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Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
Rethinking Living in DC
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Anonymous
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I am so with you, OP. I have also been here for 10 years and never thought we'd even consider living elsewhere. Fast forward to having a toddler and fully realizing how much it costs here, not to mention the incessant pressure of private school and the like and some days I like to live anywhere but DC. Long story short, we are weighing job options and considering the Boston area and the Connecticut shore, near each of our parents.
I guess the fear is getting there and being miserable away from the city and what has been our "home" for so long. But I think at this point the joy of seeing our kids run in a backyard with a dog and go to great public schools with their friends would make up for it. Best of luck to you... |
Anonymous
| OP, I am definitely with you. Our house got broken into when DS was 2 weeks old, and we were there (his crying scared the burglar into running out the back door, so we lost less than we might have if he had had more time to look around). That, on top of the noise, traffic, etc. drove us out to the suburbs within a few months of his birth. I never lived in any of the neighborhoods mentioned by PPs -- far too expensive for us. Which is part of the reason I'm happy to be in a far suburb; it seems like everyone around us now is closer to our income level. My DH got a job in another far suburb, so he drives to work, and I commute into DC on the train (VRE, not Metro). It's a rather long commute for me (a little over an hour), but since most of that time is on the train, I can read or work, so I feel like it's not wasted time. Plus, when we lived in the city and took the bus to work it would often take us 45 minutes to go 20 blocks, so it's not like the time savings was tremendous there. We are so much happier in the new town, and although we eventually want to move to a smaller city for all the reasons you stated, this is a nice compromise for the time being. We have a larger place for less money (we rent, but this would still be true if you were buying). The pace is much slower even though many people who live out our way work in the city, most of them for the government it seems (I work for a non-profit). I used to think that I couldn't tolerate having a commute until I became so miserable with city living, and then it didn't seem so bad. The key for me was to not have a DRIVING commute, which is totally doable since there is VRE and MARC, in addition to Metro. |
TwinsinAdMorg
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Not feeling comfortable after many years in any location sounds like a very important reason to think of moving. In DC of course, if by culture you mean the political, professional, and intense social atmosphere, well - guess we all know that's not going to change much. But for our family, the ethnic/socio-economic/international cultural aspects of the District are much of what keeps us in the 202. We're not in politics or government, so we don't really deal with that part of DC's culture. 
Most importantly for us, we're fortunate that all of our local family and support network is in 202 (+2 aunts in Bethesda) and moving nearby has secured our twins spaces in our school of choice. Which just happens to be public. And now with the new Target in Columbia Heights just walking distance to our house, I'll NEVER leave! 
OP - hope you feel good about whatever decision you make. It's bound to be the right one for your family. |
Anonymous
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I flip-flop on city living vs. suburbs......I have lived in both and am currently back in the District. I s'pose if we could afford a spacious house with a driveway, garage AND yard and still be in the district - that would be the best of both worlds - but we also compare what we get for the money to the house we had in the burbs - and come up dissapointed. It's frustrating - sometimes I think the 'burbs are easier on a day to day basis for running errands, etc - SAHM stuff......other times I think the city is it - for being able to hit a great restaurant on a weeknight - or taking a walk to an event that other people have to trek in to the city and find parking for......I feel like in both scenarios (at least with kids in school ) we spend way to much time in cars! No matter here you live - you end up driving to activities and friends houses and I feel like people in the district are very frustrated drivers. Although I am glad I don;t have to drive on the beltway on a regular basis - I guess you weigh the options and decide - there really is no PERFECT place to live. You always have to give up something.
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Anonymous
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I love cities. But now that I have kids am considering the move out. I found lots of the posts on this thread very interesting. We came here after living in Manhattan and London and growing up in the Boston area. After all of this I have found DC a rather odd city. I can totally relate to the poster who mentioned she missed Beacon Hill - I miss my old neighborhoods as well. I agree with the poster who mentioned that Georgetown was the one area of the city with good public schools, lots of families, restaurants and shops. To me, areas like Glover and Cleveland Park just do not compare! Unfortunately not only are the houses in Georgetown terribly expensive but transportation is also a problem (parking or driving a car there is frustrating and no metro) so it's still not ideal. My issue is if we do move out the city is to where? I'm use to the New England/New York/Connecticut suburbs - most have nice "villages" at the center, easy metro access downtown and a great community feel. I just haven't found that same vibe in any of the surrounding suburbs here. Maybe I haven't been to the right places, but most seem to be built around highways and strip malls. Bethesda comes closest for me, but even that isn't quite the same (plus it too is very expensive).
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
| oops - sorry - above post is a little screwed up........didn't realize i was quoting the whole thing. |
Anonymous
I completely agree. We do consider moving to the burbs, but also yearn for a more New England feel. Bethesda and close-in Arlington aren't like the little towns in Boston (like Brookline) or the Main Line in Philly. Maybe I'll have to consider moving there. |
Anonymous
| I concur about the suburbs here (and I live in one). None of them are real towns - with a main street and railroad station like you get in the Phili, NYC and Boston suburbs. It's all sprawl and no soul. |
Anonymous
| As one PP said, it's not that DC isn't a beautiful city but it does lack the "charm" factor. I wonder why? |