Why so much hate with EOTP vs WOTP parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This may not be popular to say, but DC was a Southern and very segregated city. The park was a huge part of the racial dividing line. The city has also gentrified tremendously in the last 10 years and entire neighborhoods have shifted in terms of socio-economics and race. Some of these biased opinions are directly related to sections of the city that were predominantly African-American in the recent or even distant past. I would ignore the comments and live where you feel the most comfortable.

I'm and EOTPer who lived in Washington for 30 years. And I agree with this. Many of these statements come from people who are repeating statements from old Washington. I remember when you couldn't walk through Logan Circle at night. Now people pay a million dollars to own a house for that privilage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just tell me OP, are you moving from the Upper East side? west side? brooklyn? We can better direct you which neighborhood by where you lived in NYC.

She's not asking advice for where to live, she wants to know why there is so much hatred.

[Anonymous]

Eotp middle and high school choices are still a mess. They may be improving. Frankly, I didnt think wotp choices sounded all that great either, but as a fellow New Yorker, I also thought wotp was very westchester-esque; and if I wanted that, well then I guess I'd like it.

[Anonymous]

DC schools suck so it doesn't matter

Everyone goes crazy competing for lottery spots in elementary school and there are no good middle or high school options anywhere

Most people move out of the city or go private

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and i are moving to DC from NYC. I have narrowed my house search to 3 different neighborhoods. 2 in Ward 3 and the other in ward 4. I have taken the time to tour both schools and talk to the parent body. When I mentioned that i was considering other schools in an another ward I was really disappointed by the feedback provided by both parents in each ward. Why the animosity? Although cheaper than NYC, these neighborhoods are afluent and homes are pretty expensive. It feels like a them versus us mentality.

I'm surprised that you heard this from parents. The only places I've heard wtop and etop is on this board, or in articles that were obviously inspired from threads on this board. In real life, most people understand that you choose a house you can afford that is convenient to you in a neighborhood you like.

[Anonymous]

Not sure where you are looking for houses, but it is just an objective fact that many EOTP school options past preschool are poor, and forget about middle school and high school at all. That is not "us v them," it's just the truth. The affluence of EOTP neighborhoods has nothing to do with it. Just look at the long thread on Jefferson Middle School ...

So WOTP folks are right that the path to reliably good public schools in DC is WOTP elememtary-Deal-Wilson. Anyone EOTP who claims otherwise is pinning their hopes on winning the school lottery or will end up moving, or has a 2 year old and baseless confidence in the schools "improving" just in time for their own benifit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and i are moving to DC from NYC. I have narrowed my house search to 3 different neighborhoods. 2 in Ward 3 and the other in ward 4. I have taken the time to tour both schools and talk to the parent body. When I mentioned that i was considering other schools in an another ward I was really disappointed by the feedback provided by both parents in each ward. Why the animosity? Although cheaper than NYC, these neighborhoods are afluent and homes are pretty expensive. It feels like a them versus us mentality.

I'm surprised that you heard this from parents. The only places I've heard wtop and etop is on this board, or in articles that were obviously inspired from threads on this board. In real life, most people understand that you choose a house you can afford that is convenient to you in a neighborhood you like.

huh? in real life schools are a huge factor as well, which is where wotp and eotp comes in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, i was told in one instance that "its like a jungle on that side of town, schools tend to be very low performing and its not the environment for a well educated and upper class family." I couldn't believe what i was hearing. The other parents just nodded in agreement.

well, what are the schools actually like that you are zoned for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I also moved here from another part of the country fairly recently and looked to buy in neighborhoods both EOTP (mostly those zoned for Deal & Wilson), WOTP, and close in suburbs (Bethesda & Chevy Chase MD). Schools, work commutes (one of us had a reverse commute), and proximity to green space/trails/etc. were our primary criteria.

I'd say WOTP has traditionally been the "safer" bet in terms of schools, crime, etc.--even more so for Bethesda/CC MD. However, there are viable options EOTP as well these days, but you just have to do more research. Some EOTP schools still have a long way to go, and crime can sometimes vary block-by-block--BUT, a lot of this is changing rapidly. Accordingly, you may come across some dated attitudes about EOTP areas. Also, you may hear occasional disparaging remarks about WOTP, although I'll say I haven't heard this much IRL.

All in all, it really depends on your preferences, how risk-averse you are, and how much time you're willing to spend researching schools/neighborhoods vs. going with the tried and true. Our approach was renting in an excellent school district in Montgomery County, MD for a year so we could research neighborhoods. We ended up buying in a great EOTP neighborhood, but again, we considered WOTP as well.

Don't feel you have to get caught up in the local, sort of tribal fights about which side of Rock Creek Park you live in, or city vs. suburb. We had the attitude that we could see ourselves in several different neighborhoods, as long as it met our main criteria.

Good luck!

so where will your kids go to middle and high school?

[Anonymous]

Op is a total troll and I'm surprised the rest of you took him seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I also moved here from another part of the country fairly recently and looked to buy in neighborhoods both EOTP (mostly those zoned for Deal & Wilson), WOTP, and close in suburbs (Bethesda & Chevy Chase MD). Schools, work commutes (one of us had a reverse commute), and proximity to green space/trails/etc. were our primary criteria.

I'd say WOTP has traditionally been the "safer" bet in terms of schools, crime, etc.--even more so for Bethesda/CC MD. However, there are viable options EOTP as well these days, but you just have to do more research. Some EOTP schools still have a long way to go, and crime can sometimes vary block-by-block--BUT, a lot of this is changing rapidly. Accordingly, you may come across some dated attitudes about EOTP areas. Also, you may hear occasional disparaging remarks about WOTP, although I'll say I haven't heard this much IRL.

All in all, it really depends on your preferences, how risk-averse you are, and how much time you're willing to spend researching schools/neighborhoods vs. going with the tried and true. Our approach was renting in an excellent school district in Montgomery County, MD for a year so we could research neighborhoods. We ended up buying in a great EOTP neighborhood, but again, we considered WOTP as well.

Don't feel you have to get caught up in the local, sort of tribal fights about which side of Rock Creek Park you live in, or city vs. suburb. We had the attitude that we could see ourselves in several different neighborhoods, as long as it met our main criteria.

Good luck!

so where will your kids go to middle and high school?

PP. We are zoned for Deal and Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I also moved here from another part of the country fairly recently and looked to buy in neighborhoods both EOTP (mostly those zoned for Deal & Wilson), WOTP, and close in suburbs (Bethesda & Chevy Chase MD). Schools, work commutes (one of us had a reverse commute), and proximity to green space/trails/etc. were our primary criteria.

I'd say WOTP has traditionally been the "safer" bet in terms of schools, crime, etc.--even more so for Bethesda/CC MD. However, there are viable options EOTP as well these days, but you just have to do more research. Some EOTP schools still have a long way to go, and crime can sometimes vary block-by-block--BUT, a lot of this is changing rapidly. Accordingly, you may come across some dated attitudes about EOTP areas. Also, you may hear occasional disparaging remarks about WOTP, although I'll say I haven't heard this much IRL.

All in all, it really depends on your preferences, how risk-averse you are, and how much time you're willing to spend researching schools/neighborhoods vs. going with the tried and true. Our approach was renting in an excellent school district in Montgomery County, MD for a year so we could research neighborhoods. We ended up buying in a great EOTP neighborhood, but again, we considered WOTP as well.

Don't feel you have to get caught up in the local, sort of tribal fights about which side of Rock Creek Park you live in, or city vs. suburb. We had the attitude that we could see ourselves in several different neighborhoods, as long as it met our main criteria.

Good luck!

so where will your kids go to middle and high school?

PP. We are zoned for Deal and Wilson.

ah well then you are honorary wotp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op is a total troll and I'm surprised the rest of you took him seriously.

Yeah because there are no tribal / neighborhood rivalries in NYC...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I also moved here from another part of the country fairly recently and looked to buy in neighborhoods both EOTP (mostly those zoned for Deal & Wilson), WOTP, and close in suburbs (Bethesda & Chevy Chase MD). Schools, work commutes (one of us had a reverse commute), and proximity to green space/trails/etc. were our primary criteria.

I'd say WOTP has traditionally been the "safer" bet in terms of schools, crime, etc.--even more so for Bethesda/CC MD. However, there are viable options EOTP as well these days, but you just have to do more research. Some EOTP schools still have a long way to go, and crime can sometimes vary block-by-block--BUT, a lot of this is changing rapidly. Accordingly, you may come across some dated attitudes about EOTP areas. Also, you may hear occasional disparaging remarks about WOTP, although I'll say I haven't heard this much IRL.

All in all, it really depends on your preferences, how risk-averse you are, and how much time you're willing to spend researching schools/neighborhoods vs. going with the tried and true. Our approach was renting in an excellent school district in Montgomery County, MD for a year so we could research neighborhoods. We ended up buying in a great EOTP neighborhood, but again, we considered WOTP as well.

Don't feel you have to get caught up in the local, sort of tribal fights about which side of Rock Creek Park you live in, or city vs. suburb. We had the attitude that we could see ourselves in several different neighborhoods, as long as it met our main criteria.

Good luck!

so where will your kids go to middle and high school?

PP. We are zoned for Deal and Wilson.

ah well then you are honorary wotp

Not really, WOTP people still talk crazy about the EOTP areas that are zoned for Deal/Wilson.

[Anonymous]

OP here. we are looking in Barnaby Woods, American U area, and Portal Estates (zoned as Shepherd Park). I am saying my options of Lafayette, Shepherd, and Janney. All 3 filter into Deal.