Reply to Relocating to DC...what's life like?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I hope you haven't given up on this thread yet. I've been enjoying it (voyeurism is real, I'm afraid!) and have had some thoughts since I posted earlier about the uniquely high-density of educated professional-class strivers around DC....

It hits me from learning more about you that you and your family probably have above average coping skills and an above average interest in the rest of the world. You are probably a little different from the typical tribal DC person or, for that matter, typical tribal London person or tribal HK or NYC person. You might be better at doing things your way and of not being caught in the biggest traps.

That means, at least to me, that you might be better at not getting unnerved by the legions of petty women with big SUVs that can't stop playing stupid status games. It also means that maybe you don't want an obvious tribe of like-minded folks and that you can fashion your own life, one that cuts across the obvious bright lines others' respect too much.

One previous poster (they are in Dupont Circle) claimed that no one had even hinted at urban options, but I at least tangentially hinted at them by noting options along Connecticut Avenue or 16th Street. I went looking at them because there's an area I've long thought is undervalued for a certain kind of family.

Here's a large condo (3beds is hard to find in DC), a rarity in DC, but in a very nice older building:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2126-Connecticut-Ave-NW-34-Washington-DC-20008/460726_zpid/

You are very close to the thick of it here, but the immediate few blocks in most cardinal directions are either very-posh or diplomatic and that means fairly safe, as I can assure you the police are watching *you*.  Due north is Rock Creek Park, but also one of the main residential compounds for the Chinese Embassy, so maybe think of this place as something like Nathan Road?

But you are also not so far from commercial stuff or gritter urban areas or public transportation. The nearby neighborhoods have attracted some of DC's more famous Brits, one (still alive) who was a President of the Oxford Union and Harkness Fellow, another was Oxonian who mingled with WJC and was regarded as a contemporary echo of Lytton Strachey.

There would still be a lot of figuring things if you ended up in a unit like this or another in a similar building nearby, but I'd seriously consider an atypical life like this as being better than simply following the well-worn paths of striving professionals.

[/quote]

OP here - OK, I'll bite haha. I don't mind replying to useful posts like this. My family are definitely not "tribal-like". We try to be friendly neighbors, but rarely get too caught up in their business. We genuinely just enjoy being near the buzz of an urban environment and want our children to be exposed to it as well. I don't drive a SUV and am typically very uninterested in games/gossip (which usually means I can be out of the loop at times). I love your suggestions as we are always up for something new, but of course it now has to include parenting and having a dog. The Zillow link is a really nice place, just wish the dog didn't need to go outside, which means the kids would be on their own inside. For a while at least, I'll need a bit of attached fenced green space. But yes, in the thick of things would be great. Thank you for the info![/quote]

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