Capitol Hill families - If you moved to NW or burbs for school, do you have any regrets?

[Anonymous]

NP here. And I suspect that OP has long-abandoned this thread, but FWIW, we made the move from very near EM to CCDC about a year ago and our only regret was we didn't do it sooner! We loved a lot of things about the Hill for 10+ years, but when we struck out in the MS lottery (BASIS and Latin are almost impossible now without sibling preference) and finally recognized that we had already outgrown our rowhouse, we headed for NW. We have found a wonderful community here (many other transplants from other more urban DC neighborhoods as well - Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Eckington, etc.), a level of safety and comfort we didn't feel in CH (elementary-age kids walking to/from school, park, and friends houses by themselves, or hanging out in the park, doors unlocked throughout the day, windows open, etc.), and while DCPS is far from perfect, it is very good in many ways and we feel much less stress about education and the longer-term viability of this neighborhood for us than before.

[Anonymous]

Also made a move to NW for a JLM-zoned house a few years ago, for the same reasons, and second all of the above. Our new neighborhood has all of what we loved about the Hill but none of the drawbacks. And despite being worried about making new friends, our entire family (kids and parents) have been warmly welcomed into the community. These neighborhoods are really special. If you can afford to move, don't hesitate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also made a move to NW for a JLM-zoned house a few years ago, for the same reasons, and second all of the above. Our new neighborhood has all of what we loved about the Hill but none of the drawbacks. And despite being worried about making new friends, our entire family (kids and parents) have been warmly welcomed into the community. These neighborhoods are really special. If you can afford to move, don't hesitate.

"These" neighborhoods are "really special." All of them? With the only common thread being that they feed into one of a number of ESes that form an acronym (that you spelled wrong)? This reads like a total troll post.

[Anonymous]

PP above, you sound a little paranoid. We've been on the Hill for more than 25 years. While in the upper grades of elementary school, our kids walked and biked to/from their DCPS school, park, and friends houses by themselves from 4th grade on up. They've routinely hung out parks with their friends on their own for years. These days, our kids, middle schoolers, Metro, bike and bus all over the place on their own. Sometimes they got to events at the Smithsonian museums on the Mall on their own, too. You just have to train your kids to keep their city smarts about them. Upper NW/Caucasia and Deal crowding and craziness, no thanks, no matter what the story with schools might be.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Sorry- last thing. Try “22201” as your zip code if you search housing. That should exclude Rosslyn and give you some of the other neighborhoods that may feel more “neighborhood-y” in that area.

DP. I searched all over and I don’t think there are any properties or even many apartments zoned for Dorothy Hamm that are the equivalent to the Hill. Someone touched on this upthread, but the Hill is actually relatively affordable for rentals and SFH compared to the “good” pyramids in NW, MoCo and NOVA. Most of us here don’t actually have $1.2 mil for a house especially not at current interest rates. The equivalent is more like the DCC in MoCo - and then you are comparing say McKinley Tech with Einstein, and it becomes less clear which is better.

There ARE a few pockets of value like Rosemary Hills (zoned for BCC with cheaper houses) or Downtown Bethesda (relatively affordable rent if you can do a 2 bedroom.) But when you really start drilling down, the notion that moving to MoCo for the DCC is your option really ends up favoring staying put on the Hill and seeing if SH or EH works, playing it out a little longer.

I think there are a lot of tiny crumbling Victorians that will get maybe 1 million, but there are plenty of row houses going for just under 2 as well. Or maybe that’s just my immediate neighbors.

On the Hill? There’s not much going for 2 mil unless it’s fully renovated, has a garage, and big. Many are under $1 mil and don’t allow a trade-up to the “good” closer-in schools. Our “crumbling Victorian” will probably go for 900k which isn’t gonna get us a place zoned for Dorothy Hamm.

My neighbors got just over 2 mil but we probably live in a different area than you.

No, we’re in the same area. Not all houses are selling for $2mil. Not even on E Cap. That’s a high not an average.

It's the same in Arlington. New builds generally go for $2m and up, but there are lots of SFH between $1.1-$1.8m. Below $1m there are condos, townhouses, and very small and old SFHs. It's not that different than the Hill. People are just sometimes surprised you don't get more for your money because it's the "burbs."

The market is really tight so you do have to just keep watching and spring when you see something that you like.

There are actually quite a few homes well under $1mil zoned for Maury. I jusr do not see that for Arlington but maybe I’m missing something.

There are townhouses in Arlington zoned from Hamm under $1m. I linked one a few posts ago.

there are literally 3 under $1 mil.

Meanwhile there are 154 2+ bedrooms in 20002 - 20003 zip on Redfin right now under $1 mil. In addition you can usually rent a full rowhouse on the Hill for around 3500/month. Not all zoned for the “good” Hill elementaries but many of those families will use decent elementary charters or lottery into LT etc.

The point again is that many Hill families are looking at the DCC in MoCo not Arlington, as a matter of affordability. Or going way out to Howard Co etc to access a balance between affordability and school quality… but at the price of a very big change in lifestyle and increased commute time. All factors that keep us here on the Hill.

southwest.
There is almost nothing on the market in Arlington right now--it's almost August and the bottom of the low season. I've said that multiple times. It's not because those options don't exist. You just have to watch and be ready. That's the current market in Arlington. We checked listing daily for about 9 months before we found a place in Arlington to move from CH.

If you aren't worried about schools, there are also options in S Arlington. Let's not compare the most expensive Arlington neighborhoods (e.g., Lyon Village) with the least expensive CH options.

Again I’m not talking about you specifically. I’m sure it’s possible to wait a year for that one rare house in Arlington. That’s not going to work for most people.

As for comparing S Arlington v DCPS v DCC - when I was doing this research I didn’t find as much info about S Arlington being decent compared to discussion about Blair, Einstien and Rockville.

I'm not familiar with the MD schools, but S Arlington schools are generally as good or better than LT, JO Wilson and SH middle school. There's also no fall off in upper elementary like you see for Maury and Brent. I'd also choose Wakefield and WL well before Eastern.

Housing options in Arlington are tight at all price points. It took months for our friends to purchase at around $2m, and even that required them contacting the builder before it was on market. Right now that's because people are staying put right now because of higher interest rates. It's not because there's only one house.

Thanks. I don’t think anyone on the Hill is seriously considering Eastern other than a very few. But there are more than a few like us: going to give MS a shot and kick the can down the road longer to see if Walls or private or McKinley or Duke Ellington work for HS. Not clear that Wakefield is worth moving immediately for. (We only have 1 kid so would cram into a 2br apt zoned for MacArthur, JR or BCC.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. And I suspect that OP has long-abandoned this thread, but FWIW, we made the move from very near EM to CCDC about a year ago and our only regret was we didn't do it sooner! We loved a lot of things about the Hill for 10+ years, but when we struck out in the MS lottery (BASIS and Latin are almost impossible now without sibling preference) and finally recognized that we had already outgrown our rowhouse, we headed for NW. We have found a wonderful community here (many other transplants from other more urban DC neighborhoods as well - Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Eckington, etc.), a level of safety and comfort we didn't feel in CH (elementary-age kids walking to/from school, park, and friends houses by themselves, or hanging out in the park, doors unlocked throughout the day, windows open, etc.), and while DCPS is far from perfect, it is very good in many ways and we feel much less stress about education and the longer-term viability of this neighborhood for us than before.

What did you pay for your house?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Sorry- last thing. Try “22201” as your zip code if you search housing. That should exclude Rosslyn and give you some of the other neighborhoods that may feel more “neighborhood-y” in that area.

DP. I searched all over and I don’t think there are any properties or even many apartments zoned for Dorothy Hamm that are the equivalent to the Hill. Someone touched on this upthread, but the Hill is actually relatively affordable for rentals and SFH compared to the “good” pyramids in NW, MoCo and NOVA. Most of us here don’t actually have $1.2 mil for a house especially not at current interest rates. The equivalent is more like the DCC in MoCo - and then you are comparing say McKinley Tech with Einstein, and it becomes less clear which is better.

There ARE a few pockets of value like Rosemary Hills (zoned for BCC with cheaper houses) or Downtown Bethesda (relatively affordable rent if you can do a 2 bedroom.) But when you really start drilling down, the notion that moving to MoCo for the DCC is your option really ends up favoring staying put on the Hill and seeing if SH or EH works, playing it out a little longer.

I think there are a lot of tiny crumbling Victorians that will get maybe 1 million, but there are plenty of row houses going for just under 2 as well. Or maybe that’s just my immediate neighbors.

On the Hill? There’s not much going for 2 mil unless it’s fully renovated, has a garage, and big. Many are under $1 mil and don’t allow a trade-up to the “good” closer-in schools. Our “crumbling Victorian” will probably go for 900k which isn’t gonna get us a place zoned for Dorothy Hamm.

My neighbors got just over 2 mil but we probably live in a different area than you.

No, we’re in the same area. Not all houses are selling for $2mil. Not even on E Cap. That’s a high not an average.

It's the same in Arlington. New builds generally go for $2m and up, but there are lots of SFH between $1.1-$1.8m. Below $1m there are condos, townhouses, and very small and old SFHs. It's not that different than the Hill. People are just sometimes surprised you don't get more for your money because it's the "burbs."

The market is really tight so you do have to just keep watching and spring when you see something that you like.

There are actually quite a few homes well under $1mil zoned for Maury. I jusr do not see that for Arlington but maybe I’m missing something.

There are townhouses in Arlington zoned from Hamm under $1m. I linked one a few posts ago.

there are literally 3 under $1 mil.

Meanwhile there are 154 2+ bedrooms in 20002 - 20003 zip on Redfin right now under $1 mil. In addition you can usually rent a full rowhouse on the Hill for around 3500/month. Not all zoned for the “good” Hill elementaries but many of those families will use decent elementary charters or lottery into LT etc.

The point again is that many Hill families are looking at the DCC in MoCo not Arlington, as a matter of affordability. Or going way out to Howard Co etc to access a balance between affordability and school quality… but at the price of a very big change in lifestyle and increased commute time. All factors that keep us here on the Hill.

southwest.
There is almost nothing on the market in Arlington right now--it's almost August and the bottom of the low season. I've said that multiple times. It's not because those options don't exist. You just have to watch and be ready. That's the current market in Arlington. We checked listing daily for about 9 months before we found a place in Arlington to move from CH.

If you aren't worried about schools, there are also options in S Arlington. Let's not compare the most expensive Arlington neighborhoods (e.g., Lyon Village) with the least expensive CH options.

Again I’m not talking about you specifically. I’m sure it’s possible to wait a year for that one rare house in Arlington. That’s not going to work for most people.

As for comparing S Arlington v DCPS v DCC - when I was doing this research I didn’t find as much info about S Arlington being decent compared to discussion about Blair, Einstien and Rockville.

I'm not familiar with the MD schools, but S Arlington schools are generally as good or better than LT, JO Wilson and SH middle school. There's also no fall off in upper elementary like you see for Maury and Brent. I'd also choose Wakefield and WL well before Eastern.

Housing options in Arlington are tight at all price points. It took months for our friends to purchase at around $2m, and even that required them contacting the builder before it was on market. Right now that's because people are staying put right now because of higher interest rates. It's not because there's only one house.

Thanks. I don’t think anyone on the Hill is seriously considering Eastern other than a very few. But there are more than a few like us: going to give MS a shot and kick the can down the road longer to see if Walls or private or McKinley or Duke Ellington work for HS. Not clear that Wakefield is worth moving immediately for. (We only have 1 kid so would cram into a 2br apt zoned for MacArthur, JR or BCC.)

If you kick the can down the road, kids zoned to Wakefield can transfer to WL if they want to access the IB program. I don’t see that changing but of course you would want to check in the future if interested.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Sorry- last thing. Try “22201” as your zip code if you search housing. That should exclude Rosslyn and give you some of the other neighborhoods that may feel more “neighborhood-y” in that area.

DP. I searched all over and I don’t think there are any properties or even many apartments zoned for Dorothy Hamm that are the equivalent to the Hill. Someone touched on this upthread, but the Hill is actually relatively affordable for rentals and SFH compared to the “good” pyramids in NW, MoCo and NOVA. Most of us here don’t actually have $1.2 mil for a house especially not at current interest rates. The equivalent is more like the DCC in MoCo - and then you are comparing say McKinley Tech with Einstein, and it becomes less clear which is better.

There ARE a few pockets of value like Rosemary Hills (zoned for BCC with cheaper houses) or Downtown Bethesda (relatively affordable rent if you can do a 2 bedroom.) But when you really start drilling down, the notion that moving to MoCo for the DCC is your option really ends up favoring staying put on the Hill and seeing if SH or EH works, playing it out a little longer.

I think there are a lot of tiny crumbling Victorians that will get maybe 1 million, but there are plenty of row houses going for just under 2 as well. Or maybe that’s just my immediate neighbors.

On the Hill? There’s not much going for 2 mil unless it’s fully renovated, has a garage, and big. Many are under $1 mil and don’t allow a trade-up to the “good” closer-in schools. Our “crumbling Victorian” will probably go for 900k which isn’t gonna get us a place zoned for Dorothy Hamm.

My neighbors got just over 2 mil but we probably live in a different area than you.

No, we’re in the same area. Not all houses are selling for $2mil. Not even on E Cap. That’s a high not an average.

It's the same in Arlington. New builds generally go for $2m and up, but there are lots of SFH between $1.1-$1.8m. Below $1m there are condos, townhouses, and very small and old SFHs. It's not that different than the Hill. People are just sometimes surprised you don't get more for your money because it's the "burbs."

The market is really tight so you do have to just keep watching and spring when you see something that you like.

There are actually quite a few homes well under $1mil zoned for Maury. I jusr do not see that for Arlington but maybe I’m missing something.

There are townhouses in Arlington zoned from Hamm under $1m. I linked one a few posts ago.

there are literally 3 under $1 mil.

Meanwhile there are 154 2+ bedrooms in 20002 - 20003 zip on Redfin right now under $1 mil. In addition you can usually rent a full rowhouse on the Hill for around 3500/month. Not all zoned for the “good” Hill elementaries but many of those families will use decent elementary charters or lottery into LT etc.

The point again is that many Hill families are looking at the DCC in MoCo not Arlington, as a matter of affordability. Or going way out to Howard Co etc to access a balance between affordability and school quality… but at the price of a very big change in lifestyle and increased commute time. All factors that keep us here on the Hill.

southwest.
There is almost nothing on the market in Arlington right now--it's almost August and the bottom of the low season. I've said that multiple times. It's not because those options don't exist. You just have to watch and be ready. That's the current market in Arlington. We checked listing daily for about 9 months before we found a place in Arlington to move from CH.

If you aren't worried about schools, there are also options in S Arlington. Let's not compare the most expensive Arlington neighborhoods (e.g., Lyon Village) with the least expensive CH options.

Again I’m not talking about you specifically. I’m sure it’s possible to wait a year for that one rare house in Arlington. That’s not going to work for most people.

As for comparing S Arlington v DCPS v DCC - when I was doing this research I didn’t find as much info about S Arlington being decent compared to discussion about Blair, Einstien and Rockville.

I'm not familiar with the MD schools, but S Arlington schools are generally as good or better than LT, JO Wilson and SH middle school. There's also no fall off in upper elementary like you see for Maury and Brent. I'd also choose Wakefield and WL well before Eastern.

Housing options in Arlington are tight at all price points. It took months for our friends to purchase at around $2m, and even that required them contacting the builder before it was on market. Right now that's because people are staying put right now because of higher interest rates. It's not because there's only one house.

Thanks. I don’t think anyone on the Hill is seriously considering Eastern other than a very few. But there are more than a few like us: going to give MS a shot and kick the can down the road longer to see if Walls or private or McKinley or Duke Ellington work for HS. Not clear that Wakefield is worth moving immediately for. (We only have 1 kid so would cram into a 2br apt zoned for MacArthur, JR or BCC.)

The whole premise of this thread is that some people don't get a reasonable option in the lottery and aren't happy with their in bounds option. Obviously, if you're happy with your options, it's not worth the expense of moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP above, you sound a little paranoid. We've been on the Hill for more than 25 years. While in the upper grades of elementary school, our kids walked and biked to/from their DCPS school, park, and friends houses by themselves from 4th grade on up. They've routinely hung out parks with their friends on their own for years. These days, our kids, middle schoolers, Metro, bike and bus all over the place on their own. Sometimes they got to events at the Smithsonian museums on the Mall on their own, too. You just have to train your kids to keep their city smarts about them. Upper NW/Caucasia and Deal crowding and craziness, no thanks, no matter what the story with schools might be.

Congratulations. It sounds like you have not regretted not moving. Good for you! How is this responsive to OP?

[Anonymous]

My conclusion from reading this thread - CH people are a little nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My conclusion from reading this thread - CH people are a little nuts.

My two cents, I think people on this forum in general are a bit nuts -- in defense of the person a few posts up, yes s/he is saying they do not regret staying on Cap Hill. And true that does not answer OP's question. But other people are reading this, and I would argue that it is helpful to hear/recognize that there are people in Cap Hill (along with many other places) whose kids are happy, go to parks, go to friends houses, enjoy school, and whose families are happy they live where they live. I don't doubt the folks who posted from NW are happy with their decisions too - as are the posters who live in other areas of the city. One thing that may not have been mentioned directly is that many families who move from denser areas to upper NW do so when their kids are younger, and as kids get older they get more independent regardless of where you live, so it is hard to compare apples to oranges after the fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My conclusion from reading this thread - CH people are a little nuts.

We are CH people and are moving to NW in a few weeks. Kids are starting at private school. You know who are really nuts? The NW private school prek parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My conclusion from reading this thread - CH people are a little nuts.

My two cents, I think people on this forum in general are a bit nuts -- in defense of the person a few posts up, yes s/he is saying they do not regret staying on Cap Hill. And true that does not answer OP's question. But other people are reading this, and I would argue that it is helpful to hear/recognize that there are people in Cap Hill (along with many other places) whose kids are happy, go to parks, go to friends houses, enjoy school, and whose families are happy they live where they live. I don't doubt the folks who posted from NW are happy with their decisions too - as are the posters who live in other areas of the city. One thing that may not have been mentioned directly is that many families who move from denser areas to upper NW do so when their kids are younger, and as kids get older they get more independent regardless of where you live, so it is hard to compare apples to oranges after the fact.

We are long time CH residents, with friends in upper NW. Our kids (now in HS) do this, but kids in upper NW do this also! In fact, as our kids got more independent and made their own friends (not just neighborhood dependent), it turns out that most of their friends live in upper NW.
It will be fine--whether you stay in CH or move to NW. It will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My conclusion from reading this thread - CH people are a little nuts.

My two cents, I think people on this forum in general are a bit nuts -- in defense of the person a few posts up, yes s/he is saying they do not regret staying on Cap Hill. And true that does not answer OP's question. But other people are reading this, and I would argue that it is helpful to hear/recognize that there are people in Cap Hill (along with many other places) whose kids are happy, go to parks, go to friends houses, enjoy school, and whose families are happy they live where they live. I don't doubt the folks who posted from NW are happy with their decisions too - as are the posters who live in other areas of the city. One thing that may not have been mentioned directly is that many families who move from denser areas to upper NW do so when their kids are younger, and as kids get older they get more independent regardless of where you live, so it is hard to compare apples to oranges after the fact.

We are long time CH residents, with friends in upper NW. Our kids (now in HS) do this, but kids in upper NW do this also! In fact, as our kids got more independent and made their own friends (not just neighborhood dependent), it turns out that most of their friends live in upper NW.
It will be fine--whether you stay in CH or move to NW. It will be fine.

After elementary school, kids disperse out and go to different schools so many are not going next door or down the block to a friends house.

They are going all over the city to friends dispersed all over the city. The walkability is not important after younger years and elementary and neither is the parks close by like you think.

[Anonymous]

School ties are only one component of our children's lives on Cap Hill. They keep up with several close neighborhood friends almost as much in MS and HS as they did when they were younger. They have good Hill friends whom they never went to school with, mainly met through church and scouting. We've never thought it was worth moving to NW or the burbs for schools after more than 25 years in the neighborhood although at least half of our friends have left by now. They don't seem to be looking back any more than we've questioned our decision to stay. We're not fans of DCPS or Bowser.