation even within any one suburb.

Where we live, in Vienna, those old "thrown up quickly post WWII" houses are going, going, gone, increasingly knocked down and replaced, often with far larger houses in a wide variety of styles. Constant building of new homes where old ones were, over here. Yeah, there are still 1950s-60s houses around (I live in one) but on our suburban VA street almost all the houses now are at most 15 years old and several new homes are being built right now. Large houses, big garages, trendy styles. All over this part of NoVa.

We used to live on the Falls Church-McLean border, basically, and when I drive over that way now I see gobs of newly built apartments replacing old complexes and I see SFHs going up constantly in old neighborhoods. And that area was developed right after WWII and still had many tiny 1940s-60s houses. It's no longer correct to give a sweeping characterization of ALL of NoVa as made up of post-WWII, old, small houses with "nice pockets here and there." That has flipped and I'd say it's increasingly the opposite.

So, wait, they’re knocking down old charmless houses to put up new charmless houses (people used to call them McMansions, and yes, I’ve seen them popping all over). You aren’t helping the case for NoVa aesthetics.

You're very eager to show off the fact you haven't actually seen any of the houses I'm talking about. Maybe take a drive before you post about "aesthetics," PP.

Not all are "McMansions." I've lived in this area for almost 40 years and I know McMansions all too well.

Most of what's going up in our area are new Craftsman style homes, "modern farmhouse" style homes, and some houses that might not be unique but aren't ugly McMansions either. I'm not saying every house is a gleaming triumph of individuality, PP. But the fact you rushed to blather about charmless McMansions where you're looking does not mean that's what every other area has. Strange how you want to believe that every inch of the 'burbs must be like whatever it is YOU see where you are.

People moving here from outside the region will do just fine at locating attractive houses they like if they spend a little time looking around, an activity from which you might also benefit.

Sweetie, I’m in Arlington. But I do have taste.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

No. Close-in Arlington or Bethesda have excellent schools and walkable (to coffee) neighborhoods.

- resident of (the horror!!) Reston

+1 I moved from another large city (not nyc) to Arlington (westover). What I like - best of both worlds, I can be downtown at a museum with my kid in about 10 minutes by car on a Saturday morning, I can still walk to coffee, a few of our favorite restaurants and the farmers market, lots of playgrounds, but I also can easily get to a grocery store (with my cargo bike on the trail or by car and enjoy the large parking lot and ease), I can easily drive places when it’s easier to with my kids but I also hate the in and out of car seats so we also have a cargo bike and tote the kids on the trails as much as possible. Next year my son will start kindergarten and we have a great public school that the neighbors all seem happy with a short walk away. No stress there which is very nice and obviously a huge privilege. Life is pretty easy. Parks and trails a block away. Neighbors who have become good friends, I can text on a Saturday morning and have impromptu get togethers with friends and their kids who are similar ages. I probably outed myself to anyone who knows me traipsing around westover on our bike but they are becoming more common by the day.

If you end up further out, we have family farther out in a suburb that isn’t walkable to shops etc and the benefits there I do see too - it’s quiet, there is a lake nearby, lots of culdesacs and neighbors are chill and friends. Kids run around (they do in Arlington too).

Westover is a perfectly nice and pleasant place to raise a family, so why lie about it? It takes "ten minutes" to get from there to a DC museum only if you go by helicopter. There's a single strip of stores and no more than a few restaurants. The housing stock is charming but also old, dated, and expensive. And there is zero diversity in the local public schools.

NP. I just checked the Google travel time from my Westover area house to the African American History Museum and it says 15 minutes. We're obviously not talking about the time it takes to park and move people in and out of cars, but "about 10 minutes" while definitely on the short side of estimates isn't really a gross exaggeration.

Yes, it is. It is impossible (not just the "short side of estimates") to get from Westover to a museum in DC in ten minutes any time of the day or night and the poster knows it. It's an exaggeration.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

I’m
Not from the Midwest, but yes. No one with our income would live in a place that looks like Arlington in our home city.

The NoVa housing stock, in particular, is terrible. So much of it was thrown up quickly post WW2, and it very much has a “thrown together” feel about. There are nice pockets here and there, but let’s stop pretending the area is what we all fantasized about in our “when I grow up” days.

NP. This isn't really accurate now, and it's too broad a generalization anyway.

I'm not sure how long ago you drove around much of NoVa, PP or where you live now, because there is huge variation between different suburbs in NoVa, and huge variation even within any one suburb.

Where we live, in Vienna, those old "thrown up quickly post WWII" houses are going, going, gone, increasingly knocked down and replaced, often with far larger houses in a wide variety of styles. Constant building of new homes where old ones were, over here. Yeah, there are still 1950s-60s houses around (I live in one) but on our suburban VA street almost all the houses now are at most 15 years old and several new homes are being built right now. Large houses, big garages, trendy styles. All over this part of NoVa.

We used to live on the Falls Church-McLean border, basically, and when I drive over that way now I see gobs of newly built apartments replacing old complexes and I see SFHs going up constantly in old neighborhoods. And that area was developed right after WWII and still had many tiny 1940s-60s houses. It's no longer correct to give a sweeping characterization of ALL of NoVa as made up of post-WWII, old, small houses with "nice pockets here and there." That has flipped and I'd say it's increasingly the opposite.

So, wait, they’re knocking down old charmless houses to put up new charmless houses (people used to call them McMansions, and yes, I’ve seen them popping all over). You aren’t helping the case for NoVa aesthetics.

You're very eager to show off the fact you haven't actually seen any of the houses I'm talking about. Maybe take a drive before you post about "aesthetics," PP.

Not all are "McMansions." I've lived in this area for almost 40 years and I know McMansions all too well.

Most of what's going up in our area are new Craftsman style homes, "modern farmhouse" style homes, and some houses that might not be unique but aren't ugly McMansions either. I'm not saying every house is a gleaming triumph of individuality, PP. But the fact you rushed to blather about charmless McMansions where you're looking does not mean that's what every other area has. Strange how you want to believe that every inch of the 'burbs must be like whatever it is YOU see where you are.

People moving here from outside the region will do just fine at locating attractive houses they like if they spend a little time looking around, an activity from which you might also benefit.

I think you are kidding yourself about the look and feel of the newer construction. It’s not awful, but it definitely does not have the seamless, organic feel you find in similarly demographically comparable suburbs of NY, Boston, Chicago. For people who use those cities as reference points, many of the DC burbs are going to be disappointing. I’m not saying there aren’t ugly burbs associated with those cities as well, but we don’t have a lot of what most people would consider beauty in close in NoVa.

[Anonymous]

DC has all the pretentiousness of NY without the clout. I’d rather live and work in Baltimore than DC; at least the people there are real.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

No. Close-in Arlington or Bethesda have excellent schools and walkable (to coffee) neighborhoods.

- resident of (the horror!!) Reston

+1 I moved from another large city (not nyc) to Arlington (westover). What I like - best of both worlds, I can be downtown at a museum with my kid in about 10 minutes by car on a Saturday morning, I can still walk to coffee, a few of our favorite restaurants and the farmers market, lots of playgrounds, but I also can easily get to a grocery store (with my cargo bike on the trail or by car and enjoy the large parking lot and ease), I can easily drive places when it’s easier to with my kids but I also hate the in and out of car seats so we also have a cargo bike and tote the kids on the trails as much as possible. Next year my son will start kindergarten and we have a great public school that the neighbors all seem happy with a short walk away. No stress there which is very nice and obviously a huge privilege. Life is pretty easy. Parks and trails a block away. Neighbors who have become good friends, I can text on a Saturday morning and have impromptu get togethers with friends and their kids who are similar ages. I probably outed myself to anyone who knows me traipsing around westover on our bike but they are becoming more common by the day.

If you end up further out, we have family farther out in a suburb that isn’t walkable to shops etc and the benefits there I do see too - it’s quiet, there is a lake nearby, lots of culdesacs and neighbors are chill and friends. Kids run around (they do in Arlington too).

Westover is a perfectly nice and pleasant place to raise a family, so why lie about it? It takes "ten minutes" to get from there to a DC museum only if you go by helicopter. There's a single strip of stores and no more than a few restaurants. The housing stock is charming but also old, dated, and expensive. And there is zero diversity in the local public schools.

NP. I just checked the Google travel time from my Westover area house to the African American History Museum and it says 15 minutes. We're obviously not talking about the time it takes to park and move people in and out of cars, but "about 10 minutes" while definitely on the short side of estimates isn't really a gross exaggeration.

Yes, it is. It is impossible (not just the "short side of estimates") to get from Westover to a museum in DC in ten minutes any time of the day or night and the poster knows it. It's an exaggeration.

Ok. "About 10 minutes" could actually be 15 minutes to me, but whatever. Not materially different. I guess you aim for supreme accuracy so you can pencil in those five minutes arguing with people on a mommy forum.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

The public schools in McLean and Great Falls are the best in the state. Great Falls is rural and spread out but parts of McLean are walkable and there is easy Metro access.

I don’t understand people who think walkable to to anything in McLean is a benefit? They truly must never have lived in a city or like cities? It sounds awful to have the only things walking distance be soulless strip malls or a mush mash of little places surrounded by parking lots. It’s not the actual dry cleaner or coffee place that i yearn for, it’s the running into friends while walking all over, the variety of places, charm of the area, multiple options to sit outside, walking distance to parks, etc. and a real sense of community. We moved from the UWS to upper nw. While it was walkable to playgrounds and the library, it still felt isolated. We ended up moving again to old town, Alexandria and it feels a lot like the UWS. While we have cars and it’s easy to drive to the airport or beach or whatever, we pretty much walk everywhere. We go to the playgrounds and run into friends, there are lots of community events, the kids walk to sports, etc. The elementary school is excellent but we chose private for after that, although friends who stayed in public swear that it’s good as long as you’re in the gifted and talented classes

+1

Well, to be fair, once the Chesterbrook shopping center is fixed up, matters will improve.

It is kinda hideous and surprisingly so, considering the $$$ of the area. Friends from Winnetka, IL and Birmingham, MI have been shocked by McLean’s lack of high end shopping centers compared to what they have at home. Some things in “flyover country” can be very nice compared to what we’ve got.

I’ve been to Bloomfield, MI and sure it’s nice but come on, you actually want to live there as opposed to close to all the stuff that DC offers?

I don’t know what Winnetka IL is but same comment as above.

What does DC offer that is so special other than some museums people visit once a year?

I love DC, but I’m laughing at the ignorance of people who don’t know the US beyond a handful of places. DC has nice museums, but to act as if they are on par with some of those in other global capital cities shows how little knowledge some of these posters have. I have many well-traveled colleagues in Europe and Asia. If you ask them where they want to visit in the US, DC seldom makes the list. If you ask them about their favorite museums in the world, maybe 1 in 20 will mention something like Air and Space. If you ask about their favorite museums in the US, you are more likely to hear them mention museums in NY, Chicago. It’s perfectly valid to love DC, but understand many people here and around the world do not have the same love we have for the city.

+1

True, because the posters who claim "world class (whatever)" about DC have actually rarely resided in other places, sadly.

Wait, why are we talking about other global capital cities now? I’ve been all over Europe and a few places in Asia and never said DC was better.

I’m just saying so you actually want to live in Bloomfield, MI? DC is a large city and has a lot going on. Give me any city (NY, SF, Chicago etc) and I’d rather live in those areas than in a small town. That’s just me.

People on DCUM regularly, outwardly look down on Chicago, so it’s funny you mention that. Which is hilarious from an international perspective because DC is several notches below Chicago in terms of awareness, interest, and cultural importance.

+1

Just one example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

No. Close-in Arlington or Bethesda have excellent schools and walkable (to coffee) neighborhoods.

- resident of (the horror!!) Reston

+1 I moved from another large city (not nyc) to Arlington (westover). What I like - best of both worlds, I can be downtown at a museum with my kid in about 10 minutes by car on a Saturday morning, I can still walk to coffee, a few of our favorite restaurants and the farmers market, lots of playgrounds, but I also can easily get to a grocery store (with my cargo bike on the trail or by car and enjoy the large parking lot and ease), I can easily drive places when it’s easier to with my kids but I also hate the in and out of car seats so we also have a cargo bike and tote the kids on the trails as much as possible. Next year my son will start kindergarten and we have a great public school that the neighbors all seem happy with a short walk away. No stress there which is very nice and obviously a huge privilege. Life is pretty easy. Parks and trails a block away. Neighbors who have become good friends, I can text on a Saturday morning and have impromptu get togethers with friends and their kids who are similar ages. I probably outed myself to anyone who knows me traipsing around westover on our bike but they are becoming more common by the day.

If you end up further out, we have family farther out in a suburb that isn’t walkable to shops etc and the benefits there I do see too - it’s quiet, there is a lake nearby, lots of culdesacs and neighbors are chill and friends. Kids run around (they do in Arlington too).

Westover is a perfectly nice and pleasant place to raise a family, so why lie about it? It takes "ten minutes" to get from there to a DC museum only if you go by helicopter. There's a single strip of stores and no more than a few restaurants. The housing stock is charming but also old, dated, and expensive. And there is zero diversity in the local public schools.

NP. I just checked the Google travel time from my Westover area house to the African American History Museum and it says 15 minutes. We're obviously not talking about the time it takes to park and move people in and out of cars, but "about 10 minutes" while definitely on the short side of estimates isn't really a gross exaggeration.

It would take at least 30 to 40 minutes in real life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has all the pretentiousness of NY without the clout. I’d rather live and work in Baltimore than DC; at least the people there are real.

+1

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

No. Close-in Arlington or Bethesda have excellent schools and walkable (to coffee) neighborhoods.

- resident of (the horror!!) Reston

+1 I moved from another large city (not nyc) to Arlington (westover). What I like - best of both worlds, I can be downtown at a museum with my kid in about 10 minutes by car on a Saturday morning, I can still walk to coffee, a few of our favorite restaurants and the farmers market, lots of playgrounds, but I also can easily get to a grocery store (with my cargo bike on the trail or by car and enjoy the large parking lot and ease), I can easily drive places when it’s easier to with my kids but I also hate the in and out of car seats so we also have a cargo bike and tote the kids on the trails as much as possible. Next year my son will start kindergarten and we have a great public school that the neighbors all seem happy with a short walk away. No stress there which is very nice and obviously a huge privilege. Life is pretty easy. Parks and trails a block away. Neighbors who have become good friends, I can text on a Saturday morning and have impromptu get togethers with friends and their kids who are similar ages. I probably outed myself to anyone who knows me traipsing around westover on our bike but they are becoming more common by the day.

If you end up further out, we have family farther out in a suburb that isn’t walkable to shops etc and the benefits there I do see too - it’s quiet, there is a lake nearby, lots of culdesacs and neighbors are chill and friends. Kids run around (they do in Arlington too).

Westover is a perfectly nice and pleasant place to raise a family, so why lie about it? It takes "ten minutes" to get from there to a DC museum only if you go by helicopter. There's a single strip of stores and no more than a few restaurants. The housing stock is charming but also old, dated, and expensive. And there is zero diversity in the local public schools.

NP. I just checked the Google travel time from my Westover area house to the African American History Museum and it says 15 minutes. We're obviously not talking about the time it takes to park and move people in and out of cars, but "about 10 minutes" while definitely on the short side of estimates isn't really a gross exaggeration.

Yes, it is. It is impossible (not just the "short side of estimates") to get from Westover to a museum in DC in ten minutes any time of the day or night and the poster knows it. It's an exaggeration.

Ok. "About 10 minutes" could actually be 15 minutes to me, but whatever. Not materially different. I guess you aim for supreme accuracy so you can pencil in those five minutes arguing with people on a mommy forum.

You think like Trump.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC suburbs absolutely suck. This place is basically like Ohio or Indiana but if the residents were 10,000% more pretentious and arrogant and full of themselves. And that 10,000% figure isn't an even an exaggeration. People will live in bland-as-f*ck Virginia and pretend they're the center of the universe.

LOL. So spot on. They crap all over “flyover country” when most of that is much nicer than where they live.

“Most of that is much nicer than where they live”

Oh, my sweet summer child. As someone who has family in poor and middle class regions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri…you know not of what you speak. I love Cracker Barrel as much as anyone, but let’s not be silly. Most of it is not much nicer.

Go fly a kite. Have you ever seen some of rhe beautiful suburbs and city neighborhoods in the Midwest or the South. They blow their analogues in DC out of the water. It is not all farmland and poor/middle class people, “my sweet summer child.”

Only a person who has not been to most of flyover country would say that most places there are much nicer than DC. That’s not to say that DC is something amazing, but it’s not reality that most places in what’s known as flyover country are much nicer. To say that is pure silliness.

I am from the Midwest and have relatives in nearly every Midwestern state. I spent my first 30 years in the Midwest and then 18 in the DC area before moving back to my hometown. I am sure that I am more qualified to make a comparison as almost anyone. The housing stock, parks, and neighborhoods in the Midwest are far superior to the analogous areas in DC. I was actually shocked at how poor the housing stock was when I first moved to DC. Everyone raves about Arlington, but it honestly by appearance would only be a middle of the road suburb in my hometown. Call me “silly” if that’s all you’ve got.

I’m
Not from the Midwest, but yes. No one with our income would live in a place that looks like Arlington in our home city.

The NoVa housing stock, in particular, is terrible. So much of it was thrown up quickly post WW2, and it very much has a “thrown together” feel about. There are nice pockets here and there, but let’s stop pretending the area is what we all fantasized about in our “when I grow up” days.

NP. This isn't really accurate now, and it's too broad a generalization anyway.

I'm not sure how long ago you drove around much of NoVa, PP or where you live now, because there is huge variation between different suburbs in NoVa, and huge variation even within any one suburb.

Where we live, in Vienna, those old "thrown up quickly post WWII" houses are going, going, gone, increasingly knocked down and replaced, often with far larger houses in a wide variety of styles. Constant building of new homes where old ones were, over here. Yeah, there are still 1950s-60s houses around (I live in one) but on our suburban VA street almost all the houses now are at most 15 years old and several new homes are being built right now. Large houses, big garages, trendy styles. All over this part of NoVa.

We used to live on the Falls Church-McLean border, basically, and when I drive over that way now I see gobs of newly built apartments replacing old complexes and I see SFHs going up constantly in old neighborhoods. And that area was developed right after WWII and still had many tiny 1940s-60s houses. It's no longer correct to give a sweeping characterization of ALL of NoVa as made up of post-WWII, old, small houses with "nice pockets here and there." That has flipped and I'd say it's increasingly the opposite.

So, wait, they’re knocking down old charmless houses to put up new charmless houses (people used to call them McMansions, and yes, I’ve seen them popping all over). You aren’t helping the case for NoVa aesthetics.

You're very eager to show off the fact you haven't actually seen any of the houses I'm talking about. Maybe take a drive before you post about "aesthetics," PP.

Not all are "McMansions." I've lived in this area for almost 40 years and I know McMansions all too well.

Most of what's going up in our area are new Craftsman style homes, "modern farmhouse" style homes, and some houses that might not be unique but aren't ugly McMansions either. I'm not saying every house is a gleaming triumph of individuality, PP. But the fact you rushed to blather about charmless McMansions where you're looking does not mean that's what every other area has. Strange how you want to believe that every inch of the 'burbs must be like whatever it is YOU see where you are.

People moving here from outside the region will do just fine at locating attractive houses they like if they spend a little time looking around, an activity from which you might also benefit.

I think you are kidding yourself about the look and feel of the newer construction. It’s not awful, but it definitely does not have the seamless, organic feel you find in similarly demographically comparable suburbs of NY, Boston, Chicago. For people who use those cities as reference points, many of the DC burbs are going to be disappointing. I’m not saying there aren’t ugly burbs associated with those cities as well, but we don’t have a lot of what most people would consider beauty in close in NoVa.

This. I used to live in Arlington, and it looked absolutely ridiculous with huge urban farmhouse monstrosities stuffed onto a postage stamp piece of land blocking all of the light and dwarfing the tiny houses next to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you haven't already bought in the suburbs, don't do it. You'll be miserable unless you live in a place like parts of Arlington and Alexandria.

If you move to a place like Reston or McLean, you will be miserable OP.

But what about the public schools being way better in a place like McLean? Unfortunately it just seems like the more city-like areas (or DC proper) gave bad public schools.

No. Close-in Arlington or Bethesda have excellent schools and walkable (to coffee) neighborhoods.

- resident of (the horror!!) Reston

+1 I moved from another large city (not nyc) to Arlington (westover). What I like - best of both worlds, I can be downtown at a museum with my kid in about 10 minutes by car on a Saturday morning, I can still walk to coffee, a few of our favorite restaurants and the farmers market, lots of playgrounds, but I also can easily get to a grocery store (with my cargo bike on the trail or by car and enjoy the large parking lot and ease), I can easily drive places when it’s easier to with my kids but I also hate the in and out of car seats so we also have a cargo bike and tote the kids on the trails as much as possible. Next year my son will start kindergarten and we have a great public school that the neighbors all seem happy with a short walk away. No stress there which is very nice and obviously a huge privilege. Life is pretty easy. Parks and trails a block away. Neighbors who have become good friends, I can text on a Saturday morning and have impromptu get togethers with friends and their kids who are similar ages. I probably outed myself to anyone who knows me traipsing around westover on our bike but they are becoming more common by the day.

If you end up further out, we have family farther out in a suburb that isn’t walkable to shops etc and the benefits there I do see too - it’s quiet, there is a lake nearby, lots of culdesacs and neighbors are chill and friends. Kids run around (they do in Arlington too).

Westover is a perfectly nice and pleasant place to raise a family, so why lie about it? It takes "ten minutes" to get from there to a DC museum only if you go by helicopter. There's a single strip of stores and no more than a few restaurants. The housing stock is charming but also old, dated, and expensive. And there is zero diversity in the local public schools.

NP. I just checked the Google travel time from my Westover area house to the African American History Museum and it says 15 minutes. We're obviously not talking about the time it takes to park and move people in and out of cars, but "about 10 minutes" while definitely on the short side of estimates isn't really a gross exaggeration.

It would take at least 30 to 40 minutes in real life.

As someone who commutes to DC from that part of Arlington each day, that's not correct. In real life, I'd budget 20 minutes and it would probably take me less. The last time we went to the Kennedy Center, I was parking in the parking garage after leaving my house 12 minutes earlier. I thought that was swell (minus the $25 Kennedy Center parking fee)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why New Yorkers do this. They leave NY, move to a soulless suburb of another city and then complain nonstop how they hate X city. No, you hate the burns.

Because NYC kinda sucks unless you are loaded. The non-rich convince themselves it’s the best place despite paying crazy high rents, high crime, gross subways. And yes, i lived there.