Which DC neighborhood is right for my growing family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been in CCDC almost 5 years, no british colony vibes. Then again, my DC's nanny who was an African immigrant, so maybe I was one of the "colonizers". LOL.

Seriously though, it is a wonderful place for kids to grow up. Tons of families, dogs. I like that we can walk 3 blocks to school and it is very safe. Neighbors are kind. People take care of their homes and yards.

Yeah that’s what I meant, especially if you also have a Hispanic yard crew. There’s obviously nothing wrong with having an immigrant nanny or a Hispanic yard crew but it’s hard not to notice and think about all the stuff in play.

Is this just an internet trope or does it exist in real life - people who make decisions like housing based on the optics of racial equity and virtue signaling? No one I have ever met in real life thinks and acts like this : hmm I can afford to live in a beautiful safe neighborhood with good schools, but gosh because of the underlying structural issues that led to this neighborhood being so nice (and thereby frequently not very diverse), let me prioritize feeling virtuous over the needs of my family and instead buy or live in a more diverse neighborhood!

Does anyone know a real person from real life, not an internet poster, who behaved this way?

Sure--anyone who picked mt pleasant could live in Barnaby woods and chose not to.

Yeah I wouldn't call it virtue signaling, but there are lots of relatively more expensive neighborhoods that people choose to live in over CCDC or Palisades or whatever - Cap Hill and Mount Pleasant are top examples. Denser parts of Ward 3 are also generally more expensive than CC (Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, Tenley, etc). People make housing decisions based on a lot of factors beyond "safe neighborhood with good schools" or square footage.

[Anonymous]

If you can, move to a family friendly neighborhood of Capitol Hill.

[Anonymous]

If metro access isn’t important to you, we love living in the Palisades. Key is a super sweet school and there is a big community vibe. We walk or ride bikes to the farmers market on the weekends and down to the rec center park that is always filled with tons of kids.

If you do need metro access, it’s a pain. But the bus is easy and we use it a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can, move to a family friendly neighborhood of Capitol Hill.

The school situation on the Hill is a mess. Every family we know on the Hill is constantly complaining about this or stressing about the lottery. It’s also really not safe.

[Anonymous]

I am a DC resident with high school age children. Wished we had moved to Bethesda, MD (Bannockburn, Wood acres, Springfield, etc) or Arlington, VA many years ago. Great public schools for elementary through high school and lots of terrific in-state tuitions options for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been in CCDC almost 5 years, no british colony vibes. Then again, my DC's nanny who was an African immigrant, so maybe I was one of the "colonizers". LOL.

Seriously though, it is a wonderful place for kids to grow up. Tons of families, dogs. I like that we can walk 3 blocks to school and it is very safe. Neighbors are kind. People take care of their homes and yards.

Yeah that’s what I meant, especially if you also have a Hispanic yard crew. There’s obviously nothing wrong with having an immigrant nanny or a Hispanic yard crew but it’s hard not to notice and think about all the stuff in play.

Is this just an internet trope or does it exist in real life - people who make decisions like housing based on the optics of racial equity and virtue signaling? No one I have ever met in real life thinks and acts like this : hmm I can afford to live in a beautiful safe neighborhood with good schools, but gosh because of the underlying structural issues that led to this neighborhood being so nice (and thereby frequently not very diverse), let me prioritize feeling virtuous over the needs of my family and instead buy or live in a more diverse neighborhood!

Does anyone know a real person from real life, not an internet poster, who behaved this way?

Sure--anyone who picked mt pleasant could live in Barnaby woods and chose not to.

Yeah I wouldn't call it virtue signaling, but there are lots of relatively more expensive neighborhoods that people choose to live in over CCDC or Palisades or whatever - Cap Hill and Mount Pleasant are top examples. Denser parts of Ward 3 are also generally more expensive than CC (Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, Tenley, etc). People make housing decisions based on a lot of factors beyond "safe neighborhood with good schools" or square footage.

We’re probably going to use private school since the grandparents have offered to pay tuition so I see the neighborhood we pick as kind of a balancing force, maybe?

[Anonymous]

DC is going downhill. You can buy something decent in McLean or Great Falls for that price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is going downhill. You can buy something decent in McLean or Great Falls for that price.

Ugh the worst of walk-ability. At least do reston or bethesda. those are actually nice places to live.

[Anonymous]

You should move to the burbs with that budget. Much safer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should move to the burbs with that budget. Much safer.

Walkable means that the criminals can also walk to your house, so it’s a catch 22. Safe and walkable are kinda contradictory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should move to the burbs with that budget. Much safer.

Walkable means that the criminals can also walk to your house, so it’s a catch 22. Safe and walkable are kinda contradictory.

Wow, that's a take I haven't heard before

[Anonymous]

AU Park fits your check list. Safe and alot of families, with better Metro access than CCDC. While most listings will be above your price range, homes under 1.6 million do come up.

[Anonymous]

I live in CC DC and like it…but in hindsight, I would have bought over the border in CC MD. You are walking distance to FH and the shops/restaurants in Upper NW DC, but you are in state for UMD and other colleges and the MCPS schools are good (though check out the MCPS boards).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been in CCDC almost 5 years, no british colony vibes. Then again, my DC's nanny who was an African immigrant, so maybe I was one of the "colonizers". LOL.

Seriously though, it is a wonderful place for kids to grow up. Tons of families, dogs. I like that we can walk 3 blocks to school and it is very safe. Neighbors are kind. People take care of their homes and yards.

Yeah that’s what I meant, especially if you also have a Hispanic yard crew. There’s obviously nothing wrong with having an immigrant nanny or a Hispanic yard crew but it’s hard not to notice and think about all the stuff in play.

Is this just an internet trope or does it exist in real life - people who make decisions like housing based on the optics of racial equity and virtue signaling? No one I have ever met in real life thinks and acts like this : hmm I can afford to live in a beautiful safe neighborhood with good schools, but gosh because of the underlying structural issues that led to this neighborhood being so nice (and thereby frequently not very diverse), let me prioritize feeling virtuous over the needs of my family and instead buy or live in a more diverse neighborhood!

Does anyone know a real person from real life, not an internet poster, who behaved this way?

Sure--anyone who picked mt pleasant could live in Barnaby woods and chose not to.

Yeah I wouldn't call it virtue signaling, but there are lots of relatively more expensive neighborhoods that people choose to live in over CCDC or Palisades or whatever - Cap Hill and Mount Pleasant are top examples. Denser parts of Ward 3 are also generally more expensive than CC (Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, Tenley, etc). People make housing decisions based on a lot of factors beyond "safe neighborhood with good schools" or square footage.

We’re probably going to use private school since the grandparents have offered to pay tuition so I see the neighborhood we pick as kind of a balancing force, maybe?

Do you know which private? I would look at ease of getting to school as a factor. Certainly, it is much quicker and easier to get to GDS or Sidwell (or even STA/NCS/Beauvoir) from AU Park.

I know parents appreciate their kids able to walk on their own by 5th/6th grade.

[Anonymous]

I’m shocked by how many people are talking about moving to CCMD or CCDC and then using the public schools. I think some of you are delusional and will end up using private schools anyway. That’s why most of the private schools are clustered in the same areas as the “good” public schools.