DC Chosen Best Place to Raise a Family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can get a 3BR/2.5BA 2500+ square foot townhouse in Columbia Heights for $600k. That whole area is experiencing a middle-class baby boom, and is right near EL Haynes.

And for most people not living on either coast, $600K buys you a mansion. My parents are currently selling their home in the suburbs of a medium-size Midwest city. 3500sq ft, 5 acres of land, good schools. Asking price is about $330K.

For someone living in rural Guatemala, $600k is even more outrageous. Again, you're comparing a golf cart with an automobile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parenting.com also listed Omaha as one of the best cities. Seriously.

I bet this poster has never been to Omaha. People choose where to live for different reasons, and frankly if you want/need to live in the middle of the country and want to live in a mid-sized city, Omaha is a pretty good choice and has a lot to offer (though obviously not as much as NY, DC, SF, because it's smaller. Same thing with Austin (which is listed second).

I'm the PP, and I had to spend a week and a half in Omaha. That was enough for me.

I just heard a story on NPR about how Omaha was becoming the new city for hipsters due to its alternative music/theater scene downtown. You never know...

I work in the arts, and yet, I am so not a hipster. Not interested, and I know I could never live there. I've been, and I also lived in the Midwest for 20 years. I could live in Chicago (if they had better weather) but that's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parenting.com also listed Omaha as one of the best cities. Seriously.

I bet this poster has never been to Omaha. People choose where to live for different reasons, and frankly if you want/need to live in the middle of the country and want to live in a mid-sized city, Omaha is a pretty good choice and has a lot to offer (though obviously not as much as NY, DC, SF, because it's smaller. Same thing with Austin (which is listed second).

I'm the PP, and I had to spend a week and a half in Omaha. That was enough for me.

I just heard a story on NPR about how Omaha was becoming the new city for hipsters due to its alternative music/theater scene downtown. You never know...

I heard that as well. There was an interesting kerfluffle a few years back when Richard Florida went to speak in Omaha, and essentially told them that they suffered from a reputation as being intolerant:

http://schencka.mindsay.com/my_reaction.mws

The young, well-educated workers who corporations most want to court have little tolerance for intolerance or monotonous car-culture. Which is another reason why corporations are beginning to close down their suburban office-parks and migrate back into the cities.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0205.florida.html

[Anonymous]

12:33, hell, there's intolerance here. You don't see very many Confederate flags in the Midwest, but if you drive a 20 miles outside the Metro area, you'll see them waving on the back of pick-ups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can get a 3BR/2.5BA 2500+ square foot townhouse in Columbia Heights for $600k. That whole area is experiencing a middle-class baby boom, and is right near EL Haynes.

And for most people not living on either coast, $600K buys you a mansion. My parents are currently selling their home in the suburbs of a medium-size Midwest city. 3500sq ft, 5 acres of land, good schools. Asking price is about $330K.

For someone living in rural Guatemala, $600k is even more outrageous. Again, you're comparing a golf cart with an automobile.

Maybe that's the takeaway for the entire article. You can't really compare Omaha with Bangor with Miami with DC. One's automobile is another's golf cart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can get a 3BR/2.5BA 2500+ square foot townhouse in Columbia Heights for $600k. That whole area is experiencing a middle-class baby boom, and is right near EL Haynes.

And for most people not living on either coast, $600K buys you a mansion. My parents are currently selling their home in the suburbs of a medium-size Midwest city. 3500sq ft, 5 acres of land, good schools. Asking price is about $330K.

For someone living in rural Guatemala, $600k is even more outrageous. Again, you're comparing a golf cart with an automobile.

Maybe that's the takeaway for the entire article. You can't really compare Omaha with Bangor with Miami with DC. One's automobile is another's golf cart.

Good point. But the greater takeaway is that, for folks who are interested in moving to a liveable, walkable city with low-unemployment and a rich set of cultural attractions, DC is arguably one of the best choices. And that when making that comparison, DC's *schools* are a net positive, not negative.

That's actually news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good point. But the greater takeaway is that, for folks who are interested in moving to a liveable, walkable city with low-unemployment and a rich set of cultural attractions, DC is arguably one of the best choices. And that when making that comparison, DC's *schools* are a net positive, not negative.

That's actually news.

I agree, except that walkable and cultural attractions aren't part of this particular list's criteria (or at least they aren't the top among that list of 84 criteria that aren't provided). I'll give you a pass on liveable because that is such a subjective word and means different things to different people.

"You want the best for your family, and that includes great schools, affordable homes, low crime rates, plenty of jobs, and lots of parkland. So we crunched more than 8,000 bits of data in 84 categories to determine this year's top places to raise kids."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good point. But the greater takeaway is that, for folks who are interested in moving to a liveable, walkable city with low-unemployment and a rich set of cultural attractions, DC is arguably one of the best choices. And that when making that comparison, DC's *schools* are a net positive, not negative.

That's actually news.

I agree, except that walkable and cultural attractions aren't part of this particular list's criteria (or at least they aren't the top among that list of 84 criteria that aren't provided). I'll give you a pass on liveable because that is such a subjective word and means different things to different people.

"You want the best for your family, and that includes great schools, affordable homes, low crime rates, plenty of jobs, and lots of parkland. So we crunched more than 8,000 bits of data in 84 categories to determine this year's top places to raise kids."

I think you've answered your own question here. There are 84 criteria. The bit you've quoted consists of five. It's a question what those other 79 criteria are given that they talk also talk about bike infrastructure, museums, and that "Family dinner nights are easy at quirky local favorites like Matchbox restaurants or Busboys & Poets—both provide a place adults and kids can enjoy. And, of course, any child growing up in Washington, DC, will have a special place in his heart for the famous cherry blossoms and festival held each spring."

[Anonymous]

From the comments on the Parenting website:

I don't see how Parenting can take schools into account and select DC as #1 UNLESS they mean private schools. The public school system is terrible in DC. Ther are many wonderful private grade schools but they are very expensive. DC is wonderful for young professionals but for a family - - not unless you are rich. I know several people who loved living in DC but moved to MD or VA when they had kids and wanted good schools.

Again, DC is a wonderful place to live, and great for a family but only if you're rich. Why? Because the "public school system is terrible in DC". Except that there are a large number of middle-class parent who love their DC public schools, and the number's growing everyday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good point. But the greater takeaway is that, for folks who are interested in moving to a liveable, walkable city with low-unemployment and a rich set of cultural attractions, DC is arguably one of the best choices. And that when making that comparison, DC's *schools* are a net positive, not negative.

That's actually news.

I agree, except that walkable and cultural attractions aren't part of this particular list's criteria (or at least they aren't the top among that list of 84 criteria that aren't provided). I'll give you a pass on liveable because that is such a subjective word and means different things to different people.

"You want the best for your family, and that includes great schools, affordable homes, low crime rates, plenty of jobs, and lots of parkland. So we crunched more than 8,000 bits of data in 84 categories to determine this year's top places to raise kids."

I think you've answered your own question here. There are 84 criteria. The bit you've quoted consists of five. It's a question what those other 79 criteria are given that they talk also talk about bike infrastructure, museums, and that "Family dinner nights are easy at quirky local favorites like Matchbox restaurants or Busboys & Poets—both provide a place adults and kids can enjoy. And, of course, any child growing up in Washington, DC, will have a special place in his heart for the famous cherry blossoms and festival held each spring."

Except the list also includes places like Omaha and Akron, Ohio. I'm still going to assume it's a list to sell magazines. Ten bucks says DC won't even be in the top ten next year, not because it's gone to hell, but because you've got to shuffle stuff around a bit.

[Anonymous]

I've never been to Omaha, but looking at the "hipster" areas of downtown, I don't see any reason why it can't have fairly walkable neighborhoods. The Old Market District shows up with a Walk Score of 88.

Of course the list is complied to sell magazines. At the same time, it's a bit of a trailing indicator reflecting what the magazine's readers want to hear. My theory is that it reflects the falling influnce of the Baby Boom--and to a lesser extent Gen X--and the rise of the millennials as a target demographic.

It's simply validating the choices being made by the new wave of parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the comments on the Parenting website:

I don't see how Parenting can take schools into account and select DC as #1 UNLESS they mean private schools. The public school system is terrible in DC. Ther are many wonderful private grade schools but they are very expensive. DC is wonderful for young professionals but for a family - - not unless you are rich. I know several people who loved living in DC but moved to MD or VA when they had kids and wanted good schools.

Again, DC is a wonderful place to live, and great for a family but only if you're rich. Why? Because the "public school system is terrible in DC". Except that there are a large number of middle-class parent who love their DC public schools, and the number's growing everyday.

We have an HHI well in excess of what anyone would rationally consider "middle class," and we love our daughter's charter school. We are by no means unique at that school, and have many friends in the same situation at other schools. Ten years ago, we'd have all been in private schools or in the suburbs, MAYBE at a JKLM school. Times, they are a-changin'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't want daily urban stress...

Different folks have different stressors, obviously. The most stressful two years of my life were the period where I had to commute to Rockville from the city every morning. It turned me into a completely different person--and not in a good way. I cannot spend that much time in a car ever again.

Where did you move? West Virginia?

Live and work in Fairfax County. I only drive 7,500 miles a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can get a 3BR/2.5BA 2500+ square foot townhouse in Columbia Heights for $600k. That whole area is experiencing a middle-class baby boom, and is right near EL Haynes.

And for most people not living on either coast, $600K buys you a mansion. My parents are currently selling their home in the suburbs of a medium-size Midwest city. 3500sq ft, 5 acres of land, good schools. Asking price is about $330K.

For someone living in rural Guatemala, $600k is even more outrageous. Again, you're comparing a golf cart with an automobile.

How many people in rural Guatemala, other than Peace Corps workers and missionaries from other countries, have years of post-college education? C'mon now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never been to Omaha, but looking at the "hipster" areas of downtown, I don't see any reason why it can't have fairly walkable neighborhoods. The Old Market District shows up with a Walk Score of 88.

Of course the list is complied to sell magazines. At the same time, it's a bit of a trailing indicator reflecting what the magazine's readers want to hear. My theory is that it reflects the falling influnce of the Baby Boom--and to a lesser extent Gen X--and the rise of the millennials as a target demographic.

It's simply validating the choices being made by the new wave of parents.

I'm 43, and I'll admit that the walkablility of a neighborhood was nowhere on my radar screen 15 years ago when selecting a house.