Watching your friends relocate to the burbs for "schools"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP. Your friends "grew up" and decided this shit is real so, instead of working THAT hard and spending THAT KIND of money trying to keep up the millennial pretense of being cool, it was time to face facts. Kids are involved now....time to grow up.

Totally! This was us. Gave up on the coolness of being 15 mins from work and walking distance to amenities. Like another poster said, our stress levels decreased dramatically when we moved. Even our cat is happier, no less the kids. It's a wonderful feeling to open your door and feel comfortable with your children being able to run around outside while you sit in the kitchen and cook. And don't even get me started on the schools. I don't think it's racism either. I'm AA and left for the burbs because I sought more diversity for my children. DC is pretty segregated along race and class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP. Your friends "grew up" and decided this shit is real so, instead of working THAT hard and spending THAT KIND of money trying to keep up the millennial pretense of being cool, it was time to face facts. Kids are involved now....time to grow up.

Totally! This was us. Gave up on the coolness of being 15 mins from work and walking distance to amenities. Like another poster said, our stress levels decreased dramatically when we moved. Even our cat is happier, no less the kids. It's a wonderful feeling to open your door and feel comfortable with your children being able to run around outside while you sit in the kitchen and cook. And don't even get me started on the schools. I don't think it's racism either. I'm AA and left for the burbs because I sought more diversity for my children. DC is pretty segregated along race and class.

+1

And gentrification is making it worse!

[Anonymous]

My friends that have moved to the burbs seem to have a blind spot when it comes to everything they are going through/giving up. Horrific commutes. One parent having to quit work to 'handle it all.' Neuroticism brought on by the boring environment and SAH lifestyle.
Their kids don't seem to be doing any better academically than ours or even have as many afterschool activities offered on site (as opposed to having to be a SAHP and drive everywhere after school.)
I am sure that my one mom friend is going to have a heart attack if her kid does not get into TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ And, to further complicate matters, our choices within dc all seem to revolve around our child having LESS independence than they would in a nearby walkable suburb. In moco, they'd take the school bus by themselves. If we lived in silver spring, they'd be one of hundreds of kids I see walking alone--and not an outlier, trekking a mile through deserted residential streets. This city is not friendly to its children. The metro is burning, crime is up, and there's not even crossing guards, let alone police, monitoring anything. Its depressing--at ten, I was taking myself across my city to magnet school and now, at ten, my child can't even walk four blocks.

See you in silver spring .

I think this depends a lot on your comfort with where you live and PP, you don't sound comfortable in your neighborhood. My high school kids take themselves across town on metro, go to movies on metro etc. - yes, metro has its problems but it's not burning and I would worry more if they were driving around on their own in the 'burbs. When the kids were very young, I walked with them to places in the neighborhood but they gradually expanded their range as they got older. By ten, they were definitely walking a few blocks alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ And, to further complicate matters, our choices within dc all seem to revolve around our child having LESS independence than they would in a nearby walkable suburb. In moco, they'd take the school bus by themselves. If we lived in silver spring, they'd be one of hundreds of kids I see walking alone--and not an outlier, trekking a mile through deserted residential streets. This city is not friendly to its children. The metro is burning, crime is up, and there's not even crossing guards, let alone police, monitoring anything. Its depressing--at ten, I was taking myself across my city to magnet school and now, at ten, my child can't even walk four blocks.

See you in silver spring .

NP but completely agree with this (unfortunately ).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP. Your friends "grew up" and decided this shit is real so, instead of working THAT hard and spending THAT KIND of money trying to keep up the millennial pretense of being cool, it was time to face facts. Kids are involved now....time to grow up.

Totally! This was us. Gave up on the coolness of being 15 mins from work and walking distance to amenities. Like another poster said, our stress levels decreased dramatically when we moved. Even our cat is happier, no less the kids. It's a wonderful feeling to open your door and feel comfortable with your children being able to run around outside while you sit in the kitchen and cook. And don't even get me started on the schools. I don't think it's racism either. I'm AA and left for the burbs because I sought more diversity for my children. DC is pretty segregated along race and class.

+1

And gentrification is making it worse!

Why?

Simply move to PG and thrive in your choice of "diversity"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP. Your friends "grew up" and decided this shit is real so, instead of working THAT hard and spending THAT KIND of money trying to keep up the millennial pretense of being cool, it was time to face facts. Kids are involved now....time to grow up.

Totally! This was us. Gave up on the coolness of being 15 mins from work and walking distance to amenities. Like another poster said, our stress levels decreased dramatically when we moved. Even our cat is happier, no less the kids. It's a wonderful feeling to open your door and feel comfortable with your children being able to run around outside while you sit in the kitchen and cook. And don't even get me started on the schools. I don't think it's racism either. I'm AA and left for the burbs because I sought more diversity for my children. DC is pretty segregated along race and class.

+1

And gentrification is making it worse!

Why?

Simply move to PG and thrive in your choice of "diversity"

This comment is so ignorant that I hesitate to respond. Diversity meaning a mix of race, ethnicity and class. DC is mostly populated by high SES whites and lower SES blacks= lack of diversity of race, ethnicity and gender. PG County is mostly populated by higher SES blacks = lack of diversity. Suburbs are mostly populated by a mix of white, blacks, hispanics, asians = diversity. Of course, i'm speaking in very general terms so no need to go pull census data. Hopefully, you get the point and if you don't I won't bother any further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP. Your friends "grew up" and decided this shit is real so, instead of working THAT hard and spending THAT KIND of money trying to keep up the millennial pretense of being cool, it was time to face facts. Kids are involved now....time to grow up.

Totally! This was us. Gave up on the coolness of being 15 mins from work and walking distance to amenities. Like another poster said, our stress levels decreased dramatically when we moved. Even our cat is happier, no less the kids. It's a wonderful feeling to open your door and feel comfortable with your children being able to run around outside while you sit in the kitchen and cook. And don't even get me started on the schools. I don't think it's racism either. I'm AA and left for the burbs because I sought more diversity for my children. DC is pretty segregated along race and class.

+1

And gentrification is making it worse!

Why?

Simply move to PG and thrive in your choice of "diversity"

This comment is so ignorant that I hesitate to respond. Diversity meaning a mix of race, ethnicity and class. DC is mostly populated by high SES whites and lower SES blacks= lack of diversity of race, ethnicity and gender. PG County is mostly populated by higher SES blacks = lack of diversity. Suburbs are mostly populated by a mix of white, blacks, hispanics, asians = diversity. Of course, i'm speaking in very general terms so no need to go pull census data. Hopefully, you get the point and if you don't I won't bother any further.

Please go and research a bit of DC demographics.

DC is becoming the most diverse ever in decades THANKS to gentrification.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hoping at least a significant percent of the kids in our elementary will stay together for Hardy... the trends are looking good. If not, we're MoCo bound in 4th.

Staying for Hardy, but not sure about the crowded Wilson. Will move out probably because we need bigger space, work in VA and 3rd would be because of school options. Could do private high school in DC, but still can't afford bigger home and would like to cut the commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hoping at least a significant percent of the kids in our elementary will stay together for Hardy... the trends are looking good. If not, we're MoCo bound in 4th.

Staying for Hardy, but not sure about the crowded Wilson. Will move out probably because we need bigger space, work in VA and 3rd would be because of school options. Could do private high school in DC, but still can't afford bigger home and would like to cut the commute.

+1. Willing to give Hardy a shot, but high school is where the rubber meets the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP. Your friends "grew up" and decided this shit is real so, instead of working THAT hard and spending THAT KIND of money trying to keep up the millennial pretense of being cool, it was time to face facts. Kids are involved now....time to grow up.

Totally! This was us. Gave up on the coolness of being 15 mins from work and walking distance to amenities. Like another poster said, our stress levels decreased dramatically when we moved. Even our cat is happier, no less the kids. It's a wonderful feeling to open your door and feel comfortable with your children being able to run around outside while you sit in the kitchen and cook. And don't even get me started on the schools. I don't think it's racism either. I'm AA and left for the burbs because I sought more diversity for my children. DC is pretty segregated along race and class.

See, I don't see that as "coolness." For us, a short commute, which allows us to spend more time together as a family and drastically reduces our stress levels, is a straight-up quality of life issue. I'm not a millenial, and I was never cool, but living close-in has some real benefits to both us and our children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's racism. Pure and simple. The rationalization are just that.

Were you always this simple or did you have to work to reach this state of stupidity?

But it is racism. People are trying to get away from crime and bad schools. Crime and bad schools equal black people.

You're funny. There's plenty of that in all the burbs too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP. Your friends "grew up" and decided this shit is real so, instead of working THAT hard and spending THAT KIND of money trying to keep up the millennial pretense of being cool, it was time to face facts. Kids are involved now....time to grow up.

Totally! This was us. Gave up on the coolness of being 15 mins from work and walking distance to amenities. Like another poster said, our stress levels decreased dramatically when we moved. Even our cat is happier, no less the kids. It's a wonderful feeling to open your door and feel comfortable with your children being able to run around outside while you sit in the kitchen and cook. And don't even get me started on the schools. I don't think it's racism either. I'm AA and left for the burbs because I sought more diversity for my children. DC is pretty segregated along race and class.

See, I don't see that as "coolness." For us, a short commute, which allows us to spend more time together as a family and drastically reduces our stress levels, is a straight-up quality of life issue. I'm not a millenial, and I was never cool, but living close-in has some real benefits to both us and our children.

Same here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's racism. Pure and simple. The rationalization are just that.

Were you always this simple or did you have to work to reach this state of stupidity?

But it is racism. People are trying to get away from crime and bad schools. Crime and bad schools equal black people.

You're funny. There's plenty of that in all the burbs too.

Agreed. This article may be of interest to some here. Mentions DC area in the report.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2016/09/06/chronic-absenteeism-detroit/89784112/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ And, to further complicate matters, our choices within dc all seem to revolve around our child having LESS independence than they would in a nearby walkable suburb. In moco, they'd take the school bus by themselves. If we lived in silver spring, they'd be one of hundreds of kids I see walking alone--and not an outlier, trekking a mile through deserted residential streets. This city is not friendly to its children. The metro is burning, crime is up, and there's not even crossing guards, let alone police, monitoring anything. Its depressing--at ten, I was taking myself across my city to magnet school and now, at ten, my child can't even walk four blocks.

See you in silver spring .

I think this depends a lot on your comfort with where you live and PP, you don't sound comfortable in your neighborhood. My high school kids take themselves across town on metro, go to movies on metro etc. - yes, metro has its problems but it's not burning and I would worry more if they were driving around on their own in the 'burbs. When the kids were very young, I walked with them to places in the neighborhood but they gradually expanded their range as they got older. By ten, they were definitely walking a few blocks alone.

Our immediate area is quite comfortable, except for the fact that no one is on the strerts. Ever. I don't want to wait until high school for my child to go to the library alone either. It's not a question of waiting for a driver's license to be independent. Its a question of not getting mugged at the rhode island or brookland metros.