Moving from NYC Burbs to MD/DC/NOVA - Biracial Family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would walk/drive around U St/Logan Circle and Shaw, as well as Capitol Hill and Georgetown. All are centrally located enough that your commute will be okay to both jobs and you won't feel confined to your neighborhood. 4k will get you a great rental, as long as your list isn't insane (you won't get an amazing kitchen AND outdoor space AND parking, for example).

Actually, you might get all three on the Hill for $4,000.

[Anonymous]

Check out the upper nw dc areas that feed to stoddert, eaton and hearst elementaries.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone mentioned Alexandria yet? It think it may fit your criteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silver Spring and Bethesda/Chevy Chase are good for upper/middle class mixed race families.

Silver Spring, yes, but not Bethesda or Chevy Chase. Get real.

Current mixed race family living in Bethesda near Walt Whitman HS. The above post is correct, many biracial families here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, you absolutely do not want to live in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and commute to Arlington. No....

Your best bet is Arlington proper. You'll find more diversity in South Arlington (although there aren't a lot of Asians in Arlington, if that's important to you -- most non-whites are black and Hispanic).

Your budget won't really work for a "walkable downtown" although maybe you could try Alexandria near Old Town. You could probably find something to rent near Clarendon for $4,000 a month or so.

May Asians in Arlington within the bounds of Science Focus and Discovery ES, both of which are close to Courthouse. Lots of biracial couples in Arlington in that area as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would consider Del Ray or Rosemont in the City of Alexandria.

Don't listen to those who would suggest Arlington. North Arlington is the whitest part of NoVa and very segregated; South Arlington is seriously unattractive. Coming from a cute town like Maplewood, you would wake up every morning and think you'd moved to a bad neighborhood in Union or Rahway.

Except they want good schools.
Please don't listen to the above poster.

I used to live near Maplewood and agree with the suggestion to avoid Arlington. It is NOT what you're looking for, not even close.

yea, live in Maryland and DC and just be another commuter to Virginia who needs a job that isnt available in Maryland or DC. Thank you for contributing to our tax base.

[Anonymous]

OP here - start date pushed to 3/15 so now we're really in crunch time. What's the deal with Silver Spring? And would areas like Mt Pleasant or U street be safe if we rented a stand alone townhouse? Thx!

[Anonymous]

Of all the areas I've visited around metro DC I think Silver Spring is one of the most diverse. There seems to be every possible race there and tons of interracial couples.

[Anonymous]

Silver Spring offers a nice mix of socioeconomic and racial diversity, and downtown SS offers walkability and proximity to Metro. But commuting from Silver Spring to Arlington would not be ideal--you'd have a pretty lengthy Metro ride or a horrendous driving commute. Mt. Pleasant is a lovely neighborhood, but I would say it's not the most walkable (depends on where you are living, but I find the main drag in Mt. P to be depressing and not very useful, and Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights are both a bit of a hike). U St. is very walkable and urban; probably a bit more crime than Mt. P but I would say it's plenty safe. Again both of those options might make for a challenging commute for you, although probably better than SS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - start date pushed to 3/15 so now we're really in crunch time. What's the deal with Silver Spring? And would areas like Mt Pleasant or U street be safe if we rented a stand alone townhouse? Thx!

Silver Spring is HUGE, which is the first thing you should know. It has a ton of neighborhoods, some of which are quite wealthy and some of which are quite poor. However, even the wealthier parts of Silver Spring tend to be far better integrated than places like Bethesda or Potomac. Part of that is, unsurprisingly, historical. Silver Spring abuts Shepherd Park, which is the historical home of upper class Black families inside the District. It is also where many middle class families moved when they didn't want to go to Prince George's county for whatever reason.

Because it has poor neighborhoods and affordable housing complexes mixed in with single family homes, Silver Spring is often looked down upon by folks on the other side of the county. Twenty years ago the area was in deep decline.

But, as DC and Bethesda costs have spiraled out of control, more young people want to live close-in, and as the county has invested in revitalizing downtown Silver Spring, things have turned around. Many of our schools rival those in wealthier parts of the county in terms of test scores, and there are more amenities in downtown than there were even 5 years ago. I can walk to a brand new library, many nice children's parks, a Whole Foods, Giant, or Safeway, and lots of small family-owned restaurants and shops. In an effort to bring more middle class families in, many of the county's best magnet programs are also located over here, so there are 3 language immersion programs and 2 middle school magnet programs within 5 miles of my house. My kids still need to test into the magnet program, but there are spots reserved at one of them for kids who live in-bounds and it's just easier to navigate the magnet process when the schools are nearby.

We have lots of Black/Latinxs and biracial families or families created by transracial adoption who want to make sure that their kids are not the "lonely onlies" in their classes.

Basically, it's a cool place to live and you should check it out.

[Anonymous]

PP here - I forgot this is the OP who is working in Arlington. I will amend that to "It's a cool place to live and someone who doesn't have to work in Virginia should check it out. For you, the commute doesn't make sense."

[Anonymous]

Some good options with decent commutes for both of you:
Northbound Arlington
NAvy Yard
CApitol Hill

Start researching the preschools and familiarize yourself with the lottery now.

If you rent in DC you will have free full time preschool for your child. This makes a HUGE difference in your budget.

You would love ve Silver Spring, but the commute to Arlington would not work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some good options with decent commutes for both of you:
Northbound Arlington
NAvy Yard
CApitol Hill

Start researching the preschools and familiarize yourself with the lottery now.

If you rent in DC you will have free full time preschool for your child. This makes a HUGE difference in your budget.

You would love ve Silver Spring, but the commute to Arlington would not work.

Ok thank you for this - i google mapped the metro commute and it only said 39 mins on the red line to the silver/orange so I thought it could be possible. (My current nj transit commute is 55 mins door to door and brooklyn to work was 50.) we''ll look in DC proper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some good options with decent commutes for both of you:
Northbound Arlington
NAvy Yard
CApitol Hill

Start researching the preschools and familiarize yourself with the lottery now.

If you rent in DC you will have free full time preschool for your child. This makes a HUGE difference in your budget.

You would love ve Silver Spring, but the commute to Arlington would not work.

Ok thank you for this - i google mapped the metro commute and it only said 39 mins on the red line to the silver/orange so I thought it could be possible. (My current nj transit commute is 55 mins door to door and brooklyn to work was 50.) we''ll look in DC proper

Isn't your husband working near Union Station? I don't know why you are fixating on Silver Spring or even Mt. Pleasant, northern parts of the District (please don't say "DC proper."). The Hill, Navy Yard or North Arlington are your best bets. All of them have a good level of diversity including interracial families. They may not have the most in terms of families just like yours but you wouldn't be a unicorn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some good options with decent commutes for both of you:
Northbound Arlington
NAvy Yard
CApitol Hill

Start researching the preschools and familiarize yourself with the lottery now.

If you rent in DC you will have free full time preschool for your child. This makes a HUGE difference in your budget.

You would love ve Silver Spring, but the commute to Arlington would not work.

Ok thank you for this - i google mapped the metro commute and it only said 39 mins on the red line to the silver/orange so I thought it could be possible. (My current nj transit commute is 55 mins door to door and brooklyn to work was 50.) we''ll look in DC proper

Isn't your husband working near Union Station? I don't know why you are fixating on Silver Spring or even Mt. Pleasant, northern parts of the District (please don't say "DC proper."). The Hill, Navy Yard or North Arlington are your best bets. All of them have a good level of diversity including interracial families. They may not have the most in terms of families just like yours but you wouldn't be a unicorn.

Apologies! I'm learning.