Single Mom considering job offer in DC - would I be miserable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Yes! kids would go to school and some type of aftercare every day, as is needed for anyone working FT! Right now I freelance from home and the kids go to preschool 9-5. I understand you don't have kids at home while you are trying to work from home.

Just as if I live in the city near work, they'll be in school/daycare/aftercare. I simply like the idea that I am the one dropping them and picking them up, and I don't have to add 2 hours to the day for commuting, and I don't have the stress of being located an hour away from them each day in case someone gets sick/etc.

You don't need a nanny at those ages. There's before and aftercare. With a Fed job, I'm sure you could take the kids to school on your way to work. There are excellent services here for people hard of hearing.

I'm a single mom myself and I'm looking forward to moving back home to DC next year. I love it, but it's also home. There are plenty of quiet, friendly neighborhoods (Takoma, Brookland, Cap Hill, NoMa) that are quite family friendly and inclusive. I made under 70k with 1 child in daycare and made it work. As a PP mentioned, there are a lot of free activities for kids in the city.

I agree with your idea to try it out for a year.

You might be surprised about what rents have become in NE the past few years.

I left less than a year ago, fyi. Doubt the changes are drastic since I left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP:
Job is located just east of Union Station, on I St NE. So I've been focusing on Capitol Hill since it would be walkable and I've heard I'd like it. I really appreciate the kind of specific info given in the past few posts. But good elementary school is a very important consideration. Thanks!

Murch is one of the top elementary schools with a strong parent association.

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Learn+About+Schools

[Anonymous]

I would urge you to contact Gallaudet and see if your younger kid could go to Kendall Demonstration school--it's a free program (with afterschool care!) for deaf and HOH kids. That way, even if your younger one didn't get a preK slot, you wouldn't have to pay for childcare. Gallaudet is quite close to Union Station and runs free shuttles (geared towards students but you could check if Kendall families can ride) to the NoMa and Union Station metro stops, so that would make your school/work commute free and easy.

I also would consider the value of having a really great Deaf/hard of hearing community so close by. I don't know how much that matters to you or your daughter, but having Deaf professionals, families, history, culture, etc. at Gallaudet is pretty awesome and might be something you'd like to take advantage of if you're here. There would be plenty of babysitters for your kids if you live near Gallaudet and some might even be special ed/ASL/audiology professionals or studying to enter those fields.

The neighborhoods north of H Street are going to feel like a big change from Boise. The vast majority of crime in DC happens late at night (when you won't be out anyway) or among people who know each other (drug deals, domestic violence). You will probably see more graffiti and litter and hear more cursing. There might be be car breakins.

But there is also public transit, free PreK, and lots of great museums and restaurants and things to do. I don't know what you'll end up preferring, but it seems like a good time to try DC and it sounds like you'll do it with a spirit of adventure!

[Anonymous]

OP here. 13:35 yes! I will call the Gaulladet preschool. I read a bit on it the other day and got the feeling it is more ASL oriented than oral. My daughter knows some signs but we are focused on auditory-oral and having her 100% (hoping for 150%!) comfortable with spoken english. She's thriving with language intensive preschool. But if they emphasize both spoken English and ASL, it could be a great fit and I sure wouldn't argue if she becomes bilingual! I read that they bus the preschool kids free-- One case where hearing loss could be a blessing FERC has a daycare in the building so I guess that could be a (non-free) fallback, but I've read some not-so-great reviews. We are coming from STELLAR preschool so I really hope to find something good.

Are the DCPS Pre-K programs pretty good? Free is certainly attractive, but I recognize my kiddo is at a really important time with learning language. Her speech therapist here thinks my daughter will do well in DC. I'm fortunate she's doing as well as she is. And yes, it would be fantastic to be so close to Gaulladet and other resources for Deaf/HOH people!

Super appreciate any info you all are willing to keep giving. I've gotten some worrisome reviews about I St NE (where that ADU apt is) and so am continuing to look in other close neighborhoods that may be safer and with great elementary options. Murch, Peabody, Maury, and Ludlow Taylor all sound great. I know there's a bunch in NW DC too, but haven't looked into it too much.


Thx!

[Anonymous]

OP - You CAN NOT afford to live on Capitol HIll on your income with 2 little kids on $80k. Quite frankly your lifestyle will suck. You will have no money or time to find friends or grow a support system. Capitol Hill is very fun and very cute and very hip if you have lots of money or even some money. There are lots of young families who will thinking nothing of dropping hundreds to outfit little Finn and Harper at the local clothing store because you know they are all about supporting local businesses and not big chains. Do not ever think of going to walmart to shop. Is there a supermarket on Capitol Hill that one can go to? Can't recall but you know of course you would want to shop over at eastern market.

Did you find the apartment listing on craigslist? Tons of scams there. If it's sounds to good to be true it is. Also, read the ads very carefully to ensure the rent is for the entire apartment and not a roommate situation.

I am single mom one kid making @$115k, paying 1700 rent in a small place in arlington. Add in car payment, utilities, parking at my downtown office, after care, one activity for my kid, no sitter, etc and I am barely getting a few bucks into savings each month before the money runs out.

[Anonymous]

^^^That's untrue. Capitol Hill is not the neighborhood of fashionistas. There will be kids wearing Walmart clothing and designer brands. There is a Safeway and Harris Teeter in the neighborhood and the new Walmart isn't far. There are plenty of frumpy (and stylish) moms around who will have more important things to think about than where your family shops. Halloween is amazing in the area. Your kids would love it. If OP lived in the zoned area for JO Wilson, Galludet would be within walking distance.

[Anonymous]

PP here. FYI, JO Wilson is not Cap Hill, but not far.

[Anonymous]

OP here:

Is JO Wilson neighborhood safe and reasonably nice? We aren't going to be walking around at 10 pm but need to feel safe at 6:30 or 7.

[Anonymous]

OP. DCPS is notorious for having terrible special education. If your chid is hard of hearing and will need assistance with hearing aids, speech/language therapy and maybe specialized language instruction, I would really advise you to thoroughly checkout the DCPS options for the HoH. It used to be that DCPS special education was so bad that parents regularly got private placement paid for by DC because it couldn't meet its FAPE obligation under IDEA. But, that is increasingly less and less the case. I'm not sure if DCPS has increased its own capacity to educate HoH kids. Ask about it on the DCUM Special Needs thread.

I have a child with a mixed expressive receptive language disorder and auditory processing issues, but not HoH, and I moved out of DC when he was very young because it was clear that DC special ed couldn't handle even his mild needs.

I now live in MoCo, MD, and the HoH families seem to be happy with MCPS HoH services, but I am not close enough to know the details. The woman who runs the services, Louise Colodzin, has been around for a very long time. Obviously, living in MoCo would create a commute, although from Silver Spring to Union Station is about 1/2 hour by metro (not including house to station and it's not cheap, although you would probably have a fed transportation benefit).

It's a different thing if you can get access to a special program at Galludet as a previous PP suggested. You might also contact the River School, which is a K-3 private in DC. It has a model that places a few HoH kids in a mainstream class with in class support from speech/language pathologists alongside the teacher and a very language intensive program. My understanding is that some public school systems will place kids under FAPE/IDEA at River School, but do your own research on this.

Again, strongly encourage you to ask HoH questions on the DCUM special needs thread.

[Anonymous]

You might take your question about jo wilson's neighborhood to the education forum or main forum.

[Anonymous]

op, I fear you are really headed for a trainwreck if you move. You understand you will be moving to a rough neighborhood, right? And that DC preschools are by lottery for the most part, so you might not get in? And that even though people like JO Wilson it is going to be lightyears different from your "great" preschool?

At a minimum, you need to come here in person to scope out schools and neighborhoods before you accept.

[Anonymous]

OP here.
I haven't committed to living anywhere yet. So are you saying that DC public preschools aren't good? I'm looking into the Gaulladet option-- that could be a huge blessing. Seems there are several excellent elementary school choices on the Hill. Am I wrong?

Thanks for suggesting using other forums for specific questions about schools and apt locations, will do!

[Anonymous]

Does the job offer telework? If not I would search the contracting companies Booz etc... For the same job but telework and stay where you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I haven't committed to living anywhere yet. So are you saying that DC public preschools aren't good? I'm looking into the Gaulladet option-- that could be a huge blessing. Seems there are several excellent elementary school choices on the Hill. Am I wrong?

Thanks for suggesting using other forums for specific questions about schools and apt locations, will do!

OP I'm a newish PP. I'm not familiar with Gallaudet option but Gallaudet the University is federally funded so you'd be ok. The other schools to me are still a crap shot and my plan is to leave the district for public kindergarten in Arlington or Mclean. No way would I as a single mom be in DC alone with my kid.
But I'm risk adverse.

[Anonymous]

The problem with DCPS preschool and PK that no one has addressed is that the spots are given by lottery and that lottery for fall 2014 happened in March and the second round ended in May. Getting a spot for fall 2014, especially for preschool 3 is not going to happen.