Moving from London - where to live?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

I will be moving with my husband and 1 year old child to DC later this summer from London, UK. My husband will be working at the Pentagon for 2-3 years and we will be looking to rent a house for that time.

We know absolutely nothing about the area, so any guidance or suggestions would be much appreciated. Obviously we're looking for a safe neighbourhood and one where there will be enough going on for myself and my son to get involved in, but which doesn't have a nightmare commute for my husband.

Schools won't be an issue as my son is only 1 year old at the moment, but I would like to be in an area with other Mums and young children.

Cost isn't too much of an issue, although I don't think we would want to pay more than about 4000 USD / month.

Thank you in advance.

[Anonymous]

Are you british or American or what?

What neighborhoods do you like in London?

Are you a sahm?

[Anonymous]

Yes, we're British. We currently live in North London in a nice commuter belt area.

Yes, I'm a SAHM.

[Anonymous]

What qualities are you looking for in a neighborhood? Would you rather live in the suburbs or in the city? If you live in the city, your husband would be doing a reverse commute and it wouldn't be that bad. But if you want a bigger house and yard, you probably want to be in the 'burbs, and there are all kinds of variables that would determine which neighborhood is best for you. Commuting to the Pentagon from just about anywhere shouldn't be too bad; plus there is metro stop for it.

[Anonymous]

Do you prefer a walking area or do you want to have to drive everywhere?

[Anonymous]

I'd like somewhere I wouldn't have to drive everywhere and where I could walk with my son to cafés, parks etc. Some sort of fitness facilities nearby, preferably with childcare (my gym in London has a crèche inside it, which is great). Local baby groups / classes and opportunities to meet other Mums are also on my wish list!

Thanks! It's rather daunting not knowing where to start!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone,

I will be moving with my husband and 1 year old child to DC later this summer from London, UK. My husband will be working at the Pentagon for 2-3 years and we will be looking to rent a house for that time.

We know absolutely nothing about the area, so any guidance or suggestions would be much appreciated. Obviously we're looking for a safe neighbourhood and one where there will be enough going on for myself and my son to get involved in, but which doesn't have a nightmare commute for my husband.

Schools won't be an issue as my son is only 1 year old at the moment, but I would like to be in an area with other Mums and young children.

Cost isn't too much of an issue, although I don't think we would want to pay more than about 4000 USD / month.

Thank you in advance.

For $4k a month you might find something to rent in North Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Alcova heights is super close by and a nice area, but many on this bored hate everything in south arlington

[Anonymous]

I don't think she should rent in north arlington. She doesn't need good schools yet and moving to the suburbs straight from London might be tough. plus Ballston, courthouse etc require a transfer at Rosslyn to get to the pentagon - it's not the same line.

You might like Capitol Hill. Eastern market or Capitol south is nice and would be a fairly painless metro commute. One transfer, only a couple stops on both ends. You could get a row house on Capitol Hill in the 2,800 (tiny not very nice two bedroom) to 4,000 range. The tricky part is some parts of Capitol Hill are safer than others, and I've never been able to figure out which. But you could ask that in a separate post or google it or check out crime rate maps.

There are tons of rental buildings in the crystal city, pentagon city area. I live in one and hate it and wouldn't recommend it, but if you strike out otherwise, you could look up the managed buildings and pretty easily find a two bedroom.

With your budget, you could also rent in DuPont. If you rent in the west end of DuPont, he could walk to foggy bottom and not have to transfer. Or he could get on at DuPont and transfer at gallery place or metro center.

You could also live in an apartment near the gallery place Chinatown stop or archives. Straight quick shot down yellow line to pentagon.

Further up, you could live near u street metro, but that's a bit further and more of a singles area.

Check out craigslist for listings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think she should rent in north arlington. She doesn't need good schools yet and moving to the suburbs straight from London might be tough. plus Ballston, courthouse etc require a transfer at Rosslyn to get to the pentagon - it's not the same line.

You might like Capitol Hill. Eastern market or Capitol south is nice and would be a fairly painless metro commute. One transfer, only a couple stops on both ends. You could get a row house on Capitol Hill in the 2,800 (tiny not very nice two bedroom) to 4,000 range. The tricky part is some parts of Capitol Hill are safer than others, and I've never been able to figure out which. But you could ask that in a separate post or google it or check out crime rate maps.

There are tons of rental buildings in the crystal city, pentagon city area. I live in one and hate it and wouldn't recommend it, but if you strike out otherwise, you could look up the managed buildings and pretty easily find a two bedroom.

With your budget, you could also rent in DuPont. If you rent in the west end of DuPont, he could walk to foggy bottom and not have to transfer. Or he could get on at DuPont and transfer at gallery place or metro center.

You could also live in an apartment near the gallery place Chinatown stop or archives. Straight quick shot down yellow line to pentagon.

Further up, you could live near u street metro, but that's a bit further and more of a singles area.

Check out craigslist for listings.

Meant to say, the 4000 end for Capitol Hill should get you a very nice row house. 3500 pretty nice too.

[Anonymous]

Oh also, woodley park and Cleveland park are really nice places to live. Bit further commute, though, unless he is driving.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I should have said that as we're hoping (expecting!) to have lots of visitors from the UK, we definitely need at least 3 bedrooms. Safety is a definitely a priority, especially with a small child. I don't think I'd mind the suburbs, as long as I didn't have to drive everywhere and there was lots going on so that I could meet other Mums.

[Anonymous]

OP, when you say North London, do you mean around Hampstead Heath or do you mean further out? Do you currently have a car in London?

[Anonymous]

Woodley and Cleveland Park is also what comes to my mind when reading the poster's preferences. 4000 K will be ahrd though.

[Anonymous]

Btw, I moved from London to DC 14 years ago - enjoy the good weather!