600k HHI - Where should we live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the input. To answer everyone's questions - we are open to either staying in DC or moving to the close-in suburbs. My concern with upper NW DC is that, although Deal and Wilson seem reasonably diverse now, the elementary schools appear to be quite white and by the time my kids would be in middle/high school it would be very segregated. Bethesda also appears to be pretty white. I'm not familiar with Lyon Village - will look into that. Thanks!

OP, what are you trying to achieve regarding diversity? The world isn't separated into just white and non-white.

Are you a black family looking to be around other upper middle / upper class black families? Are you an Asian family who doesn't want your kid to be the only non-white? Are you a mixed race family looking to be around the same? Are you a white family just looking to be around enough non-whites (15%) and any other race will do?

My advice would change based on the above.

Regarding how much you want to spend on a home, is that $600K HHI stable and expected to stay the same or rise over the next 20 years?

[Anonymous]

Janney has the highest percentage of white (75%) students which is still below your threshold.

I would look within either Murch or Hearst boundaries. Plenty of houses which would fit your needs, accessible to metro or drive (definitely 45 min), feeds to Deal/Wilson and both have great communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Diversity is important to me, and if I had your income, my first choice would be a path that included Deal and Wilson. I'd also consider TPES, Piney Branch, TPMS, Blair, and either Rock Creek Forrest, or Rosemary Hills/NCC leading to Silver Creek and BCC.

OP, THIS is the only option that fits your criteria.

[Anonymous]

22202
Oakridge/ Gunston/Wakefield

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Shepherd Park would be good fit.

Woodley or Cleveland Park would fit too. Only problem with those is that I don’t think they have as nice of a neighborhood community feel. Lots of transient young prof and retirees and fewer families there to stay / looking to play.

We are in CCDC. Not as much racial as we or you’d like. Or economic. But we just love it. I can’t get over how friendly this neighborhood is. (So if you’re non- white def move here so it can be more diverse too!!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like Shepherd Park would be good fit.

Woodley or Cleveland Park would fit too. Only problem with those is that I don’t think they have as nice of a neighborhood community feel. Lots of transient young prof and retirees and fewer families there to stay / looking to play.

We are in CCDC. Not as much racial as we or you’d like. Or economic. But we just love it. I can’t get over how friendly this neighborhood is. (So if you’re non- white def move here so it can be more diverse too!!)

Listen your choices are your own, but if you wanted to be in an economically diverse area, you would live in one. Your chose the part of town that was purpose built to be economically and racially segregated. You will feel great about sending your kids to a public school in a big park that exists because the people of color who lived there were removed. You had other priorities. Just own it. I know the block parties are lovely. I know there are people of color there. I know you are not racist or bad. But if you find yourself saying the sentence "We are in CCDC. Not as much racial [diversity] as we or you’d like. Or economic." JUST STOP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the input. To answer everyone's questions - we are open to either staying in DC or moving to the close-in suburbs. My concern with upper NW DC is that, although Deal and Wilson seem reasonably diverse now, the elementary schools appear to be quite white and by the time my kids would be in middle/high school it would be very segregated. Bethesda also appears to be pretty white. I'm not familiar with Lyon Village - will look into that. Thanks!

OP, what are you trying to achieve regarding diversity? The world isn't separated into just white and non-white.

Are you a black family looking to be around other upper middle / upper class black families? Are you an Asian family who doesn't want your kid to be the only non-white? Are you a mixed race family looking to be around the same? Are you a white family just looking to be around enough non-whites (15%) and any other race will do?

My advice would change based on the above.

Regarding how much you want to spend on a home, is that $600K HHI stable and expected to stay the same or rise over the next 20 years?

We are white. I want my kids to go to a racially diverse school because I went to schools with racial and SES diversity growing up and I consider that to have been an integral, critical part of my education - it made me aware of my privilege and enabled me to comfortably work with people from all walks of life. I want my kids to have the same. Thinking about it more, 15% non-white probably wouldn't get my kids the same experience I had - I would like it to be more diverse than that. But I know there aren't a ton of schools that are both racially diverse (let alone SES) and academically decent that are close-in, so I figured I'd need to compromise a bit here.

Having researched it more, it looks like Shepard Park may come closest to what we're looking for on balance. Takoma Park is a close second - the schools there are pretty much exactly what I'd want for my kids, but to make the commute manageable we'd have to be very close to the metro and there just isn't a ton of housing stock there with what we need (due to the 2 kids and parents who visit frequently, we really need at least 4 bedrooms and 2000 sq ft or we'll all drive each other nuts).

Thank you for all the help - if you have more ideas, please keep them coming.

[Anonymous]

OP again - forgot to mention, yes we do expect the 600k to be at least stable (will likely rise over time, but that's not a guarantee).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the input. To answer everyone's questions - we are open to either staying in DC or moving to the close-in suburbs. My concern with upper NW DC is that, although Deal and Wilson seem reasonably diverse now, the elementary schools appear to be quite white and by the time my kids would be in middle/high school it would be very segregated. Bethesda also appears to be pretty white. I'm not familiar with Lyon Village - will look into that. Thanks!

OP, what are you trying to achieve regarding diversity? The world isn't separated into just white and non-white.

Are you a black family looking to be around other upper middle / upper class black families? Are you an Asian family who doesn't want your kid to be the only non-white? Are you a mixed race family looking to be around the same? Are you a white family just looking to be around enough non-whites (15%) and any other race will do?

My advice would change based on the above.

Regarding how much you want to spend on a home, is that $600K HHI stable and expected to stay the same or rise over the next 20 years?

We are white. I want my kids to go to a racially diverse school because I went to schools with racial and SES diversity growing up and I consider that to have been an integral, critical part of my education - it made me aware of my privilege and enabled me to comfortably work with people from all walks of life. I want my kids to have the same. Thinking about it more, 15% non-white probably wouldn't get my kids the same experience I had - I would like it to be more diverse than that. But I know there aren't a ton of schools that are both racially diverse (let alone SES) and academically decent that are close-in, so I figured I'd need to compromise a bit here.

Having researched it more, it looks like Shepard Park may come closest to what we're looking for on balance. Takoma Park is a close second - the schools there are pretty much exactly what I'd want for my kids, but to make the commute manageable we'd have to be very close to the metro and there just isn't a ton of housing stock there with what we need (due to the 2 kids and parents who visit frequently, we really need at least 4 bedrooms and 2000 sq ft or we'll all drive each other nuts).

Thank you for all the help - if you have more ideas, please keep them coming.

Several former Petworth families we know in Shepherd Park!

[Anonymous]

Good luck finding a good school with the diversity you want. It’s like looking for a warm ski town.

Unfortunately, diversity = poverty = single parent homes = lack of focus on education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck finding a good school with the diversity you want. It’s like looking for a warm ski town.

Unfortunately, diversity = poverty = single parent homes = lack of focus on education

This is not true. There are lots of barriers to academic achievement that come with lower incomes and they have nothing to do with focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the fact that you state your HHI in the title and your post is a bit much. just state what your budget is and avoid the drama (i.e. it depends on your HH expenses etc).

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be showy - I should have been clearer that we're not totally sure what our budget should be relative to our HHI. To avoid said "drama," I guess let's say budget of $1.5 mil, but if people think that is unrealistic given my stated goals, I am open to that feedback.

You don't need to apologize. That person is a jerk. HHI is frequently used on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just move to Upper NW and be done with it already. Oh, and we're sooo impressed that you make 600k. With two people working that's not so great btw.

In what part of America do you live in where 600k a year income is sneered upon?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I currently live in Petworth in DC with a toddler, and another one on the way. 600k HHI, no debt besides the mortgage on our current place (300k in equity). We are looking for a bigger house - need at minimum 2000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms. Here are our priorities, in order:

1. Public schools that are not nearly all (talking over 85%) white
2. Good quality of education at said public schools (through high school)
3. Relatively easy and relatively short (under 45 mins) commute via public transit to Farragut Sq area
4. Walkable neighborhood

Ideas of where to look?

Do you want to stay in DC, or move out to the suburbs? As in, how would you feel about being zoned for Wilson? To get actual door-to-door in < 45 min, you'd have to either stay in the city or very close-in. We live IB for Wilson and total commute door-to-door to Farragut N. is around 45 min and sometimes a bit more, due to some walking on both ends.

Thank you. It's annoying when people say they live in Upper NW and claim they have a "15 minute" commute. They're only counting the time they're actually on the metro (not walking on both ends, waiting for a train, etc).

PP here. I could drive to the nearest metro station and could reduce my commute to 40-45 minutes, but I like a little extra walking.

If you’re open to staying in DC, this house in my neighborhood might work--listed at 1.8 but I think it should go for less:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1400-Iris-St-NW-20012/home/10019471?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

Also, this one was just listed and comes in under your budget:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/7537-12th-St-NW-20012/home/10036956?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

In addition to commute, Shepherd Park/Colonial Village checks some of your other boxes: Super diverse neighborhood and decent schools: Shepherd, Deal, Wilson. Not that walkable right now, but that will get better with Walter Reed and other development in the area.

I can't believe that 1st house is still on the market!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I currently live in Petworth in DC with a toddler, and another one on the way. 600k HHI, no debt besides the mortgage on our current place (300k in equity). We are looking for a bigger house - need at minimum 2000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms. Here are our priorities, in order:

1. Public schools that are not nearly all (talking over 85%) white
2. Good quality of education at said public schools (through high school)
3. Relatively easy and relatively short (under 45 mins) commute via public transit to Farragut Sq area
4. Walkable neighborhood

Ideas of where to look?

Do you want to stay in DC, or move out to the suburbs? As in, how would you feel about being zoned for Wilson? To get actual door-to-door in < 45 min, you'd have to either stay in the city or very close-in. We live IB for Wilson and total commute door-to-door to Farragut N. is around 45 min and sometimes a bit more, due to some walking on both ends.

Thank you. It's annoying when people say they live in Upper NW and claim they have a "15 minute" commute. They're only counting the time they're actually on the metro (not walking on both ends, waiting for a train, etc).

PP here. I could drive to the nearest metro station and could reduce my commute to 40-45 minutes, but I like a little extra walking.

If you’re open to staying in DC, this house in my neighborhood might work--listed at 1.8 but I think it should go for less:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1400-Iris-St-NW-20012/home/10019471?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

Also, this one was just listed and comes in under your budget:

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/7537-12th-St-NW-20012/home/10036956?utm_source=ios_share&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy_link&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

In addition to commute, Shepherd Park/Colonial Village checks some of your other boxes: Super diverse neighborhood and decent schools: Shepherd, Deal, Wilson. Not that walkable right now, but that will get better with Walter Reed and other development in the area.

I can't believe that 1st house is still on the market!

It's nice to see a house that is at least "done" even if not to my taste. Even the baby gate is thought through.