Why do some parents of DC private school children choose to live in the suburbs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sent my kids to a DC private school for a while. I live 1/2 mile over the DC line so distance was not a big deal. I chose to live in Bethesda long before I had kids because I grew up here and like it. I lived in DC for a while but at that time it was not ideal. Had my apartment and car broken into, city services were lacking and difficult to access. I know things have changed since but in the meantime I am back in Bethesda and have no plans to move.

Two people were stabbed last night (one killed) at the Woodley Park Metro. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Yeah, people are getting stabbed all the time in the Woodley metro...not. The only reason you even know about it is because it was unusual. If it was typical, it wouldnt be all over the news. And no one ever gets stabbed in the 'burbs? Lululemon, anyone?

I was waiting for someone to chime in with this nonsense. Can something happen anywhere? Of course. But these things happen more often in the District. The crime stats bear this out.

[Anonymous]

I wish we had never spent the money on tuition. I wanted to move to DC but DH said our child will be done and I'll be stuck there.

[Anonymous]

I live in DC and my kids bike around without supervision. I am not sure why suburbia has the monopoly on this metric.

[Anonymous]

I live in upper county MC, schools r not the best, I work in DC, so both my kids go to privates in DC.

[Anonymous]

Three reasons: (a) housing costs (our house would cost 40+% more if we moved 5 minutes closer to our dc's schools, and into D.C.); (b) taxes (our state's rate is far less than D.C.'s at our income level; and (c) we have family ties here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm really puzzled: I thought that the main reason why people choose to take on a long commute from the suburbs is so that the kids can attend good public schools. If you send your child to a private school in DC, why do you live in the suburbs?

Thanks.

I am pretty pro-public school and even I think this question is short-sighted and simple-minded.

There are plenty of reasons, OP. You can think of any?

[Anonymous]

Most of my friends and neighbors in mid to upper MoCo would never consider being in the city.

Most don't work in the city. Many own their own businesses that are not in the city. Many work for companies in the suburbs.

Most are transplants from other areas - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Pakistan, Africa, Dominican republic, etc.

I don't think many even considered the city as an option. We never did and we lived there in our 20's.

[Anonymous]

Hey don't dog OH + PA pp -- we were smart enough to vote for Obama and many of us live in DC are transplants from OH + PA. How about people live in the burbs because they don't like diversity? That is more true than not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey don't dog OH + PA pp -- we were smart enough to vote for Obama and many of us live in DC are transplants from OH + PA. How about people live in the burbs because they don't like diversity? That is more true than not.

One of my not-favorite-things about DCUM is the number of non-tolerant liberals here. It is more true than not that people in the suburbs don't like diversity? Please back that up with some sort of empirical study before throwing slurs at people who make different choices than you.

DH is from a small town and hates the noise and traffic and lack of parking and small or non-existent yards in DC. I love Capitol Hill, but all of those things apply to a greater or lesser degree. We can't afford the $$ homes in AU Park or elsewhere that would get us yards and parking and decent neighborhood schools as an option.

We're both much more sporty, outdoorsy people so being near museums and theater and such isn't a priority for us at all.

On top of that, we both work in the burbs, and did long before we had kids.

We have not yet made a decision about private school, although we are leaning in that direction, and living where we do will probably make it a challenge without carpools and such, but living where we do generally makes sense for our family with that one exception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of my friends and neighbors in mid to upper MoCo would never consider being in the city.

Most don't work in the city. Many own their own businesses that are not in the city. Many work for companies in the suburbs.

Most are transplants from other areas - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Pakistan, Africa, Dominican republic, etc.

I don't think many even considered the city as an option. We never did and we lived there in our 20's.

All interesting but then why send kids to private school in DC? I did it because I live close and worked in DC. If I lived and worked up county I wouldn't drive in for school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of my friends and neighbors in mid to upper MoCo would never consider being in the city.

Most don't work in the city. Many own their own businesses that are not in the city. Many work for companies in the suburbs.

Most are transplants from other areas - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Pakistan, Africa, Dominican republic, etc.

I don't think many even considered the city as an option. We never did and we lived there in our 20's.

All interesting but then why send kids to private school in DC? I did it because I live close and worked in DC. If I lived and worked up county I wouldn't drive in for school.

Not the PP, but the independent privates in this area were not established to provide alternatives to crappy public schools. There are any number of reasons to choose a private school as the right educational environment for your child, even if your neighborhood school is outstanding. I hear a lot about JKLM schools in DC being great, but still those parents send their kids to private. One would think it's unnecessary based on this factor alone, so there must be something else causing those parents to choose private over their perfectly good public.

[Anonymous]

Exactly, how is it any different sending kids to Beauvoir instead of Lafayette as opposed to sending to Beauvoir instead of Bethesda Elementary School? All are good schools...

Every year around this time a thread like this pops up, maybe because some residents of DC think they should be the only ones with access to DC private schools.

It makes no sense to me.

Although I will say, now that we have a kid in a DC private school, I wish I could afford to move closer in!

[Anonymous]

We live in the MD burbs because that's where we like living.

We send our child to their private school in DC because that was the school we liked best for her and our family.

There really isn't anything more to it than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in the MD burbs because that's where we like living.

We send our child to their private school in DC because that was the school we liked best for her and our family.

There really isn't anything more to it than that.

I agree. That's our story too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of my friends and neighbors in mid to upper MoCo would never consider being in the city.

Most don't work in the city. Many own their own businesses that are not in the city. Many work for companies in the suburbs.

Most are transplants from other areas - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Pakistan, Africa, Dominican republic, etc.

I don't think many even considered the city as an option. We never did and we lived there in our 20's.

All interesting but then why send kids to private school in DC? I did it because I live close and worked in DC. If I lived and worked up county I wouldn't drive in for school.

We don't drive in. For Gonzaga there are carpools and the train. For st. Johns there is the metro. Visi - you really need a carpool and it can get complicated after school. St. A and Ncs also lack good transportation options besides carpools.

I take all these things into account when deciding what school is a good fit. I can't say there is one reason we pick 1 school over another.

But some kids really just love the school they pick and have no problem with the commute.

When I was a teen and I chose the dc option over the suburban option my parents assumed I would choose. It came down to did I like it enough to take the T-4 or the T-6. I guess I did. I loved being in the city. I still love to visit the city but just am not into living there right now.