living in the Watergate with children??

[Anonymous]

We are interested in buying a place in the building, but want to know if anyone else with kids lives there? Anyone know about the area (we live in Dupont Circle now)

[Anonymous]

living with children and without some nearby green space gets harder and harder as they get older.

[Anonymous]

OP here. There is the waterfront literally steps, but your point is well taken. Would you also object to most of the other downtown neighborhoods? (ie Dupont, Georgetown, Kalorama)

[Anonymous]

My impression has been that the owners at the Watergate are generally older, no? If so, how do they interact with children? Not just on an ideal level, because most people like children well enough, but I mean how well will they tolerate snowman building, holiday window decorating, sidewalk chalk, etc. I noticed recently that some Watergate owners are complaining about proposed tree plantings along the waterfront. Will you be fielding complaints about marred views and private appropriation of communal space if your DC leaves a toy on the grass?

We have had occasional griping from both the empty nesters and the childless owners in our co-op building, even though almost half the apartments in our building are owned by families with children. It seems like this could be so much worse in a building with few families.

[Anonymous]

How old are your children? It doesn't strike me as child friendly in the least. I've visited friends there. Doesn't your realtor know? Also, do you plan to send your children to private school?

[Anonymous]

I love the watergate. My boss lives there. It's reallY not child friendly, though, not in the least.

[Anonymous]

I used to work in the office building next to the apartments and based on what I saw going in and out of the building and in the shopping plaza undweneath, I would say that it is a well-heeled retirement home. I honestly don't think anyone under 75 lives there. Monica Lewinsky was a rare exception.

[Anonymous]

Are there any other kids in the building? If so, maybe you could ask some parents who already live there. If not, that might be your answer.

[Anonymous]

Wasn't Monica Lewinsky living in the apartment of a family friend? So it was a bit of an accident that she ended up there.

One test might be to check the stores in the little courtyard at ground level, to see if they have diapers and baby aspirin. This might indicate whether there are other kids in the building. Also, you'd know that if your kid got sick in the middle of the night, you'd have to get dressed and jump in the car to go to another store unless you had stocked up.

[Anonymous]

Isn't Rock Creek Park right down the road?

[Anonymous]

My mother lives there, and it is not particularly family friendly--at least in this decade. The average age seems to be in the 70s. If you are worried about children making noise, running down the halls, and doing normal "kid" things, I would think twice. If you have quiet kids, I would consider it. There are a couple of young families currently living there, and the management seems to be taking their safety into consideration (covering up holes in the lawn), but I don't know about their interactions with the neighbors.

Because of its aging population, the Watergate is going to have to do some serious strategic thinking about enticing a new generation of owners. I believe that the population will move in cycles. There were once families there, and the parents have stayed on (and are now retired) in part because it is so incredibly convenient. Everything is taken care of--you do pay up the nose for condo fees, though.

BTW, I don't buy the "you need a lawn" argument. There are city kids and suburban kids. Watergate kids will grow up next door to the Kennedy Center, Georgetown, the waterfront, GWU, etc. The metro is three blocks away. There is a new Whole Foods to open this summer on the GWU campus. And Trader Joe's is nearby.

[Anonymous]

OTOH OP, maybe you are forward thinking. Look what happened to Mclean, Arlington, Bethesda and other areas. I just don't know if the old population will "move" fast enough for you DC to enjoy the "incoming" population. Many of the aforementioned communities are transitioning from "stuff your pennies in your mattress types" to those who work long hours and spend more - to the infrastructures benefit. It will be interesting to see.

[Anonymous]

Just wondering - if OP was to live in the Watergate and send her children to a public school, what school would that be?

[Anonymous]

We've lived in there with 1 child. We were the first. Then two other couples (with one child each) moved in. We were all on the same floor. No other children in the building. I would not recommend it. We still have our unit, but have moved out since last July. There are some older people in there that adore little kids, and others who are annoyed. I'm sure it's like that in any apartment building, but Watergate is especially "quiet." The pool is great, but again, you have to respect all the older ones in there. Just felt like I had to keep my kid on a "tight leash" walking around the building, even though we lived there.

[Anonymous]

One more thing - There are 3 different buildings, so maybe the other ones have move children. We hardly saw children in the Watergate shops or "courtyard", so I'm assuming not many children in other Watergate buildings either.