Help a first time parent pick a neighborhood

[Anonymous]

OP wherever you end up you should sign up for a PACE group. It’s really helpful and a good way to meet other new moms with kids the same age. But the facilitated group therapy element is worth it even if you don’t make friends. It should be the normal standard of care imo but of course it isn’t.

Also if you’re not an extrovert by nature, prepare yourself to introduce yourself to anyone you see in the neighborhood with a baby. It’s like online dating - the vast majority won’t turn into anything. But saying “Hi I’m Larla, this is Laree, she’s 8 weeks” is the new mom equivalent of swiping right. You have to put in the numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP wherever you end up you should sign up for a PACE group. It’s really helpful and a good way to meet other new moms with kids the same age. But the facilitated group therapy element is worth it even if you don’t make friends. It should be the normal standard of care imo but of course it isn’t.

Also if you’re not an extrovert by nature, prepare yourself to introduce yourself to anyone you see in the neighborhood with a baby. It’s like online dating - the vast majority won’t turn into anything. But saying “Hi I’m Larla, this is Laree, she’s 8 weeks” is the new mom equivalent of swiping right. You have to put in the numbers.

Is that also Laree’s origin story?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Woodridge

+1, and I can't believe no ones said Brookland. Seems like the obvious answer.

[Anonymous]

Your commute time is going to make or break your life when you have a kid. Seriously. What you care about now is not going to be what you care about when you have kids. Please live close to your workplace if you want any chance of retaining your sanity once you become a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I love the roasting - I’ve been smiling while reading. To clarify, I know I’m being ridiculous for not considering Arlington. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing any options.

Re: staying on the Hill. We can’t stay in our current place on principle because our landlord is raising our rent $500/month and it isn’t a good setup for a baby (old/breaking appliances, super steep stairs, etc.). But after reading this, I’m tempted to consider Hill properties. I’m very worried about PPD, and I think a strong parent community would help significantly.

Re: emotional revulsion to Arlington.
Me - I work near Crystal City and it’s very soulless. Also, there actually are a lot more conservatives probably related to proximity to Pentagon.
My partner - I may not be describing this perfectly, but they went to college with a lot of kids from Arlington. Those kids were condescending/cookie cutter (but this was in the early 2000s).

As you have probably realized, I don’t know much beyond Crystal City. From the comments on here, it sounds like Westover is somewhere I should consider. I checked out Aurora Hills and it was way too close to Crystal City for us.

Thinking all of Arlington is like crystal city is like thinking all of DC is like Chinatown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your commute time is going to make or break your life when you have a kid. Seriously. What you care about now is not going to be what you care about when you have kids. Please live close to your workplace if you want any chance of retaining your sanity once you become a parent.

This is very, very wise.

[Anonymous]

Look in Tenleytown or AU Park. What about McClean Gardens across from Sidwell Friends? Everybody seems to rent or buy over there, and very close to amenities and Wisc Ave, which gets you to Arlington pretty easily.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like maybe you work at Amazon? I do, and I live in Palisades/ Kent. Commute is good (afternoons are slower bc of key bridge). I’d suggest renting over here if you can’t afford to buy anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodridge

+1, and I can't believe no ones said Brookland. Seems like the obvious answer.

It is the commute to arlington that is making folks not recommend these. Having to drive throughout the whole city at rush hour is not ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your commute time is going to make or break your life when you have a kid. Seriously. What you care about now is not going to be what you care about when you have kids. Please live close to your workplace if you want any chance of retaining your sanity once you become a parent.

+1 million.

[Anonymous]

You should find another place to rent in Capitol Hill for the next 2-3 years. Spend that time saving for a bigger down payment and paying off any debts you have using your recent salary increase. I think that in a few years you will come out with a a better budget and a newfound appreciation for why people with kids move to Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Takoma area (technically Manor Park, but walk to downtown Takoma a lot) and it is great for new parents. There are so so so many babies and young kids, including my own. I occasionally have to commute to FSI in Arlington and it is miserable by public transit but very fast driving via Beach Road and Rock Creek Parkway so I would not move to this area if you aren't planning to drive.

This. I really wanted to recommend it to OP but I don't commute to Arlington so I can't speak to that. I do go over there to visit friends every so often and it's a very easy drive, but that's not the same as a regular weekday commute.

+3

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Del Ray would be a good fit for you since it has a similar walkable/cute/young families vibe to CH. You probably can’t get a SFH for $1.1m anymore, but you can get a townhouse with a big yard, if that will work for you. And it’s just a few minutes drive or two metro stops to Crystal city. School system has its issues, but you’re several years out from having to make that decision.

[Anonymous]

Another arlington resident who hates Crystal City. It's the worst. But that's not Arlington. Check out Westover or Lyon Park/Ashton Heights or Maywood.
Commute is everything when you have a kid and Arlington is SO kid friendly and awesome.

[Anonymous]

OP here - just wanted to update you all that we are under contract for an end unit row house in Capitol Hill! (There were multiple reasons we couldn’t keep renting our Hill rental.) Once we started seriously considering the Hill, it made house hunting easy and enjoyable. I can see us staying there for the next 5+ years at least. Really happy with the decision to stay and the new house actually cuts down my commute to Arlington by a few mins.