Moving to DC with many questions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, sahm in AU park, but not walkable? Easy access to stuff though? Super suburban? Or ok mix? We are ok with townhouse or single family.

Spring Valley/AU Park have a Starbucks, a Crate and Barrel, Le Pain Quotidien, Wagshalls Deli, a gas station and a CVS that you can walk to....

Wesley Heights is closer to the rest of DC and has a Starbucks, a couple of restuarants, a deli, and a few boutiques inside the shopping square.

Kalorama is gorgeous, amazing in the middle of urban DC (Dupont) with tree-lined streets and wow houses. Very walkable into Dupont.

Cleveland Park/Woodley Park- close to the private schools you're thinking about, a bit more urban/in the city than Wesley Heights or Spring Valley/AU PArk.

Georgetown - beautiful homes, very walkable, downside in my opinion is all of the visitors/traffic but it might be a great fit if hubby will work there

Glover Park - can walk into Georgetown, walkable with a While Foods, Safeway, Starbucks and a bunch of restaurants. Lots of young families. More affordable than the rest.

SAHM's - I think pretty equal amongst all of them.

How old are your kids?

That might be an accurate description of Spring Valley, but not of much of AU Park. Depending on where you live in the latter, you also have walking access to Tenleytown and/or Friendship Heights. FH is better for shopping (although not for dining) than Bethesda. I live in AU Park, and can walk to both FH and TT in less than 15 minutes. Two Wholefoods in walking distance. I find this neighborhood to be the ideal middle ground between urban and suburban, and it is a really friendly community.

I SAH but my twins are infants, and I do hope to go back to work in a few years. I heard from a SAHM neighbor that at the kids activities in the neighborhood it's mostly her and the nannies, but I imagine it's going to be like that in most areas in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family is relocating to DC from NYC. We have two DCs (8 DDand 5 DS) and are looking at private schools...same sex and coed. But the more immediate question is "Where should we live"? Which neighborhoods in the district have school age families and a good representation of SAHMs? We currently live in Manhattan. I know DC is very different and we won't be able to find exact neighborhoods. But i am hoping for an area with school age kids, some SAHMs, ideally walkable but not "too" urban or "too" suburban if that makes sense. I don't want to being an area too dense or too removed from things either. Although we don't want a "suburban" feeling, but is it worth exploring pars of MD and NoVa? If so, what areas? Is anyplace walkable? Have little "town" areas to stroll in? I'm a novice to the area. DH will work near Georgetown so he obviously plans on driving due to lack of metro. Any advice would be really appreciated. Also, what are the differences between nova and MD? And how different are they from the district? People I've met from each say they would never live in any of the others but I can't get a handle on "why". Thanks in advance so much for any insights.

As someone who has lived in downtown DC's best neighborhood, Cleveland Park, Capitol Hill, Woodley Park, VA (no thanks) and now MD, this is a bit of a curveball, but I really think you should consider Chevy Chase (either DC or MD) and Silver Spring-Woodside, Sligo Park Hills. I have found SS to be the friendliest of all these areas and to be brimming with families with young kids. The only thing is, that the commute to Gtown from SS wouldn't be great. I think you'll find the same in Chevy Chase DC.

If you are sure you can swing private all the way through 12th grade, you might check out Capitol Hill. But I found people either love it or hate it--no in betweens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry that I don't have time to answer all of your questions, but I have lived in DC for 10 years and can comment on neighborhoods on DC. Based on what you'be described, I'd suggest you'd look into Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase DC (MD also has a Chevy Chase), Glover Park, AU Park, Cathedral Heights, Spring Valley and Friendship Heights. Granted, I don't know what your budget is, but those neighborhoods have what you're looking for and are close to Georgetown.

I agree with these based on your wish for something with some (but not too much) suburban feel. Keep in mind that all of these neighborhoods have good public schools so you may not need private unless you just like private school for some reason. Also did you consider Georgetown itself? It might be a bit more urban than you are looking for but it has a lot to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family is relocating to DC from NYC. We have two DCs (8 DDand 5 DS) and are looking at private schools...same sex and coed. But the more immediate question is "Where should we live"? Which neighborhoods in the district have school age families and a good representation of SAHMs? We currently live in Manhattan. I know DC is very different and we won't be able to find exact neighborhoods. But i am hoping for an area with school age kids, some SAHMs, ideally walkable but not "too" urban or "too" suburban if that makes sense. I don't want to being an area too dense or too removed from things either. Although we don't want a "suburban" feeling, but is it worth exploring pars of MD and NoVa? If so, what areas? Is anyplace walkable? Have little "town" areas to stroll in? I'm a novice to the area. DH will work near Georgetown so he obviously plans on driving due to lack of metro. Any advice would be really appreciated. Also, what are the differences between nova and MD? And how different are they from the district? People I've met from each say they would never live in any of the others but I can't get a handle on "why". Thanks in advance so much for any insights.

As someone who has lived in downtown DC's best neighborhood, Cleveland Park, Capitol Hill, Woodley Park, VA (no thanks) and now MD, this is a bit of a curveball, but I really think you should consider Chevy Chase (either DC or MD) and Silver Spring-Woodside, Sligo Park Hills. I have found SS to be the friendliest of all these areas and to be brimming with families with young kids. The only thing is, that the commute to Gtown from SS wouldn't be great. I think you'll find the same in Chevy Chase DC.

If you are sure you can swing private all the way through 12th grade, you might check out Capitol Hill. But I found people either love it or hate it--no in betweens.

You all should really stop suggesting unwalkable neighborhoods. OP didn't ask which suburban neighborhoods are good.

[Anonymous]

I haven't lived here long enough to be much help, but am also from nyc. Bethesda and other towns in Md and virgina are lovely, and some of them have downtowns BUT they are not city like. Think, nice area of queens or western long island. Might have some streets to walk, but you're surrounded by chain restaurants in shopping centers. They are newer than he queens and li burbs, so things are more spread out and bigger, but lack the character you're likely looking for.

I'm not unhappy here, but I miss the nyc vibe. People are wonderful near me but I'm even further out than Bethesda. I live in a planned community (a townhouse and shopping center development) and I understand why some people like it, it just is missing something for me.

[Anonymous]

I've lived in NW DC for 17 years. We just recently moved to Tenleytown and love it. I'd recommend anything between Friendship Heights to the north to Cleveland Park to the south.

If your looking online at houses I'd look at the 20016 zip code.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've lived in NW DC for 17 years. We just recently moved to Tenleytown and love it. I'd recommend anything between Friendship Heights to the north to Cleveland Park to the south.

If your looking online at houses I'd look at the 20016 zip code.

20016 includes Spring Valley, which is not walkable, so be aware of that. Also look at 20015.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great. Thanks for all that! I appreciate it. Is it easy to meet people? We have great friends here and don't really know people in DC. Also, does Bethesda seem like it's own thing or part of DC? Do you mainly stay in your area or do you spend more time in DC? Does one area have better activities for the kids?

Bethesda is definitely isolated from DC. It might technically be walkable but not in the same way NW DC is. I only have an infant but I feel like if you're in DC proper it's that much easier to do all the free museums and other fun activities DC has to offer. You'd probably end up doing a fair amount of driving to places if you lived in Maryland.

Bonus is that your spouse could easily use public transport to get to Georgetown if you're as close in as Cleveland park. Bethesda would be a long commute and traffic is awful here. I know you're coming from manhattan but trust me, it's awful.

Oh that is such crap. The redline goes right through Bethesda and frankly, there's a ton more kid-centered activities up there (and a much more urban flavor in downtown Bethesda) than many of the NW DC neighborhoods. And WAY better shopping and food.

+1 Have lived in Bethesda for 8 years now, defected from NOVA and work in downtown DC, and agree that Bethesda would be a nice choice for you, if you are close enough to walk to downtown Bethesda. To be close enough to walk to downtown though, you will either need to live in a condo/apartment, spend ~650-850k on a crappy old house that needs updating, or have a chunk of change to spend on a nice house. There is a ton of shopping and great restaurants in Bethesda, and a ton of kid related activities. And you are close enough to DC by a short drive, metro ride or cab, so its not like DC is some far off land. I drive to work in downtown DC and (depending on the route I take) drive through many of the NW DC neighborhoods suggested here such as AU park, Spring Valley, Palisades, and Cleveland Park and none of these neighborhoods have as much going on in one place as Bethesda. In fact, its not much of a difference getting from one of these neighborhoods to downtown DC as it is from Bethesda. Friendship heights does have good shopping with bigger name stores and some decent restaurants, but I still like Bethesda better. Good luck with your choice and your move and welcome to the DC area!

[Anonymous]

If your husband is working in Georgetown, it's worth considering parts of Arlington, since it's just over the river.

You've got:
--good public schools
--walkability if you're close to, say, the Clarendon metro
--wonderful public services, lots of trees and parks, good libraries
--buses to Georgetown (38 B is one that springs to mind, but look for others)
--nice restaurants, shops, etc

We live there now and would stay if we could afford it!

[Anonymous]

Our family is relocating to DC from NYC. We have two DCs (8 DDand 5 DS) and are looking at private schools...same sex and coed. But the more immediate question is "Where should we live"? Which neighborhoods in the district have school age families and a good representation of SAHMs? We currently live in Manhattan. I know DC is very different and we won't be able to find exact neighborhoods. But i am hoping for an area with school age kids, some SAHMs, ideally walkable but not "too" urban or "too" suburban if that makes sense. I don't want to being an area too dense or too removed from things either. Although we don't want a "suburban" feeling, but is it worth exploring pars of MD and NoVa? If so, what areas? Is anyplace walkable? Have little "town" areas to stroll in? I'm a novice to the area. DH will work near Georgetown so he obviously plans on driving due to lack of metro. Any advice would be really appreciated. Also, what are the differences between nova and MD? And how different are they from the district? People I've met from each say they would never live in any of the others but I can't get a handle on "why". Thanks in advance so much for any insights.



As someone who has lived in downtown DC's best neighborhood, Cleveland Park, Capitol Hill, Woodley Park, VA (no thanks) and now MD, this is a bit of a curveball, but I really think you should consider Chevy Chase (either DC or MD) and Silver Spring-Woodside, Sligo Park Hills. I have found SS to be the friendliest of all these areas and to be brimming with families with young kids. The only thing is, that the commute to Gtown from SS wouldn't be great. I think you'll find the same in Chevy Chase DC.

If you are sure you can swing private all the way through 12th grade, you might check out Capitol Hill. But I found people either love it or hate it--no in betweens.



You all should really stop suggesting unwalkable neighborhoods. OP didn't ask which suburban neighborhoods are good.

Whoa. I'm a NP and didn't suggest SS because of the distance to Georgetown (although Rock Creek Parkway isn't bad--I take it to Dupont)--but downtown Silver Spring by far is both the most walkable and most affordable area mentioned so far, imo. Especially for a detached, SFH. And it's full of young families.

[Anonymous]

If your husband is working in Georgetown, that seems like the most obvious place to start - we live here, tons of families with kids, easy to walk to restaurants, shops, etc. It's expensive, but you're used to that from NYC. The zip code you want to look at is 20007 - that will pick up all of Georgetown plus parts of Wesley Heights and Palisades which are nearby but quieter and more suburban.

[Anonymous]

Wesley Heights/Spring valley also has mustard gas canisters and old war munitions leaking poison. So you could have that going for ya. There are so many threads re moing from nyc to dc--just google dcum moving from nyc. The threads are very similar in suggestions (Chevy chase dc (20015) CHCH, md (20815) bethesda (20814,20817) and maybe 20816 in bannockburn

[Anonymous]

But the question is where do you think your kids will get into school? Because you don't want to sit in traffic for 30+ minutes each way driving them back and forth to school every day. If you even drive, or want to.

[Anonymous]

Many people feel NW is the best neighborhood. Expensive. Also Chevy Chase and Bethesda MD. Expensive. For a certain kind of person McLean Va. Good luck in your search! $1.2M does not go but so far in some of these neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

DC + walkable + safe + great schools + spacious = $$$$