Best neighborhood for community feeling for young families near dc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chevy Chase MD

+1

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Budget? Capitol Hill has all this in spades, but you need $$ to afford the space/non-postage stamp backyard you want.

Not as much anymore. Newer people don't seem to be into the old village feel of the Hill IME.

Really? I think it's still there. I have loved raising our kids on the Hill.

I agree with the PP. Are your kids older? We have toddler/preschool age and the parents of same age kids seem very standoffish. When I meet families with older kids who have been around the Hill for a while, they seem friendlier.

My DH has also commented on this, and he’s not usually one to notice a lot of social nuances. But when we take the kids to the playground or are out on walks, we often meet people with same age kids who do not give us the time of day even when our kids are interacting with each other. Like not even a nod of recognition. It is very weird.

Agree with this. I have a toddler on the hill and have been so disappointed that people don’t seem interested in my attempts to talk. It seems impossible to make friends here if people don’t even make small talk with you. I actually gave up for now. It’s tiring to be friendly and get rebuffed repeatedly.

Maybe it's a COVID/ pandemic thing?

Maybe - but I doubt it since we’re outside at the playground. I mean, how weird is it to try to chat with someone lightly while our kids play near each other and the other parents just smile and nod without engaging? It’s bizarre and hard to not feel like an outsider.

I agree, it's weird! I'm asking around (friends/ colleagues who know the area) and trying to get to the bottom of it. I may be on a dud block. My kid is too little to do much at the playground yet, so we've only done short visits.

Maybe we’ll run into each other some day! It was hard to not take it personally but it sounds like it is just how this area is. I even had a mom chat me up once and ask for my number - and she never even texted! I don’t have time to deal with being treated like I’m on a bad Tinder date. It’s too bad. I always wanted to live in the city so I wouldn’t feel as isolated like my mom was. Turns out, that can happen even there.

I find a lot of Nannies prefer to keep to themselves. You may just not be able to tell who is a parent and who is a hired caregiver. Try joining a class at The Little Gym maybe? It’s at least half Nannies but I think they feel more comfortable talking since it’s a controlled environment.

[Anonymous]

Del Ray, other parts of Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park, MD. Love it.

The thing about Takoma Park is that it's sort of all by itself. Whereas if you are in Alexandria for example, it borders Arlington, which is also nice, or DC, or Fairfax County. It's not just a cute blip on a map.

[Anonymous]

Glover Park

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park, MD. Love it.

The thing about Takoma Park is that it's sort of all by itself. Whereas if you are in Alexandria for example, it borders Arlington, which is also nice, or DC, or Fairfax County. It's not just a cute blip on a map.

Yeah this is why we scratched Takoma Park out early on in our search, and then later Shepard Park, too. It was going to take 30+ minutes by car to reach other friends/ restaurants/ things we like to do. And the commutes would have been difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Budget? Capitol Hill has all this in spades, but you need $$ to afford the space/non-postage stamp backyard you want.

Not as much anymore. Newer people don't seem to be into the old village feel of the Hill IME.

Really? I think it's still there. I have loved raising our kids on the Hill.

I agree with the PP. Are your kids older? We have toddler/preschool age and the parents of same age kids seem very standoffish. When I meet families with older kids who have been around the Hill for a while, they seem friendlier.

My DH has also commented on this, and he’s not usually one to notice a lot of social nuances. But when we take the kids to the playground or are out on walks, we often meet people with same age kids who do not give us the time of day even when our kids are interacting with each other. Like not even a nod of recognition. It is very weird.

Agree with this. I have a toddler on the hill and have been so disappointed that people don’t seem interested in my attempts to talk. It seems impossible to make friends here if people don’t even make small talk with you. I actually gave up for now. It’s tiring to be friendly and get rebuffed repeatedly.

Maybe it's a COVID/ pandemic thing?

Maybe - but I doubt it since we’re outside at the playground. I mean, how weird is it to try to chat with someone lightly while our kids play near each other and the other parents just smile and nod without engaging? It’s bizarre and hard to not feel like an outsider.

I agree, it's weird! I'm asking around (friends/ colleagues who know the area) and trying to get to the bottom of it. I may be on a dud block. My kid is too little to do much at the playground yet, so we've only done short visits.

Maybe we’ll run into each other some day! It was hard to not take it personally but it sounds like it is just how this area is. I even had a mom chat me up once and ask for my number - and she never even texted! I don’t have time to deal with being treated like I’m on a bad Tinder date. It’s too bad. I always wanted to live in the city so I wouldn’t feel as isolated like my mom was. Turns out, that can happen even there.

I find a lot of Nannies prefer to keep to themselves. You may just not be able to tell who is a parent and who is a hired caregiver. Try joining a class at The Little Gym maybe? It’s at least half Nannies but I think they feel more comfortable talking since it’s a controlled environment.

I know I’m not approaching nannies. These are parents on weekends. I find them rude and unfriendly. I’ve resigned myself to not having a social life. I also don’t want to be drowning in kids activities when my child is so young. I never imagined people on the Hill would be so unfriendly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Budget? Capitol Hill has all this in spades, but you need $$ to afford the space/non-postage stamp backyard you want.

Not as much anymore. Newer people don't seem to be into the old village feel of the Hill IME.

Really? I think it's still there. I have loved raising our kids on the Hill.

I agree with the PP. Are your kids older? We have toddler/preschool age and the parents of same age kids seem very standoffish. When I meet families with older kids who have been around the Hill for a while, they seem friendlier.

My DH has also commented on this, and he’s not usually one to notice a lot of social nuances. But when we take the kids to the playground or are out on walks, we often meet people with same age kids who do not give us the time of day even when our kids are interacting with each other. Like not even a nod of recognition. It is very weird.

Agree with this. I have a toddler on the hill and have been so disappointed that people don’t seem interested in my attempts to talk. It seems impossible to make friends here if people don’t even make small talk with you. I actually gave up for now. It’s tiring to be friendly and get rebuffed repeatedly.

Maybe it's a COVID/ pandemic thing?

Maybe - but I doubt it since we’re outside at the playground. I mean, how weird is it to try to chat with someone lightly while our kids play near each other and the other parents just smile and nod without engaging? It’s bizarre and hard to not feel like an outsider.

I agree, it's weird! I'm asking around (friends/ colleagues who know the area) and trying to get to the bottom of it. I may be on a dud block. My kid is too little to do much at the playground yet, so we've only done short visits.

Maybe we’ll run into each other some day! It was hard to not take it personally but it sounds like it is just how this area is. I even had a mom chat me up once and ask for my number - and she never even texted! I don’t have time to deal with being treated like I’m on a bad Tinder date. It’s too bad. I always wanted to live in the city so I wouldn’t feel as isolated like my mom was. Turns out, that can happen even there.

I find a lot of Nannies prefer to keep to themselves. You may just not be able to tell who is a parent and who is a hired caregiver. Try joining a class at The Little Gym maybe? It’s at least half Nannies but I think they feel more comfortable talking since it’s a controlled environment.

I know I’m not approaching nannies. These are parents on weekends. I find them rude and unfriendly. I’ve resigned myself to not having a social life. I also don’t want to be drowning in kids activities when my child is so young. I never imagined people on the Hill would be so unfriendly.

Are you on the MoTH listserv? They do some mom meetups

[Anonymous]

OP, realize that every little cute strip mall is a target for redevelopment. There is a lot of it happening in close in Maryland. Since these strip malls are already zoned as commercial real estate they are prime targets for extracting more value. E.g. Westbard - giant and strip mall of small local businesses. Now it will be townhouses, condos, more businesses and higher end retail. More traffic, more crowding in local public schools, mom and pop businesses are priced out on commercial rent, no additional public transit added.

As you narrow down your options, be aware of these areas, and don't buy right next to them, in MoCo, there is a county development master plan.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for Kensington, MD (town)

[Anonymous]

Silver Spring, Wheaton, Takoma

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For down to earth families
Brookland DC
Takoma
Mt. Rainier
Hyattsville
Parts of Silver Spring

Maybe it's me, but as a renter who has moved a bunch I've felt people are friendlier in these areas than in the fancier neighborhoods where things feel... More competitive, perhaps.

I agree with this list and add University Park to the list. There’s tons of development in the Route 1 corridor (Mt Rainier through to College Park) that make all those towns very walkable too. I think the hardest thing with all of these communities is schools.

[Anonymous]

Takoma Park/silver Spring and it’s not even close.

[Anonymous]

We also love DC and found a great affordable SFH with a yard, birds chirping, and views of trees in Brightwood, DC. We are walking distance to playgrounds, dog parks, and Rock Creek Park. It's quiet and safe. Easy street parking. Nice families and kids around, plus other lovely childfree neighbors. We lotteried into a good elementary school with a good feeder pattern and the commute is not bad at all. We feel very lucky to have landed in our sweet spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We also love DC and found a great affordable SFH with a yard, birds chirping, and views of trees in Brightwood, DC. We are walking distance to playgrounds, dog parks, and Rock Creek Park. It's quiet and safe. Easy street parking. Nice families and kids around, plus other lovely childfree neighbors. We lotteried into a good elementary school with a good feeder pattern and the commute is not bad at all. We feel very lucky to have landed in our sweet spot.

Where are you in Brightwood? We visit friends frequently near the cider place and it does not feel safe. We've even had weird incidents while we're walking to our car. Seems like there's spillover from the Petworth issues.