Capitol hill v Bethesda/NoVa

[Anonymous]

With that budget, you could do many other neighborhoods in the city as well. What's with the obsession of capitolhill or way out? There is plenty of middle ground in between on the redline.

[Anonymous]

Cap Hill and Bethesda/NoVa are SO different from one another, it has to depend on more than whether or not you're willing/able to pay for public school. Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)? Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)? Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)? There are so many huge differences between the lifestyles here that I can't believe that a person who would want to live on the Hill would EVER want to move to the 'burbs, and vice versa! Public v. private would certainly be a concern, but not the biggest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cap Hill and Bethesda/NoVa are SO different from one another, it has to depend on more than whether or not you're willing/able to pay for public school. Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)? Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)? Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)? There are so many huge differences between the lifestyles here that I can't believe that a person who would want to live on the Hill would EVER want to move to the 'burbs, and vice versa! Public v. private would certainly be a concern, but not the biggest.

Sorry, meant "willing/able to pay for private school," not public!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cap Hill and Bethesda/NoVa are SO different from one another, it has to depend on more than whether or not you're willing/able to pay for public school. Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)? Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)? Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)? There are so many huge differences between the lifestyles here that I can't believe that a person who would want to live on the Hill would EVER want to move to the 'burbs, and vice versa! Public v. private would certainly be a concern, but not the biggest.

I'm not sure why it's so hard to fathom that people could move back and forth from urban to suburban neighborhoods.

You've tilted the playing field in favor of Capitol Hill, of course, by suggesting that you have to "drive everywhere" in the suburbs and that they are a "bubble of wealth." But most people are not so biased, and they realize that suburbs often have some walkability and at least as much diversity (particularly in the schools) as many DC urban neighborhoods. So they may decide that they want to live in the suburbs for a while to raise their families and that they'll move back to the city when they are empty-nesters. Or they may decide to stay put in the city or never leave the suburbs. But the choices are not quite as stark or permanent as you've implied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cap Hill and Bethesda/NoVa are SO different from one another, it has to depend on more than whether or not you're willing/able to pay for public school. Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)? Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)? Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)? There are so many huge differences between the lifestyles here that I can't believe that a person who would want to live on the Hill would EVER want to move to the 'burbs, and vice versa! Public v. private would certainly be a concern, but not the biggest.

OP here.

Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)?

I super super hate driving and love to walk everywhere. We don't even own a car!

Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)?

I love safety, but I think that the dangers of DC are overblown. I've had my car broken into when I used to live in Shaw 10 years ago, and I saw prostitutes/drug dealers a lot. As long as it's not too unsafe I am okay.

Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)?

My husband and I were both born abroad (very different countries). Diversity is important to us. By diversity I don't mean all AA kids, all latino kids, or all white kids - I mean a mixed bag of kids and income levels. I know this isn't going to happen anywhere in the DC Metro area, but that would be our ideal.

I appreciate you saying that public/private school wouldn't be the biggest concern, but that's how it feels right now.

We could swing 300k if both of us worked to afford private, but ideally we could send our kids to a good public school and have mom and dad around more.

Thanks for all the suggestions - I am still torn however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cap Hill and Bethesda/NoVa are SO different from one another, it has to depend on more than whether or not you're willing/able to pay for public school. Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)? Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)? Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)? There are so many huge differences between the lifestyles here that I can't believe that a person who would want to live on the Hill would EVER want to move to the 'burbs, and vice versa! Public v. private would certainly be a concern, but not the biggest.

I'm not sure why it's so hard to fathom that people could move back and forth from urban to suburban neighborhoods.

You've tilted the playing field in favor of Capitol Hill, of course, by suggesting that you have to "drive everywhere" in the suburbs and that they are a "bubble of wealth." But most people are not so biased, and they realize that suburbs often have some walkability and at least as much diversity (particularly in the schools) as many DC urban neighborhoods. So they may decide that they want to live in the suburbs for a while to raise their families and that they'll move back to the city when they are empty-nesters. Or they may decide to stay put in the city or never leave the suburbs. But the choices are not quite as stark or permanent as you've implied.

When we are empty nesters, I am definitely going to move to an urban area! That's the plan for sure. But I don't know if I can stand 20 years of living in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With that budget, you could do many other neighborhoods in the city as well. What's with the obsession of capitolhill or way out? There is plenty of middle ground in between on the redline.

Is there really? When it comes to high school and middle school - you will probably have to go private if you live in DC. If you live in Bethesda or Nova, the public schools are still good. So there isn't much point to move to say, Cleveland Park if you know you'll have to move or pay private in a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With that budget, you could do many other neighborhoods in the city as well. What's with the obsession of capitolhill or way out? There is plenty of middle ground in between on the redline.

Is there really? When it comes to high school and middle school - you will probably have to go private if you live in DC. If you live in Bethesda or Nova, the public schools are still good. So there isn't much point to move to say, Cleveland Park if you know you'll have to move or pay private in a few years.

as written by somebody who obviously does not live in the city...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My partner and I are looking to buy a house. I'm a SAHM. We are making around 150k, but hopefully Ill get a job eventually. We don't have the money to pay for a private school at the moment, but maybe it I return to work and we live even more frugally than we do now I guess we can foot the private school bill. Here is the question- is it worth it? Is it worth the bother to move to capitol hill, knowing that you will probably be on the hook for years of private school tuition? Are the schools that bad? Or should we just buy in boring bethesda or nova and send them to public school?

Please buy in Capitol Hill and stay away from boring Bethesda or NoVa. The last thing MD or VA needs is one more arrogant SAHM who acts like she was forced to live outside her natural habitat.

LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cap Hill and Bethesda/NoVa are SO different from one another, it has to depend on more than whether or not you're willing/able to pay for public school. Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)? Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)? Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)? There are so many huge differences between the lifestyles here that I can't believe that a person who would want to live on the Hill would EVER want to move to the 'burbs, and vice versa! Public v. private would certainly be a concern, but not the biggest.

I'm not sure why it's so hard to fathom that people could move back and forth from urban to suburban neighborhoods.

You've tilted the playing field in favor of Capitol Hill, of course, by suggesting that you have to "drive everywhere" in the suburbs and that they are a "bubble of wealth." But most people are not so biased, and they realize that suburbs often have some walkability and at least as much diversity (particularly in the schools) as many DC urban neighborhoods. So they may decide that they want to live in the suburbs for a while to raise their families and that they'll move back to the city when they are empty-nesters. Or they may decide to stay put in the city or never leave the suburbs. But the choices are not quite as stark or permanent as you've implied.

It's ironic that you've reached the conclusion that I tilted the field in favor of Cap Hill because I live in the suburbs. In making my own choice, I put my value on safety and living in more of a "bubble" above walkability and having lots of cafes around. I think it's a pretty fair comparison. I know many people who are very happy living on the Hill, but do live with daily threat of crime (property crime, mostly, but in recent months, violent crime as well) and, of course, greater socio-economic diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)?

I super super hate driving and love to walk everywhere. We don't even own a car!

Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)?

I love safety, but I think that the dangers of DC are overblown. I've had my car broken into when I used to live in Shaw 10 years ago, and I saw prostitutes/drug dealers a lot. As long as it's not too unsafe I am okay.

Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)?

My husband and I were both born abroad (very different countries). Diversity is important to us. By diversity I don't mean all AA kids, all latino kids, or all white kids - I mean a mixed bag of kids and income levels. I know this isn't going to happen anywhere in the DC Metro area, but that would be our ideal.

I appreciate you saying that public/private school wouldn't be the biggest concern, but that's how it feels right now.

We could swing 300k if both of us worked to afford private, but ideally we could send our kids to a good public school and have mom and dad around more.

Thanks for all the suggestions - I am still torn however.

OP, I saw this and I wanted to share with you something that became clear to me after living in both DC and suburbs. Both of them give lip service to diversity. But it means different things in different contexts. In DC, unless you live in upper NW that has a sprinkling of embassy/WB/IMF/foreign media corps, diversity means AA. Sometimes Latino in Columbia Heights, but truly, mostly AA. Not much of anything else.

In the 'burbs, diversity usually means plenty of everyone, including AA or not. I live in a non-posh part of Fairfax County and I was amazed to see the international wall in our elementary. Way, way more diverse than my old neighborhood in a non-posh part of Capitol Hill.

This is not a deciding factor for or against any particular location. You do what works for you. But I think you need to know that diversity means different things in different zipcodes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP here.

Do you want to be down the street from cafes and able to walk everywhere (Cap Hill) or are you OK with having to drive everywhere ('burbs)?

I super super hate driving and love to walk everywhere. We don't even own a car!

Do you want to live in a very safe neighborhood ('burbs) or are you OK with the possibility that your car/home will get broken into, and you could get mugged (Cap Hill)?

I love safety, but I think that the dangers of DC are overblown. I've had my car broken into when I used to live in Shaw 10 years ago, and I saw prostitutes/drug dealers a lot. As long as it's not too unsafe I am okay.

Do you want an urban environment where your kid will see lots of different types of people on the street, including homeless people (Cap Hill), or do you want to live in a bubble of wealth ('burbs)?

My husband and I were both born abroad (very different countries). Diversity is important to us. By diversity I don't mean all AA kids, all latino kids, or all white kids - I mean a mixed bag of kids and income levels. I know this isn't going to happen anywhere in the DC Metro area, but that would be our ideal.

I appreciate you saying that public/private school wouldn't be the biggest concern, but that's how it feels right now.

We could swing 300k if both of us worked to afford private, but ideally we could send our kids to a good public school and have mom and dad around more.

Thanks for all the suggestions - I am still torn however.

OP, I saw this and I wanted to share with you something that became clear to me after living in both DC and suburbs. Both of them give lip service to diversity. But it means different things in different contexts. In DC, unless you live in upper NW that has a sprinkling of embassy/WB/IMF/foreign media corps, diversity means AA. Sometimes Latino in Columbia Heights, but truly, mostly AA. Not much of anything else.

In the 'burbs, diversity usually means plenty of everyone, including AA or not. I live in a non-posh part of Fairfax County and I was amazed to see the international wall in our elementary. Way, way more diverse than my old neighborhood in a non-posh part of Capitol Hill.

This is not a deciding factor for or against any particular location. You do what works for you. But I think you need to know that diversity means different things in different zipcodes.

Good description, pp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With that budget, you could do many other neighborhoods in the city as well. What's with the obsession of capitolhill or way out? There is plenty of middle ground in between on the redline.

Is there really? When it comes to high school and middle school - you will probably have to go private if you live in DC. If you live in Bethesda or Nova, the public schools are still good. So there isn't much point to move to say, Cleveland Park if you know you'll have to move or pay private in a few years.

as written by somebody who obviously does not live in the city...

What? Doesn't make sense

[Anonymous]

OP I live in Bethesda (off of Old Georgetown). In my neighborhood my neighbors are from the China, India, Albania, Thailand, Hungary, Argentina and Siberia. In my DD's preschool class her classmates are from Australia, Belgium, Nigeria, France and Iran. So if you think there is only diversity in the city you are mistaken.

[Anonymous]

Forget capitol hill. The schools suck and all the inconveniences. I would buy in Bethesda if you can afford it. But my take on Bethesda (I'm a MoCo native) is that if you aren't making $300K HHI+, you don't fit in in a lot of neighborhoods. Or, just join us in NoVA, maybe Falls Church 22046, maybe 22043. Not sure you could swing McLean.