Moving to dc....

[Anonymous]

I'm the (I think) first Shepherd resident poster, with the large dog, who moved here from CA. SP is a great neighborhood if you want space and a yard, great variety of architecture in the mostly large single-family homes--think Tudors, a few Craftsman, etc., a suburban feel while still in DC, beautiful tree-lined streets (the cherry blossoms are in full bloom now), close access to Rock Creek Park (our Central Park--well, not really, but great trails), a tightly knit, diverse community, and a pretty decent (and improving) neighborhood school. We are most likely going to enroll our kid there for PS3 in the fall.

Drawback is that it's not very walkable (check the Walkscore for the rental), which it sounds like you'd greatly prefer. You can walk to some businesses on Georgia Ave., the eastern border of the neighborhood, but you probably wouldn't want to (a bit sketch and not much there outside of McDonald's, a pizza joint, a couple liquor stores, etc.). Another poster mentioned you can walk to downtown Silver Spring, MD from the neighborhood, but it depends on where you are in SP, and whether you have to traverse Georgia Ave (again not the nicest area of town). I myself like much more walkable areas but husband (a New Yorker, actually) likes the quiet streets of SP, so here we are. Also, neighborhood is probably still predominantly black, which may be a plus, a minus, or a non-issue, depending on your perspective, but just letting you know what to expect. Most folks here are professionals (ton of lawyers, doctors, city employees, academics, etc.).

Congrats, and good luck on the housing search!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New York has a wonderful set of community pools that all have these crazy insane rules that make me never want to go to them. Is it a little more laid back in DC?

WAY more relaxed here. A lot of residents in the more suburban areas have memberships to neighborhood pools etc. = less people vying for the public ones.

I've been treated in a very rude, intimidating, hostile manner by the lifeguards at wilson. I don't go anymore as a result.

[Anonymous]

P.S. Although I'm clearly a fan of my neighborhood, SP, the other major, major con of Shepherd Park is it's location--pretty far away if your husband works downtown. I was in the Capitol Hill area yesterday and it took me an hour to drive back during rush hour.

[Anonymous]

So is the express bus not very express? The house we're looking at is pretty close to GA ave. I know it's not the best retail, but it covers the basics. And the metro is... drivable if not not walkable? I'm thinking if we live there we'll have one car. I would prefer more walkable, sure--but downtown Sandy Spring is pretty close on the map.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP you seem nice. I want you in my neighborhood!!

Thank you, I am not actually always nice, but it's always nice to hear that. FWIW, if you're Hearst or Ross, you've sold me on looking at them again.

And we're actually going to see the Shepherd house. I called. Something about it--probably the fact that it's huge and a house--makes me want to move there. I'm going to check on the other links here tomorrow too.

Nope. I'm Petworth.

[Anonymous]

Shepherd Park via CA poster here. It really depends on where the house is in SP, in terms of whether walkable to Silver Spring. Depends on your comfort level too. I'd probably be comfortable walking there during the day (I walk my dog on Georgia sometimes), just not late at night. There's probably a bus that'd take you up Georgia Ave. to Silver Spring metro.

We have two cars so not sure about the bus situation. Sorry, we're new here in DC too so don't yet have a great handle on public transit, etc.!

[Anonymous]

Are you anti Capitol Hill mom? Because I like you too. Even if I might like parts of Capitol Hill. If my kid was younger, I'd be all over Petworth or Brightwood. As it is, I'm not sure.

[Anonymous]

Here's another option for Ross. It's a bit more expensive but looks like a nice place:
http://www.trulia.com/rental/3151206374-1401-17th-St-NW-Washington-DC-20036#photo-18

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you anti Capitol Hill mom? Because I like you too. Even if I might like parts of Capitol Hill. If my kid was younger, I'd be all over Petworth or Brightwood. As it is, I'm not sure.

No. I'm the one who said I lived in NY when Clinton Hill was still Bed Stuy. Truth is, I was going to say, even though you would like living here in Petworth, if I had a third grader I would probably choose Shepherd or Hearst as well. Unfortunately I am not sure that our schools would give your daughter a good experience...yet. If she were a few years younger, then definitely. The closest thing you will probably get to your PS11 is a school that is a mix of IB and OOB WOTP or in a wealthier neighborhood EOTP. That said I am still curious about Tubman because it's in a great location and good scores. Will you visit? Also that Watkins parent sort of piqued my interest. (And so many pretty flowers on Capitol Hill!)

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I'm going to try and check Watkins and Tubman both. I'll report back..... I've thought about taking a six month lease somewhere, not worrying about schools and then doing all of this in September too, when I have more time to figure it out. Although starting school late and in a new city might be a big deal for the kid.

[Anonymous]

Here's another option for Ross. It's a bit more expensive but looks like a nice place:
http://www.trulia.com/rental/3151206374-1401-17th-...W-Washington-DC-20036#photo-18

Good luck!

It does, even if small. Wow, Ross is only 150 students too? That's kind of nice, in its own way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's a minority now. I'm totally okay with it. As long as the programs are good. Shepard really does look like a very solid school--probably a little similar to where she is now.

I would just be careful that your child is not an "only" whatever unless she is mixed and will be able to get in with one group or another. Parents have posted here about hostility directed toward very young children based on race - refusing to play with the kid, telling her to get her white ass out of there, etc. Most parents seem to agree that being a minority is ok, but being an only can be profoundly unpleasant.

The other thing that is going to be very hard to understand initially (I grew up here, but my husband, who is Latino, grew up in NYC and we lived there for a while) is that even though there is now a fairly large Latino population, the city is racially polarized along black and white lines and the haters do not seem to see that anything else exists. My husband says he has NEVER lived in such a segregated environment, and he grew up partially in the South Bronx and Spanish Harlem. And because the tradition is Black vs White, there is still a lot of hostility there from parents, especially now that the city is no longer majority AA and some feel they are being pushed out of THEIR city by white gentrifiers.

I don't remember the school names, but there is I think one principal who basically has said she does not want more white kids in her ES, and there is one PTA where it was revived by the new white parents on the block and they were all voted out by AA parents the following year and the kids left as well and the attitude of some on this board was better no PTA than a white PTA.

So in schools where the population is shifting radically if your kid is going into third grade and the third grade parents don't like the fact that there are a bunch of white folk in the younger grades, and pass that sentiment along to their kids, you and your kid may get some hostility if you are white (if you are mixed, Latino, or Asian, they might just ignore you, but being an only is dangerous).

Not to be negative, but my husband was shocked and when I came home I immediately noticed the differences on the subways and the buses and the neighborhoods that had been invisible to me before.

Can someone help me out here with the names? Coming from NYC this is a dynamic my husband was completely unfamiliar with............

Yes, I see this dynamic, the black people here sometimes seem to hate people who are not like them (I am black, but not from the area).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you anti Capitol Hill mom? Because I like you too. Even if I might like parts of Capitol Hill. If my kid was younger, I'd be all over Petworth or Brightwood. As it is, I'm not sure.

I think that's me. I'm in Petworth, but we've always thought of Shepherd Park as our next move . Great mix of kids at the school, good programs, BEAUTIFUL grounds and I hear that interior renovations are recently done or near completion. One thing I love about that neighborhood is that it was intentionally integrated from the start. When redlining and white flight started changing neighborhoods in the late 40s and 50s, Blacks and Jews claimed SP. Now younger families of all stripes are getting along well with old timers - something that doesn't happen as much further downtown.

And I'm not anti-Capitol Hill, I just think the tensions there are a little uncomfortable right now and you have to be familiar with each area and its issues to land well. You may get here, do a little research and find it's exactly what you want.

[Anonymous]

First Shepherd Park poster from CA again--completely agree w/the above Petworth poster's characterization of the hood and the school. There are some other nice little things here, like an annual garden tour in the spring. Also, they will be redeveloping the old Walter Reed site over the next several years/decades, so good for property values. Finally, just saw on the SP listserv that an art gallery is coming to Georgia Ave. near Kalmia--so there's hope that Georgia Ave. is gentrifying.

Just so you don't think I'm trying to paint a completely pretty picture of SP, not sure if I would want to rent here if new to DC, since not really the center of things like some other more trendy and walkable neighborhoods closer to downtown like those along the 14th St. corridor (went to a bar/restaurant called Barcelona 14th a couple weeks ago--great area, although don't know what that neighborhood is called). But, for schools, I think it's a good bet. One thing though is that the older grades will have more out of boundary students, whereas PS3 even had a waitlist for in-boundary this year.

Okay, the Saturday gauntlet begins.

[Anonymous]

Just so you don't think I'm trying to paint a completely pretty picture of SP, not sure if I would want to rent here if new to DC, since not really the center of things like some other more trendy and walkable neighborhoods closer to downtown like those along the 14th St. corridor (went to a bar/restaurant called Barcelona 14th a couple weeks ago--great area, although don't know what that neighborhood is called). But, for schools, I think it's a good bet. One thing though is that the older grades will have more out of boundary students, whereas PS3 even had a waitlist for in-boundary this year.

I am worried it might be too far from the middle of things, yes. Capitol Hill seems like a better "DC beginner's" neighborhood in many ways. It's one of my concerns. I might actually like the sketchy shops on GA ave just because they remind me I am in the city!