DC Chosen Best Place to Raise a Family

[Anonymous]

"Family dinner nights are easy at quirky local favorites like Matchbox restaurants or Busboys & Poets"

I can walk to both! A little concerned that they talk about "good schools" which makes me doubt the article some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do realize that $700K is a HECK of a lot of money, right? A huge portion of the population of THIS area cannot afford that.

Well of course not. But a close-in 3 BR row house is a luxury item. We live in a 2BR/1BA 1000 sq ft rowhouse. It's small enough that "a huge portion of the population of THIS area" would scoff at the idea of living here. People make choices based on their priorities.

Anyway, the reason it's expensive is that a big portion of the population of this area can afford it. Otherwise it would be cheaper. You're competing now just with folks in this area, but all up and down the east coast. As I said, I know many couples who've moved out of NYC area to live in DC and are just happy they could afford a walkable, urban neighborhood that's *cheap*. At least relatively speaking. They move into a 700 sq foot rowhouse and can't believe how spacious it is.

Anyway, if Conde Nast put out an issue where they ranked Costa Rica as the number one vacation destination, would you reject that because a huge portion of the population of this area cannot afford to go? Of course not.

If I happened across a list that said that Costa Rica was the #1 vacation destination because it has fabulous skiing and you will receive a million dollars the moment you arrive, yes, I would reject that list, because neither of those things is true.

And yet, that is easily refutable--whereas you seem to have no argument whatsoever when it comes to this ranking...other than your own prejudices, I mean.

[Anonymous]

That DC schools are uniformly bad seems to be an article of faith to those who left for the 'burbs. Some are; some aren't. There's definitely a sunk-cost effect going on as parents sit in traffic for 2 or 3 hours a day--after all, we're doing it for the kids!

Yes, apparently the refrain 'DCPS sucks" actually means that there are no acceptable public schools anywhere in DC. Which is of course not true. In fact, when you add in the charters, there are quite a few that are good, at least for elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you read the article it also notes that they relied heavily on culture and charm for kids (museums, kid friendly restaurants, outdoor music festivals, other stuf like that). So it makes sense that D.C. would be high ranked and Arlington fell to number 70! I actually find that there are a lot more affordable places to live in D.C. than in Arlington housing wise if you are willing to step out of NW. I used to live at the waterfront and felt perfectly safe there. There are some awesome large townhomes that are under 600K, plus you are close to the metro. Schools are another story in that neighborhood but I would send my kids to many of the charter schools in D.C.

Yep, charters and the fact that neighborhood schools give preference to in-boundary students are the main reason DC's public schools are experiencing a renaissance in middle-class neighborhoods. As more neighborhoods gentrify, those schools are coming "on-line" as well.

[Anonymous]

"That DC schools are uniformly bad seems to be an article of faith to those who left for the 'burbs. Some are; some aren't. There's definitely a sunk-cost effect going on as parents sit in traffic for 2 or 3 hours a day--after all, we're doing it for the kids! "

Don't you realize that many people no longer work in the city proper? It's not 1990 anymore.

[Anonymous]

I live in a 2 BR TH way out in the burbs...because it is what we can afford on a median DC-area income. It isn't about "priorities" - we simple cannot spend the kind of cash it takes to buy downtown.

Yes, maybe a large portion of YOUR friends in your high income part of DC can afford $700K (or $600K, for that matter) and sure, people moving from NYC think they have it made when they move here and can "afford" something downtown. But to say only those moving from Houston or the midwest think this area is too expensive is ludicrous.

[Anonymous]

I live in an affordable house in DC, I walk to work, my daughter has a school she loves. Last Saturday we walked to the farmers market met up with friends at the pool and spend the afternoon at a playground. Yeah, it's rough living in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That DC schools are uniformly bad seems to be an article of faith to those who left for the 'burbs. Some are; some aren't. There's definitely a sunk-cost effect going on as parents sit in traffic for 2 or 3 hours a day--after all, we're doing it for the kids!

Yes, apparently the refrain 'DCPS sucks" actually means that there are no acceptable public schools anywhere in DC. Which is of course not true. In fact, when you add in the charters, there are quite a few that are good, at least for elementary school.

It's a classic fallacy: it's like arguing that there are no rich men in DC because the great majority of men in DC aren't rich. That may be relevant in some contexts, but if you're looking to date a rich man, it's really irrelevant whether a super-majority of men are rich, since you're only interested in dating one at a time--not all of them.

How many schools are you planning on sending your kid to concurrently.

One last thing: I love how these threads always devolve into suburban parents claiming that every DC school is shit, and that any parent who would send their kid to one is engaging in what is tantamount to child abuse...followed quickly by pleas not to turn this into a suburb-bashing thread. Classic stuff!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"That DC schools are uniformly bad seems to be an article of faith to those who left for the 'burbs. Some are; some aren't. There's definitely a sunk-cost effect going on as parents sit in traffic for 2 or 3 hours a day--after all, we're doing it for the kids! "

Don't you realize that many people no longer work in the city proper? It's not 1990 anymore.

Yes - and people live in Hoboken, NJ. But we don't say they live in New York City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in an affordable house in DC, I walk to work, my daughter has a school she loves. Last Saturday we walked to the farmers market met up with friends at the pool and spend the afternoon at a playground. Yeah, it's rough living in DC.

This was my Saturday, too, but I don't call my house affordable. It's maybe worth $600k, which makes it average-cheap in the city. Where do you live? (Genuinely curious. I want to stay in the city-- maybe change neighborhoods, and reduce my housing cost.)

[Anonymous]

DC is only expensive to those who move here from some place like Houston or Lincoln, Nebraska.

We moved here from Southern California. Currently DC is far more expensive, but salaries are higher too. The biggest expense difference can be found in childcare and the housing market; especially since the housing market has been a crap hole in California since late 2007 early 2008.

BUT, we still love it here. I wish we lived in DC, but having three grade school aged kids forced us to compromise. I love all that the city has to offer and everything that my kids get to experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in a 2 BR TH way out in the burbs...because it is what we can afford on a median DC-area income. It isn't about "priorities" - we simple cannot spend the kind of cash it takes to buy downtown.

Yes, maybe a large portion of YOUR friends in your high income part of DC can afford $700K (or $600K, for that matter) and sure, people moving from NYC think they have it made when they move here and can "afford" something downtown. But to say only those moving from Houston or the midwest think this area is too expensive is ludicrous.

I don't know how much your townhouse is, but I can't afford $700K either. So, we live in a 2 bedroom condo for $500K. A lot of the median income people in my area are raising children in a 1 bedroom - some convert a closet into a permanent sleeping area for the child and others share the bedroom. 1 bedrooms in this area go for $350K-$400k. This is right downtown. You can get cheaper if you head out to Columbia Heights or Mount Pleasant or if you drop the parking space (which many do, as a car is unnecessary here). It is all about priorities.

[Anonymous]

11:32 again - and there is no need to sit in hours of traffic. Even with all of the Metro problems, it is still a great and affordable (especially when many companies offset the costs) alternative to commuting.

[Anonymous]

Not sure that's the case:

3BR/2.5BA house in San Diego for $745k

Within walking distance to the "good stuff" in SD.

Where are the cheap houses in walkable parts of SD?

[Anonymous]

"One last thing: I love how these threads always devolve into suburban parents claiming that every DC school is shit, and that any parent who would send their kid to one is engaging in what is tantamount to child abuse...followed quickly by pleas not to turn this into a suburb-bashing thread. Classic stuff! "

I don't know which DC schools are decent and which are poor. I do know we selected a school pyramid for its excellence. I don't want daily urban stress, that's why we chose the 'burbs, not because we were trying to avoid DC schools.