600k HHI - Where should we live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I currently live in Petworth in DC with a toddler, and another one on the way. 600k HHI, no debt besides the mortgage on our current place (300k in equity). We are looking for a bigger house - need at minimum 2000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms. Here are our priorities, in order:

[/b]1. Public schools that are not nearly all (talking over 85%) white [b]
2. Good quality of education at said public schools (through high school)
3. Relatively easy and relatively short (under 45 mins) commute via public transit to Farragut Sq area
4. Walkable neighborhood

Ideas of where to look?

[b]

Is there a HS within the beltway or just outside of it that is 85% or higher white? I don’t think there is. I think you have to go the outer suburbs.

What I mean is, that you don’t really have to worry about your #1.

[Anonymous]

Lyon Village zoned for Science Focus. Commute <0.5 mile walk from Courthouse Metro to Farragut is about 25-30 minutes by metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I currently live in Petworth in DC with a toddler, and another one on the way. 600k HHI, no debt besides the mortgage on our current place (300k in equity). We are looking for a bigger house - need at minimum 2000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms. Here are our priorities, in order:

[/b]1. Public schools that are not nearly all (talking over 85%) white [b]
2. Good quality of education at said public schools (through high school)
3. Relatively easy and relatively short (under 45 mins) commute via public transit to Farragut Sq area
4. Walkable neighborhood

Ideas of where to look?

[b]

Is there a HS within the beltway or just outside of it that is 85% or higher white? I don’t think there is. I think you have to go the outer suburbs.

What I mean is, that you don’t really have to worry about your #1.

Her kids are small, though--the diversity is issue is much more pronounced in elementary and middle, and I imagine that's where the concern is. Lots of 85%+ schools at those levels. Agreed that it's not really an issue by high school, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lyon Village zoned for Science Focus. Commute <0.5 mile walk from Courthouse Metro to Farragut is about 25-30 minutes by metro.

30 minutes is a bad day. Courthouse to Farragut West is an 8 minute train ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lyon Village zoned for Science Focus. Commute <0.5 mile walk from Courthouse Metro to Farragut is about 25-30 minutes by metro.

30 minutes is a bad day. Courthouse to Farragut West is an 8 minute train ride.

Nothing says "diversity" like Clarendon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lyon Village zoned for Science Focus. Commute <0.5 mile walk from Courthouse Metro to Farragut is about 25-30 minutes by metro.

30 minutes is a bad day. Courthouse to Farragut West is an 8 minute train ride.

Nothing says "diversity" like Clarendon.

Many schools in the Clarendon area are quite diverse, and there's not a single school in all of APS that is 85% (or more) white. The high school with the highest percentage of whites, Yorktown, is only 64% white.

[Anonymous]

25 - 30 minute commute assumes you have to wait a few minutes for Metro and your office building is not right on top of the Metro

[Anonymous]

Also, diversity stats on APS schools, including Arlington Science Fous: https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Civil-Rights-Table-1-2017-12-7-web.pdf

As of last year, ASFS was 25% Asian; 9% AA; 5% Hispanic; 12.6% multiple races; 47% white

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for the input. To answer everyone's questions - we are open to either staying in DC or moving to the close-in suburbs. My concern with upper NW DC is that, although Deal and Wilson seem reasonably diverse now, the elementary schools appear to be quite white and by the time my kids would be in middle/high school it would be very segregated. Bethesda also appears to be pretty white. I'm not familiar with Lyon Village - will look into that. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I currently live in Petworth in DC with a toddler, and another one on the way. 600k HHI, no debt besides the mortgage on our current place (300k in equity). We are looking for a bigger house - need at minimum 2000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms. Here are our priorities, in order:

1. Public schools that are not nearly all (talking over 85%) white
2. Good quality of education at said public schools (through high school)
3. Relatively easy and relatively short (under 45 mins) commute via public transit to Farragut Sq area
4. Walkable neighborhood

Ideas of where to look?

Do you want to stay in DC, or move out to the suburbs? As in, how would you feel about being zoned for Wilson? To get actual door-to-door in < 45 min, you'd have to either stay in the city or very close-in. We live IB for Wilson and total commute door-to-door to Farragut N. is around 45 min and sometimes a bit more, due to some walking on both ends.

Thank you. It's annoying when people say they live in Upper NW and claim they have a "15 minute" commute. They're only counting the time they're actually on the metro (not walking on both ends, waiting for a train, etc).

PP here. I could drive to the nearest metro station and could reduce my commute to 40-45 minutes, but I like a little extra walking.

If you’re open to staying in DC, this house in my neighborhood might work--listed at 1.8 but I think it should go for less:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1400-Iris-St-NW-20012/home/10019471?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

Also, this one was just listed and comes in under your budget:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/7537-12th-St-NW-20012/home/10036956?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

In addition to commute, Shepherd Park/Colonial Village checks some of your other boxes: Super diverse neighborhood and decent schools: Shepherd, Deal, Wilson. Not that walkable right now, but that will get better with Walter Reed and other development in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I currently live in Petworth in DC with a toddler, and another one on the way. 600k HHI, no debt besides the mortgage on our current place (300k in equity). We are looking for a bigger house - need at minimum 2000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms. Here are our priorities, in order:

1. Public schools that are not nearly all (talking over 85%) white
2. Good quality of education at said public schools (through high school)
3. Relatively easy and relatively short (under 45 mins) commute via public transit to Farragut Sq area
4. Walkable neighborhood

Ideas of where to look?

Do you want to stay in DC, or move out to the suburbs? As in, how would you feel about being zoned for Wilson? To get actual door-to-door in < 45 min, you'd have to either stay in the city or very close-in. We live IB for Wilson and total commute door-to-door to Farragut N. is around 45 min and sometimes a bit more, due to some walking on both ends.

Thank you. It's annoying when people say they live in Upper NW and claim they have a "15 minute" commute. They're only counting the time they're actually on the metro (not walking on both ends, waiting for a train, etc).

PP here. I could drive to the nearest metro station and could reduce my commute to 40-45 minutes, but I like a little extra walking.

If you’re open to staying in DC, this house in my neighborhood might work--listed at 1.8 but I think it should go for less:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1400-Iris-St-NW-20012/home/10019471?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

Also, this one was just listed and comes in under your budget:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/7537-12th-St-NW-20012/home/10036956?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

In addition to commute, Shepherd Park/Colonial Village checks some of your other boxes: Super diverse neighborhood and decent schools: Shepherd, Deal, Wilson. Not that walkable right now, but that will get better with Walter Reed and other development in the area.

PP again and adding after seeing your most recent comment: Shepherd is extremely diverse at the PK3 level, more now even than when my child was in PK a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the input. To answer everyone's questions - we are open to either staying in DC or moving to the close-in suburbs. My concern with upper NW DC is that, although Deal and Wilson seem reasonably diverse now, the elementary schools appear to be quite white and by the time my kids would be in middle/high school it would be very segregated. Bethesda also appears to be pretty white. I'm not familiar with Lyon Village - will look into that. Thanks!

Wilson is pretty segregated now. Are you imagining a place where most of the kids are wealthy and high achieving, but different colors? If so, I'd consider buying less house and going private, to a GDS or similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the input. To answer everyone's questions - we are open to either staying in DC or moving to the close-in suburbs. My concern with upper NW DC is that, although Deal and Wilson seem reasonably diverse now, the elementary schools appear to be quite white and by the time my kids would be in middle/high school it would be very segregated. Bethesda also appears to be pretty white. I'm not familiar with Lyon Village - will look into that. Thanks!

Wilson is pretty segregated now. Are you imagining a place where most of the kids are wealthy and high achieving, but different colors? If so, I'd consider buying less house and going private, to a GDS or similar.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the fact that you state your HHI in the title and your post is a bit much. just state what your budget is and avoid the drama (i.e. it depends on your HH expenses etc).

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be showy - I should have been clearer that we're not totally sure what our budget should be relative to our HHI. To avoid said "drama," I guess let's say budget of $1.5 mil, but if people think that is unrealistic given my stated goals, I am open to that feedback.

+1 I have no interest in giving any advice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, diversity stats on APS schools, including Arlington Science Fous: https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Civil-Rights-Table-1-2017-12-7-web.pdf

As of last year, ASFS was 25% Asian; 9% AA; 5% Hispanic; 12.6% multiple races; 47% white

careful, you may end up in a non yorktown pyramid