Why do people here bash suburbia when most of the NW DC moms live in what is essentially the burbs?

[Anonymous]

Amazing how people feel the need to defend their choice to live in the city or the suburbs, and to bash others' different choices. We really haven't changed since elementary school, have we?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My children can run on grass in their own yard.

I'm trying to recreate your logic, but I just don't see why this matters.

not so quick to catch on, eh?

Read any thread on suburban vs. urban and you'll see the city "elitists" who claim that they can walk or take public trans to the museums - while the 'burbans are driving minivans to activities and to work.

Please, PP, you don't see that?

Some of us live and work in suburbia. We like land. We don't mind driving b/c our commutes aren't maddening. We prefer a quiet lifestyle.

I don't need to live five minutes from a museum to feel as though I've got a bit of class. I like my garden on my 3/4 acre. I like the fact that my kids have a playset in their own yard. I even like seeing deer even though they destroy my garden.

different lifestyle choices for people who don't like a chaotic lifestyle

People in dc have yards too. Big deal.

[Anonymous]

Well, I think what you are calling the "superiority complex" or "snob appeal" of people who live in the suburban-like areas of Washington over the suburbs beyond the DC borders has to do with personal taste and the cost of houses. Those who live in NWDC may think they "live better" because of houses cost more in that area of Washington than most areas of MD or VA. They may think their neighborhoods have a greater visual beauty and character: older and greater tree canopy, older larger shrubs like azaleas and hydrangeas, older houses from the 1920s and 40s and fewer hideous 70s ranchers, and fewer "in fill - tear down" brand new McManisons. Of course, this doesnt apply to neighborhoods like Chevy Chase, MD, or parts of Bethesda, which have much of the same look. Arlington neighborhoods and street scapes, for instance, are pretty ugly with few exceptions like parts of Maywood or Country Club Hills, and a few streets in Waverly or Cherrydale. McLean also has very few truly pretty areas and a "sprawling" feel. Still, I dont think most people consider those neighborhoods "less than" so much as they do places that are further out. Its mostly just a taste thing, I guess. People of similar tastes pick similar areas to live. I am guessing people who choose the NWDC hoods you mention think they have better taste and that is about it. I wouldn't care if I were you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in NW DC in what the OP probably considers the 'burbs. We walk to work, take public transportation, walk to the grocery stores and restaurants.

None of my friends who live in MD/VA have a similar lifestyle. They get in their car to do everything. One firned recently was contemplating buying a new home and trying to decide between a 3 car garage or a finished basement.

try Clarendon. We walk everywhere...and recently sold a car. 1 block to the MEtro...1 block to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, the gym, drycleaners and about 60 restaurants/bars. Oh---and great public schools too!

[Anonymous]

When I lived in courthouse years ago, I did not own a car.

If you are near stores and a metro stop, walkability is the same no matter what side of the potomac you live on.

Conversely if your job moves away from transit, you are probably going to need a car either way.

[Anonymous]

OP,
I live in DC, in Adams Morgan, and have heard smug Montgomery County residents -- Takoma Park to Potomac -- turn their noses down on DC more than a few times. I think the bashing goes two ways.

[Anonymous]

I know people in Spring Valley, AU Park and Georgetown who act as if they're at the top of the social food change because of their address.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know people in Spring Valley, AU Park and Georgetown who act as if they're at the top of the social food change because of their address.

And I feel bad for them, because their lives are clearly lacking something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You needed a place to live. You made a choice. That doesn't entitle you to anything. Period.

I live in NWDC. Personally, I love it. I'm not going to get snooty about it, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

However, there are plenty of things I like about the suburbs and "real" city living too, and when I meet people from either the burbs or the city I can totally see why they like being there.

Ultimately, we made a choice that met our needs and our wants. It works for us. You live where you live because it works for you. If you have to resort to judging others well then maybe you doubt your own choice, but deal with it yourself. Don't be a bitch because you have insecurity about where you live.

Right on, PP!

Seems like a lot of people in this area are insecure, and not just about their zip code. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amazing how people feel the need to defend their choice to live in the city or the suburbs, and to bash others' different choices. We really haven't changed since elementary school, have we?

If your self satisfaction is based upon how you view yourself relative to others, you are in a bad place.

[Anonymous]

I live in DC because most of the things I appreciate/enjoy doing are DC-specific and if I lived in the suburbs and tried to do them I'd spend ridiculous amounts of time commuting.

[Anonymous]

Whatever. Lived in D.C. for years. Paid my dues. Would not go back. I don't have to justify myself to you judgmental schmucks. If I lived in Arlington, should I claim to be superior to McLean? WTF? Are you people for real? Try living elsewhere. Try venturing out once in while. This happens truly only in the D.C. area that anyone would actually give a flying f*ck. Really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of what the immediate environment of someone living in NW, if they're living in DC, they're doing more to help the region's poor than anyone living in the burbs. Living in DC is a moral act.

You're not living in a yurt and immunizing babies in remote central asia.

I actually do spend time helping farmers in rural central asia (seriously)...thankfully this mitigates me from the moral act of DC living, so I choose immoral Arlington as my DC metro residence when I'm not out in the rural oblasts of central asia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever. Lived in D.C. for years. Paid my dues. Would not go back. I don't have to justify myself to you judgmental schmucks. If I lived in Arlington, should I claim to be superior to McLean? WTF? Are you people for real? Try living elsewhere. Try venturing out once in while. This happens truly only in the D.C. area that anyone would actually give a flying f*ck. Really.

You could NOT be MORE wrong! Every city has addresses with more "snob appeal," places where folks think they have a better addresses than the other poor schmucks. It is so not DC-specific. How, for instance, do you think the "bridge-and-Tunnel-Crowd" got it's name? From the folks in NYC proper looking down their noses at those pesky outer borroughs and NJ types. In Atlanta, its the Buckhead crowd looking down their noses at those "outside the beltway." In Los Angeles it is 90210. This attitude runs through out every city, small and large from London to lafayette, LA, and from Paris, France to Paris, TX.

Every city has it's perceived "best addresss" and, in DC, many people think that means 20007 or 20016 or 20015 (Basically, Georgetown, Wesley Heights, Kent, Spring Valley, and AU park for the younger set - with Chevy Chase Village in MD up there, too). Don't fool yourself that it is a DC-thing. It is not. These 'hoods DO have more "social cache" and that is a fact. You do not have to care, you do not have to buy into it or like it but, it is what it is.

L

[Anonymous]

Funny when someone writes about social cachet and spells it cache.