I am a New England transplant as well. While my adopted home does lack some of the initimacy..I really like it here. My neighborhood has a pool, a mom's group, a garden club, a Halloween Parade and picnics. My kid's bus stop is like an extended family. It is an older neighborhood with big trees. We walk to pizza and ice cream. We are near the metro so you don't have to drive down town (though a down town commute is not quick). Good luck!

Vienna sounds like it would meet many of your criteria if you can handle the prices and commute. There is a farmers market, walkable downtown, good schools, local government, library, Halloween parade, Memorial Day weekend festival, July 4th festival and fireworks, sports teams, concerts at the town park, etc. Not sure exactly where the firemen live though.

Anonymous wrote:Really doesn't exist here. One of the big differences is that everything is done at the county rather than town level so you don't get quite the same feel as you do in Mass.

There are plenty of nice neigborhoods with community events and a community feel though. Which ones make sense will depend a lot on your price range. Parts of Arlington may make sense, Capitol Hill would make a ton of sense, Somerset or Wood Acres in Bethesda could work.

+1, although other areas also have something of a community feel -- it might be organized around a park, or a community pool, or a neighborhood association. Other places in MoCo like Garrett Park, East Bethesda, Town of Chevy Chase all have some of this community. But not really anything to the degree you describe.

If you are commuting to Navy Yard then Va or Cap. Hill might make more sense.

I wouldn't make the move if I were you. I know the Boston area as well as the DC area. Agree that if you must do it, Capitol Hill is the best you can do, or perhaps Takoma Park or Silver Spring.

If you do make the move, reserve judgement for at least a year, 2 years would be better. It really takes that long to build your community and gain the trust of others through your actions and integrity.

Other neighborhoods you may want to take a look at: Del Ray in Alexandria and Takoma Park (which has parts in DC and parts in MD).

Anonymous wrote:Also note that traffic in the area is awful, and real estate is pricy. Arlington and Bethesda houses start in the $600-$800k range. If you have a large housing budget, you'll obviously have a lot more options.

Both of those are true in Boston too though. Expensive houses and terrible traffic.

Also note that traffic in the area is awful, and real estate is pricy. Arlington and Bethesda houses start in the $600-$800k range. If you have a large housing budget, you'll obviously have a lot more options.

We made a similar move from Boston last year and, to be honest, I with we'd stayed up there. Not that dc doesn't have great things to offer, but it lacks the charm and pace that I grew to love in Boston.

Anonymous wrote:Really doesn't exist here. One of the big differences is that everything is done at the county rather than town level so you don't get quite the same feel as you do in Mass.

There are plenty of nice neigborhoods with community events and a community feel though. Which ones make sense will depend a lot on your price range. Parts of Arlington may make sense, Capitol Hill would make a ton of sense, Somerset or Wood Acres in Bethesda could work.

New England transplant and I would agree with this. We live in Arlington and our neighborhood does have Easter Egg Hunts, Halloween Parades, etc., but it is not the same small town feel as New England towns.

Not exactly what you describe (which I don't think you'll find here) - but Capitol Hill does have a certain small-town feel to it.

Anonymous wrote:Really doesn't exist here. One of the big differences is that everything is done at the county rather than town level so you don't get quite the same feel as you do in Mass.

There are plenty of nice neigborhoods with community events and a community feel though. Which ones make sense will depend a lot on your price range. Parts of Arlington may make sense, Capitol Hill would make a ton of sense, Somerset or Wood Acres in Bethesda could work.

+1

Really doesn't exist here. One of the big differences is that everything is done at the county rather than town level so you don't get quite the same feel as you do in Mass.

There are plenty of nice neigborhoods with community events and a community feel though. Which ones make sense will depend a lot on your price range. Parts of Arlington may make sense, Capitol Hill would make a ton of sense, Somerset or Wood Acres in Bethesda could work.

I think that you just need to come down and see for yourself. There are strong and sometimes nutty opinions on this board. It's so personal and subjective. You may not find something that is exactly like your home in Boston, but you'll find something that makes your family happy. Spend a long weekend in DC, rent a car to visit MD/VA, and explore.

Sorry to tell you, but as a fellow NE transplant, you wont find that type of town around here. The suburbs are all sprawl, not cute little villages like in NE. Sad but true.

Hi everyone, I am a new user to this website (which is a great tool from what I have read so far!) and wanted to get some opinions for a potential move. My husband and 9 month old currently live in the Boston area and I am hoping to get a position in DC (Navy Yard area). If it works out, we are really looking forward to our new adventure but are confused and concerned about where we would live. The town we live in now is a picture perfect New England town that has community parks, fairs, barbeques, parades, etc. The town thinks nothing of closing the downtown street for a celebration for Flag Day or the baseball team that won the state championship. The schools are wonderful, the town sponsors all sorts of programs and sports teams for kids and we have next door neighbors that are police officers and fire men. The downtown businesses have bedtime stories for the kids on Friday nights, have ladies nights, host farmer's markets, etc. It is the type of town where you can walk in to register your dog and the secretary is your next door neighbor and the tax collector can tell you the history of your house. We really love our community and leaving it was a large hesitation in deciding whether or not to apply for this job! If the position is offered and we move, we are hoping to land in a community in the DC area with that similar sort of small town feel that we have now. We are not familiar with the DC area (only have been there on vacations) so any advice will be appreciated. We are open to looking in both Maryland and Virginia. I would be willing to endure a longer commute into the city if it meant that we could get the small town feel. Ideas on where to look? Thanks to everyone