DC neighborhood recommendations? Where do the artisanal-jerky-making hipsters live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Granted, that is what cities are counting on these days to make their comebacks -- a churn of yuppies that leave before their kids hit ES and of empty-nesters. It is doable and sustainable. It's just not what I prefer.

Yep! And with the exception of the woman artist who has 3 children in Bloomingdale -- and maybe her, too -- I can pretty much guarantee that NONE of the District PPs on the previous 10 pages have children over the age of 6.

Which is fine, I'll cop to having had a toddler myself at one point

But it's sort of disingenuous or perhaps even lying by admission to insist that your little pocket of hipster DC is "awesome for families!!!!!!!" and stay silent on the fact that your schools really suck out loud. And that includes all but 4-5 charters, too.

woman artist in Bloomingdale here - I might not be the only one posting that fits that description but yes I have three kids and one of them is older than 6 He is in DCPS and doing great. Charters are fine by us for the little ones when it comes time. There are so many families doing this we are not daunted. So no, I dont feel like I am lying by omission. There are enough of us in the neighborhood that feel this way, we are actually in good company. NONE of the families I know in this neighborhood with small kids are planning on leaving as they enter ES. We truly feel we are building a community here - this isnt a pit stop and we HAVE thought about it. We just dont think like you do I guess. But I dont see why that is so hard to believe honestly.

[Anonymous]

And, of course, when everyone goes to 128 different charters ... I rather like living in an area where the default is "go to the local elementary."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd highly recommend Columbia Heights around the 11th street corridor. there are a lot of people with young kids, great places to eat, and better walkability than bloomingdate, petworth, or takoma park (other places mentioned here).

am surprised to see all the bloomingdale posts (sock puppeting?!). It just doesn't seem like a great place to live, given the proximity to north capital street, crime, and general sketchiness. i sure wouldn't move there just for big bear and a couple other places to go drink.

Bloomingdale is in a much better location than Columbia Heights - closer to downtown, closer to 395, closer to 50, easy to get virtually anywhere in the region, plus walking distance to NY Ave/NOMA metro and Shaw/Howard. It also has really beautiful housing stock. As for general sketchiness, that's relative, but personally I feel that Columbia Heights has more issues and feels less safe than Bloomingdale. I've lived there since 2002 and would have said the same thing then. Columbia Heights has a lot more section 8 housing than Bloomingdale and all the issues that brings. Bloomingdale is very diverse and also a very friendly, welcoming part of the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Granted, that is what cities are counting on these days to make their comebacks -- a churn of yuppies that leave before their kids hit ES and of empty-nesters. It is doable and sustainable. It's just not what I prefer.

Yep! And with the exception of the woman artist who has 3 children in Bloomingdale -- and maybe her, too -- I can pretty much guarantee that NONE of the District PPs on the previous 10 pages have children over the age of 6.

Which is fine, I'll cop to having had a toddler myself at one point

But it's sort of disingenuous or perhaps even lying by admission to insist that your little pocket of hipster DC is "awesome for families!!!!!!!" and stay silent on the fact that your schools really suck out loud. And that includes all but 4-5 charters, too.

woman artist in Bloomingdale here - I might not be the only one posting that fits that description but yes I have three kids and one of them is older than 6 He is in DCPS and doing great. Charters are fine by us for the little ones when it comes time. There are so many families doing this we are not daunted. So no, I dont feel like I am lying by omission. There are enough of us in the neighborhood that feel this way, we are actually in good company. NONE of the families I know in this neighborhood with small kids are planning on leaving as they enter ES. We truly feel we are building a community here - this isnt a pit stop and we HAVE thought about it. We just dont think like you do I guess. But I dont see why that is so hard to believe honestly.

Also in Bloomingdale. Yes, my two children are younger than six. However, my oldest is in an AMAZING public charter. Rather than moving for schools, the charter system (and free school starting at age three) is a reason for us to STAY in the neighborhood and the city even though we are outgrowing our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like Bloomingdale for all the reasons people cite here, but the access to public transit is not great. I don't love H street for the same reason. 11th in Columbia Heights is much better in that regard.

But OP is from LA, so being chained to a car may not bother them

When you say "public transit" are you excluding buses? Are you talking about the top end of Bloomingdale? In southern Bloomingdale I can walk to two metros (15 minute or less walk) and have at least six bus lines within two blocks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

Link? Because Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle definitely have more crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

And yet our neighborhood is FULL of children and there is a bigger baby boom here in the last year than I have seen since I got here - us included. People are MOVING here and having babies. We have three kids here and most families here are on their second or third. To each their own...

I am curious. What's your options for schools ?

Gentrifiers are betting on charters. DCPS in the area is grim even at ES level: Seaton, Thomson, Langley. For some reason much of Bloomingdale also has a feed into Garrison ES, which is arguably a little better, but this is slated for closure.

And what are your options if you dont get a spot in a charter ?

Folks at Langley are pretty enthusiatic about that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Granted, that is what cities are counting on these days to make their comebacks -- a churn of yuppies that leave before their kids hit ES and of empty-nesters. It is doable and sustainable. It's just not what I prefer.

Yep! And with the exception of the woman artist who has 3 children in Bloomingdale -- and maybe her, too -- I can pretty much guarantee that NONE of the District PPs on the previous 10 pages have children over the age of 6.

Which is fine, I'll cop to having had a toddler myself at one point

But it's sort of disingenuous or perhaps even lying by admission to insist that your little pocket of hipster DC is "awesome for families!!!!!!!" and stay silent on the fact that your schools really suck out loud. And that includes all but 4-5 charters, too.

I have a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old and live in DC. We are planning to stay here forever (we are on the Hill). Our kids go to public schools. I can't pretend that we weren't pretty lucky in the school draw; we are out-of-bounds for our great elementary school. But all of our local friends with same-aged kids have their kids in public/charter schools now and are planning to keep them there for the long haul. There are a lot of great options now, and the hassle that comes with finding a good public school fit in DC is worth it to us--we love our neighborhood and the lifestyle that comes with living walking/biking distance to everything.

[Anonymous]

Everyone: please write back when your kids are about 9 or so. I mean it. If your kids' school day still includes a nap or mandatory rest period, lovely. I mean it, you're probably a lovely person. I have no doubt your school does a solid job with center time and the plastic groceries.

But you're not equipped to talk about how well charter X or dcps school Y does with, say, national math benchmarks. Or prep for a middle school STEM program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

Link? Because Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle definitely have more crime.

Mapping of homicides in DC.
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/investigative/homicides/#0:year:all:all:all:all:all:all

[Anonymous]

Everyone: please write back when your kids are about 9 or so. I mean it. If your kids' school day still includes a nap or mandatory rest period, lovely. I mean it, you're probably a lovely person. I have no doubt your school does a solid job with center time and the plastic groceries.

This is a completely incomprehensible post. What were you trying to say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone: please write back when your kids are about 9 or so. I mean it. If your kids' school day still includes a nap or mandatory rest period, lovely. I mean it, you're probably a lovely person. I have no doubt your school does a solid job with center time and the plastic groceries.

But you're not equipped to talk about how well charter X or dcps school Y does with, say, national math benchmarks. Or prep for a middle school STEM program.

Kid is 19. She attended DCPS for 9 years, private for 3. Yes, so living in these kind of neighborhoods is not your thing but you don't have to be snotty to other people who choose to live there. They may stay there or they may decide to move. Who cares?

Why do you need to be so condescending and nasty? It's really unnecessary and it doesn't make you a better person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Everyone: please write back when your kids are about 9 or so. I mean it. If your kids' school day still includes a nap or mandatory rest period, lovely. I mean it, you're probably a lovely person. I have no doubt your school does a solid job with center time and the plastic groceries.

This is a completely incomprehensible post. What were you trying to say?

She is trying to say that if your kids are still very young (and therefore their days include naps, plastic groceries and circle time), you probably don't have ALL the information you need to claim that DC is good for school-age kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone: please write back when your kids are about 9 or so. I mean it. If your kids' school day still includes a nap or mandatory rest period, lovely. I mean it, you're probably a lovely person. I have no doubt your school does a solid job with center time and the plastic groceries.

But you're not equipped to talk about how well charter X or dcps school Y does with, say, national math benchmarks. Or prep for a middle school STEM program.

We'll see how I feel when my kid is nine. But right now I can tell you that my late birthday three year old who could barely hold a crayon in August when he started school can now WRITE. He is on the cusp of READING (and can read and spell out simple words). He can add and subtract. He could do none of those things before he started school. He amazes me every day telling me what he has learned at school in four short months.

He's not four until next September and his teachers have taught him to read and write, already. I am stunned. It's not all "center time and plastic groceries". With education like this we'll definitely be staying in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone: please write back when your kids are about 9 or so. I mean it. If your kids' school day still includes a nap or mandatory rest period, lovely. I mean it, you're probably a lovely person. I have no doubt your school does a solid job with center time and the plastic groceries.

But you're not equipped to talk about how well charter X or dcps school Y does with, say, national math benchmarks. Or prep for a middle school STEM program.

We'll see how I feel when my kid is nine. But right now I can tell you that my late birthday three year old who could barely hold a crayon in August when he started school can now WRITE. He is on the cusp of READING (and can read and spell out simple words). He can add and subtract. He could do none of those things before he started school. He amazes me every day telling me what he has learned at school in four short months.

He's not four until next September and his teachers have taught him to read and write, already. I am stunned. It's not all "center time and plastic groceries". With education like this we'll definitely be staying in DC.

NP here. My child is 9 and has attended DCPS at the same neighborhood school since 3. He hit all those benchmarks and is doing increadibly well at math. He loves school and never misses a day-- somehow manages to only get sick on weekends! But his sense of imagination is not that high. He doesn't have a strong sense of curiosity. Maybe he would have been like this regardless. Maybe it is something that will just come to him later. But it is something I am worried about. I wonder if there is a test for curiousity? MAybe my expectations are too high.