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living in the Watergate with children??
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Anonymous
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If you are looking for an urban setting with full-service apartments, there are probably better places to look if you have kids. I have always thought the Watergate seemed kind of cut off from the rest of the city. I'm not sure what the appeal is.
What about going up Connecticut Avenue north of Dupont? |
Anonymous
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One other thing to bear in mind is that many of the residents are very old and not long for this world.
How would your kids react to finding a corpse in the elevator? Just something to think about.... |
Anonymous
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I lived in the Watergate and we moved when when I was pregnant. There is a different feel in each building. W-South is more expensive, ritz, and where the famous people lived. Watergate East was definetely a retirement home for the wealthy. The lobby actually shabbier after they redecorated it. West was probably as shabby but more of a mized crowd.
I loved the unit layout. Many units are big with a nice open layout. Each unit comes with a storage unit that is very spacious. The views are great on other side. The river views are more expensive but the city views are very nice too. The convenience factor was great. Safeway, CVS, a dry cleaners, and a Chinese restaurant where under ground. You just take the elevator down and the store is 10 steps away. The proximity to the Kennedy Center, metro, and being walking distance to the mall was wonderful. There is a large grass area behind Watergate East and no one is ever out there. This is better green space than alot of the parks in DC. The pool is beautiful and no one ever is there. The downsides and why we moved...while there are some lovely elderly residents who I loved there are some horrible, snooty yet cheap angry old people. There is always drama within the associations. Since this is a co-op, check the building finances carefully. W-East has a problem where the older residents would never increase the monthly fees or do any preventative maintenance. The reserves were very low and this can create financial risk for you. The buildings also had water problems. The water pressure for the vertical pipes is too strong and blows the pipes. We were constantly repairing something and it is a nightmare to have repairs done. When I was there the building manager was also in partnership with the only contractor who seemed to be able to work in the building without being given significant hassle by the building manager. It was a bad racket. |
Anonymous
| PP here, one more thing. You should carefully consider the co-op requirements not just toward whether you can meet them but for how it will affect your re-sale value. They had crazy rules where you basically had to have enough cash for 2/3 of the cost, you must have a US tax return for two years and you needed to pass an interview with the association. When we sold, we made about $100K less then if we had a co-op (not condo) in a different building. The population that meets the above criteria are basically wealthy, senior citizens who have sold their house and are paying cash. Its not a coincedence that the population is so old in the building, a bunch of the residents do everything they can to keep it that way. |
Anonymous
you are hilarious |
Anonymous
OP here. I'll bite. which building do you think would be better. We are looking for a 4 bedroom and prefer to not have a house. Amenities are important to us, but they are practically non-existent in this city. |
Anonymous
13:46 - Not OP, but thank you for your wonderful insight. Also partially explains certain areas... "snooty yet cheap angry old people".....  LOL! So very true!
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Anonymous
I guess you are looking WE 705 if you want something under a million. If you want a 4 bedroom unit, close in location and need to spend under a million but can deal with the higher co-op fee then this may be one of your few options. This is why I bought in the Watergate years ago. I'm surprised at how far prices have fallen and that is something to think about when you buy. If don't plan on staying forever but can get out at some point when the prices rise then its not a bad investment. You should research the land rights, at some point in the future there is an issue of land ownership. It will not hit soon but you should be aware that the land is not owned but leased. You should research whether there are any upcoming "issues" from maintenance that could require a large payment from members. This happened to a few people we know in other older buildings where the association did not keep up with maintenance. If you looking to spend over a million, you could try the Somerset area of Chevy Chase. It is not DC but it has high rise buildings, quick commute into DC, a metro and more activity on the weekends. |
Anonymous
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3+ bedroom apartments are rare in DC, since the cost of/ demand for housing has until relatively recently been low enough to permit even middle class families to buy houses. For the most part, the built environment here just wasn't conceived as an apartment-heavy town. It's a shame, because I know a lot of families (mine included) who would appreciate 3 bedroom apartments that could offer us a bit more space but still afford our central neighborhoods.
But there are some lovely pre-war buildings in Kalorama and Kalorama Triangle you might investigate. I assumed these were the ones PP suggested just north of Dupont. Some of these apartments have more than 2 bedrooms. I don't know how many would have 4, but I occasionally hear of one coming up for sale. These are also the sorts of buildings in which former owners might have combined apartments. I spend a lot of time browsing on UrbanTurf and have noticed several recent condo conversions in Logan Circle with 3 bedrooms. Not as many rooms as you had hoped for, but definitely a movement toward larger apartments. |
Anonymous
| We live nearby and I can see the appeal. But everything written here rings true. There are a lot of older and younger people who don't like kids. What if one of them is your neighbor? We have that problem. So we're also looking to move. The problem is we haven't found a neighborhood we like better. It's so convenient and walkable. Great for young families. I see about 25 kids on a regular basis. While the CVS is not great, there are a lot of baby items if you need them. |
Anonymous
What's your budget? Are you open to close-in North Arlington? There are some gorgeous townhouses coming on the market soon in 22201. |
Anonymous
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AAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH. Again with the Arlington thing!!
If OP wanted a rowhouse in DC, she could no doubt afford a fair selection for the same price as a unit at the Watergate. But she inquired about a landmark building in a fairly central neighborhood and stated that she prefers a large apartment to a house. How do you go from there to a suburban "townhouse"? |
Anonymous
Because other posters have pointed out repeatedly that the Watergate is probably not the best place for a young family. And maybe sometimes people need to be flexible on their requirements. And I'm in no way advocating for Arlington, I'd never in a million years live in Virginia, but how does it hurt to point out other options? |
Anonymous
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"I'd never in a million years live in VA....."
Yup, I said the same thing. Be careful with that one. |
Anonymous
Well, I don't live in DC either, so that is probably a clue. Mostly, my issues are traffic-related, and I understand the traffic issues better where I currently live.
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