DC Chosen Best Place to Raise a Family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First off, why the assumption exurbanites all have 60-90 minute commutes? My wife and I combined don't have that commute and we're in Leesburg. (I won't go into how we can go -- and have gone -- to shopping, dining, etc., without driving, but that might confuse some of the DC snobs.)

There's several ES's in DCPS that are great. Problem is, a TH in those areas runs you what, $750k and up?

19:26, the only DCPS MS/HS combo I've ever seen any DCUMers even consider attending is Deal/Wilson.

When I've pointed this out in past threads, I'm just told, "Oh, we can shell out $30k a year for private school, so we don't care."

Of course there's the charter and OOB lottery but is that really and honestly guaranteed (and if you lose out, can you still get into an OK private school?)

Yes! Applebees! Fridays! Yum! I love Leesburg! Please tell us more about the wonderful chain resteraunts you visit.

Another articulate and well-reasoned response. I know you are, but what am I.

Suburban sprawl?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think a lot of folks don't quite understand the deep, deep distaste for suburban living that millennials have--as opposed to BabyBoomers/GenX. In my opinion, folks living in the suburbs are just as likely to be moving *into* the city in pursuit of good schools as city dwellers moving out. Especially if you live in Prince Georges or Montgomery County. Things are changing fast, and they're liable to change even faster over the next decade.

There are plenty of us Gen Xers, in the city, too. In my neighborhood, they call us aging hipsters (which is half right as applied to me).

GenXer too. I have always hated living in the burbs as have all my GenX friends. DH and I have always lived in walkable comunities. Not sure this is just a millennial thing.

Absolutely not, but you can actually see the tastes shift as a share of the demographic cohort. Gen Xers (like myself) were the leading edge of the trend moving back into the cities. But the overwhelming majority of my high school class settled in places like Gaithersburg to raise families. Since the Millennials are the "baby boom echo", their sheer numbers are going to dictate how the market proceeds in a way that's similar to the way the Baby Boomers distorted the market with their love of suburbia.

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2010/06/02/Gen-Y-Cars.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think a lot of folks don't quite understand the deep, deep distaste for suburban living that millennials have--as opposed to BabyBoomers/GenX. In my opinion, folks living in the suburbs are just as likely to be moving *into* the city in pursuit of good schools as city dwellers moving out. Especially if you live in Prince Georges or Montgomery County. Things are changing fast, and they're liable to change even faster over the next decade.

There are plenty of us Gen Xers, in the city, too. In my neighborhood, they call us aging hipsters (which is half right as applied to me).

GenXer too. I have always hated living in the burbs as have all my GenX friends. DH and I have always lived in walkable comunities. Not sure this is just a millennial thing.

GenXer, grew up in the city. Still live in the city. Hate the 'burbs. I don't understand why you would want to live there, drive a huge mini-van back and forth to work, back and forth to resteraunts, back and forth to school, back and forth to playdates, you get where I'm going....

Oh, and why do 'burbinites think they care about the enviroment. Try leaving your car for 10 minutes of the day and not be in a building.

[Anonymous]

One further point: GenX has laid the groundwork that makes it possible for the Millennials to remain in the city. It just wasn't an option for boomers to raise their kids in the city; and GenX hipsters were told the same. It's just that when the time came to have kids and pull up stakes for the cul-de-sac, we declined. That's going to make it much, much easier for the next generation to do the same in 5-10 years when they have their kids. And the trend won't be linear...

[Anonymous]

By the way this is what the decline of a middle-class suburb looks like:

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/10896/montgomery-struggles-to-compete-as-both-suburb-and-city/

There's a tension between the old interests who want to maintain the "suburban character", and the new interests who want to combat sprawl and gridlock that are threatening the underlying quality-of-life. And since the two are in equilibrium, gridlock ensues. No one can turn the ship around, and it just keeps going on a collision course with the iceberg.

Again, I'm predicting that in a decade there will be suburbanites moving out of certain areas of Montgomery County into the city (if they can afford if) for better educational opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Currently living in DC, get complete shut-out in all the lotteries and charters. Will move to closed-in NOVA in search for good schools and good quality of life. Wait-and-see will not work for us.

I completely agree with this. We got lucky with a charter, but will evaluate it constantly to see if it's meeting our daughter's needs. If it isn't, something will have to change - that will most likely be the 'burbs, not private school. I won't be happy about it, but I'll do it. I wish I could say we'd send het to our local schools, but none of them are at a point yet where that's an option. If that changes, I'll be thrilled, but I doubt it. I expect our charter will always surpass our local schools, and if we deem that to be insufficient, the local DCPS will be a non-starter.

[Anonymous]

who says all people not living in DC proper drive their cars everywhere? I know I don't. My husband bikes to work many days on the W&OD trail, and he is going west, not east. His work is not anywhere near the city, so in order to avoid a horrific commute, we live in the burbs. When I was working closer to the city, I took public transportation. We can walk to 3 grocery stores, our bank, several parks and playgrounds, several pools, our neighborhood elementary school - we are NOT completely car dependent. And I don't have any intention of ever owning a behemoth vehicle.

Honestly, even while househunting for a single family house in the burbs, we are looking for a fairly walkable area close to public transportation options.

We need to stop with the massive generalizations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:who says all people not living in DC proper drive their cars everywhere? I know I don't.

No one. Of course, there are outliers in every pool. I'm sure there are folks who live in the city who commute 3 hours a day.

[Anonymous]

We live in the city but reverse commute to the burbs. We have two toddlers and plan to raise them in the city. People think we are crazy. People who live in the suburbs are just as judgemental about their lifestyle choice as city people! I don't feel the need to have others validate my choice. Likewise, I understand my way isn't what others want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By the way this is what the decline of a middle-class suburb looks like:

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/10896/montgomery-struggles-to-compete-as-both-suburb-and-city/

There's a tension between the old interests who want to maintain the "suburban character", and the new interests who want to combat sprawl and gridlock that are threatening the underlying quality-of-life. And since the two are in equilibrium, gridlock ensues. No one can turn the ship around, and it just keeps going on a collision course with the iceberg.

Again, I'm predicting that in a decade there will be suburbanites moving out of certain areas of Montgomery County into the city (if they can afford if) for better educational opportunities.

But what's your solution? Raze the suburbs? Dump the millions of people who live outside DC limits into DC? Would that mean the entire city would be skyscrapers? Would you still want to live there? You should be happy there are people who want to live in the suburbs, frankly.

My other question is: If it's all about being in walkable communities and not driving to work, do you have a problem with suburbs where this is a possibility (Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church City, Alexandria City, Bethesda)? Or are these places okay in your book, and we just need to demolish the places outide the beltway? And then what do we do with those people?

Rather than extoll the virtues of city living and trashing the burbs, I'd like to know what YOU people want to see happen. Let's face it: DC isn't big enough for all of us. Or do you really not give a rip what happens, and you're all just hoping your DC property is worth $1 billion someday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in the city but reverse commute to the burbs. We have two toddlers and plan to raise them in the city. People think we are crazy. People who live in the suburbs are just as judgemental about their lifestyle choice as city people! I don't feel the need to have others validate my choice. Likewise, I understand my way isn't what others want.

I'd argue "more so". When urban dwellers talk about the suburbs, they say they can't imagine living out there. When suburbanites talk about urban dwellers, they wonder how we can do such a thing to our children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By the way this is what the decline of a middle-class suburb looks like:

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/10896/montgomery-struggles-to-compete-as-both-suburb-and-city/

There's a tension between the old interests who want to maintain the "suburban character", and the new interests who want to combat sprawl and gridlock that are threatening the underlying quality-of-life. And since the two are in equilibrium, gridlock ensues. No one can turn the ship around, and it just keeps going on a collision course with the iceberg.

Again, I'm predicting that in a decade there will be suburbanites moving out of certain areas of Montgomery County into the city (if they can afford if) for better educational opportunities.

But what's your solution? Raze the suburbs? Dump the millions of people who live outside DC limits into DC? Would that mean the entire city would be skyscrapers? Would you still want to live there? You should be happy there are people who want to live in the suburbs, frankly.

My other question is: If it's all about being in walkable communities and not driving to work, do you have a problem with suburbs where this is a possibility (Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church City, Alexandria City, Bethesda)? Or are these places okay in your book, and we just need to demolish the places outide the beltway? And then what do we do with those people?

Rather than extoll the virtues of city living and trashing the burbs, I'd like to know what YOU people want to see happen. Let's face it: DC isn't big enough for all of us. Or do you really not give a rip what happens, and you're all just hoping your DC property is worth $1 billion someday?

What makes you think I have a solution? My goal is to identify emerging trends and use them to my family's advantage. I do think the area is going to have to get a heck of a lot more dense, because population growth in the DC area is slated to be among the nation's highest over the next few decades. I think that in a decade or so DC is going to be almost uniformly upper middle-class, and that the suburbs will become more and more starkly demarcated into neighborhoods of haves and have-nots.

On the one hand, I wish folks in the suburbs good luck with the corner they've painted themselves into over the last fifty years--and I think that if they elect smart folks, and hold to a strategy of smart-growth and targeted density, they can probably pull off a successful transformation. On the other hand, I own a house in the city, so it's in my personal financial best interest that they not do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:who says all people not living in DC proper drive their cars everywhere? I know I don't. My husband bikes to work many days on the W&OD trail, and he is going west, not east. His work is not anywhere near the city, so in order to avoid a horrific commute, we live in the burbs. When I was working closer to the city, I took public transportation. We can walk to 3 grocery stores, our bank, several parks and playgrounds, several pools, our neighborhood elementary school - we are NOT completely car dependent. And I don't have any intention of ever owning a behemoth vehicle.

Honestly, even while househunting for a single family house in the burbs, we are looking for a fairly walkable area close to public transportation options.

We need to stop with the massive generalizations.

Agreed. We live in the suburbs and I use the train to commute to work, my husband works at home. We use MAYBE one tank of gas each month between the two of us. And that would be a lot for us.

[Anonymous]

I know people who live in parts of DC that only have single family homes, and every one drives everywhere, and most parents after sending their kid to JKLMM send them off to private. The life is no different from those of you in Bethesda or Chevy Chase but since they have a 202 area code or a Celebrate and Discover license plate they are such snobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First off, why the assumption exurbanites all have 60-90 minute commutes? My wife and I combined don't have that commute and we're in Leesburg. (I won't go into how we can go -- and have gone -- to shopping, dining, etc., without driving, but that might confuse some of the DC snobs.)

There's several ES's in DCPS that are great. Problem is, a TH in those areas runs you what, $750k and up?

19:26, the only DCPS MS/HS combo I've ever seen any DCUMers even consider attending is Deal/Wilson.

When I've pointed this out in past threads, I'm just told, "Oh, we can shell out $30k a year for private school, so we don't care."

Of course there's the charter and OOB lottery but is that really and honestly guaranteed (and if you lose out, can you still get into an OK private school?)

Yes! Applebees! Fridays! Yum! I love Leesburg! Please tell us more about the wonderful chain resteraunts you visit.

Keep telling yourself how the evil suburbanites are persecuting you and mocking you for your brave choices.