Where to live?

[Anonymous]

OP I honestly feel sorry for you. There’s nowhere around here that’s even remotely like Hoboken and if you’re looking for that you’re going to be miserable here. The Maryland suburbs are hellish and the West of the Park parts of DC being pushed on you here are no different. The Hill is probably your best bet but it’s a snore compared to Hoboken.

The problem with this website is that most posters won’t consider any school that’s not majority white and with test scores through the roof and you’re not gonna find that in the parts of the city that are most urban, most interesting and most fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. You should live on the Hill. And do exactly what you’re proposing - Marc train to fort Meade station. The elementary schools are great and it is charming and walkable. It is absolutely fantastic for young families, and you’re good to middle school.

OP here - is the “good lord” because of responses to live in MD? Hopefully not w/r/t my wish list. I really don’t know much about MD but I have been to the area around Ft Meade and it was … the exact opposite of where we live now and would like to raise our young family. Very sprawling suburbia. For context, I’m referring to the area near Arundel Mills.

PP here - the good lord was for the people implying you can’t live east of rock creek park if you care about your kid and don’t want your kindergartner to get knifed at recess. We live on the Hill and have friends who used to live in Hoboken. Knowing what you are looking for in terms of type of community to raise your kid, you will absolutely hate living near Fort Meade. I hear the other posters in that the MARC train is not the gold standard for commuter trains in terms of frequency and weird weather issues, and that if your husband drove, 295 traffic would be crappy even though he’d be commuting out of the city. You know him best and what he’ll tolerate but agreed he has some commute time coming to him if you live in the city. But assuming you as a family are genuine about wanting to live somewhere that feels a little bit similar (and that he’s cool with the commute time it will take), you absolutely should live close to a MARC station, and taking that plus the type of neighborhood you want, the right answer is Union Station and living nearby for one of the good elementary schools. FWIW, we picked this area because we wanted something that felt similar to Rittenhouse Square in Philly, where we lived before, and we’ve been happy with the choice.

It’s OP - yes, you sound like you get it. I have been to the arundel mills area near Ft Meade, and it’s absolutely not for us. My husband will commute an hour each way if it gets us the lifestyle we are used to/want.

When you say “live near one of the good elementary schools,” are there any specifically you recommend vs do not? We are going to be doing this a little backwards in that we will enter the pre k lottery before we know exactly where we will live, although hoping to narrow down general area of course. But still good to know if there are spots of the Hill or elem schools that are less desirable than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Live an easy commute to whatever he does at Ft Meade and find yourself a different job. You can take Marc your 2 or 3 days. Ft Meade probably has daycare.

I agree. Anne arundel county is great. If you love your job you can drive to greenbelt or new Carrollton park and ride and metro in from there the 2-3 days a week you go in. Asking someone to commute from Capitol Hill to ft Meade 5 day a week isn’t cool, imo.

[Anonymous]

What you describe is not an hour each way. It may look like it on paper, but it’s closer to 2 door to door. I know you’re from nyc (basically) but don’t underestimate how much of a pita getting around is in the dc area. For reference, most of the traffic here resembles the belt parkway.

[Anonymous]

You will need an address for the lottery and have to show proof of residency by 5/1. Also the Hill schools can be a bit tricky for prek4 since most have prek3, there are few slots that open for prek4. So you may be looking at places based on your lottery preferences but end up at a school not close to where you live.

Also don't discount what PP said about your DH commute. 5 days a week at Fr. Meade from the Hill is a killer. I like the idea of Columbia. It will be a lifestyle change for you all but suburbs thrive and sprawl because people like living there.

[Anonymous]

[img]

Anonymous wrote:You will need an address for the lottery and have to show proof of residency by 5/1. Also the Hill schools can be a bit tricky for prek4 since most have prek3, there are few slots that open for prek4.

OP here - I called and spoke with My School DC last week, and they actually said that we would not need a DC address to enter the lottery. They actually recommended we enter and then sort things out depending upon our results. I was surprised because we had to provide proof of residency for the lottery for pre k in Hoboken.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, OP. From what you described as your desired lifestyle, you will not be able to replicate it with those two job locations. My DC works at Ft. Mead. He lives in Arlington, in the Courthouse/Rosslyn area, which meets what you’re looking but as everyone said, his commute is about 1 and a half to 2 hours. He leaves 6am to make it to work at 7:30. In the evening it’s two hours. The commute is hellish, but he thinks it’s worth it as moving closer to work is not an option he wants to contemplate.

[Anonymous]

Your husband will not be present much in your family's life if commuting for 3-4 hours daily. Is that really the "lifestyle" you aspire to?

Spend a week in the area, and try driving different routes to the job locations daily at the times required. Drive to/from different parts of D.C. which you'd consider, and do the same from those parts of Maryland you can afford. It will become pretty obvious which locations are practical, even if not totally aligned with your vision of what you'd prefer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. You should live on the Hill. And do exactly what you’re proposing - Marc train to fort Meade station. The elementary schools are great and it is charming and walkable. It is absolutely fantastic for young families, and you’re good to middle school.

+1. Capitol Hill, absolutely. Public preschool and elementary school are excellent, and it’s a little walkable “town” appended onto downtown DC. Young families are everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - for those of you suggesting MD or somewhere closer to Ft Meade, is there anywhere similar to Hoboken in terms of lifestyle and density? I’m nervous about the move in general and even more terrified if it would involve a change to a very suburban lifestyle. I think we would feel very isolated.

That is why I had looked at the Hill, as it seemed most similar to what we have now. My husband absolutely will drive an hour each way if it gets us the lifestyle we would like to live with young kids.

No, not unless Baltimore. You will not find anything like Hoboken near Fort Meade. It's not really even a suburb of anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[img]

Anonymous wrote:You will need an address for the lottery and have to show proof of residency by 5/1. Also the Hill schools can be a bit tricky for prek4 since most have prek3, there are few slots that open for prek4.

OP here - I called and spoke with My School DC last week, and they actually said that we would not need a DC address to enter the lottery. They actually recommended we enter and then sort things out depending upon our results. I was surprised because we had to provide proof of residency for the lottery for pre k in Hoboken.

You should post in the DCPS forum to ask about schools/neighborhoods— you’ve already gotten incorrect info here about the lottery (and people weirdly pushing you to the far out suburbs, which you clearly do not want).

It’s true that pre-k 4 on the Hill can be tricky but there are also charter schools if you cannot immediately get into your neighborhood public school. That happened to us and it was actually a blessing in disguise— my kid started at a much smaller preschool before going to kindergarten, and we loved it. But I encourage you to go to the DCPS forum to ask about the lottery/probabilities for your kids. There are some real knowledgeable data nerds over there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. You should live on the Hill. And do exactly what you’re proposing - Marc train to fort Meade station. The elementary schools are great and it is charming and walkable. It is absolutely fantastic for young families, and you’re good to middle school.

OP here - is the “good lord” because of responses to live in MD? Hopefully not w/r/t my wish list. I really don’t know much about MD but I have been to the area around Ft Meade and it was … the exact opposite of where we live now and would like to raise our young family. Very sprawling suburbia. For context, I’m referring to the area near Arundel Mills.

PP here - the good lord was for the people implying you can’t live east of rock creek park if you care about your kid and don’t want your kindergartner to get knifed at recess. We live on the Hill and have friends who used to live in Hoboken. Knowing what you are looking for in terms of type of community to raise your kid, you will absolutely hate living near Fort Meade. I hear the other posters in that the MARC train is not the gold standard for commuter trains in terms of frequency and weird weather issues, and that if your husband drove, 295 traffic would be crappy even though he’d be commuting out of the city. You know him best and what he’ll tolerate but agreed he has some commute time coming to him if you live in the city. But assuming you as a family are genuine about wanting to live somewhere that feels a little bit similar (and that he’s cool with the commute time it will take), you absolutely should live close to a MARC station, and taking that plus the type of neighborhood you want, the right answer is Union Station and living nearby for one of the good elementary schools. FWIW, we picked this area because we wanted something that felt similar to Rittenhouse Square in Philly, where we lived before, and we’ve been happy with the choice.

It’s OP - yes, you sound like you get it. I have been to the arundel mills area near Ft Meade, and it’s absolutely not for us. My husband will commute an hour each way if it gets us the lifestyle we are used to/want.

When you say “live near one of the good elementary schools,” are there any specifically you recommend vs do not? We are going to be doing this a little backwards in that we will enter the pre k lottery before we know exactly where we will live, although hoping to narrow down general area of course. But still good to know if there are spots of the Hill or elem schools that are less desirable than others.

PP here. Agree that you’ll get good intel from the DCPS forum. My daughter goes to Maury and we’ve been happy with it though we moved here after the pre-K days so I’m not knowledgeable about the lower grades. Generally my sense is that all Hill elementaries are reasonably good. If your husband is keen on the train, I’d maybe hope for Ludlow-Taylor so you could live super close to Union Station, which would also work for your commute. If he wants to drive, Maury would be great for you (you can walk to Union from where we live in the Maury catchment but it’s about a mile away so doing it twice a day every day would get old). Brent is also popular—at least to grade 3 or so—but I believe is in a swing space or about to be? The DCPS forum can shed light on that.

It’s true that nowhere in DC is like New York and Hoboken, but I genuinely wouldn’t have shared my opinion if I hadn’t tried the far out suburbs (this was before we had kids) and been deeply unhappy. The Hill is wonderful—it’s true that it’s quieter than Hoboken, but still vibrant, walkable, lots of people out and about—and I think would tick the most boxes for you.

[Anonymous]

Op, you can enter the lottery without an address but if you match with a school, you have to show proof of DC residency and enroll by 5/1. You will likely end up on the waiting list for a bunch of schools but, again, will need to prove residency if/when you are offered a spot as part of enrolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

PP here. Agree that you’ll get good intel from the DCPS forum. My daughter goes to Maury and we’ve been happy with it though we moved here after the pre-K days so I’m not knowledgeable about the lower grades. Generally my sense is that all Hill elementaries are reasonably good. If your husband is keen on the train, I’d maybe hope for Ludlow-Taylor so you could live super close to Union Station, which would also work for your commute. If he wants to drive, Maury would be great for you (you can walk to Union from where we live in the Maury catchment but it’s about a mile away so doing it twice a day every day would get old). Brent is also popular—at least to grade 3 or so—but I believe is in a swing space or about to be? The DCPS forum can shed light on that.

It’s true that nowhere in DC is like New York and Hoboken, but I genuinely wouldn’t have shared my opinion if I hadn’t tried the far out suburbs (this was before we had kids) and been deeply unhappy. The Hill is wonderful—it’s true that it’s quieter than Hoboken, but still vibrant, walkable, lots of people out and about—and I think would tick the most boxes for you.

Thank you for sharing your opinion/experience. I do think I would feel very isolated in the suburbs, and I am clinging to hope that we can find a community like the one we’ll be leaving behind in Hoboken.

My husband also bikes a mile each way as part of his commute now, so we were also considering that he may do that to union station if he didn’t drive and we lived farther than Ludlow-Taylor area (like the Maury area). In general, are there any big differences between parts of the Hill? I see it is 2 sq mi so it’s small, but even within Hoboken (1 sq mi), there are some “general” differences (old rich area vs college kids area etc). They’re not that noticeable or profound but still curious.

We are planning a trip down in the coming months to get more familiarity with the Hill and the potential commute, but appreciate any feedback in the interim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, you can enter the lottery without an address but if you match with a school, you have to show proof of DC residency and enroll by 5/1. You will likely end up on the waiting list for a bunch of schools but, again, will need to prove residency if/when you are offered a spot as part of enrolling.

Yes that is actually what My School DC recommended - apply to the lottery and hope to be waitlisted (vs accepted) everywhere, so we are shorter on the list than we’d be if we entered the lottery after a move. Funny enough, the worst case scenario is getting matched to our top choice because we would likely have to decline without proof of residency in time. But in that situation, the representative said we would just enter the waitlist again after we moved and be in the same spot as if we did nothing.