Question for those who are doing the DCPS lotteries-- why did you choose to live where you live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the posts that say "we bought a house 10 years ago and didn't think we could have kids." You can't put your house on the market in the 4 years (at least) that you knew that you had one?

Why don't we just get honest with each other and say we love our bigger homes that we would never be able to afford in a neighborhood with a great IB school. I think all of you who keep harping on the OP even asking the question are full of shit. You want a big house, close to work and you want your kid to go to a good school. Nothing wrong with that right? Not so much in DC. See, you start crowding out my kids who live in a tiny space because I made a choice that my kids' education is more important and moved accordingly. You preach diversity and gentrification as long you don't have to send your kids to the same schools. Puhhleeaseee

In other words, I hope none of you get in my kids' school.

You sound like a terrible person. We bought 10 years ago, before kids, assuming it would be a starter home and we would move before we needed to think about school. Then the bottom dropped out of the market. Even now we couldn't move without losing money we can't afford to lose.

That said, we love the neighborhood. We like knowing our neighbors in a way you don't in more "suburban" areas of the city. We love that we can walk to the metro ride a few stops and be at some of the best museums in the world.

We were fortunate to get a spot in a charter we love. The choices available in this city allow people to stay. We are able to make the best financial choice for our family without sacrificing education. The neighborhood we have chosen, and it's community, is as enriching to my child as her school. It would be a great loss for her if we moved simply because we weren't comfortable with the IB school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is trolling.

She started this thread because the other thread were she was antagonizing me, a mom who makes 60K a year, and others like me, who couldn't afford to rent a one bedroom in her neighborhood, was winding down and she wanted to throw her own poo around some more on another thread. I dared to suggest it's hard on some families having to enter the lottery at 3 or 4 if families weren't ready yet and she slammed everyone having the conversation as entitled. I thought she was raging because she worried I might be trying to change the system to her childrens' detriment, but it turns out she just wanted to take pot shots at people less fortunate than her. How nice. What a big girl you must feel like, OP.

We live in ward 5 in a small home, under 1200 s, in a minority neighborhood with poor IB schools because that is what our family could afford. You know, they let us poors have computers and a wifi connection these days. Shocking, I know!

I could not afford to move to ANY communities in the DC area with good in bound schools. Not even loudoun county, OP, as you slammed me with on the first thread. What is wrong with you, OP, that you are going this far out of your way to make me and others like me feel like shit?

We get that you're rich (or are pretending to me - something doesn't feel right about your post and I think you are a pretender). I also think you're way insecure about everyone else's choices. Even for these boards, your investment in your "brooklyn" friends choices, as well as all of ours, comes across as majorly pathetic. You got so pissed, OP, on the other thread when folks called you a troll. Way to confirm.

Also, the supportive PP is a sock puppet. Probably the OP posting from her phone on her errands. Because she posted the "biggest house in the hippest community" post on the other thread, too, the language and style is identical. What a shitty person.

OMG, PP-- you have serious rage issues, which were clear from the prior thread. If where you live causes you this much angst, you should really consider moving.

Also, I posted maybe once on your thread; last I checked, most of the PPs disagreed with you. Apparently you find it hard to believe that anyone would actually disagree with you??

[Anonymous]

they don't want to move up the Red line to Ward 3 because it takes longer to get to work, could only buy a crappy tiny house (see Real Estate threads on AU Park/Ch Ch DC etc)

Just a quibble, but, I'm not sure you're actually familiar with the housing stock in Ward 3 in 2013? When compared with the housing stock in neighborhoods actually discussed just on this thread -- Brookland, Petworth, Michigan Park -- the housing stock in Ward 3 can no way be described as "crappy." Small, you bet. Crappy, no.

I will allow there are some amazing restored Victorian rowhouses in Logan, far fewer in Shaw and Bloomingdale. The Hill.

But you guys aren't talking about those $2 million, 4-story grand dames on 13th and Q, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is trolling.

She started this thread because the other thread were she was antagonizing me, a mom who makes 60K a year, and others like me, who couldn't afford to rent a one bedroom in her neighborhood, was winding down and she wanted to throw her own poo around some more on another thread. I dared to suggest it's hard on some families having to enter the lottery at 3 or 4 if families weren't ready yet and she slammed everyone having the conversation as entitled. I thought she was raging because she worried I might be trying to change the system to her childrens' detriment, but it turns out she just wanted to take pot shots at people less fortunate than her. How nice. What a big girl you must feel like, OP.

We live in ward 5 in a small home, under 1200 s, in a minority neighborhood with poor IB schools because that is what our family could afford. You know, they let us poors have computers and a wifi connection these days. Shocking, I know!

I could not afford to move to ANY communities in the DC area with good in bound schools. Not even loudoun county, OP, as you slammed me with on the first thread. What is wrong with you, OP, that you are going this far out of your way to make me and others like me feel like shit?

We get that you're rich (or are pretending to me - something doesn't feel right about your post and I think you are a pretender). I also think you're way insecure about everyone else's choices. Even for these boards, your investment in your "brooklyn" friends choices, as well as all of ours, comes across as majorly pathetic. You got so pissed, OP, on the other thread when folks called you a troll. Way to confirm.

Also, the supportive PP is a sock puppet. Probably the OP posting from her phone on her errands. Because she posted the "biggest house in the hippest community" post on the other thread, too, the language and style is identical. What a shitty person.

OMG, PP-- you have serious rage issues, which were clear from the prior thread. If where you live causes you this much angst, you should really consider moving.

Also, I posted maybe once on your thread; last I checked, most of the PPs disagreed with you. Apparently you find it hard to believe that anyone would actually disagree with you??

I like where I live, a lot. People like you cause my angst because, fundamentally, you're just not a decent human being, are you? Just trying to make people feel bad about their choices, mocking your "friends" who chose differently. You really, really need to feel you're better than others, which just makes you seem really desperate. I'll take my ward 5 life for yours any day, actually, crappy schools or not. I'd rather my kids grow up and know how to be decent than to have a perfect school down the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is trolling.

She started this thread because the other thread were she was antagonizing me, a mom who makes 60K a year, and others like me, who couldn't afford to rent a one bedroom in her neighborhood, was winding down and she wanted to throw her own poo around some more on another thread. I dared to suggest it's hard on some families having to enter the lottery at 3 or 4 if families weren't ready yet and she slammed everyone having the conversation as entitled. I thought she was raging because she worried I might be trying to change the system to her childrens' detriment, but it turns out she just wanted to take pot shots at people less fortunate than her. How nice. What a big girl you must feel like, OP.

We live in ward 5 in a small home, under 1200 s, in a minority neighborhood with poor IB schools because that is what our family could afford. You know, they let us poors have computers and a wifi connection these days. Shocking, I know!

I could not afford to move to ANY communities in the DC area with good in bound schools. Not even loudoun county, OP, as you slammed me with on the first thread. What is wrong with you, OP, that you are going this far out of your way to make me and others like me feel like shit?

We get that you're rich (or are pretending to me - something doesn't feel right about your post and I think you are a pretender). I also think you're way insecure about everyone else's choices. Even for these boards, your investment in your "brooklyn" friends choices, as well as all of ours, comes across as majorly pathetic. You got so pissed, OP, on the other thread when folks called you a troll. Way to confirm.

Also, the supportive PP is a sock puppet. Probably the OP posting from her phone on her errands. Because she posted the "biggest house in the hippest community" post on the other thread, too, the language and style is identical. What a shitty person.

OMG, PP-- you have serious rage issues, which were clear from the prior thread. If where you live causes you this much angst, you should really consider moving.

Also, I posted maybe once on your thread; last I checked, most of the PPs disagreed with you. Apparently you find it hard to believe that anyone would actually disagree with you??

I like where I live, a lot. People like you cause my angst because, fundamentally, you're just not a decent human being, are you? Just trying to make people feel bad about their choices, mocking your "friends" who chose differently. You really, really need to feel you're better than others, which just makes you seem really desperate. I'll take my ward 5 life for yours any day, actually, crappy schools or not. I'd rather my kids grow up and know how to be decent than to have a perfect school down the street.

Again, PP, not sure why you feel so invested in throwing so much hate around. You have serious issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is trolling.

She started this thread because the other thread were she was antagonizing me, a mom who makes 60K a year, and others like me, who couldn't afford to rent a one bedroom in her neighborhood, was winding down and she wanted to throw her own poo around some more on another thread. I dared to suggest it's hard on some families having to enter the lottery at 3 or 4 if families weren't ready yet and she slammed everyone having the conversation as entitled. I thought she was raging because she worried I might be trying to change the system to her childrens' detriment, but it turns out she just wanted to take pot shots at people less fortunate than her. How nice. What a big girl you must feel like, OP.

We live in ward 5 in a small home, under 1200 s, in a minority neighborhood with poor IB schools because that is what our family could afford. You know, they let us poors have computers and a wifi connection these days. Shocking, I know!

I could not afford to move to ANY communities in the DC area with good in bound schools. Not even loudoun county, OP, as you slammed me with on the first thread. What is wrong with you, OP, that you are going this far out of your way to make me and others like me feel like shit?

We get that you're rich (or are pretending to me - something doesn't feel right about your post and I think you are a pretender). I also think you're way insecure about everyone else's choices. Even for these boards, your investment in your "brooklyn" friends choices, as well as all of ours, comes across as majorly pathetic. You got so pissed, OP, on the other thread when folks called you a troll. Way to confirm.

Also, the supportive PP is a sock puppet. Probably the OP posting from her phone on her errands. Because she posted the "biggest house in the hippest community" post on the other thread, too, the language and style is identical. What a shitty person.

OMG, PP-- you have serious rage issues, which were clear from the prior thread. If where you live causes you this much angst, you should really consider moving.

Also, I posted maybe once on your thread; last I checked, most of the PPs disagreed with you. Apparently you find it hard to believe that anyone would actually disagree with you??

I like where I live, a lot. People like you cause my angst because, fundamentally, you're just not a decent human being, are you? Just trying to make people feel bad about their choices, mocking your "friends" who chose differently. You really, really need to feel you're better than others, which just makes you seem really desperate. I'll take my ward 5 life for yours any day, actually, crappy schools or not. I'd rather my kids grow up and know how to be decent than to have a perfect school down the street.

OMG! Claire, you're so conceited!

THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT YOU. STFU & GO AWAY ALREADY!

Signed,
Another SAHM with HHI of $60k who lives in one of DC's less-than-desirable school districts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

they don't want to move up the Red line to Ward 3 because it takes longer to get to work, could only buy a crappy tiny house (see Real Estate threads on AU Park/Ch Ch DC etc)

Just a quibble, but, I'm not sure you're actually familiar with the housing stock in Ward 3 in 2013? When compared with the housing stock in neighborhoods actually discussed just on this thread -- Brookland, Petworth, Michigan Park -- the housing stock in Ward 3 can no way be described as "crappy." Small, you bet. Crappy, no.

I will allow there are some amazing restored Victorian rowhouses in Logan, far fewer in Shaw and Bloomingdale. The Hill.

But you guys aren't talking about those $2 million, 4-story grand dames on 13th and Q, right?

Sorry, but what are you talking about?

Have you looked at Real Estate listings, recently? There is some ugly junk in 20015, 20016, etc. and it's pretending to be desirable (despite looking like a hamster-cage).

No matter how "special" you believe your elementary school to be, when there are more than 25 students per classroom? The "special" DCPS isn't so special. & any attempt to suggest that it is, is either about propping-up your mortgage, or trying to maintain your job at an over-valued elementary school that doesn't even offer foreign languages.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but what are you talking about?

Have you looked at Real Estate listings, recently? There is some ugly junk in 20015, 20016, etc. and it's pretending to be desirable (despite looking like a hamster-cage).

No matter how "special" you believe your elementary school to be, when there are more than 25 students per classroom? The "special" DCPS isn't so special. & any attempt to suggest that it is, is either about propping-up your mortgage, or trying to maintain your job at an over-valued elementary school that doesn't even offer foreign languages.

I should have mentioned this before, but, I haven't posted on this thread until the post you're responding to (that there is very, very little "crap" on the market anymore in Ward 3.) So it's odd, your diatribe against my special school.

I have not mentioned the school my child attends, but it's not a public school. And it IS special. For what we pay in tuition, it ought to be.

Show us a link to the junky hamster cage crap on the market in 20015/16. Just one single house on the market right now that is 1. junky 2. looks like a hamster cage and is 3. crappy in 20015. No condos allowed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I can't help but to feel your "troll-ish" question is really just a judgemental vent about your "friend" in Brooklyn.

OP here. It's not a trollish vent about my Brooklyn friend (her choices are her choices, and don't affect me at all, so no need to vent). But they are thoughts I've had about her situation (which I see echoed on these boards) that I have not said to her face because it would be rude. But on an annoymous forum, I can ask it because I am curious not just for the life choices issue, but where these neighborhoods even are. It's interesting to me that with all the gentrification that's gone on in DC over the last decade (with tons of families in Mt. Pleasant and the Hill and other areas) that the elementary schools are still not good enough to attend.

I just wanted to chime in that this last part is true. You can spend over $1 million on a home in many of the closer in neighborhoods and parts of Capitol Hill and not get a good IB school. We did it because we value the short commute and living in a mixed use neighborhood and honestly didnt really think about schools (which in hindsight was dumb). If we hadn't gotten a spot at a good charter, we would have moved (still trying to meet those obejctives as best we could) and paid a lot more attention to the school boundaries (probably shooting for Ross or Brent).

Why do you think that is, particularly the Hill, which has been a "nice" neighborhood for a long time-- long enough for families with elementary school age kids to be living there? It is NUTS that a $1m house will not buy you a decent school district! Have most families just been doing private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is trolling.

She started this thread because the other thread were she was antagonizing me, a mom who makes 60K a year, and others like me, who couldn't afford to rent a one bedroom in her neighborhood, was winding down and she wanted to throw her own poo around some more on another thread. I dared to suggest it's hard on some families having to enter the lottery at 3 or 4 if families weren't ready yet and she slammed everyone having the conversation as entitled. I thought she was raging because she worried I might be trying to change the system to her childrens' detriment, but it turns out she just wanted to take pot shots at people less fortunate than her. How nice. What a big girl you must feel like, OP.

We live in ward 5 in a small home, under 1200 s, in a minority neighborhood with poor IB schools because that is what our family could afford. You know, they let us poors have computers and a wifi connection these days. Shocking, I know!

I could not afford to move to ANY communities in the DC area with good in bound schools. Not even loudoun county, OP, as you slammed me with on the first thread. What is wrong with you, OP, that you are going this far out of your way to make me and others like me feel like shit?

We get that you're rich (or are pretending to me - something doesn't feel right about your post and I think you are a pretender). I also think you're way insecure about everyone else's choices. Even for these boards, your investment in your "brooklyn" friends choices, as well as all of ours, comes across as majorly pathetic. You got so pissed, OP, on the other thread when folks called you a troll. Way to confirm.

Also, the supportive PP is a sock puppet. Probably the OP posting from her phone on her errands. Because she posted the "biggest house in the hippest community" post on the other thread, too, the language and style is identical. What a shitty person.

OMG, PP-- you have serious rage issues, which were clear from the prior thread. If where you live causes you this much angst, you should really consider moving.

Also, I posted maybe once on your thread; last I checked, most of the PPs disagreed with you. Apparently you find it hard to believe that anyone would actually disagree with you??

I like where I live, a lot. People like you cause my angst because, fundamentally, you're just not a decent human being, are you? Just trying to make people feel bad about their choices, mocking your "friends" who chose differently. You really, really need to feel you're better than others, which just makes you seem really desperate. I'll take my ward 5 life for yours any day, actually, crappy schools or not. I'd rather my kids grow up and know how to be decent than to have a perfect school down the street.

OMG! Claire, you're so conceited!

THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT YOU. STFU & GO AWAY ALREADY!

Signed,
Another SAHM with HHI of $60k who lives in one of DC's less-than-desirable school districts

Claire! You have a name. What is your response to the situation that many PPs have posted about, namely families who have CHOSEN to live in neighborhoods with crappy IB schools for commute/diversity/hipster/whatever reasons. They could easily chose to move, yet they don't and their situation is one of their own creation. I recognize that this situation is not YOUR situation. But your situation is not the one we are discussing. Of the PPs who posted their stories on this thread, I would say most them made the conscious choice to live where they wanted to live, and the lottery worked out for them. My guess is that the demographics of DCUM are that the "conscious choice" crowd is greater than the low SES crowd, which I get you are a part of. We aren't talking about you.

[Anonymous]

Ahh, the Hill. I miss it so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OMG! Claire, you're so conceited!

THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT YOU. STFU & GO AWAY ALREADY!

Signed,
Another SAHM with HHI of $60k who lives in one of DC's less-than-desirable school districts

Claire! You have a name.

"Claire, you're so conceited" is a Breakfast Club reference. Duh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I can't help but to feel your "troll-ish" question is really just a judgemental vent about your "friend" in Brooklyn.

OP here. It's not a trollish vent about my Brooklyn friend (her choices are her choices, and don't affect me at all, so no need to vent). But they are thoughts I've had about her situation (which I see echoed on these boards) that I have not said to her face because it would be rude. But on an annoymous forum, I can ask it because I am curious not just for the life choices issue, but where these neighborhoods even are. It's interesting to me that with all the gentrification that's gone on in DC over the last decade (with tons of families in Mt. Pleasant and the Hill and other areas) that the elementary schools are still not good enough to attend.

I just wanted to chime in that this last part is true. You can spend over $1 million on a home in many of the closer in neighborhoods and parts of Capitol Hill and not get a good IB school. We did it because we value the short commute and living in a mixed use neighborhood and honestly didnt really think about schools (which in hindsight was dumb). If we hadn't gotten a spot at a good charter, we would have moved (still trying to meet those obejctives as best we could) and paid a lot more attention to the school boundaries (probably shooting for Ross or Brent).

indeed there isn't a great premium for living in bounds for Ross or Brent compared to areas of cap hill or du pont that have less desireable ESs, perhaps because the MS options in these areas are still limited

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

they don't want to move up the Red line to Ward 3 because it takes longer to get to work, could only buy a crappy tiny house (see Real Estate threads on AU Park/Ch Ch DC etc)

Just a quibble, but, I'm not sure you're actually familiar with the housing stock in Ward 3 in 2013? When compared with the housing stock in neighborhoods actually discussed just on this thread -- Brookland, Petworth, Michigan Park -- the housing stock in Ward 3 can no way be described as "crappy." Small, you bet. Crappy, no.

I will allow there are some amazing restored Victorian rowhouses in Logan, far fewer in Shaw and Bloomingdale. The Hill.

But you guys aren't talking about those $2 million, 4-story grand dames on 13th and Q, right?

I lived in AU Park. Most of the houses are super small and crappy old construction. Not even close to being worth their value. I lived in what I considered to be a $1M dollar tear down. Most of the other houses I have been in are poor quality too. I didn't send my kids to DCPS (Janney) because I disagree with most of the curriculum. I don't want my kids to be taught to the test. I think with each new mayor, DCPS changes hands and strategies. Good school or bad school, they are all in DCPS! Kaya and all before her really don't know what they are doing. DCPS is bureaucratic chaos, always.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I just wanted to chime in that this last part is true. You can spend over $1 million on a home in many of the closer in neighborhoods and parts of Capitol Hill and not get a good IB school. We did it because we value the short commute and living in a mixed use neighborhood and honestly didnt really think about schools (which in hindsight was dumb). If we hadn't gotten a spot at a good charter, we would have moved (still trying to meet those obejctives as best we could) and paid a lot more attention to the school boundaries (probably shooting for Ross or Brent).

But you can also plan ahead and get a good IB school by making a prudent investment in real property if you can afford to. We did the research and leg work before deciding where to settle on Capitol Hill, even attending PTA meetings at four Hill schools before buying in the Brent District. We looked not only at school boundaries but all manner of stats--test scores, year on year changes in race and SES demographics by grade to detect trends, how much PTAs were raising and what they were spending on--for several years in a row before choosing a Brent District house to buy. We bought in SE mainly because Brent was clealry the most middle-class friendly Hill school, the only one with a structured program for advanced learners. We watched the market in the school district closely for more than a year before buying a fixer and putting a lot of sweat equity into it to avoid breaking the bank. Not an easy journey but worth it partly because our 3 year old already knows most of his future classmates, Turtle Park pals. We're a bilingual family who rejected the the immersion school scene in favor of reinforcing community ties via our school choice.

Friends who bought similarly priced homes in the Payne, Miner and Ludlow-Taylor districts took on a lot of lottery stress, generally choosing random Brookland immersion schools, without a connection to their target languages or cultures, just to stay on the Hill. Friends who bought in the Maury District don't seem sure they'll last past 2nd or 3rd grade.