People who moved from DC to Arlington / suburbs in general -- did things improve for you?

[Anonymous]

We moved from DC to Arlington and I love it!!! In DC our kids went to a charter school which meant every morning started with fighting city traffic for a 3 mile drive and then hunting for parking. Ugh! Now my kids take a free school bus that picks up two blocks away and there is even a late bus for when they do after school clubs! We go for tons of bike rides because biking on the city streets isn't terrifying and we can pretty easily get to trails that are much less crowded than the Rock Creek Park trail we used to bike on. overall, our lives are so much simpler and easier now.

My spouse works in Arlington so one of our commutes is much shorter now and my commute is about the same by metro. I can walk to a few good coffee shops, Sweetgreens, Giant, Trader Joes, Whole Foods. It is actually more walkable than some of the places I lived in DC. (We live in Lyon Park).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved from DC to Arlington and I love it!!! In DC our kids went to a charter school which meant every morning started with fighting city traffic for a 3 mile drive and then hunting for parking. Ugh! Now my kids take a free school bus that picks up two blocks away and there is even a late bus for when they do after school clubs! We go for tons of bike rides because biking on the city streets isn't terrifying and we can pretty easily get to trails that are much less crowded than the Rock Creek Park trail we used to bike on. overall, our lives are so much simpler and easier now.

My spouse works in Arlington so one of our commutes is much shorter now and my commute is about the same by metro. I can walk to a few good coffee shops, Sweetgreens, Giant, Trader Joes, Whole Foods. It is actually more walkable than some of the places I lived in DC. (We live in Lyon Park).

I just noticed the earlier PP who looked down on people who want things to be easier. I used to be like that but honestly after 10 years of DH and I each working 50+ hours a week and juggling two kids, I was just worn down and wanted free school buses. And we are actually as close or closer to the DC museums than we were when we lived in DC. And my favorite local theater is Signature, which is in Arlington so no loss there (although I do still see shows at Arena Stage and Studio).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only person who doesn't actually *want* things to be so much "easier"? It feels so complacent. There is so much work to be done in our world. Yeah, the schools still need improvement and there's still too much crime. Those are societal problems for which we all bear responsibility; me moving away doesn't make them any less my problem, and it probably even contributes to making them worse.

Plus, if I moved to the suburbs I would feel so much more disconnected from the cultural institutions and communities that make living in a major metro area worthwhile in the first place. I want to be a contributor to society, not an idle consumer, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to live a modest middle class lifestyle in a city that gives me great opportunities to make some small difference in the world. Why would I ever give that up?

Threads like this always leave me more convinced that I belong in the city.


One of the ways that I can tell that I'm meant to stay in the city is the way that people refer to things as being so much "easier" in the suburbs. To be honest, I don't think I want things to be "easy" in the way that people describe. It sounds so much like complacence.

Living a

So you haven’t moved from the city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We gave NoVa a shot and hated every second of it: all the driving on absurdly congested roads, the nosy neighbors, the horror-show parents at our kids' (highly regarded) school, the fact that the restaurant options are either chains or dingy strip-mall ethnic eateries.

Moved back to DC the second we could and couldn't be happier.

Wondering what bad part of NoVA did you move to that was actually worst than DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

OP, where do people you know live in DC? I live in upper NW near MD line and I've never been followed, nor had any other scary incidents. Those types of incidents are as rare in our neighborhood as I imagine they are 5 min away in MD.

[Anonymous]

Inside the beltway is better. There is a ton of great food in NOVA, I don't know what that previous poster is talking about. I live in Western FFX bc our jobs are out here and I hate that its ALL the traffic, and expense of living closer in without the 'cool' factor of stuff to do, walk to, see etc. I guess if you are the kind that would prefer to be closer to the wineries and breweries and that's more your scene on weekends its actually great. I'd rather do that once in a while and drive out there than have to take a 45 minute uber to see a concert in town.

I DO think a lot of people who post in these threads are very, very caught up in the idea of their identity being a "city" person instead of a suburbs person (they will prattle on and on about their families value, etc)- but DC is largely suburban too, so some of that is just people feeling the need to put a label on themselves and of course its nicer to choose the cool one. My neighborhood has a lot of transplants, lots of us have lived abroad for work or are immigrants- I'm not a different person living in this house in Fairfax than I was in Tokyo or HK- its just where I lived. People are too quick to make this their identity. The truth is most people can be happy in lots of different situations. I also think there are the DC bashers on here that are like annoying squeaky wheels. most people in this area don't think the burbs are awesome but the city sucks- those are just the loudest of these types.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

OP, where do people you know live in DC? I live in upper NW near MD line and I've never been followed, nor had any other scary incidents. Those types of incidents are as rare in our neighborhood as I imagine they are 5 min away in MD.

Logan Circle, Chinatown/Gallery Place, Dupont (one friend saw a woman being raped in front of their building), U St, L'Enfant station (I had a really scary incident there) and DEFINITELY Columbia Heights! My friend who lives there could write a 10-volume book about the stuff she sees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

OP, where do people you know live in DC? I live in upper NW near MD line and I've never been followed, nor had any other scary incidents. Those types of incidents are as rare in our neighborhood as I imagine they are 5 min away in MD.

Logan Circle, Chinatown/Gallery Place, Dupont (one friend saw a woman being raped in front of their building), U St, L'Enfant station (I had a really scary incident there) and DEFINITELY Columbia Heights! My friend who lives there could write a 10-volume book about the stuff she sees.

PP here. I'm not surprised given the places you've mentioned (I work near Dupont). We live up here in the boonies close to Rock Creek Park and while not as walkable, those types of incidents are extremely rare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

OP, where do people you know live in DC? I live in upper NW near MD line and I've never been followed, nor had any other scary incidents. Those types of incidents are as rare in our neighborhood as I imagine they are 5 min away in MD.

Logan Circle, Chinatown/Gallery Place, Dupont (one friend saw a woman being raped in front of their building), U St, L'Enfant station (I had a really scary incident there) and DEFINITELY Columbia Heights! My friend who lives there could write a 10-volume book about the stuff she sees.

PP here. I'm not surprised given the places you've mentioned (I work near Dupont). We live up here in the boonies close to Rock Creek Park and while not as walkable, those types of incidents are extremely rare.

OP here again. What's up, former neighbor (I used to be in the "boonies" as well in upper NW)? I'm surprised by how much I miss it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

OP, where do people you know live in DC? I live in upper NW near MD line and I've never been followed, nor had any other scary incidents. Those types of incidents are as rare in our neighborhood as I imagine they are 5 min away in MD.

Logan Circle, Chinatown/Gallery Place, Dupont (one friend saw a woman being raped in front of their building), U St, L'Enfant station (I had a really scary incident there) and DEFINITELY Columbia Heights! My friend who lives there could write a 10-volume book about the stuff she sees.

PP here. I'm not surprised given the places you've mentioned (I work near Dupont). We live up here in the boonies close to Rock Creek Park and while not as walkable, those types of incidents are extremely rare.

OP here again. What's up, former neighbor (I used to be in the "boonies" as well in upper NW)? I'm surprised by how much I miss it.

PP here. We are actually EOTP upper NW. It's been pretty great during the pandemic. Low density, safe, kids run feral through the woods, backyards with room for outdoor toys, sidewalks for scootering during breaks from distance learning. I originally preferred a more walkable area closer to downtown, but it's definitely not bad right now. And no one who buys here moves to the burbs, since it basically is the burbs, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

OP, where do people you know live in DC? I live in upper NW near MD line and I've never been followed, nor had any other scary incidents. Those types of incidents are as rare in our neighborhood as I imagine they are 5 min away in MD.

Logan Circle, Chinatown/Gallery Place, Dupont (one friend saw a woman being raped in front of their building), U St, L'Enfant station (I had a really scary incident there) and DEFINITELY Columbia Heights! My friend who lives there could write a 10-volume book about the stuff she sees.

PP here. I'm not surprised given the places you've mentioned (I work near Dupont). We live up here in the boonies close to Rock Creek Park and while not as walkable, those types of incidents are extremely rare.

OP here again. What's up, former neighbor (I used to be in the "boonies" as well in upper NW)? I'm surprised by how much I miss it.

PP here. We are actually EOTP upper NW. It's been pretty great during the pandemic. Low density, safe, kids run feral through the woods, backyards with room for outdoor toys, sidewalks for scootering during breaks from distance learning. I originally preferred a more walkable area closer to downtown, but it's definitely not bad right now. And no one who buys here moves to the burbs, since it basically is the burbs, lol.

Haha, exactly -- basically Nova/MoCo with a DC zipcode. That sounds like a nice life! Did you live closer to downtown, and how does your experience compare? Also, how is your commute to Dupont?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

OP, where do people you know live in DC? I live in upper NW near MD line and I've never been followed, nor had any other scary incidents. Those types of incidents are as rare in our neighborhood as I imagine they are 5 min away in MD.

Logan Circle, Chinatown/Gallery Place, Dupont (one friend saw a woman being raped in front of their building), U St, L'Enfant station (I had a really scary incident there) and DEFINITELY Columbia Heights! My friend who lives there could write a 10-volume book about the stuff she sees.

PP here. I'm not surprised given the places you've mentioned (I work near Dupont). We live up here in the boonies close to Rock Creek Park and while not as walkable, those types of incidents are extremely rare.

OP here again. What's up, former neighbor (I used to be in the "boonies" as well in upper NW)? I'm surprised by how much I miss it.

PP here. We are actually EOTP upper NW. It's been pretty great during the pandemic. Low density, safe, kids run feral through the woods, backyards with room for outdoor toys, sidewalks for scootering during breaks from distance learning. I originally preferred a more walkable area closer to downtown, but it's definitely not bad right now. And no one who buys here moves to the burbs, since it basically is the burbs, lol.

Haha, exactly -- basically Nova/MoCo with a DC zipcode. That sounds like a nice life! Did you live closer to downtown, and how does your experience compare? Also, how is your commute to Dupont?

PP. We actually moved from the real suburbs, where we were renting when we first moved to the area--however, most of our neighbors with young kids have moved from Petworth and the like. It's been a great move. I can walk to the red line (Silver Spring) and it's not a bad commute. I work between Farragut North and Dupont--usually get off at Farragut in ~20-25 min at peak rush hour. Not that I've been in the office since mid-March.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in an affluent part of DC for several years, but even there it seemed we could never feel completely safe. My wife had a couple of scary incidents where sketchy guys were following her on her walks (once with baby stroller!) and she had to either start running or one time she actually ran into a starbucks to get away. That was the last straw and we have had no problems in NoVA.

OP here. Thanks for your responses, everyone; I appreciate your honest and it seems like the majority of you are pretty happy with your move.

The quote above is my biggest reason for wanting to move as well. Pretty much everyone I know in DC has a similar story or two.

I agree with the people who said that Arlington and Bethesda are bland and sterile; I like the old architecture in DC, but even that's being torn down, but I don't think it justifies dropping mad money in an area where I'm uncomfortable. I will say to the "nosy neighbor" PP that I DEFINITELY have that in DC in spades, haha!

OP, where do people you know live in DC? I live in upper NW near MD line and I've never been followed, nor had any other scary incidents. Those types of incidents are as rare in our neighborhood as I imagine they are 5 min away in MD.

I'm not the OP or any of the PP, but I spent a decade in Logan Circle and one of the things that prompted me to move was being harassed by a group of tween kids. I shrugged off the verbal/sexual harassment but one day one of the kids threw an empty beer bottle at my head - while I was wearing my 6 month old. He missed but it was not for lack of trying to hit me. This happened in broad daylight, in early summer, on a busy Saturday afternoon right off 14th street. It wasn't the first incident where I felt unsafe but it was kind of the nail in the coffin for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved from DC to Arlington and I love it!!! In DC our kids went to a charter school which meant every morning started with fighting city traffic for a 3 mile drive and then hunting for parking. Ugh! Now my kids take a free school bus that picks up two blocks away and there is even a late bus for when they do after school clubs! We go for tons of bike rides because biking on the city streets isn't terrifying and we can pretty easily get to trails that are much less crowded than the Rock Creek Park trail we used to bike on. overall, our lives are so much simpler and easier now.

My spouse works in Arlington so one of our commutes is much shorter now and my commute is about the same by metro. I can walk to a few good coffee shops, Sweetgreens, Giant, Trader Joes, Whole Foods. It is actually more walkable than some of the places I lived in DC. (We live in Lyon Park).

I just noticed the earlier PP who looked down on people who want things to be easier. I used to be like that but honestly after 10 years of DH and I each working 50+ hours a week and juggling two kids, I was just worn down and wanted free school buses. And we are actually as close or closer to the DC museums than we were when we lived in DC. And my favorite local theater is Signature, which is in Arlington so no loss there (although I do still see shows at Arena Stage and Studio).

I used to live in Chicago and was pretty smug about being able to deal with the cold. Now having been gone a decade, I realize it’s just nice for things to be nice. Easy, pleasant, convenient. It’s great.