Anyone feel like DC just isnt ideal for kids?

[Anonymous]

I certainly think that DC with kids plus a lot of material needs (cars, big house, int'l vacations) don't mix that well unless you don't want a work-life balance. I personally love raising kids here. Nowhere else has so many free and awesome things to do, good weather except for the crazy heat for a few weeks in the summer, so many interesting people from all over, etc. We don't own a house, but we rent in NW and this is a sacrifice we make because our lifestyle is so good. I was raised in the suburbs and once I hit middle school, I hated it with a passion.

[Anonymous]

DC isn’t a great place to raise kids. To competitive, busy, and stressful. I’d love to love my family elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I guess it’s just different strokes. Would absolutely hate to live in a congested concrete desert like New York. But others love it. Just know the culture of the place. If you’re stuck somewhere you hate, you’ll have to bide your time until you can blow outta here.

[Anonymous]

We moved to another city down south and I feel like I live on easy street. There are SO many wonderful things about living in DC but raising kids in that culture was hard compared to our life now.

[Anonymous]

We left DC for Tucson, AZ and it’s been so great. We love it here.

Unfortunately it is extremely limiting as far as careers go. It makes me sad that remote work has become so hard to find. I don’t even care that much about growth or advancement but I need to stay employed, and options are so limited here.

We don’t want to leave but I worry we might have to

[Anonymous]

I came to the US after college from a European country. I have only lived in DC, but visited for extended periods of time a good friend of mine in Florida.

She lives in a small town (near a big city) with an upper middle class feel. She moved there because her husband works for a law firm nearby and schools are great. When I visit, the first few days I always feel like I want to move there. Weather is amazing (never been in the summer), life is cheaper (though groceries are more or less expensive like in DC), all houses have a pool and community pool, feels very safe, etc.

After the first couple of days my opinion always starts to change. The people are different, it’s not very international, most people aren’t as educated as they are in DC, kids have Tik Tok at 10 and post “sexy” pictures on Instagram at 12.

My kids go to a private school here, but they (and their friends) seem just so much smarter than all the kids we meet when we visit my friend (her children included). My kids (and their friends) don’t have phones at 12 and definitely no social media. My kids study a lot more, read a lot more, etc.

I wish I could export DC people in this small town in Florida, but while I love the weather, nature and swimming pools, I would not trade DC for that.

[Anonymous]

I think a of dcumers overstate the benefits or living in the area and are fairly ignorant about other areas but assume them to be worse than they actually are.

But, yes, we live somewhere else now and we much prefer it.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of great places to raise kids. I think the DC area is pretty good, given the museums, performing arts, cultural festivals, proximity to nature, mountains, beach, historical sites, colleges, etc.
Other places have lots to offer as well, just often different things.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s both a great place to raise kids and also glorified too much. There are lots of great places to raise a family. They don’t always have as much going on, like as many museums, as much diversity, etc. but they’re still pretty great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely. We moved out of DC and now we have a house on the water, an amazing neighborhood that is not like anything I saw anywhere in the DC/VA/MD area, and the same jobs but our money goes a lot farther. Our kids are also in a great school, we still have access to an airport close by (although not as many direct flights as we had out of Dulles), sports teams close enough, etc. I'm so glad we left!

Where are you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We spent ten days outside of Akron, Ohio (fair lawn) in a very nice neighborhood where my sister and brother in law live. They have been in the area for about 4 years but this was the first time we spent real time there as they usually come here or else we meet somewhere. Let me just say it wasnt anything like the “ohio” or midwest you hear about on dcum. My nephews are split going to either a great public option and one goes to a jesuit highschool and both schools seem great. We went to a neighborhood pool a few times and the families seem normal/educated/ fun. Diversity wasnt as bad as I expected either, many black and Indian families in the development. There wasnt a “lack of things to do” either? We found beautiful metro parks with amazing hiking near by, we did things like top golf and trampoline parks. And what really got me thinking is my brother in law came for a 250k job that might pay a wee bit more in DC but not much and they got a really nice house for 560k and every dollar just seems to go much further. It really made me wonder if perhaps Ive glorified this area a bit too much. My nephews seem really happy and theres a airiness and relaxed undertone the entire household seems to have that I just yearn for. Anyone go somewhere else random and feel similar?

Yes, we left 7 years ago and have been living a "soft life" in the burbs.

The NOVA/DC area was so rat racy for us, although there were many great parts of it that we still miss.

[Anonymous]

Akron Ohio? No. I am in Richmond, come here. Beautiful homes, very affordable

[Anonymous]

I think it's pretty obvious that successful adults with happy childhoods can come from most circumstances (within reason). So I don't think it has to be one vs. another. A childhood in Akron could be great and so could one in DC.

For my part, I grew up in an idyllic suburb and by age 14 or so I began to find it suffocating. I left and never looked back. But a ton of my classmates moved back right after college and they all seem happy there.

I love the childhood I'm giving my kids in DC proper, and they seem really happy. They might not have the childhood that a more family oriented community might give them, but in exchange they are being exposed to so many different types of people and lifestyles that I never was. They are so smart and culturally sensitive, and I feel like they just have a better handle on the world than I ever did. And they also have best friends, and bike rides, pool days, leisurely days at parks, etc.

So I guess what I'm saying is, you can believe that a place like Akron is better suited to you and that's great. But I don't think it necessarily has to lend itself to the idea that DC is not good for kids. It's a "two things are true" type of situation, as they say!

[Anonymous]

The easier and more relaxed vibe in the Midwest as compared to DC or the east coast in general is a real and obvious difference and one of the reasons Dh and I moved from DC to the Midwest when we had kids. We now live in an UMC-UC area and you’d think the stress and pressure would be similar given the similar socioeconomics but it’s much more chill and laid back. DH (east coast native) didn’t believe me (Midwest native) when we lived in DC that it could be that different but once we moved he now talks about it all the time and how surprised he was.

[Anonymous]

I love raising kids in dc. We live in takoma park and it’s a nice mix of urban/suburban. Tons of green space. Can walk or bike everywhere. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other great places but this area is pretty cool.