Wealthiest Neighborhood in the District

[Anonymous]

Curious about where in CA OP is from, because while it may be possible to drive places, the parking situation in DC often makes it undesirable. I'd think someone from SF would be familiar with that problem.
I can't figure out how much house she thinks she's going to get in a nice neighborhood in DC for $3 million, but I suspect it's less than she's counting on.

[Anonymous]

Wanting to live in a certain house or area is one thing. Wanting to live there because it's the "wealthiest" is just gauche. It's also silly, because as this board indicates, there is really no one wealthiest neighborhood in the District.

I have a friend that was looking in the $3M range in many of the neighborhoods named on this board, especially Wesley Heights and Spring Valley. She found all the houses to be either large and in need of major updates or updated but not that big. She ended up in a close-in suburb in a big, but not that big, beautifully updated house. $3M may get you in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods, but don't think you're going to get something amazing for that price.

[Anonymous]

What is considered "wealthy" in DC in terms of networth? It seems to me this board is full of upper class elites if so many of you REALLY can afford a 3 mil house. You networth must be at least 10 mil to be able to afford this, right? Just wonder what do these people do for a living...

Looking at DC prices I found plenty of homes within 1.5 mil that are in very desirable areas mentioned here and are large enough and updated enough. for 3 mil you should really get anything you want, except elite estate type places with the gates and security, household staff quarters, multiple car garages, indoor pools, etc, etc. There are super wealthy people in DC sure, but 3 mil isn't going to get you a place next door to them.

Also OP, you need to find out what is important to you, having lots of land, larger sq. footage or closeness to amenities and walkability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC isn't like many cities where there is one "wealthiest" neighborhood. There are many "wealthy neighborhoods." Many of these wealthy neighborhoods also have less wealthy (but still relatively affluent) parts. Not considering the suburbs (where you can find some extreme wealth), I'd say the "wealthiest" are Mass Ave Heights, Foxhall/Wesley Heights, Spring Valley, Georgetown and Kalorama.

And really, it's pathetic if you're basing where you want to live on what is considered the "wealthiest." You'll also very likely be disappointed, as no matter where you live in DC, you will most likely always encounter a house/neighborhood that seems grander than yours.

+1

Is there a good phrase combines "California" and "Euro trash"? LA-LA trash? Failed-state refugees?

[Anonymous]

Foxhall or the Palisades

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the above advice. I think the Asperger's comment was uncalled for and mean. We moved here from Pasadena, not the most exciting place in the world. We've narrowed our search down to either Wesley Heights (my favorite) or Kalorama area (DH's favorite). I like the neighborhood feel even though I've seen more kids in Kalorama but I think that's more a function of it being more "city like". Either way I think we've found our sweet spot for the next 10 plus years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get that this is an anonymous board, but I hope you'd never ask anyone in person to name the wealthiest neighborhood in the District. It would be considered terribly gauche. The East Coast is quite different from places like California, Texas and Florida where people are showy about their wealth. Here, it is almost the opposite. You will just as likely find people with loads of money driving an old Volvo as a new Range Rover. You'd never guess who the top donors at your private school are because they don't necessarily stand out from the other families and they certainly don't necessarily live in $3M houses. Yes, you'll see some, but you won't see nearly as much flashy jewelry or designer labels as you did in CA. Material displays of wealth are considered tacky. Your fellow private school moms will label you a social climber and/or "new money." If you're the type of person who likes flashy things, then you'd probably fit in better in McLean or Potomac than in the District. You can find plenty of $3M houses either of those places. Just about all the mothers that I know (and I know several that either live in or could afford homes in your price range) would think, "What is the best family neighborhood with nice, large homes that would fit our needs?" I can't think of anyone whom I could see saying, "What is the wealthiest neighborhood?" Welcome to D.C.

McLean and Potomac have different types of neighborhoods, just like the District. Some score very high on the bling factor; others are comfortable, low-key places; and still others are suprisingly affordable for their proximity to DC. For just about every family in McLean or Potomac that who flaunts their wealth, you can find someone in Georgetown or Kalorama who does likewise. The fact that homes in the District may be smaller doesn't hide at all the very conspicuous consumption of some of the people who live there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that this is an anonymous board, but I hope you'd never ask anyone in person to name the wealthiest neighborhood in the District. It would be considered terribly gauche. The East Coast is quite different from places like California, Texas and Florida where people are showy about their wealth. Here, it is almost the opposite. You will just as likely find people with loads of money driving an old Volvo as a new Range Rover. You'd never guess who the top donors at your private school are because they don't necessarily stand out from the other families and they certainly don't necessarily live in $3M houses. Yes, you'll see some, but you won't see nearly as much flashy jewelry or designer labels as you did in CA. Material displays of wealth are considered tacky. Your fellow private school moms will label you a social climber and/or "new money." If you're the type of person who likes flashy things, then you'd probably fit in better in McLean or Potomac than in the District. You can find plenty of $3M houses either of those places. Just about all the mothers that I know (and I know several that either live in or could afford homes in your price range) would think, "What is the best family neighborhood with nice, large homes that would fit our needs?" I can't think of anyone whom I could see saying, "What is the wealthiest neighborhood?" Welcome to D.C.

McLean and Potomac have different types of neighborhoods, just like the District. Some score very high on the bling factor; others are comfortable, low-key places; and still others are suprisingly affordable for their proximity to DC. For just about every family in McLean or Potomac that who flaunts their wealth, you can find someone in Georgetown or Kalorama who does likewise. The fact that homes in the District may be smaller doesn't hide at all the very conspicuous consumption of some of the people who live there.

ITA for the most part. THere are some really really large homes in the above District neighborhoods. Real locals know about them. I've seen homes off of Woodland Ter, Indian Lane, Dexter St or Forest Hills etc that are just as large and gaudy. The "city folk" that live in Columbia heights have no idea. These are the people that pay your taxes and keep your town running.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is considered "wealthy" in DC in terms of networth? It seems to me this board is full of upper class elites if so many of you REALLY can afford a 3 mil house. You networth must be at least 10 mil to be able to afford this, right? Just wonder what do these people do for a living...

I just heard on WTOP this morning that according to some national organization for lawyers (may have been ABA), that 1 in 12 residents of the district are lawyers and that 1 in 25 of all American lawyers is in the DC metro area. We have an extremely dense population of lawyers (perhaps in more than one meaning of the word?), so we have a pretty hefty set of people who are likely to be able to afford $1M+ houses.

I would think that having a HHI of $500K or above is wealthy. It's pretty sad to think that with our HHI of $200K that we're only upper middle class, but not rich. But, we're content with where we are.