Moved to the burbs and I hate it

[Anonymous]

Columbia Heights is the pits. I hate that neighborhood. It's the worst of socio-economic tensions mixed with suburban development (DC USA) mixed with an ugly clusterfuck of a main strip (14th). Even a few blocks in each direction there are nice neighborhoods, but good god I can't stand ColHi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with you. When I lived in the District I thought people were generally very cool, but I love the burbs too and now read this stuff and wonder where all of these judgmental bitches came from? I am born and raised DC, live in Bethesda now and couldn't be happier. I am glad (or at least hope) that I don't know any of these haters!

I don't think of Bethesday, CC, Old Town, Rosemont living in the burbs. The burbs, in my opinion, are Rockville, Great Falls, Centreville, Springfield, Burke, Annandale, etc. Think strip malls and the like.

Well, that is crazy. They are the first ring suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My husband and I lived in a tiny 800 square foot condo in Columbia Heights for 10 years and I absolutely loved it – loved the neighborhood, loved the walkability, loved the people, loved running into friends everywhere, loved the feel of tons of stuff happening right outside my front door. Place was tiny but cozy and I loved it.

Then we had a baby and ran out of room.

We looked for over a year with a very low budget, and 6 months ago in the Maryland burbs we found a decent-sized place in great condition, a mile from a metro. And I HATE IT. I hate not seeing anyone on the street, I hate being in a silent neighborhood surrounded by car-choked streets, I hate being in the freaking car ALL THE TIME, I hate spending time on the stupid lawn, I hate f’ing pressure to decorate for Christmas, I hate having nothing but old white people as neighbors.

Is it insane to try renting out this place and moving into a rental back in the city? It has only been six months, but I just despair about spending years of my life in this place.

You are in the wrong nighborhood. Don't blame "the suburbs" for your problems. Find another area, one with young families and nearer activity. You problably thought all burbs were the same...they're not. I was much like you with the urbanity and reasons for moving, but we landed in an area with a ton of kids (in S. Arlington) and it's nice, although certainly way quieter than I'm used to.

Agree! You chose the wrong neighborhood.
I live in the 'burbs and love it. I can still walk to the grocery store, coffee, farmer's market, library, etc. There are various playgrounds along the wooded walking trail. Our subdivision has a pool that is an automatic social place and good place to meet people. In fact, DH and I only own 1 car so me and baby walk pretty much everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8:08 also could've gone the Hyde-basis-SWW route for free, for example, and stayed in Georgetown. or Hyde-Latin-private. etc.

Yes. We contemplated that, but Hyde wasn't anywhere comparable to the Arlington elem we chose. Also, we didn't want the hassle of applying to privates down the road, charters, etc. We are public school products ourselves with Ivy degrees so are comfortablw with this choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Columbia Heights is the pits. I hate that neighborhood. It's the worst of socio-economic tensions mixed with suburban development (DC USA) mixed with an ugly clusterfuck of a main strip (14th). Even a few blocks in each direction there are nice neighborhoods, but good god I can't stand ColHi.

We have a friend who lives in a brand new condo building converted from an old townhouse.

The issue is their neighbor who is directly connected to them is broke and an original owner and can't maintain their property. Everytime it rains the next door neighbor's roof floods the walls and floors of their condo units.

They have tried everything to get the neighbor to fix the issue but he refuses to listen and do anything about it. They have also got the DC government involved and they won't do anything because they claim the owner has tried to patch it.

[Anonymous]

Everyone here hates on strip malls but Isn't every newly gentrified areas of DC strip malls under tall building with your typical harris teeter, pot bellies and other typical stores.

[Anonymous]

Bethesda/CC is definitely a suburb. That said, we live walking distance to the metro, cycle everywhere, and we only use our car once a week for shopping. our kids go to the neighborhood schools (well, a bus-ride away) and as a result we know most of our neighbors. I find it friendly, walkable, and very pleasant. No crime or racial friction, unlike columbia heights.
My only complaint is that the quality of the bars and restaurants is clearly less than you would find at 14th/U, but it is no worse than Columbia Heights itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone here hates on strip malls but Isn't every newly gentrified areas of DC strip malls under tall building with your typical harris teeter, pot bellies and other typical stores.

Hating on strip malls is about as middle brow as you can get. Most of the good, affordable restaurants in this area either are in strip malls or started out in one.

[Anonymous]

I guess OP has abandoned this thread but was quite curious what neighborhood she moved to. It sounds like SS maybe to me and I understand having recently bought a house ourselves. Our neighborhood is circa 1940s, few people have driveways so yeah, lots of cars parked on the street. We have a mix of residents- older folks who have lived their a long time, families who moved in late 90s/early 2000s, and young families like ourselves who bought recently. Definitely in a transition phase- a friend lives in a similar type neighborhood a bit further out where that turnover hasn't happened yet- they're the only young family on the block and she finds it rather isolating. They never see their neighbors. So I get where OP is coming from. But now you're there- give it a chance for a couple years and if you still hate it, look for a neighborhood that suits you better, be it somewhere else in the burbs or back to the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone here hates on strip malls but Isn't every newly gentrified areas of DC strip malls under tall building with your typical harris teeter, pot bellies and other typical stores.

Hating on strip malls is about as middle brow as you can get. Most of the good, affordable restaurants in this area either are in strip malls or started out in one.

I know! Who knew. My fav Indian restaurant is in a strip mall in Langley Park.

[Anonymous]

How is being a mile away from the metro considered the suburbs? I think not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone here hates on strip malls but Isn't every newly gentrified areas of DC strip malls under tall building with your typical harris teeter, pot bellies and other typical stores.

Hating on strip malls is about as middle brow as you can get. Most of the good, affordable restaurants in this area either are in strip malls or started out in one.

I know! Who knew. My fav Indian restaurant is in a strip mall in Langley Park.

Woodlands FTW!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My husband and I lived in a tiny 800 square foot condo in Columbia Heights for 10 years and I absolutely loved it – loved the neighborhood, loved the walkability, loved the people, loved running into friends everywhere, loved the feel of tons of stuff happening right outside my front door. Place was tiny but cozy and I loved it.

Then we had a baby and ran out of room.

We looked for over a year with a very low budget, and 6 months ago in the Maryland burbs we found a decent-sized place in great condition, a mile from a metro. And I HATE IT. I hate not seeing anyone on the street, I hate being in a silent neighborhood surrounded by car-choked streets, I hate being in the freaking car ALL THE TIME, I hate spending time on the stupid lawn, I hate f’ing pressure to decorate for Christmas, I hate having nothing but old white people as neighbors.

Is it insane to try renting out this place and moving into a rental back in the city? It has only been six months, but I just despair about spending years of my life in this place.

You'll get used to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is being a mile away from the metro considered the suburbs? I think not.

I don't get it. What does proximity to metro have to do with being in a suburb? Some metro stops are in the city, and some are in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have to tell you things are bad in the non or gentrifying areas of DC. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work anf most are on welfare. The dollar buys a nickel's worth; banks are going bust; shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter; punks are running wild in the street, and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it.

We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat. And we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be!

We all know things are bad -- worse than bad -- they're crazy.

It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out any more. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone."

Well, I'm not going to leave you alone.

I want you to get mad!

I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot. I don't want you to write to your Congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street.

All I know is that first, you've got to get mad.

You've gotta say, "I'm a human being, goddammit! My life has value!"

So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell,

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!!"

The Russians have nothing to do with what is making you mad.