Reply to Watching your friends relocate to the burbs for "schools"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]I'm AA and left for the burbs because I sought more diversity for my children. DC is pretty segregated along race and class. [/quote]

I am considering a move to the DC area from Brooklyn and am also concerned about the lack of diversity in many of the neighborhoods I have looked at in the District. Several people have told me I may find more diversity in certain suburbs - Silver Springs and Takoma Park? Are there others I should consider? I was very reluctant to consider suburban living because I love urban life. But the things I value about urban life - walkability to local businesses/parks/playgrounds, diversity (racial/religious/socio-economic/family makeup), and community activism/involvement - I am realizing are not a guarantee in the District. If these things are priorities for me - along with schools and, let's be honest, getting more house for the money - which suburbs should I consider?[/quote]

NP, NYC transplant here. We are from Manhattan so not exactly the same as Brooklyn but struggled at first with the move for the same reasons you've mentioned. I found everything west of the park to be painfully suburban. We ended up in what they're calling North Shaw now (I know, I know, but I'm lazy and it's an easy description) and it's not so bad. It's not NYC, but it's pretty lively, good restaurants, walkable (we don't own a car) and relatively diverse. Having just looked around, the cost per square foot is very high here relative to other neighborhoods but it probably won't phase you if you're coming from New York. Everything still feels like a deal here. Our DCPS schools, especially at the upper levels, are stiff iffy though.[/quote]

I wanted to weigh in specifically on this question, since we moved (not from NYC but from another major city) and ended up buying in Silver Spring.  For us, because we already had school-aged kids, we wanted someplace that was walkable to public transportation and amenities but where we could feel comfortable with the school situation even if we didn't get one of the handful of spots that came open at that grade.

Now, PP might have a different financial situation coming from NYC.  We had a budget of about $650K to spend on a house and that just wasn't getting us anything in the District.  I'm really happy with where we landed, though.  Our local public is extremely diverse and our kids are doing well, we are walkable to Metro and shops/schools/restaurants, and we have about 1400 square feet plus a small yard, which feels just right for our family.  For us, Silver Spring gave us the diversity that we wanted as a family with kids of different backgrounds, as well as letting us live with a minimal dependence on our car.  [/quote]

We bought within that budget, on Capitol Hill, 4 years ago. We have all the things you're talking about, are closer in and have 1.5x the number of square feet. Maybe you bought in the last year or two and were just barely priced-out? Otherwise, I'm confused by your post.[/quote]

I'm the PP and we did buy relatively recently.  I have to agree with another PP, though, that you have got to be using a very generous definition of "on Capitol Hill."  I just did a search of homes zoned for Maury and there was nothing other than condos under $750K, and nothing approaching 2000 square feet (which you claim to have) for under $1 million.  When I expand the search to the entire Hill, not just the part zoned for Maury, there's still nothing under $995,000 at that square footage.

If you have that kind of money, Capitol Hill is an amazing choice.  I didn't, and a lot of folks don't.  For those of use with a housing budget of under $1 million, who want walkability, diversity, and decent public schools without the charter lottery (or who have kids too old to get into the lottery), the close-in suburbs on the Metro line are the most logical choice.

This is not meant to slag off the Hill or any other part of DC.  I'm not one of the folks on this thread saying DC has nothing to offer.  DC has tons to offer if you can afford it.  I'm just saying that many of us ended up either leaving the district or moving to the suburbs out of economic necessity as housing prices have skyrocketed while the charter school system has sucked any momentum out of the neighborhood school option.  Since this thread started with someone upset at people leaving for the suburbs, it's relevant to talk about the challenges of staying in the city if you didn't buy five years ago but would like to own a home at some point. [/quote]

+1  We use to rent a house on the Hill, zoned for Maury, but sent our kid to one of the language immersion charters.  We used to live in Brooklyn and I found the Hill closest to my experience in NYC in comparison to other DC neighborhoods.  But like the previous poster, we were priced out of the neighborhood when we finally were in a position to buy.  We could have bought our rental, but it was too small for a growing family.  We ended up in Takoma Park MD for a few reasons.  Primarily because we could get more house compared to the Hill, TP feels closer to our lifestyle in Brooklyn, and frankly, we didn't see a path to MS and HS staying in DC.  [/quote]

Is it possible that you have made the same determination had you stayed in Brooklyn?  To move out to the suburbs for more space and a clearer path to decent middle and high school?  In other words, is this a problem for all urban neighborhoods, or is it something especially problematic about Capitol Hill?[/quote]

Not the pp, but I'll bite,as an ex-Brooklynite. Of course, there's an exodus of people from the city (THAT city, not the district) all the time for schools. But there are also a ton more school options. A lot larger population and functional transit does wonders, as does an application middle and high school policy with... as I've said, a lot of options. DC doesn't have that. It has a much healthier charter school thing going; but there's only so much you can do with luck of the draw. We did okay with it, we rented in a good neighborhood with a good middle and high school as well. But when it came time to buy, the in-city options were grim compared to the close in burbs. I'm not knocking Capitol Hill, if we could afford it, I'd move there, go with Stuart Hobson and try to get the kid into Ellington or SWW. Kid has a pretty good shot at both. We only have the one, so we're also fortunate, in terms of how much space we need. But there's nothing. Seriously nothing there we could afford.

And also, not for nothing, I've lived in gentrifying neighborhoods my entire life. There's a certain tolerance I have... and there's a certain tolerance I do not. I do not want to live in a place where everyone hates me and my kids. I feel a lot of tension when I walk around the Hill, and I don't get that vibe at all in silver spring.

[/quote]

I lived in Brooklyn and moved to the Hill and never have felt this tension at all.  I would put a gun to my head if I had to live in Silver Spring. No offense but it is just to dumpy for me. We did have great charter luck though and are planning on staying here long term.  And yes, we can afford a great rowhouse in the heart of the Hill because we saved when we were making lots of money in New York. So I guess it just depends on what you can afford and your luck in life. I would probably move VA over MD. The schools are just better and both are equally horrible in my opinion i guess. [/quote]

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