Moving to DC Area from Westchester, NY, Want a Different Vibe...Where Should We Definitely Avoid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sure, there's diversity and people who emigrated from all over the world. And became rich and are materialistic and just as self absorbed as any white Westchester clique. They're all over DC. Is that what she is looking for?

Takoma Park is her tribe. Hie there there and be happy in your bubble.

OP here. This is exactly it!! It's not real diversity if everyone is rich and living the same lifestyle. I hear people in Westchester saying all the time, "It's so diverse here!" Because they have a friend from South America and a friend from former USSR and a friend from France and a friend from China...but they all work in finance or law or consulting and live the same materialistic, competitive lifestyle. I really hope to escape this BS.

I mean, if that's the goal, you're coming to the wrong place.

Takoma Park has enormous diversity. There is a ton of socioeconomic diversity, as well as racial and other diversity that cuts across class. Having said that, people are still pretty much segregated by class, less so by race. Silver Spring has some good options too, but it is more hit or miss by neighborhood.

What I think OP wants to avoid, based on her statements, is Chevy Chase, Bethesda, McLean, much of Arlington, Great Falls, and NW DC. Chevy Chase MD is the most like Westchester of all the towns around. I actually really like the vibe in CCMD, and I live in Takoma Park!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Potomac and I am literally the only white Catholic family on block. None of my kids friends are white Catholics.

And if then very few are even regular white Jewish.

Potomac is very diverse. I can safely say too diverse. I say that as my daughters friends are all different religions and races and long term friendships and dating is hard. My daughters has 13 year old friends who are not allowed to date and parents select groom. Hard to hang out post teen years. And same for that girl. Same for my orthodox Jewish friends my daughter has. Great for cultural learning. Also isolating for me to meet friends. I see my Muslim, Hindu, Orthodox neighbors and only their group is let in.

I like diverse but even diverse folks hard to find friends when a million little groups that don’t mix outside school or work

Oh please. Potomac is very Jewish. You must have worked hard to avoid that.

[Anonymous]

Op it would help if you gave your ethnicity and your budget. There are diversity clusters everywhere. Few places are all white. There are many neighborhoods that are all UMC or upper class. DC is divided by income.

[Anonymous]

Most people living in Fairfax city would move to Mclean or Vienna in a minute if they could afford it. Same with Westin and Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Plenty of white Catholics in North Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Avoid Foxhall and AU Park. Kalorama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still vote Old Town

Schools are awful there. Bad choice. Unless she is willing to pay for private school. I would live in Old Town if the schools were not so horrible.

[Anonymous]

OP, you and the rest of DCUM will hate this, but if you really want economic diversity you can't also buy in the very top rated school zones. Rich people already did. That is the reality of the DC area. If you live in a top school zone with a million dollar house, where are your kids going to experience this diversity?

I'd consider: Rockville, as recommended; Annandale; Hyattsville, College Park, or Greenbelt (all close together); Bowie.

I live more than an hour outside DC because my spouse works in our town and our housing budget was too low for DC (so my commute stinks), but I send my kids to schools that are not the "best" in the county. They're still pretty good, but more diverse and in a walkable area near our downtown. There are always tradeoffs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you and the rest of DCUM will hate this, but if you really want economic diversity you can't also buy in the very top rated school zones. Rich people already did. That is the reality of the DC area. If you live in a top school zone with a million dollar house, where are your kids going to experience this diversity?

I'd consider: Rockville, as recommended; Annandale; Hyattsville, College Park, or Greenbelt (all close together); Bowie.

I live more than an hour outside DC because my spouse works in our town and our housing budget was too low for DC (so my commute stinks), but I send my kids to schools that are not the "best" in the county. They're still pretty good, but more diverse and in a walkable area near our downtown. There are always tradeoffs.

PS Silver Spring might work too.

[Anonymous]

Maybe something zoned for Eaton (Woodley/Cleveland Park). But that will be expensive ($1.5-$3 million+).

[Anonymous]

Herndon?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No to North Arlington. (I live here).

I'm curious to hear more about Arlington. A friend is planning to move there because it's close to DC, more urban feel with things to do, and she says it's diverse and not snobby. But it hasn't been mentioned much on this thread one way or the other.

DP who also lives in north Arlington. Arlington has a very strong trend from more affluent to less affluent as you move from north to south. Given your budget and what you described, I would suggest looking in central to south Arlington rather than north Arlington (especially north of Rt. 29 Arlington). That part will be largely out of your budget and I don't think will give you the socioeconomic diversity you are looking for. But central Arlington (north and south of Rt. 50) and south Arlington have neighborhoods that fit your budget and what you're describing community/lifestyle-wise.

+1 The experience can be very different in different parts of Arlington. We live in central Arlington which IMO is a great location. Walkable to metro, zoned to good but also economically and racially diverse schools -- my kids have gone to Long Branch ES, Jefferson MS, Washington-Liberty HS. Generally, the neighborhoods that run along route 50 through Arlington.

another Arlington resident here--I agree with this and was thinking of exactly this school pyramid (or Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Wakefield or Washington-Liberty, assuming that is still a pyramid).

I think there is generally less Mom cliquishness in the DC suburbs than in areas with town-based schools--the schools are just too big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m from Westchester and I live in Bethesda. I think you will find a tremendous amount of diversity here, it is quite multicultural and very educated. There is a lot to do, a lot of nature as well. It is close to DC also. Bethesda has many different areas, check out all of the different ZIP Codes: 20814, 20816, 20817.

Avoid Potomac like the plague, you will absolutely hate it.

My extended family live in Westchester and I agree with this. I do think that potomac has a lot of racial and ethnic diversity but no economic diversity (it is also far out of the city). Our county-based school system just does not create the same type of bubble as the small independent town systems that westchester has. If you want racial diversity and don't care about economic diversity Walter Johnson HS or Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS clusters would be a good area to target. If you want racial and economic diversity buy in-bounds for Blair HS (I'd look at houses zoned to Takoma Park MS.

Why are you moving and how old are your kids? My friends and family who live in westchester county seem to have almost private schools. If you are used to a town-based system, I doubt you will prefer our large county-based system. Schools are huge. Bureaucracy is huge. Most decision-making is made at the county level rather than school level so curriculum, etc. is very prescibed and one size fits all.

OP here. Economic diversity is important - that's a big reason we're moving. Kids are in elementary, and we really have not been impressed with the schools in Westchester, so I'm sure we'll be fine with the county-based system.

Prepare to be not impressed by MCPS. Our schools are huge and bureaucratic. How big is your kid’s current ES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No to North Arlington. (I live here).

I'm curious to hear more about Arlington. A friend is planning to move there because it's close to DC, more urban feel with things to do, and she says it's diverse and not snobby. But it hasn't been mentioned much on this thread one way or the other.

DP who also lives in north Arlington. Arlington has a very strong trend from more affluent to less affluent as you move from north to south. Given your budget and what you described, I would suggest looking in central to south Arlington rather than north Arlington (especially north of Rt. 29 Arlington). That part will be largely out of your budget and I don't think will give you the socioeconomic diversity you are looking for. But central Arlington (north and south of Rt. 50) and south Arlington have neighborhoods that fit your budget and what you're describing community/lifestyle-wise.

+1 The experience can be very different in different parts of Arlington. We live in central Arlington which IMO is a great location. Walkable to metro, zoned to good but also economically and racially diverse schools -- my kids have gone to Long Branch ES, Jefferson MS, Washington-Liberty HS. Generally, the neighborhoods that run along route 50 through Arlington.

another Arlington resident here--I agree with this and was thinking of exactly this school pyramid (or Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Wakefield or Washington-Liberty, assuming that is still a pyramid).

I think there is generally less Mom cliquishness in the DC suburbs than in areas with town-based schools--the schools are just too big.

The problem is that there are very few houses for sale in these neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Hi op. Lots of really good advice already. I can only speak to the MD/NW side as we bought in Chevy chase MD, but I did grow up in Westchester and know what you are describing.

Honestly, you are looking for a unicorn and you’ll have to decide what you can live with giving up. DC does have a different vibe than westchester but it is still very affluent, attending private school is a real thing, the county based schools can be very frustrating, and quite honestly, MD is really not convenient for day to day stuff: sports, grocery, stores, etc. Nothing is under a 20m drive and that gets tiring day in and day out.

You may not like the small town feel of Westchester, but there are some really sweet perks to having kids grow up there. I really think you’d be trading a lot for not much of a difference in mentality.

Definitely come visit and spend some time seeing if it’s the right place for you.

Best of luck!