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Move from city to outer 'burbs?
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Anonymous
| We recently moved from DC to Silver Spring--but pretty far north in Silver Spring. After 5 years living in a tiny apartment, I am loving our 3-bedroom townhouse. Our neighborhood feels like an oasis; I can't wait to get home every day, and the weekends are great. There are trees everywhere, playgrounds down the street, two pools, tennis courts, a soccer field. It has definitely been an adjustment to have a longer commute (DH works in Silver Spring; I work downtown DC). But I actually enjoy reading on the Metro and don't consider it wasted time so much as "me" time. We definitely spend more time in the car, which I feel bad about. But we're still a one-car family and get a lot of exercise walking/running in our beautiful neighborhood. I do miss things about the city, especially being within walking distance of restaurants, theaters, museums, etc. and being able to walk to work. A few things I don't miss: looking for street parking near our apartment, fighting our neighbors for the coin-op washing machines, being awoken by fire trucks/loud drunk people fighting. I'm not saying you automatically have those things in DC, but we did. For us, this was the right time to move to the suburbs. Wherever you live, there are trade-offs, and you just have to decide what's most important at the moment. One thing I do like about the DC metro area is that even though we're in the suburbs, there is still a lot of racial, ethnic, religious, and even to some extent class diversity. |
Anonymous
I don't know - politics aside, if there is another terrorist attack, chances are that I'm going to be more affected living in Georgetown than someone in Silver Spring will be...I think about this more now that my children are in school in DC too and would be hard to reach if a real emergency snarled traffic. |
Anonymous
Yea, haven't you heard? Skinny kids live in cities and fat kids live in the burbs. |
Anonymous
That's funny, I don't consider SS to be "outer burbs" - I think of it as close in and agree w/ your assessments of closer in MoCo. Where is this fabulous neighborhood you speak of, I am househunting and intrigued! |
Anonymous
PP has a point. I was in the outer Maryland burbs and was shocked by how many more overweight people I saw. |
Anonymous
But what if you work in the city and had no way of getting OUT to the outer burbs should an emergency occur? I think it's MUCH smarter to have home, work and school all close by. At least you can get to your kid instead of being stuck on the Beltway in an emergency - can you imagine?? I would never consider a job further than a mile or 2 from my kids' school. |
Anonymous
On a "light" note, my teenager can't complain when I tell her I want a street address and a landline for friends' homes when she goes for a visit (in addition to knowing the parents are home) just in case a plane hits the Pentagon. My husband tells me it's ridiculous because all the phones will be out (email worked better on 9/11) but I'll feel better knowing where she is in case they do. Actually, I started out joking but this is germane. During 9/11 I was at work in Richmond. I had called my husband in DC just minutes after the first plane hit the World Trade Center so I knew he that he was at work just four blocks from my daughter's school in Georgetown. When I heard another plane was headed for DC, I couldn't get hold of him but I knew that he would go get our daughter. (Not that he could protect her if a plane fell on them both but I still felt better.) That was when I started thinking about getting a job in DC because what would happen when she was older and, say I was in Richmond that day and my husband was out of town and we had another disaster.? How would I get to her? The ironic thing about this discussion is that she is sometimes pretty far away from our home in the District but out in the suburbs hanging out with friends. |
Anonymous
| OP, this sounds obvious, but make sure you follow your gut. My husband and I moved to the suburbs with reservations a couple of years ago and lost a TON of money when we realized it wasn't livable for us and we needed to get back into the city. |
Anonymous
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"lol! Yeah, I have no clue where a hospital or any transportation routes are in DC! I've never left the city, have never gone to Target (which we actually have in the city) or Wal Mart. You sound REALLY paranoid and anxious. Have you seen a therapist?
You shouldn't be so dismissive of the poster who researchs infrastructure, disaster recovery, and public planning. I work in a different field but know people who do emergency response in several sectors. She brings up good points that aren't usually considered by the majority of the public because they aren't aware. This may not change your decision on where to live but it should inform your planning. I'm surprised how many people do not have a "what if" scenario planned with their nanny or childcare provider if an event occurs in DC. |
Anonymous
Yes, good point. You made me feel better, thanks! I remember on 9/11 I walked home from work and met my husband halfway. Several suburban coworkers slept at our house.... |
Anonymous
| Moved from city to Loudoun County. City friends insist city living is more interesting and cultured and fun, but Loudoun has its perks too. After spending some time on the private school forums (product of dc indep school myself) I find myself turned off to the city life again. Sure, Loudoun county is fairly homogenous but elitism seems a bit easier to avoid. no cotillions and private school caste systems here. |
Anonymous
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Shame on me for the snark, but I'm feeling too punchy to resist: Does that mean everyone in Loudon County is equally mediocre?
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Anonymous
| We live pretty close-in in Northern Va but in a small townhouse. DH is interested in the Burke area. We've driven around to check out the place and everytime, I'm close to tears. I agree that it's spacious and calm, seems like a good place to raise a family. However, after commuting daily to and from work, the last thing I want to do is get back into a car and drive 10 miles to nearest mall, or 20 minutes to a restaurant, etc.. I've lived in the suburbs before, and granted, I loved the house but felt isolated. My recommendation would be rent in the area where you think you'd like to live and check it out. It's pain to move and move again but think what a pain it would be if you are stuck in a house you can't sell. That's the compromise I'm trying to reach with DH. Let's rent first and see how it works out. |
Anonymous
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When I was a teen (and not driving) it TOTALLY SUCKED to be dependent on my parents every time I wanted to see a friend.
We were in an outer suburb - not so far out that we had the perks like horses, or actual rural benefits, but too far out to enjoy any benefits of a more "congested' lifestyle. |
Anonymous
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Same story here. I was a prisoner on my cul-de-sac. Ball games in the middle of the street with my little brother or riding my bike around the neighborhood had long since lost their charm. I had to beg for a ride to the local mall. We were at least 45 minutes away from anything more stimulating like museums or theaters, but parents were too busy to make that kind of investment frequently. When we were old enough to drive, but still restricted to the neighborhood, my friends and I giggled, screamed, and wove around rather unsafely in our cars on Friday nights. We ended up at Denny's, the only place open after 11-ish, then went to a dark park or some one's basement, where we were certainly up to no good.
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