"Nothing is unique in DC"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cleveland park feels like a Inman Square. Woodley Park is walking distance to Georgetown, DuPont and feels like Central Square. Towns are not like New England towns.

Close but not quite. Big difference is all the squares with fun retail and restaurants in Cambridge/somerville are very close to each other. You could walk form Harvard square to Inman and to Central and to Davis Etc etc, or easily bike from square to square on nice trails or protected bike lanes. Here the pockets of comparable density/retail/charming pocket are a lot more spread out and you often need to drive across big swath of boring nothing or residential areas.

[Anonymous]

She moved to the suburbs and expected it to be lake a small town?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Best friend just moved to DC from New England and is having a really tough time adjusting. We are both born and bred New Englanders. I moved back from DC to New England a few years ago after a long time in NoVA. Work just took her there and she's really having a rough time. Been a while since I lived there, so - ideas?

Criticisms are - lots of bland condos and not a lot of "neighborhoods" with their own little town squares and small shops. Up here most towns have a main street with independent shops, not planned communities build around retail. She went to Reston Town Center the other day and felt deflated. She is living in Bethesda but feels like it is very homogenous. I suggested looking more in Del Ray area for things to do. It has truly been a while since I lived there and I'm wondering how to help - anyone here know? Looking for charming little towns, stately architecture, sidewalks, etc. Think Concord or Lexington Massachusetts. Not sure what may be comparable. McLean?

Sorry OP, I totally sympathize with your friend. Bethesda is nothing like New England towns and it’s really one of the better centers in the DMV orbit. She’s not going to find a Lexington or Concord here.

DMV suburbs/surrounding towns don’t have that Main Street layout or the charming New England architecture. If it’s density and life she misses she can get some of that in DC, but it won’t be like Boston.

Signed - another reluctant New England transplant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She moved to the suburbs and expected it to be lake a small town?

This. Bethesda isn’t really a town. It’s actually a pretty big sprawling city that’s mostly suburban, with a small and ill-planned downtown that’s neither convenient for pedestrians nor cars. And it’s a satellite city for people who work in DC but don’t want to deal with crime/bad schools.

[Anonymous]

Adams morgan!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Best friend just moved to DC from New England and is having a really tough time adjusting. We are both born and bred New Englanders. I moved back from DC to New England a few years ago after a long time in NoVA. Work just took her there and she's really having a rough time. Been a while since I lived there, so - ideas?

Criticisms are - lots of bland condos and not a lot of "neighborhoods" with their own little town squares and small shops. Up here most towns have a main street with independent shops, not planned communities build around retail. She went to Reston Town Center the other day and felt deflated. She is living in Bethesda but feels like it is very homogenous. I suggested looking more in Del Ray area for things to do. It has truly been a while since I lived there and I'm wondering how to help - anyone here know? Looking for charming little towns, stately architecture, sidewalks, etc. Think Concord or Lexington Massachusetts. Not sure what may be comparable. McLean?

lol please save her a trip. McLean is as bad if not worse than reston. If she wants town feel charm try Old Town Alexandria. But that’s more of a neighborhood than town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Best friend just moved to DC from New England and is having a really tough time adjusting. We are both born and bred New Englanders. I moved back from DC to New England a few years ago after a long time in NoVA. Work just took her there and she's really having a rough time. Been a while since I lived there, so - ideas?

Criticisms are - lots of bland condos and not a lot of "neighborhoods" with their own little town squares and small shops. Up here most towns have a main street with independent shops, not planned communities build around retail. She went to Reston Town Center the other day and felt deflated. She is living in Bethesda but feels like it is very homogenous. I suggested looking more in Del Ray area for things to do. It has truly been a while since I lived there and I'm wondering how to help - anyone here know? Looking for charming little towns, stately architecture, sidewalks, etc. Think Concord or Lexington Massachusetts. Not sure what may be comparable. McLean?

Tell her to go to Tysons. It’s got very unique DMV charm. And report back to us what she says.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best friend just moved to DC from New England and is having a really tough time adjusting. We are both born and bred New Englanders. I moved back from DC to New England a few years ago after a long time in NoVA. Work just took her there and she's really having a rough time. Been a while since I lived there, so - ideas?

Criticisms are - lots of bland condos and not a lot of "neighborhoods" with their own little town squares and small shops. Up here most towns have a main street with independent shops, not planned communities build around retail. She went to Reston Town Center the other day and felt deflated. She is living in Bethesda but feels like it is very homogenous. I suggested looking more in Del Ray area for things to do. It has truly been a while since I lived there and I'm wondering how to help - anyone here know? Looking for charming little towns, stately architecture, sidewalks, etc. Think Concord or Lexington Massachusetts. Not sure what may be comparable. McLean?

lol please save her a trip. McLean is as bad if not worse than reston. If she wants town feel charm try Old Town Alexandria. But that’s more of a neighborhood than town.

I was about to suggest Alexandria. I also think Georgetown has some potential for OP's friend. Would help to live there though. Those both have colonial roots and a little history.

[Anonymous]

The DC area simply did not develop the same way as New England. Where they were at one time villages, the WW2 and beyond population growth overtook them.

There are still some charming towns in the far outskirts but not places you'd live if routinely working in DC. There are neighborhoods remaining that are walkable and have their own charm - Old Town Alexandria, Capitol Hill, Del Rey in Alexandria, Westover in Arlington, Takoma Park.

But, really, expecting a New England experience in DC is silly. Time to embrace the different things DC offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cleveland park feels like a Inman Square. Woodley Park is walking distance to Georgetown, DuPont and feels like Central Square. Towns are not like New England towns.

Close but not quite. Big difference is all the squares with fun retail and restaurants in Cambridge/somerville are very close to each other. You could walk form Harvard square to Inman and to Central and to Davis Etc etc, or easily bike from square to square on nice trails or protected bike lanes. Here the pockets of comparable density/retail/charming pocket are a lot more spread out and you often need to drive across big swath of boring nothing or residential areas.

No I’ve lived in both. It’s 0.5 miles from the top of Woodley to the bottom of Cleveland. There’s also a bus.

[Anonymous]

This is not an area you come to for the ambience, it’s too dumpy for that. People generally come here for work and often leave when they’re done. I don’t know how long that will last with the promised gutting of the federal workforce to come though. Still, visiting Reston would send anyone into a depressed funk.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, OP, there is nothing this area can offer to your friend that will make it feel like the places she knows. Any D.C. area neighborhood or town is going to be different than a Boston suburb.

If she's unable to find enjoyable things about a different place, she realistically should start planning a return. That's why the few people I know who moved from MA still wax poetic about it and play the comparison game until they can get back.

[Anonymous]

OP, most people don't think Concord or Lexington as reference for anything. Get over yourself!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I used Reston as a gauge, I would totally agree.

This post is about the suburbs though, not DC. I don't think the same would be said about the city.

+1. She should be in the city. I feel this way about the burbs here but not my city neighborhood (Dupont Circle).

Yep. She’s not talking about DC. Try Capitol Hill, Brookland, or Georgetown, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, there is nothing this area can offer to your friend that will make it feel like the places she knows. Any D.C. area neighborhood or town is going to be different than a Boston suburb.

If she's unable to find enjoyable things about a different place, she realistically should start planning a return. That's why the few people I know who moved from MA still wax poetic about it and play the comparison game until they can get back.

+1

Came here for work. I had an open mind but after a year of exploring different areas in and around DC, I realized it's just not the same as New England. More specifically I'm comparing the area to Cambridge/Somerville where I used to work and live - there's nothing like it here. But I am also familiar enough with towns like Lexington and Concord to agree with your friend that she won't find towns like that here. And wait until she experiences DC summers if she hasn't already. After three years I realized if I didnt take action I would be bitter and always regret it, and the negativity about where I lived isn't helping anyone. Took some effort and planning 8but I'm so happy to be moving back soon. And once I know my time here is finite, I was able to enjoy the positives more (yes to milder winters)!