Best neighborhood for community feeling for young families near dc?

[Anonymous]

Columbia, MD or Maple Lawn if you WFH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Budget? Capitol Hill has all this in spades, but you need $$ to afford the space/non-postage stamp backyard you want.

Not as much anymore. Newer people don't seem to be into the old village feel of the Hill IME.

Really? I think it's still there. I have loved raising our kids on the Hill.

I agree with the PP. Are your kids older? We have toddler/preschool age and the parents of same age kids seem very standoffish. When I meet families with older kids who have been around the Hill for a while, they seem friendlier.

My DH has also commented on this, and he’s not usually one to notice a lot of social nuances. But when we take the kids to the playground or are out on walks, we often meet people with same age kids who do not give us the time of day even when our kids are interacting with each other. Like not even a nod of recognition. It is very weird.

Agree with this. I have a toddler on the hill and have been so disappointed that people don’t seem interested in my attempts to talk. It seems impossible to make friends here if people don’t even make small talk with you. I actually gave up for now. It’s tiring to be friendly and get rebuffed repeatedly.

Maybe it's a COVID/ pandemic thing?

Maybe - but I doubt it since we’re outside at the playground. I mean, how weird is it to try to chat with someone lightly while our kids play near each other and the other parents just smile and nod without engaging? It’s bizarre and hard to not feel like an outsider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Budget? Capitol Hill has all this in spades, but you need $$ to afford the space/non-postage stamp backyard you want.

Not as much anymore. Newer people don't seem to be into the old village feel of the Hill IME.

Really? I think it's still there. I have loved raising our kids on the Hill.

I agree with the PP. Are your kids older? We have toddler/preschool age and the parents of same age kids seem very standoffish. When I meet families with older kids who have been around the Hill for a while, they seem friendlier.

My DH has also commented on this, and he’s not usually one to notice a lot of social nuances. But when we take the kids to the playground or are out on walks, we often meet people with same age kids who do not give us the time of day even when our kids are interacting with each other. Like not even a nod of recognition. It is very weird.

Agree with this. I have a toddler on the hill and have been so disappointed that people don’t seem interested in my attempts to talk. It seems impossible to make friends here if people don’t even make small talk with you. I actually gave up for now. It’s tiring to be friendly and get rebuffed repeatedly.

Maybe it's a COVID/ pandemic thing?

Maybe - but I doubt it since we’re outside at the playground. I mean, how weird is it to try to chat with someone lightly while our kids play near each other and the other parents just smile and nod without engaging? It’s bizarre and hard to not feel like an outsider.

I agree, it's weird! I'm asking around (friends/ colleagues who know the area) and trying to get to the bottom of it. I may be on a dud block. My kid is too little to do much at the playground yet, so we've only done short visits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Budget? Capitol Hill has all this in spades, but you need $$ to afford the space/non-postage stamp backyard you want.

Not as much anymore. Newer people don't seem to be into the old village feel of the Hill IME.

Really? I think it's still there. I have loved raising our kids on the Hill.

I agree with the PP. Are your kids older? We have toddler/preschool age and the parents of same age kids seem very standoffish. When I meet families with older kids who have been around the Hill for a while, they seem friendlier.

My DH has also commented on this, and he’s not usually one to notice a lot of social nuances. But when we take the kids to the playground or are out on walks, we often meet people with same age kids who do not give us the time of day even when our kids are interacting with each other. Like not even a nod of recognition. It is very weird.

Agree with this. I have a toddler on the hill and have been so disappointed that people don’t seem interested in my attempts to talk. It seems impossible to make friends here if people don’t even make small talk with you. I actually gave up for now. It’s tiring to be friendly and get rebuffed repeatedly.

Maybe it's a COVID/ pandemic thing?

Maybe - but I doubt it since we’re outside at the playground. I mean, how weird is it to try to chat with someone lightly while our kids play near each other and the other parents just smile and nod without engaging? It’s bizarre and hard to not feel like an outsider.

I agree, it's weird! I'm asking around (friends/ colleagues who know the area) and trying to get to the bottom of it. I may be on a dud block. My kid is too little to do much at the playground yet, so we've only done short visits.

Maybe we’ll run into each other some day! It was hard to not take it personally but it sounds like it is just how this area is. I even had a mom chat me up once and ask for my number - and she never even texted! I don’t have time to deal with being treated like I’m on a bad Tinder date. It’s too bad. I always wanted to live in the city so I wouldn’t feel as isolated like my mom was. Turns out, that can happen even there.

[Anonymous]

For down to earth families
Brookland DC
Takoma
Mt. Rainier
Hyattsville
Parts of Silver Spring

Maybe it's me, but as a renter who has moved a bunch I've felt people are friendlier in these areas than in the fancier neighborhoods where things feel... More competitive, perhaps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For down to earth families
Brookland DC
Takoma
Mt. Rainier
Hyattsville
Parts of Silver Spring

Maybe it's me, but as a renter who has moved a bunch I've felt people are friendlier in these areas than in the fancier neighborhoods where things feel... More competitive, perhaps.

I mean, more affordable may correlate with friendliness. But we also don't want to give up much in terms of walkability and convenience, so it's a balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For down to earth families
Brookland DC
Takoma
Mt. Rainier
Hyattsville
Parts of Silver Spring

Maybe it's me, but as a renter who has moved a bunch I've felt people are friendlier in these areas than in the fancier neighborhoods where things feel... More competitive, perhaps.

Don't see how someone that's refusing to talk to me is being competitive. But it's a theory.

[Anonymous]

My sense is the more crunchy, liberal neighborhoods became more standoffish during the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sense is the more crunchy, liberal neighborhoods became more standoffish during the pandemic.

Oh, I think the opposite, definitely. So much backyard socializing, everyone working from home, parties/gatherings starting in houses as things opened up…

[Anonymous]

My opinion is that what makes that “neighborhood community” feel when you have small kids is:

1) no garages + sidewalks, this makes more difference than you think in a block feeling friendly
2) some parents at home or on flex schedules, which means the lower and higher end of the “dcum” section of real estate.
3) enough SFHs to get critical mass of children, and not a newly built neighborhood or one that was built 20 years ago (because of demographic bulges)
4) close commute or far enough away to have few commuters to the city

You don’t have to use your neighborhood, you can build a community with kid schools or activities. Those communities might be more durable even.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sense is the more crunchy, liberal neighborhoods became more standoffish during the pandemic.

+1

I live close to a part of the city with lots of yard signs and people were/are so Covid cautious they barely socialize

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sense is the more crunchy, liberal neighborhoods became more standoffish during the pandemic.

+1

I live close to a part of the city with lots of yard signs and people were/are so Covid cautious they barely socialize

Right? It feels like everyone is afraid to talk to anyone they don't know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sense is the more crunchy, liberal neighborhoods became more standoffish during the pandemic.

+1

I live close to a part of the city with lots of yard signs and people were/are so Covid cautious they barely socialize

I kind of agree with this take as someone who moved to a liberal NW neighborhood in 2020. But that has changed a lot, people are super friendly now…just took more time than it probably would have elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Brookdale, ccmd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Budget? Capitol Hill has all this in spades, but you need $$ to afford the space/non-postage stamp backyard you want.

Not as much anymore. Newer people don't seem to be into the old village feel of the Hill IME.

It's always the same. Just wait until those "newer" people start having kids and suddenly need playdates and community activities. Then you have your next generation of village feel.