I moved from DC to Arlington when my oldest was in 3rd grade because their charter school was not great for upper grades and DH and I could have shorter commutes from Arlington.

I think that if you move by 5th or 6th grade your kid will be fine. In Arlington at least most of the middle schools do not feed into just one high school so that means everyone is looking to make some new friends in high school.

But if you wait until 5th or 6th grade to move it will be harder for you to connect with other parents. It may be hard for you to imagine now, but in a few more years the birthday parties will be drop off (and then there won't be big parties at all) and the kids will start arranging to hang out on their own, without you involved. If you move after that point it will be hard for you to get to know parents at your kids new school. That is not the end of the world but it is nice to have some parents to ask questions to or compare notes with. I loved living in DC with younger kids and have kept up with my mom friends there but part of me does wish we moved earlier because I think that then I would have a bigger group of mom friends with kids the same age as my oldest kid. So I would consider how much that matters to you (and if you are super outgoing or have a lot of time to volunteer in the schools you will likely have an easier time meeting people than I did).

Also, I feel like people in DC think the suburbs are some kind of hellscape where no one walks anywhere. But actually we drive less now that we live in Arlington because there are school buses (and late buses for kids who stay after school for activities). And our kids constantly walk places or metro. In fact, tonight our kids took the metro home from DC. Also, because I am less worried about safety I let my kids do things like go see a move and walk home at 11pm, which I would not have done in DC.

Good luck with your decision - Eaton and Horace Mann are great schools so I can see why this would be a tricky decision!

bump

Anonymous wrote:You are posting on a DC public and charter board.

You should try this on the suburban boards, I can't imagine people who moved would frequent this board unless they are slightly deranged.

True although there are people like us who realize we can’t afford to move and dcps middle and high schools are terrible.

You are posting on a DC public and charter board.

You should try this on the suburban boards, I can't imagine people who moved would frequent this board unless they are slightly deranged.

You should move by 4th grade, at the latest 5th grade so your children has a connection to her cohort before middle school. Lots of kids are busy during the summer so moving the summer before middle school might be a no go. People travel, have summer camp activities and in general family time.

Consider moving to a cluster in the suburbs where the middle school is smaller.

But really this is where you need to speak to a realtor and start visiting places of interest where you might want to live.

OP: thanks for the comments thus far. Sorry for the incomplete post title.

We were in DCPS for early ES and have been in MCPS since then. U would stick with DCPS for ES and then evaluate your MS options. If needed, move for 6th. Especially at a school like Mann, which is able to provide an extra teacher in each class — you will not get an experience like that out here. PTAs are not able to fundraise for positions.

I do think MS and HS are stronger out here, but woth your kid in K, that could change.

Anonymous wrote:Families whose kids did public ES in DC and then moved to the burbs for public MS and HS, please help my husband and me make a decision!

Our DC is 5 and matched into Eaton and has a very low WL number (3) at Mann. We liked both schools a LOT, and I struggle to think any suburban elementary will offer the same bells & whistles.

What we’re trying to evaluate now is:
- Do we stay in our home and send our kids to Eaton or Mann, knowing we’ll likely move to the burbs after elementary OR
- Do we move now, and have our kids start in public elementary in the same line-up, from day one?

Our top considerations:
- Strong public ES
- Lots of young families in neighborhood
- Building lifelong family friendships (and we know proximity and consistency are critical for this)

I guess the core question is: If you moved after your child graduated from ES, how hard was it for your kids to transition to middle school knowing no one in the class? And, how easy is it to hold onto neighborhood friends once we move?

Which schools in the burbs are you considering?

Anonymous wrote:It will be fine either way. Friend groups change and people come and go from all schools. I do not think lifelong is a good goal to have. It sets the pressure way too high. People in small towns have that because they're stuck with each other and it's not necessarily a good thing.

+1

This corner of DC is like suburbs. Never wanted to separate DC from his friends. Lots of his friends went to inbound middle school. I also didn't want him having to take that yellow bus or start school 7:30 am. He can walk to school and back.
Our other DCPS kid moved to burbs alone after graduation to attend college. He bought a car, has a job, and added a new group of friends. He comes to DC to visit his prk4-12 friends and family.
Lots of kids moved to private after elementary school. All are doing well I believe.They do try to get together at the elementary school playground.
Friendships are very important as I see it.

Anonymous wrote:Families whose kids did public ES in DC and then moved to the burbs for public MS and HS, please help my husband and me make a decision!

Our DC is 5 and matched into Eaton and has a very low WL number (3) at Mann. We liked both schools a LOT, and I struggle to think any suburban elementary will offer the same bells & whistles.

What we’re trying to evaluate now is:
- Do we stay in our home and send our kids to Eaton or Mann, knowing we’ll likely move to the burbs after elementary OR
- Do we move now, and have our kids start in public elementary in the same line-up, from day one?

Our top considerations:
- Strong public ES
- Lots of young families in neighborhood
- Building lifelong family friendships (and we know proximity and consistency are critical for this)

I guess the core question is: If you moved after your child graduated from ES, how hard was it for your kids to transition to middle school knowing no one in the class? And, how easy is it to hold onto neighborhood friends once we move?

It’s really hard to break into friend groups in MS. And in most suburbs, the kids mostly stay together from K-12. There is some movement but the majority move together so the kid is breaking into groups which is harder.

We moved to DC the year before our daughter started high school here. To be fair, the transition was rough - though her participation in sports and joining various teams/clubs definitely helped. The thing I notice about kids of friends living in the suburbs is how independent our daughter is compared to them. She can get practically anywhere via Metro and we rarely, if ever, have to pick her up. While she has her license, she has no interest in getting a car.

It will be fine either way. Friend groups change and people come and go from all schools. I do not think lifelong is a good goal to have. It sets the pressure way too high. People in small towns have that because they're stuck with each other and it's not necessarily a good thing.

I know you didn't ask this question, but we are in a similar boat and another big item for discussion that i would consider is what kind of freedom do you want for your child. A lot of kids in DC start walking to and from school in 4th grade. By middle half are taking public transit. I know the suburbs are different, but please do think of your child as a teenager that will need a way to get themselves places and be able to hang with friends in person.

Families whose kids did public ES in DC and then moved to the burbs for public MS and HS, please help my husband and me make a decision!

Our DC is 5 and matched into Eaton and has a very low WL number (3) at Mann. We liked both schools a LOT, and I struggle to think any suburban elementary will offer the same bells & whistles.

What we’re trying to evaluate now is:
- Do we stay in our home and send our kids to Eaton or Mann, knowing we’ll likely move to the burbs after elementary OR
- Do we move now, and have our kids start in public elementary in the same line-up, from day one?

Our top considerations:
- Strong public ES
- Lots of young families in neighborhood
- Building lifelong family friendships (and we know proximity and consistency are critical for this)

I guess the core question is: If you moved after your child graduated from ES, how hard was it for your kids to transition to middle school knowing no one in the class? And, how easy is it to hold onto neighborhood friends once we move?