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Move from city to outer 'burbs?
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Anonymous
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More space is very overated, layout is much more important. We have around 4200 sq feet including the finished, walkout basement, about 3000 above ground. We have lots of rooms but would really prefer a more open layout. We never use our dining room or living room. I would love a few extra feet in the family room to put in a u-shaped sofo or sofa loveseat, or open area between the kitchen and family room. Fewer larger, open rooms and spaces give you more space and require buying less furniture. Trust me I've seen houses in CA with half the square footage that feel more spacious. A one story house would be wonderful. It is a pain to get the kids up and down stairs. The foyer is another big waste of space. Adds to the heating bills, provides little value, and DH leaves stuff in there.
Because we have a lot of chopped up space, there is not as much pressure tp constrain bringing new things into the house or going through clutter. So even though we have a lot of "space" we have a lot of clutter in every room. I'm the only one going through this stuff and trying to get it out. I think in smaller houses you consciously think more about what you bring in. A bigger house is much harder to pull together. When we had a 1500 sq foot place we could remodel and do upgrades without it costing a fortune. New carpet, new floors are much more affordable with a smaller house than a big one so in the end I think the smaller end up looking nicer in the end. When the market goes up again we will seriously consider downsizing for lifestyle rather than financial reasons. |
Anonymous
| OP - what is your definition of "outer burbs?" How far out are we talking? We live in North Bethesda/Rockville and I commute to Arlington. It's about 30-40 minutes, really not bad. However, I don't think this would be considered outer burbs. I actually feel pretty connected to the city, and we go into the city for dining, social events, museums, the zoo, etc. pretty frequently. We don't live in a huge house or anything, but I like having a backyard with a swingset right there, and a driveway and garage to store all the kids' stuff. We also have a park and two swim clubs within walking distance. |
Anonymous
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DO NOT DO IT. I moved from Arl all the way to Aldie. Dumb dumb dumb mistake. I still work in Arlington. I drive 1 hour each way on a good day. It is hell!!! It is such a huge waste of my time,energy and patience, oh do not forget the gas!!
What I wouldn't give to move back to Arlington... |
Anonymous
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If you decide to move outside the district-I wouldn't go too far out. Traffic is a nightmare! We live within miles from the city-and what we paid for our small home (1900 sq. ft.) , we could have bought a much larger home further out. However, our commutes are not draining and we have plans to expand our home.
Is the article in the post from today? |
Anonymous
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A little over six months after Katrina I worked on a study of infrastructure weaknesses in American cities. When the study was done, and I saw the results, we moved out of DC to the suburbs. Not out of fear of terrorism, just the jaw dropping reality of the pinch point analysis of getting goods in, and people out, of DC. While you are worried about organic milk and BPA, what you should be worrying about is the fact that your hospitals only keep 3 days of supplies on hand, and your charming grocery stores and delis have less than 2 days of food and water on hand. Also, the city's infrastructure for power and utilities is so weak that "one" water main break can have a huge impact on emergency services.
It's a house of cards - it was hard to move, and the suburbs take getting used to, but I have small children and I have to think of them first. |
Anonymous
| Reasonable, but to what extent can we live afraid of doomsday scenarios? |
Anonymous
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It's not a doomsday scenario, it's just the inherent weakness in the city. What if there is minor (24-48 hour stomach) flu that we didn't make the vaccine for next year? It won't kill anybody, but it could take enough people out of work to slow down maintenance on the city and trucking service into the city. Remember, everyone is running on very slim margins so it doesn't take much to cause a problem.
When you look at the fact that most hospitals do not even keep 5 days of gloves on hand, it can get unpleasant very quickly. Also, trash pick-up. Hospitals have 3 or 4 trash pick ups a day.. Miss a couple, and ouch. Just one climate change snow storm or water issue, and you're screwed. |
Anonymous
Wow, you're just loads of fun. How is being a suburb any easier? Really, you're being ridiculous. |
Anonymous
| Yeah, scare tactics. Are you sure you're not a member of the Bush administration? reminds me of all those Code Yellow and terrorist warnings after 9/11, all meant, in my opinion, to scare the populace and sway support for more funding for the war. |
Anonymous
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You know, it's not scare tactics. If you don't have children, it's no big deal where you live. You can walk out if you have to. But I wanted to be somewhere outside the pinch point so that I had a choice, that's all.
If I had small children in the city, I would be informed. I would know where I lived in relation to transportation, hospitals and where the nearest Walmart is. After Katrina, they found that the areas that survived the best were those that had easy access to Walmart, or any type of superstore. I would want to know what the situation is with my water supply. Manhattan only keeps a three day supply of chlorine to treat their entire water supply because it's so expensive and hazardous to keep more. That's something I would want to be aware of in DC. |
Anonymous
lol! Yeah, I have no clue where a hospital or any transportation routes are in DC! I've never left the city, have never gone to Target (which we actually have in the city) or Wal Mart. You sound REALLY paranoid and anxious. Have you seen a therapist? |
Anonymous
Well, if you have small children you owe it to them to be as aware of the above as you are aware of proper car seat restraints or anything else. Most moms are never in an accident, but they buckle the kids up everytime anyway. How is this any different? |
Anonymous
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Yes but are those the only things you think about? For example, I think statistically we should be far more concerned about obesity and heart disease than a terrorist attack. People that live in cities and walk everywhere are likely to be in better shape than those who live in the suburbs and drive everywhere--is that something you took into your calculus? I live in Arlington and everyone is always out walking about, biking, riding, etc. When I lived in the outer burbs I saw none of that. What about your child's mental health? I can tell you that as a teenager I moved from a vibrant urban community to the NoVa burbs, and the kids there were bored out of their skulls and out of that boredom came a lot of drinking and driving aimlessly around and other really unhealthy behaviors.
I'm not saying your concerns are wholly unfounded but I do think you are not looking at the total picture. Living involves risk. Your kids would probably be safest if they never left home, never got in a car, never got in a plane, but is that kind of life really worth living? I would rather take the chance that my plane might go down than stay at home and die at 100 having never seen Paris from atop the Eiffel tower, having missed out on standing in awe gazing up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, having never dipped my toes in the crystal white sands of Fiji, on and on. You sound like a caring mom who is trying to protect her kids, but you need to think about the wefare of their entire being. |
Anonymous
| We moved from DC to the burbs and not the outer burbs. I wasn't looking forward to it. We went from a 600 sq. condo to an 1800 sq. ft. townhouse which seemed so roomy when we first saw it & moved in. I'm not a mterialistic person, I don't like to buy too much bc I think it just becomes junk, but I have to tell you we filled the space quickly. We bought a bed for the guest room, stuff for the baby room... the more space you have the more stuff you will buy to fill it. |
Anonymous
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So moving to the suburbs means that your kids become overweight and bored?
REALLY? |