Anonymous wrote:Stay somewhere fun in DC proper and rent a car to look at close-in suburbs. Staying at a hotel in the suburbs is depressing. Look at Hotel Monaco (right in the middle of Penn Quarter and near tons of great restaurants); the Graham in Georgetown; or the Hotel Carlyle off Dupont Circle.

Thanks! Are those also residential neighborhoods? Of course, I know them as touristy areas.

I'd get an Airbnb in DuPont, Logan, Adams Morgan or Shaw. Staying in a hotel - which tend to be concentrated in touristy downtown areas - sort of negates your desire to see how real people live in this area.

If you are more concerned about schools and family focused neighborhood's, go driving around the Tenleytown, Cleveland Park, Glover Park, and AU Park areas, grab a bite at Millie's, etc.

Also, perhaps check out a few open houses to get a feel for much house you can get for your money, discuss neighborhood with agents and neighbors, etc.

Stay somewhere fun in DC proper and rent a car to look at close-in suburbs. Staying at a hotel in the suburbs is depressing. Look at Hotel Monaco (right in the middle of Penn Quarter and near tons of great restaurants); the Graham in Georgetown; or the Hotel Carlyle off Dupont Circle.

Stay in DC for sure! Why not? There are tons of nice AirBnBs in my neighborhood (Capitol Hill) and staying in someone’s house will give you a good sense of what a neighborhood feels like.

For a fun taste of living here, with some or all of the qualities you want, I'd recommend Capitol Hill in DC, Del Ray in Alexandria, Takoma Park in Maryland. But without knowing more about your budget and commute constraints it's hard to say where you'd want to live (and be able to afford).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you get here, what's your approximate budget? You can get all of that lots of places, from Silver Spring to Arlington to the Hill to AU Park, but the price points are going to be very different.

Thank you. My family is in VA so probably would have a slight preference for close in CA or DC proper. We're both physicians but unfortunately only a couple years into full fledged salaries, so good combined income but not so much savings, will sell our tiny condo for prob around $200k.

Try Arlington. Stay at the Westin in Ballston if you want to house hunt in the area you think you might want to live. Not DC proper, but pretty close.

Right by metro, and you can check out the areas all along the orange line corridor: Rosslyn, Courthouse, VA Square, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Also do you need to be on a specific metro line for your commute?

DH doesn't have a job yet so not considering commute details right now. Just want to get a feel of the city to see if we would definitely want to relocate here.

I would visit an area you would potentially live in. Will you be living in the city or in the burbs?

Anonymous wrote:hi! we are mid 30s, i haven't visited DC in something like 10 years but have family in the burbs, and i hear DC has changed a lot. looking for specific neighborhood/hotel recs for a weekend late spring to check out what it's all about. our priorities are, in no particular order: vibrant groceries/markets/restaurant options, down to earth people, green space (we'll have a car so it doesn't have to be everything walking distance), some ethnic diversity (we're both mixed), and we do want to have kids soon. i'd have to convince DH as well, so welcome really good suggestions!

Good luck with that one.

Anonymous wrote:When you get here, what's your approximate budget? You can get all of that lots of places, from Silver Spring to Arlington to the Hill to AU Park, but the price points are going to be very different.

Thank you. My family is in VA so probably would have a slight preference for close in CA or DC proper. We're both physicians but unfortunately only a couple years into full fledged salaries, so good combined income but not so much savings, will sell our tiny condo for prob around $200k.

Any idea where your jobs might be?

Also do you need to be on a specific metro line for your commute?

When you get here, what's your approximate budget? You can get all of that lots of places, from Silver Spring to Arlington to the Hill to AU Park, but the price points are going to be very different.

would you prefer D.C. or VA/MD suburbs?

hi! we are mid 30s, i haven't visited DC in something like 10 years but have family in the burbs, and i hear DC has changed a lot. looking for specific neighborhood/hotel recs for a weekend late spring to check out what it's all about. our priorities are, in no particular order: vibrant groceries/markets/restaurant options, down to earth people, green space (we'll have a car so it doesn't have to be everything walking distance), some ethnic diversity (we're both mixed), and we do want to have kids soon. i'd have to convince DH as well, so welcome really good suggestions!