Single dad moving to DC with 3 year old - recommendations for where to move and preK 3?

[Anonymous]

Crestwood! It’s safe and not too far from work. Lots of families in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Crestwood! It’s safe and not too far from work. Lots of families in the neighborhood.

Zero metro connections, many of the bus lines are getting nixed, affected by the nearby crime of CH, very very few amenities other than rock creek park (which is nice!). Very high cost for real estate with very little bang for your buck, and the traffic is out of control on 16th St.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crestwood! It’s safe and not too far from work. Lots of families in the neighborhood.

Zero metro connections, many of the bus lines are getting nixed, affected by the nearby crime of CH, very very few amenities other than rock creek park (which is nice!). Very high cost for real estate with very little bang for your buck, and the traffic is out of control on 16th St.

Are there even any rentals in Crestwood?

[Anonymous]

no people need to start recommending good neighborhoods for a 3 year rental

[Anonymous]

Hello from Cleveland Park! Consider Ordway Gardens in addition to McLean Gardens--walkable to library & zoo. Predicting you'll love DC and end up staying >3 years!

[Anonymous]

Passed by McLean Gardens, saw a Leasing sign and thought of your post. Straight shot across the park on Porter to work for you if driving or the H bus. I think it would be ideal for your family, lots of kids and the daycare spot you have on offer is very close, along with groceries and other walkable amenities. If you stay, you will be happy at the local elementary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say this as someone who grew up with a single dad. Why is that an important part of your search? What difference does it make it you are a single dad, single mom, foster family ect?

You want a good school for your kid. Not sure why your gender/household status matters at all

OP here. Lots of reasons I included it.

Main reason: I'm new to this and have no idea what does or doesn't matter. So I just included as much info as possible because I'm nervous about the move and single parenting.

I want a good school yes, but I don't have the support of another parent or community to just go with the best. I work in a certain part of the city - if I get a call one day from school saying my kid is sick, what do I do? So people have pointed out that since it's just me, I should try aiming for a shorter commute, as an example of how including that info changed advice.

Including my gender and household status on another thread also showed that I probably am gonna need a full time nanny, something I didn't think or realize until others pointed it out.

So no I did not include it to find bored UM (urban moms??) as someone else suggested, just trying to get as much help/guidance/direction as possible. Another reason was in case there were other single parents who could give me their advice/input as well, which I did receive, as well as looking for other single dads to help start building my community.

And lastly I think it does also help with factoring in that I might not want to be in a part of the city that's comprised of mostly old retired folks and totally secluded from other young 30s crowd (not sure if such a neighborhood exists!) if I want to also be able to meet someone, though that's lower on the priority list, but certainly something to consider in my search for where to live.

Dude. The old ladies live in the part of town with back yards. With a toddler, outside space matters. Everyone dates on apps these days anyhow.

In case it's not clear to you yet, please do not live in Columbia Heights. It's great for 20 somethings. Not for people with kids.

[Anonymous]

Don't worry about dating -- you don't want to meet people in your kids school community. You are more likely to find someone through a work connection or other friendship.

You are a young male doctor -- you will have so many options. This part will fall into place. Your other logistics are much more complicated.

[Anonymous]

Maybe look at Shaw, the NoMa/Union Market area, Capitol Hill, Navy Yard, etc. I agree that Columbia Heights/Logan is not super family friendly. I also agree that you do not need to be in far NW either.

[Anonymous]

I would consider going in-boundary for Ross and then you can look at Stevens ELC, Military Road, or Two Birds for Pre-K 3. Ross has Pre-k 4. Ross is in DuPont Circle, which is an easy commute to where you will be working. There are several single parents and it is small community so you would have a support network.

[Anonymous]

I ended up choosing a place inbound for Eaton Elementary, I found a great deal on an apartment that's even cheaper than what I would have found EOTP.

I'm now trying to figure out whether to put her in daycare for a year spending ~$2300/month or in an out of bound school like Dorothy Heights, Appletree Columbia Heights, Shining Star Montessori, Eagle PCS, Meridian all of which she has spots at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I ended up choosing a place inbound for Eaton Elementary, I found a great deal on an apartment that's even cheaper than what I would have found EOTP.

I'm now trying to figure out whether to put her in daycare for a year spending ~$2300/month or in an out of bound school like Dorothy Heights, Appletree Columbia Heights, Shining Star Montessori, Eagle PCS, Meridian all of which she has spots at.

Shining Stars has an awful reputation, you should investigate. I don't know anything about the other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I ended up choosing a place inbound for Eaton Elementary, I found a great deal on an apartment that's even cheaper than what I would have found EOTP.

I'm now trying to figure out whether to put her in daycare for a year spending ~$2300/month or in an out of bound school like Dorothy Heights, Appletree Columbia Heights, Shining Star Montessori, Eagle PCS, Meridian all of which she has spots at.

Oh that's great, you will love Eaton!

If I were you, I would probably do daycare rather than those options. Much more coverage. You might be able to avoid a full-time nanny for a year (if you can solve the night shift and occasional weekend thing.)

[Anonymous]

Your best bet is to select a school with good aftercare that is closest to your work out of your available options - if it were me, I'd choose Appletree CH or Dorothy Height.

Take the money you're not spending on daycare and allocate it to nanny/out of school coverage. If you find that doesn't work, you can always have daycare as a fallback - there are generally lots of spots available for 3s because of DC's free PK3.

[Anonymous]

We love another AppleTree location and its aftercare, but be forewarned that there are quite a few half days/days off throughout the school year, on top of a long winter break, a week-long February break, and a spring break. School year also runs from late August to mid June, so you will also need to look into summer camps.