Relocating to DC...what's life like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NW is mostly detached.

Ha ha ha! No it isn't! Except in Upper Caucasia!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NWDC is friendly and a great place to raise kids, especially if you want them to have a sense of confidence in navigating cities as they grow into adolescence. A great mix of interesting people. I love living here. Good luck with your move!

Stressful, cut throat, superficial, competitive, sneaky, petty too when it comes to kids. The schools in NW can be pressure cookers. Works for some kids but if you have kid who are not top students they will feel behind.

This has been our experience. Absolutely awful. My husband grew up here and so actually believes that kids' childhoods are supposed to be some kind of strenuous boot camp for life. His childhood in DC was basically an elitist pressure cooker under the thumb of a narcissit mother. Other than the narcissist mother, my poor children have experienced the same. They hate it and can't wait to go somewhere where real people live. They cannot believe how friendly people in the world are when they go to other places.

+1

[Anonymous]

OP, avoid the suburbs at all costs - most of the whiners and complainers about unfriendliness and traffic are people stuck in traffic hell.

Live in DC, have a short commute, and you will find it is a much easier place to live than most major cities - more affordable, more space, and people in fact are friendly and welcoming to transplants.

[Anonymous]

OP, you won't get the pace of HK or London in DC, even in the most urban parts. I grew up here and think it gets bashed unnecessarily, but it's not a very big city. That said, the wealthier neighborhoods are much more of a pressure cooker than the Midwest (I went to college in Chicago and spent about 7 years there total). So, if you want to avoid that you can, but then you have to be prepared for people to tell you your kids' schools suck, blah blah. NWDC is lovely and friendly to people who can afford to live there. But maybe that's a good middle ground between where you are now and the excitement you've had in the past?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, where in Wisconsin do you live?! I grew up near Milwaukee (Elm Grove) and am a UW-Madison grad. I haven't found many Wisconsin transplants here. There are things about WI I miss and things I absolutely do not. We are in Cleveland Park -- two kids, ages 6 and 3 -- and generally really like it. Georgetown has always felt very touristy to me and not super neighborhood-y or kid friendly. Also it's not zoned for the "preferred" middle school (which may or may not be a big deal to you).

Most people in DC are transplants, so it doesn't have the insular vibe that Wisconsin often does, but that's a double edged sword as it also means that the area is pretty transient, people can be a bit too focused on their careers, and there's definitely a competitive vibe. It can take awhile to find "your people" but you can do it!

OP here - Very cool! We are in New Berlin. Three kids...6, 4 and 2. We aren't originally from Wisconsin, but have lived in various areas of Chicago and Milwaukee for the past seven years. Thanks for the info on Georgetown and can totally understand the tourist thing! Yes, the schools are important for us, but also conscious of hopefully not getting into this "pressure cooker" thing.

OP, if you want to avoid the "pressure cooker" school thing, you've come to the wrong website. The parents on this site are the ones who drive it.

[Anonymous]

^^and I totally disagree with the PP right above me. *Some* suburbs are like that. Where we live is fantastic: friendly, down to earth, diverse, reasonably walkable. Lots of Midwestern transplants here, to my delight!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NWDC is friendly and a great place to raise kids, especially if you want them to have a sense of confidence in navigating cities as they grow into adolescence. A great mix of interesting people. I love living here. Good luck with your move!

LOL. Navigating the big city around Janney Elementary . . .

Yeah, no. Talking about teens not being car-dependent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you won't get the pace of HK or London in DC, even in the most urban parts. I grew up here and think it gets bashed unnecessarily, but it's not a very big city. That said, the wealthier neighborhoods are much more of a pressure cooker than the Midwest (I went to college in Chicago and spent about 7 years there total). So, if you want to avoid that you can, but then you have to be prepared for people to tell you your kids' schools suck, blah blah. NWDC is lovely and friendly to people who can afford to live there. But maybe that's a good middle ground between where you are now and the excitement you've had in the past?

This is so right. Parents here are relentlessly competitive and many measure their self-worth by the average test scores of their kids' public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NW is mostly detached.

Ha ha ha! No it isn't! Except in Upper Caucasia!

I assumed Upper Caucasia was what OP was thinking of, but then saw she mentioned Georgetown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Currently, we are not looking at private schools. Have registered for the online EdFest next weekend. Do families with kids live in row houses or are they typically in single family detached homes? Really miss the walkability of Hong Kong and being close to good food, shopping, coffee, etc. Thanks so much for everyone's feedback!!

There are families in condo buildings, apartments, and everything else.

If you can get your employers to pay for private, do it. All the public schools massively underserved kids during the pandemic and there are a lot of social-emotional issues as well as learning loss making this a challenging year in the publics. Loads of behavior issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you won't get the pace of HK or London in DC, even in the most urban parts. I grew up here and think it gets bashed unnecessarily, but it's not a very big city. That said, the wealthier neighborhoods are much more of a pressure cooker than the Midwest (I went to college in Chicago and spent about 7 years there total). So, if you want to avoid that you can, but then you have to be prepared for people to tell you your kids' schools suck, blah blah. NWDC is lovely and friendly to people who can afford to live there. But maybe that's a good middle ground between where you are now and the excitement you've had in the past?

This is so right. Parents here are relentlessly competitive and many measure their self-worth by the average test scores of their kids' public schools.

This is not unique to NWDC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Currently, we are not looking at private schools. Have registered for the online EdFest next weekend. Do families with kids live in row houses or are they typically in single family detached homes? Really miss the walkability of Hong Kong and being close to good food, shopping, coffee, etc. Thanks so much for everyone's feedback!!

There are families in condo buildings, apartments, and everything else.

If you can get your employers to pay for private, do it. All the public schools massively underserved kids during the pandemic and there are a lot of social-emotional issues as well as learning loss making this a challenging year in the publics. Loads of behavior issues.

Oh, please. You are the poster child for pressure cooker. OP, I beseech you: find another website for school advice. Avoid this one like the plague.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you won't get the pace of HK or London in DC, even in the most urban parts. I grew up here and think it gets bashed unnecessarily, but it's not a very big city. That said, the wealthier neighborhoods are much more of a pressure cooker than the Midwest (I went to college in Chicago and spent about 7 years there total). So, if you want to avoid that you can, but then you have to be prepared for people to tell you your kids' schools suck, blah blah. NWDC is lovely and friendly to people who can afford to live there. But maybe that's a good middle ground between where you are now and the excitement you've had in the past?

This is so right. Parents here are relentlessly competitive and many measure their self-worth by the average test scores of their kids' public schools.

This is not unique to NWDC.

Maybe not. But it's certainly more prevalent here than in many places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you won't get the pace of HK or London in DC, even in the most urban parts. I grew up here and think it gets bashed unnecessarily, but it's not a very big city. That said, the wealthier neighborhoods are much more of a pressure cooker than the Midwest (I went to college in Chicago and spent about 7 years there total). So, if you want to avoid that you can, but then you have to be prepared for people to tell you your kids' schools suck, blah blah. NWDC is lovely and friendly to people who can afford to live there. But maybe that's a good middle ground between where you are now and the excitement you've had in the past?

This is so right. Parents here are relentlessly competitive and many measure their self-worth by the average test scores of their kids' public schools.

Interesting. I would hear similar "parent stories" in HK and doing everything possible to compete for the best schools, but different story overall there. Likely every big city will have their school/kid competitiveness, however, it seems it's not 100% DC?? I'd like to think that I'm not that invested in the avg. test scores, but then maybe I'll be shamed for not being haha??!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you won't get the pace of HK or London in DC, even in the most urban parts. I grew up here and think it gets bashed unnecessarily, but it's not a very big city. That said, the wealthier neighborhoods are much more of a pressure cooker than the Midwest (I went to college in Chicago and spent about 7 years there total). So, if you want to avoid that you can, but then you have to be prepared for people to tell you your kids' schools suck, blah blah. NWDC is lovely and friendly to people who can afford to live there. But maybe that's a good middle ground between where you are now and the excitement you've had in the past?

This is so right. Parents here are relentlessly competitive and many measure their self-worth by the average test scores of their kids' public schools.

Interesting. I would hear similar "parent stories" in HK and doing everything possible to compete for the best schools, but different story overall there. Likely every big city will have their school/kid competitiveness, however, it seems it's not 100% DC?? I'd like to think that I'm not that invested in the avg. test scores, but then maybe I'll be shamed for not being haha??!!

They won't say it to your face. Only behind your back.