Reply to What's better, fitting into your neighborhood socially, or loving the location?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, my DH and I were in your shoes until a few months ago.  we were renting a SFH in Cleveland Park and loved the location.  The smallest house on our block went up for sale, and we were really considering it.  Loved the location, could walk to the Zoo, right off the red line -- but felt we didn't "fit in" with our neighbors (and FWIW, our HHI is $250k).  
We ended up buying in Takoma Park, for a myriad of reasons, but mostly because it felt like "home" from the first  time we stepped foot in the neighborhood.  Our neighbors have been nothing but over-the-top in welcoming us to our new home.  We had an old couple across the street MAIL us a "congratulations on your new house" card, with recommendations to local community centers and churches of all types of denominations. We've met more families at the park than we did in 2 years of renting in our old house. And yes, it it no Cleveland Park or Dupont, but our house is in walking distance to a few restaurants and the farmers market.  Our commute isn't great - TP is tucked away! - but for our family, we made the right decision.  Good luck to you! 
[/quote]

Please elaborate. Why didn't you "fit in" in CP? It seems to be just as liberal as Takoma Park.[/quote]

We were the youngest people on our block (I'm 30, DH is 33).  We lived in our rental house for 2 years and only got to know one family well.  We lived on a quiet street and I would try to talk to our neighbors when people were out gardening, etc, and they could never remember my name.  There was a block party we went to over the summer, and again, we just felt like it was tough to talk to people.  Maybe it is because we were renting and we weren't considered a "permanent" part of the street, but it felt like we were outsiders. I know that might sound weird, but it was just really strange how little anyone engaged with us, and we really did try!  We also felt like we would constantly be 'keeping up with the Jones' if we stayed.  Most families were sending their kids to privates, which we didn't want to do. You are right, it was a very liberal neighborhood.

When we were house hunting, the first day we went to TP, it just seemed like everyone was much friendlier.  The family next to us at the pizza place where we went for lunch that day randomly started a conversation with us, which never happened at 2Amy's.  Again - just our experience, and maybe we rented on the wrong block in CP, but we felt more at "home" in TP from the first day.   And we have already met more people in our first 2 months  than we did in 2 years in CP.  [/quote]

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