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[quote=Anonymous]I didn't see the entire thread about Lafayette vs. HRCs (can't remember which they were) but I see that it has been removed.  I just want to put out a plea to EOTP families, esp. as you consider schools.  I know you have a stereotype about those of us who live WOTP, but I promise you, 70-80% of people here don't fit that stereotype.  I'm sure that the same is true for the EOTP stereotype.  But honestly, I see reference to the "typical WOTP" family much more than I see derision of EOTP families, so I just really want to dispel the myths.

Many of us aren't rich.  Yes, there are expensive houses here, but there are also ones that are similar in price to what you'd pay in many EOTP neighborhoods.  We have a very average HHI but made a nice profit on a condo we bought early in our marriage, and that allowed us to buy our house.  Some parents stay home, but many are 2-working parent households.  We have pretty normal jobs-- feds, nonprofits, universities, etc.  School stability was a major reason we choose to live here, but for many of us it's about other practical issues, like where our jobs are.  In my case, I work downtown and my husband works in Bethesda, so it made infinitely more sense for us to live on the west side of the red line.  Others drive to jobs in VA, and not having to drive across the city cuts quite a lot of time off the commute.

We wish we had cooler bars and restaurants but we don't, but that doesn't mean we stay in and are boring.  We go to local places, hang in each other's backyards, etc.  It is nice to have lots of classmates nearby, but we (and our kids) also have friends in different parts of the city so are out and about a lot.

I can assure you I don't own a piece of Lululemon clothing (although I don't really get why that is worthy of mocking).  I don't drive a minivan or SUV, not because I loathe them but because I only have 2 kids and it doesn't seem necessary for us.  We have one very un-fancy car but we walk and metro a lot so we don't use it very much.  In thinking about it I can honestly say that the only people I know that fall into any of these categories (yoga pants, minivan, fancy cars) all live EOTP.  I have never heard more conversations about expensive cars as I have at a party in Petworth.

We don't have a nanny.  Our kids don't have really nice things.  They mostly wear hand-me-downs and get bikes, toys, etc. from people in our neighborhood giving things away.

In other words, most of us are like most of you.  We made different choices on where to live not because we are rich and only want to live near white people, but for very practical reasons like schools and commutes.  I grew up walking to school so that was a priority for my family, but I can totally understand why one would choose to live in a different type of neighborhood and to attend one of the many awesome charter schools.

Let's just agree that we all make decisions based on our individual priorities, and although stereotypes exist for a reason, most of us don't fall into them.  And even if we do, that doesn't automatically make us bad people.  I know very cool people who also happen to fall into the "typical WOTP" category.

Good luck to everyone searching for the right school or your kids![/quote]

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