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Rethinking Living in DC
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Anonymous
| Now that I have a child, I am reconsidering my life in DC. Has anyone else been thinking about this or decided to move or not to move? What factors did you consider? I miss my hometown and have family there as well. But I have been here for over 10 years and somewhat settled. DC has some advantages but I'm not sure I "fit in" with the culture here and especially worry that my child will be brought up here. It's not even cheap here anymore. If we move, maybe before the angst of school? What do you think? |
Anonymous
| I am having a hard time as well - I am commited to loving in the city, but at times look lustfully at the suburbs - larger homes, back yards, good schools, etc... I am going to stick it out and see if we get into a good charter school before considering moving again (as I thought if it when my child was born). |
Anonymous
| Yeah, me too. Before the baby, I would have thrown a category-5 temper tantrum if someone suggested I leave the city. A short few months later, and I'm not feeling nearly so dramatic about it. Example: it sucks that in my neighborhood (Columbia Heights) there aren't any child-friendly parks within walking distance. Of course I didn't look for playgrounds when we bought the place two years ago. But now... what if I want my kid to play outside? Sidewalk? Drive to another neighborhood? Humph. |
Anonymous
|
We're in the city, walking distance to two parks, to the grocery store, to the metro. There are lots of places like that. Yes, our apartment is very small, but I could not give up the convenience in order to live in a bigger place in the suburbs. I don't want to spend my life in a car.
Now, I dream of moving to a city where I have family, but that's not going to happen unless I change my job and worse, my spouse. 
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Anonymous
| Hi I am in the same boat, but we decided to leave. we are actually moving back to GA where we are both from. When I was single I never thought I was going to raise my kids in a smallish city, but now, I am so content with our choice. we don't make enough $ to be able to buy a nice size home with a yard for my kids to play, unless we move far from the city, in that case we will be spending too much time commuting. So, in a few weeks we'll be back home with family,still will have good jobs, and our money will go a lot further. |
Anonymous
|
A number of my friends have left when they were expecting or just having had a child. Many for the same reason: it is too expensive to purchase a house we consider "normal" (with a yard, good schools, good neighborhoods, etc) for a young couple. Also, many miss the support of family and the convenience of living in a smaller community once they have kids. (Boy would I love to have family to watch DS for an evening or to go shopping during the holidays!)
We are probably not going to stay in the metro area for the above reasons, but we need to stay awhile longer because of the job market here. Best of luck making your decision: you will make it the right one after careful consideration! |
Anonymous
| Are there any places in DC like Manhattan or Brooklyn in which there are a lot families, parks, restaurants, and shops along with decent schools? Right in the urban core. |
Anonymous
|
Is this post about moving outside of the district or leaving the DC area? I thought the latter, but maybe I read it wrong.
Anyway, from a different perspective, my husband and I are both from MD (he from around here). I can not tell you how nice it is to be close to family when you have a baby. We never had that whole "Oh, we have no identity" thing when we had the baby because we had so much time to spend just the two of us and drop the baby off with a Grandparent or friend. I see so many people here living far from home and they feel more and more "disconnected" from things going on there or they go home all the time and spend a fortune on the travel. I used to want to be away from this area, but I see a lot of advantages now to being closer to home. Also, I have people I grew up with here who are happy to be around our daughter. It's hard to make good friends here and I have made very few as an adult that have stuck. There are a lot of nice people here, but it's not so easy to meet them! I like it here because I'm close to home, but in a different type of environment and my husband loves living in DC. You should like where you live and there are pluses/minuses to everything. |
Anonymous
|
I go back and forth on the question of whether the District is, or is not, an optimal place to raise a child. On the one hand, I personally have never lived in a city with such a wealth of opportunity for kids (ok, middle class and upper class kids). Meaning schools, classes, museums, camps, specialty schools (such as Levine School of Music or Duke Ellington), language schools, etc etc etc. If you step back and assess the excellent choices for a child, it's dizzying.
On the other hand, paying for these opportunities, and driving to them in rush hour traffic, is maddening. And with so many choices of where to go, it's nearly guaranteed that the kids in your neighborhood are all off to different things -- and importantly, different schools -- making it difficult in my experience to get a game of pick-up basketball going at 4 pm on a beautiful day. I yearn for community while I sit in my car at a stoplight, hoping in vain to make a safe left turn off Wisconsin Ave. I personally have found it much easier to just hang, make friends and throw an impromptu potluck in other, slower-paced and less congested cities. |
Anonymous
| to 15:44 - Georgetown. |
Anonymous
| We recently went through this and have just made the decision to leave the DC area. We are leaving to be closer to family, live somewhere less congested and just do that work to live thing instead of live to work. If we had stayed here, it would have been because the job opportunities are better. In the end for us the other considerations won out. We have been going back and forth for a couple of years on this issue. We had our baby about a year ago and I am definitely ready! |
Anonymous
I agree with the person who responded to this post with the simple answer "Georgetown" - I think it is really the only place in the District that has that community feel - in spite of the tourists and students We moved here from Beacon Hill in Boston and have also lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn. We want the best of all worlds - the ability to waLK to the corner store for some milk or bread, a playground around the corner, a bustling street to walk for a bite to eat - or just some people watching. Dc really does not have this feelling - except, maybe Georgetown! Ok , so it is pretty cliche and if you want any space be prepared with over 3million, at least. We looked at houses in Cleveland Park - and yes - you can walk to Conn. Ave or Wisconsin - but it isn't the same "Village feel".....I really, really miss Beacon Hill - my kids could have attended the Advent ScHool in the neighborhood and I never would have left - if I could!! Of I could not have this scenario - my other option - a small New England town - with a village center - a small high school where everyone know everyone and holiday parades and fairs, etc..........New England is beautiful! |
Anonymous
| PP, what part of Georgetown? Doesn't the lack of metro bother you? In NY, kids are all over so you have a lot of friends on your block. Is it like that in Georgetown? |
Anonymous
| I grew up in DC and loved every minute of it. My DD is seven months and has the love of family and friends who live less than 5 miles away. We're now considering moving to Philadelphia for a job and the cost of living is cheaper. I guess trading one city for another. If we stay, we'll stay in our Brookland neighborhood. We have parks in walking distance, a few shops and are close to the metro. There are plenty of children of all ages and there is a nice sense of community. |
Anonymous
Wow - I completely disagree. There are quite a few neighborhoods in this city that have a much better feel than Gtown. Gtown is full of all wealthy moms or their nannies (most often the latter). The stereotypical all white, moms dressed to the nines and snotty. Glover Park is a real neighorhood (Guy Mason rec center and playground, Whole Foods, bookstore, hardware store,). Adams Morgan (Walter Pierce, Rock Creek parks, 18th St and Columbia St stores/restaurants, the zoo). Woodley Park (Walter Pierce, Woodley playground, the Zoo, Rock Creek Park). Yes, Cleveland Park as well (there are TONS of kids in the neighborhood. I don't know where you were looking - Macomb St playground). AU Park/Tenleytown (turtle Park). I think Glover Park, Woodley Park and Adams Morgan are the best neighborhoods in the city. |