Are you too experiencing a different DC culture than the one everyone complains about?

[Anonymous]

Hmm. LA is not San Diego. Is your experience primarily with San Diego and you're generalizing to include all of Southern CA? Let me guess... military from fly-over land?

[Anonymous]

Nope, mostly with LA. People in San Diego, except those from LA, are generally nicer than Angelenos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:but luckily I don't have to live in any city.

True, but you used these attributes to justify your decision to us.

Everything is relative. Referring to "crowding" in particular in DC as a reason for avoiding it is laughable for any but the faintest of heart.

Yes, I did. The city proper is noisier, dirtier and more crowded than my suburb. I don't give a fig if you think I'm faint of heart. I like space between me and my neighbors and no foot traffic at 11 pm.

In my neighborhood in DC, we don't have much foot traffic after 11 pm and it's actually surprisingly quiet -- but I am looking over my shoulder for muggers. I'll put up with the muggers because there are so many other wonderful things here but I couldn't live in a more congested section of the city.

[Anonymous]

"OP we are also in SS - though within walking distance to the Forest Glen metro. LOVE the area. Love our neighborhood, the parks and playgrounds, and the downtown SS area. "

PP, where exactly is this neighborhood (street borders)? We're looking to move to a friendlier place and this neighborhood sounds great.TIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:but luckily I don't have to live in any city.

True, but you used these attributes to justify your decision to us.

Everything is relative. Referring to "crowding" in particular in DC as a reason for avoiding it is laughable for any but the faintest of heart.

Yes, I did. The city proper is noisier, dirtier and more crowded than my suburb. I don't give a fig if you think I'm faint of heart. I like space between me and my neighbors and no foot traffic at 11 pm.

Interesting. We couldn't have a nice thread without the city vs suburb debate. Just to let you know, people get in where they fit in. In my DC neighborhood (Mann school district), after 11 the only foot traffic after 11 are the elderly dog walkers, a few STA boys who live in the neighborhood, and me the closet smoker who likes to walk away from the house and kids to sneak one. No muggers, no robberies, just people. I don't hate the burbs, but it seems you have a myopic view of DC, we have something for everyone here. I love going to parties at our friends Logan condo with a fantastic view and real urban city vibe, or one of the partners Tracy Pl manse that has a Versailles feel to it. Again you get in where you fit in. I love DC.

[Anonymous]

PP, I love working and going out in DC, I just like coming home to my half an acre of land where I don't worry about a parking space or muggers or the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, I love working and going out in DC, I just like coming home to my half an acre of land where I don't worry about a parking space or muggers or the schools.

Did you not read my post? I've never heard of a mugging on my street, and there are tons of parking spaces. You sound like a small town yahoo and I'm glad you're not my neighbor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"OP we are also in SS - though within walking distance to the Forest Glen metro. LOVE the area. Love our neighborhood, the parks and playgrounds, and the downtown SS area. "

PP, where exactly is this neighborhood (street borders)? We're looking to move to a friendlier place and this neighborhood sounds great.TIA

Really, anywhere near downtown Silver Spring or Forest Glen is nice. I would say perfect, but there are issues with the high school - we are zoned for Einstein and some people think that we might as well be sending our children to Hell. But there have been some really interesting discussions from well-informed, educated parents in the MD public school discussion so I'm not ready to write it off yet.

Plus, there is always the consortium (or private school). This issue is a long way off for us. We moved here several years ago and plan to stay another 10 years or so, then we will reassess.

We really like the area near Forest Glen because of the metro. We are a one car family. My husband drives a short distance to work and I take the metro to downtown DC, so it's very convenient. If walking to a metro isn't a must, the neighborhoods around Indian Springs (I think that's the name) and Woodmoor are nice. They are a bit pricier because they are "inside the beltway" and we are just outside, but for us they would not be nearly as convenient because of the lack of metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, I love working and going out in DC, I just like coming home to my half an acre of land where I don't worry about a parking space or muggers or the schools.

I can't imagine anything more dull than sitting on my ass on a half acre of land. More to the point, such a lifestyle is socially irresponsible and doesn't deserve the kind of government support (energy, transportation, housing, and land use policies) it has received over the last 80 years.

[Anonymous]

We are in Silver Spring too - quarter mile from the Silver Spring downtown area and the Metro. They are putting a lot of money into the area - new transportation center, tons of new restaurants and shops, etc. We are inside the beltway, are zoned for Sligo Park ES/SS International Middle School/Northwood (in the Blair consortium too), great renovated house for $550k. They also have great language immersion classes that can get you into better MS/HSs. Very friendly. We love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"OP we are also in SS - though within walking distance to the Forest Glen metro. LOVE the area. Love our neighborhood, the parks and playgrounds, and the downtown SS area. "

PP, where exactly is this neighborhood (street borders)? We're looking to move to a friendlier place and this neighborhood sounds great.TIA

I'm not the PP, but I live near Forest Glen as well. We love it, the people are nice, housing is reasonable, the drive into work is easy and if metro ever gets working again, we could easily metro into work. Our neighborhood is east of Georgia and south of Dennis, but there are other nice areas.

[Anonymous]

OP: what neighborhood do you live in? We are in the same salary range and are looking to buy a modest house in an area with a decent commute and happy, nice people like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: what neighborhood do you live in? We are in the same salary range and are looking to buy a modest house in an area with a decent commute and happy, nice people like you.

OP here - I posted about where we live at 02/02/2011 11:35. Basically, Silver Spring right near the SS Metro and downtown SS area. There also seem to be quiet a few people here from Forest Glen Metro area. I think the houses are even a little cheaper there than near SS metro, but someone said they're zoned for Einstein, which apparently people don't like? We're zoned for Northwood. But HS is so far off for us, it's not a huge consideration. Hope we can be neighbors!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, I love working and going out in DC, I just like coming home to my half an acre of land where I don't worry about a parking space or muggers or the schools.

Did you not read my post? I've never heard of a mugging on my street, and there are tons of parking spaces. You sound like a small town yahoo and I'm glad you're not my neighbor.

LOL I grew up in South Arlington. I may be a yahoo, but not a small town one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, I love working and going out in DC, I just like coming home to my half an acre of land where I don't worry about a parking space or muggers or the schools.

I can't imagine anything more dull than sitting on my ass on a half acre of land. More to the point, such a lifestyle is socially irresponsible and doesn't deserve the kind of government support (energy, transportation, housing, and land use policies) it has received over the last 80 years.

Dull? What do you do in your spare time? I take my kids to activities, go to the gym and see my friends. Is that terribly different than how you spend your time? Do you go out all the time in the city? Do you have kids?