Capitol Hill families - If you moved to NW or burbs for school, do you have any regrets?

[Anonymous]

So make a point of making CH pals that aren't woke, and turn local granola crunchy chatter into background noise. The DC burbs aren't exactly short of judgemental Burkenstock wearing types either (or VA wouldn't have gone purple).

One of us works in a Dem House office but we've had a bunch of Republican friends on the Hill for years. We got to know some of them on the PTA of our DCPS ES. The GOP families have mostly gone off to BASIS. They're just not that hard to find and befriend.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My kids went to our local DCPS school through 5th grade. They've won music/academic scholarships to a private school we can afford with the fi aid. We know that there are other great DC neighborhoods, but we're not moving 25 years into our life on the Hill just for schools. We can't stand the idea of taking care of a yard, having to walk more than 10 mins to a Metro station, or starting over socially. To each her own.

We don't walk more than ten minutes to the metro, or the supermarket, or one of 5 coffee shops, or our great middle school here in Arlington. We didn't really start over socially, we kept our old friends and made new ones. We have a yard and pay about $1000/year for someone else to take care of it (we save at least that much in taxes). Sounds like the Hill worked for you because of the scholarships, but honestly I do think some people assume that life outside of the Hill is some kind of suburban hellscape, when it can still be very walkable and pleasant. Our kids are in the car much less since we moved than they were before. And yes, real estate near a metro stop is expensive - but so is the Hill.

I live 2 blocks from Eastern Market, so it’s pleasant, but if I lived in Hill East like so many young families do these days, I’d have moved years ago. So much of the Hill is near nothing and is very inconvenient.

It is adorable how old timers on the Hill think Eastern Market is the epicenter of area amenities.

I actually think near NE in the LT zone is the sweet spot for amenities. Eastern Market, west side of Lincoln Park, or south of Capitol South within easy walking distance to WF/pretty close to Navy Yard are the other good spots. Near Potomac Ave metro/the Roost/new Safeway also not bad. But Hill East (14th/15th & East) slightly farther north/Maury zone is actually pretty inconvenient to any amenities. Maury is a great school, but that part of the Hill really isn’t very walkable.

We bid on a row house literally opposite the Maury playground but we were outbid. Is that not a good location?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My kids went to our local DCPS school through 5th grade. They've won music/academic scholarships to a private school we can afford with the fi aid. We know that there are other great DC neighborhoods, but we're not moving 25 years into our life on the Hill just for schools. We can't stand the idea of taking care of a yard, having to walk more than 10 mins to a Metro station, or starting over socially. To each her own.

We don't walk more than ten minutes to the metro, or the supermarket, or one of 5 coffee shops, or our great middle school here in Arlington. We didn't really start over socially, we kept our old friends and made new ones. We have a yard and pay about $1000/year for someone else to take care of it (we save at least that much in taxes). Sounds like the Hill worked for you because of the scholarships, but honestly I do think some people assume that life outside of the Hill is some kind of suburban hellscape, when it can still be very walkable and pleasant. Our kids are in the car much less since we moved than they were before. And yes, real estate near a metro stop is expensive - but so is the Hill.

I live 2 blocks from Eastern Market, so it’s pleasant, but if I lived in Hill East like so many young families do these days, I’d have moved years ago. So much of the Hill is near nothing and is very inconvenient.

It is adorable how old timers on the Hill think Eastern Market is the epicenter of area amenities.

I actually think near NE in the LT zone is the sweet spot for amenities. Eastern Market, west side of Lincoln Park, or south of Capitol South within easy walking distance to WF/pretty close to Navy Yard are the other good spots. Near Potomac Ave metro/the Roost/new Safeway also not bad. But Hill East (14th/15th & East) slightly farther north/Maury zone is actually pretty inconvenient to any amenities. Maury is a great school, but that part of the Hill really isn’t very walkable.

We bid on a row house literally opposite the Maury playground but we were outbid. Is that not a good location?

It’s a fantastic location. You can walk to h street and Lincoln park. In my opinion the LT area is a dump. There is a lot of crime, lots of public housing, and the houses are too small, and you are not near that many parks except for the LT park and Sherwood rec. Ludlow isn’t great and there aren’t any middle schools on the hill worth attending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved to NW from Capital Hill for more space and better schools when our oldest was in K. There were a bunch of other CH transplants at the open house for his new school.

DS is now in middle school so we’ve been here a while. Like one of the PPs, I don’t like having a yard but other than that, it’s fine. Both our kids are happy, and it took some time but we’ve made some friends and it’s been fine. I don’t know where in NW toy are thinking but we live in AU Park and there are a lot of families with kids of all ages which might making your own friends easier since people are likely to be at the same stage of life. Like your partner, OP, some density was non-negotiable for me (I grew up in a big city and AU Park is the most suburban I’ve ever lived) and I found the area an acceptable compromise.

I’m glad that worked out for you. In my opinion if I’m going to move to the suburbs like AU park, I’m going to shoot for the best schools. Deal/JR Wilson is mediocre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have boys, Gonzaga is a good option.
My boys go there. We are not Catholic or religious but I don’t mind the religion aspect.
Not a bad thing to learn about religion and how important it is to civilisation. My boys love Gonzaga and it has worked out well for us.
It is a nice community.

Religion is poison. My parents said similar stuff without knowing many of my classmates were being sexually abused by the priests. Trust me I wish Catholic school had worked out for us, and most of all I wish my school friends hadn’t experienced what they did.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My kids went to our local DCPS school through 5th grade. They've won music/academic scholarships to a private school we can afford with the fi aid. We know that there are other great DC neighborhoods, but we're not moving 25 years into our life on the Hill just for schools. We can't stand the idea of taking care of a yard, having to walk more than 10 mins to a Metro station, or starting over socially. To each her own.

We don't walk more than ten minutes to the metro, or the supermarket, or one of 5 coffee shops, or our great middle school here in Arlington. We didn't really start over socially, we kept our old friends and made new ones. We have a yard and pay about $1000/year for someone else to take care of it (we save at least that much in taxes). Sounds like the Hill worked for you because of the scholarships, but honestly I do think some people assume that life outside of the Hill is some kind of suburban hellscape, when it can still be very walkable and pleasant. Our kids are in the car much less since we moved than they were before. And yes, real estate near a metro stop is expensive - but so is the Hill.

I live 2 blocks from Eastern Market, so it’s pleasant, but if I lived in Hill East like so many young families do these days, I’d have moved years ago. So much of the Hill is near nothing and is very inconvenient.

It is adorable how old timers on the Hill think Eastern Market is the epicenter of area amenities.

I actually think near NE in the LT zone is the sweet spot for amenities. Eastern Market, west side of Lincoln Park, or south of Capitol South within easy walking distance to WF/pretty close to Navy Yard are the other good spots. Near Potomac Ave metro/the Roost/new Safeway also not bad. But Hill East (14th/15th & East) slightly farther north/Maury zone is actually pretty inconvenient to any amenities. Maury is a great school, but that part of the Hill really isn’t very walkable.

We bid on a row house literally opposite the Maury playground but we were outbid. Is that not a good location?

It’s a fantastic location. You can walk to h street and Lincoln park. In my opinion the LT area is a dump. There is a lot of crime, lots of public housing, and the houses are too small, and you are not near that many parks except for the LT park and Sherwood rec. Ludlow isn’t great and there aren’t any middle schools on the hill worth attending.

Uhm, what? There is one single public housing building in the LT zone and it is only for senior citizens. Also, Stanton Park basically abuts the LT zone. Is it possible that you have no idea what you’re talking about? Also across the street from Maury is literally 3 blocks from IB for LT, so there’s that too.

[Anonymous]

We're been a couple blocks northeast of Stanton Park, in-boundary for Ludlow for almost 20 years now. There's a snazzy 4-BR house several down the row from us on the market for more than $2 million. A dump? Ridiculous.

One selling point of the Stanton Park neighborhood is that you can walk from there to both Union Station and Eastern Market to take Metro in under 15 mins. Stuart Hobson is improving.

[Anonymous]

This thread has gone off the rails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to our local DCPS school through 5th grade. They've won music/academic scholarships to a private school we can afford with the fi aid. We know that there are other great DC neighborhoods, but we're not moving 25 years into our life on the Hill just for schools. We can't stand the idea of taking care of a yard, having to walk more than 10 mins to a Metro station, or starting over socially. To each her own.

We don't walk more than ten minutes to the metro, or the supermarket, or one of 5 coffee shops, or our great middle school here in Arlington. We didn't really start over socially, we kept our old friends and made new ones. We have a yard and pay about $1000/year for someone else to take care of it (we save at least that much in taxes). Sounds like the Hill worked for you because of the scholarships, but honestly I do think some people assume that life outside of the Hill is some kind of suburban hellscape, when it can still be very walkable and pleasant. Our kids are in the car much less since we moved than they were before. And yes, real estate near a metro stop is expensive - but so is the Hill.

I live 2 blocks from Eastern Market, so it’s pleasant, but if I lived in Hill East like so many young families do these days, I’d have moved years ago. So much of the Hill is near nothing and is very inconvenient.

It is adorable how old timers on the Hill think Eastern Market is the epicenter of area amenities.

I actually think near NE in the LT zone is the sweet spot for amenities. Eastern Market, west side of Lincoln Park, or south of Capitol South within easy walking distance to WF/pretty close to Navy Yard are the other good spots. Near Potomac Ave metro/the Roost/new Safeway also not bad. But Hill East (14th/15th & East) slightly farther north/Maury zone is actually pretty inconvenient to any amenities. Maury is a great school, but that part of the Hill really isn’t very walkable.

We bid on a row house literally opposite the Maury playground but we were outbid. Is that not a good location?

It’s a fantastic location. You can walk to h street and Lincoln park. In my opinion the LT area is a dump. There is a lot of crime, lots of public housing, and the houses are too small, and you are not near that many parks except for the LT park and Sherwood rec. Ludlow isn’t great and there aren’t any middle schools on the hill worth attending.

Across from Maury is a perfectly good location. But Redfin says the average house in the LT zone is over $1 million and the most expensive on the Hill except for Brent. And there isn’t any public housing in the zone aside from one building of subsidized seniors apartments at 10th & G, so the rest of this is crazy. It’s also worth noting that the average LT house is almost exactly the same distance to Lincoln Park as the average Maury house… very slightly closer actually!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to our local DCPS school through 5th grade. They've won music/academic scholarships to a private school we can afford with the fi aid. We know that there are other great DC neighborhoods, but we're not moving 25 years into our life on the Hill just for schools. We can't stand the idea of taking care of a yard, having to walk more than 10 mins to a Metro station, or starting over socially. To each her own.

We don't walk more than ten minutes to the metro, or the supermarket, or one of 5 coffee shops, or our great middle school here in Arlington. We didn't really start over socially, we kept our old friends and made new ones. We have a yard and pay about $1000/year for someone else to take care of it (we save at least that much in taxes). Sounds like the Hill worked for you because of the scholarships, but honestly I do think some people assume that life outside of the Hill is some kind of suburban hellscape, when it can still be very walkable and pleasant. Our kids are in the car much less since we moved than they were before. And yes, real estate near a metro stop is expensive - but so is the Hill.

I live 2 blocks from Eastern Market, so it’s pleasant, but if I lived in Hill East like so many young families do these days, I’d have moved years ago. So much of the Hill is near nothing and is very inconvenient.

It is adorable how old timers on the Hill think Eastern Market is the epicenter of area amenities.

I actually think near NE in the LT zone is the sweet spot for amenities. Eastern Market, west side of Lincoln Park, or south of Capitol South within easy walking distance to WF/pretty close to Navy Yard are the other good spots. Near Potomac Ave metro/the Roost/new Safeway also not bad. But Hill East (14th/15th & East) slightly farther north/Maury zone is actually pretty inconvenient to any amenities. Maury is a great school, but that part of the Hill really isn’t very walkable.

We bid on a row house literally opposite the Maury playground but we were outbid. Is that not a good location?

It’s a fantastic location. You can walk to h street and Lincoln park. In my opinion the LT area is a dump. There is a lot of crime, lots of public housing, and the houses are too small, and you are not near that many parks except for the LT park and Sherwood rec. Ludlow isn’t great and there aren’t any middle schools on the hill worth attending.

LOL what? The housing stock IB for Maury and IB for LT is the same, and the LT neighborhood is closer to transit, shops and a bunch of parks. Are you even from DC?

[Anonymous]

I’ve never liked the LT neighborhood. I’m not sure if the houses are smaller or the streets are narrower or what, but I always feel claustrophobic whenever I’m there.

[Anonymous]

we moved to mount pleasant. best decision we've made; (for us personally, you're mileage may vary)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never liked the LT neighborhood. I’m not sure if the houses are smaller or the streets are narrower or what, but I always feel claustrophobic whenever I’m there.

Whenever you visit from Great Falls?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to NW from Capital Hill for more space and better schools when our oldest was in K. There were a bunch of other CH transplants at the open house for his new school.

DS is now in middle school so we’ve been here a while. Like one of the PPs, I don’t like having a yard but other than that, it’s fine. Both our kids are happy, and it took some time but we’ve made some friends and it’s been fine. I don’t know where in NW toy are thinking but we live in AU Park and there are a lot of families with kids of all ages which might making your own friends easier since people are likely to be at the same stage of life. Like your partner, OP, some density was non-negotiable for me (I grew up in a big city and AU Park is the most suburban I’ve ever lived) and I found the area an acceptable compromise.

I’m glad that worked out for you. In my opinion if I’m going to move to the suburbs like AU park, I’m going to shoot for the best schools. Deal/JR Wilson is mediocre.

You are right, Deal and JR are mediocre but fortunately they worked for my kids. We like AU Park but I may advise families moving now to try MD or VA. Or maybe do private. DCPS is a nightmare and it is sad what we all put up with.

[Anonymous]

I moved to Fairfax and my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.