Anonymous wrote:DC has more and better (and less expensive) museums than any other city in the US. I lived in NYC. It has nice museums. But far fewer museums per capita and none of them are really free.

DC has good parks per capita:
https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/05/28/dc-officially-has-americas-best-park-system/

And yes, it's a company town. Last I heard, jobs are helpful for a city. DC has lots of those.

It also has a large and growing homeless population.

Housing is getting very expensive, but that's a national problem and DC isn't looking so bad now that every other area with jobs has quickly rising housing costs.

DC people are very focused on their careers and jobs. This can tend to make them self-important. God bless our teachers. They get treated like crap.

There are some neighborhoods where people are less pompous. There are also neighborhoods where many or even most people are not transplants but were born in this region. There tends to be a lot of overlap in these two groups of neighborhoods.

The area is quite divided along party line. Tell us more about what you're like: political affiliation, hobbies, your kids, your careers, public or private school, and we can give you some idea of where you'll feel the most comfortable.

As a DC native, I miss the days when the Metro was heavily used and ran very frequently. The Metro, with all its issues, is great. A huge asset of this region.

OP here. Thanks so much for this. We tend to be liberal leaning, husband is from UK, young kids just learning/involved with various sports (they aren't on competitive/traveling teams), likely public schools for now as some of the elementary options seem quite good, weekend hobbies we enjoy doing are basically anything not at home...walking around the city, riding bikes, having a coffee, zoo, playground, etc.....all heavily influenced by entertaining kids.

NP. I have lived in Chicago and DC (and Wisconsin, actually, but that was a while ago) -- in both cases, in the cities themselves. My kids, when I was in DC, weren't of school age yet but I still have lots of friends with kids in the DC schools now. When I lived in DC, I worked in an office downtown but now I work from home in Chicago so don't have apples to apples commute comparisons.

Friendliness of people -- I personally think that's a wash. DC people tend to be very smart, and I always really liked that at any dinner party, you'd have someone interesting to talk to. Everyone has traveled a lot, the city is racially diverse (although economically segregated and there are obviously racial implications there). I made life-long friends in DC because they're kind of "my people" -- extremely educated, a little sarcastic, "worldly." In Chicago, people are warmer and I have found that my social network is much more racially *and* economically diverse (although I live on the south side, not sure that would be the case if I lived on the north side). But that kind of "Minnesota nice" is real -- it can be hard to get truly let in, and sometimes I feel like my guard is up. My best friend here, who I really adore, didn't even know what my job was until 3 years into our relationship. Our friendship is based around our kids and shared non-political interests. I have a much longer list of friendly acquaintances and early friendships here than I did in DC, and am much more likely to run into someone at the grocery store. Similarly, cashiers at my local restaurants and libraries and the post office recognize me and are likely to joke around, although in a very casual way. That never happened to me in DC. The bad thing about DC friends is that they are almost always a flight risk. Of my best friends in DC, 75% of them have left the region. Oh, and politics is a thing worth mentioning -- DC is very liberal. So am I. So is Chicago. But politics is close to the heart of a lot of people in DC in a way it isn't anywhere else in the country, so it's a very common topic of conversation.

Hustle and Bustle -- Chicago is famous for its bad traffic, but I find that it is MUCH better than DC. DC has no major in-town thoroughfares -- I remember constantly swearing while driving down Georgia because of all the damn uncoordinated traffic lights. It would be infuriating, taking 25 minutes to go .25 miles. Chicago is easier to get around, IME, and there are always "alternatives" to the major clogs on the highways. The public transportation in Chicago is vastly superior. In DC, the metro is the best bet but it has some serious issues and doesn't have great coverage of the city. Definitely nothing like London. People tend to drive places. The really noticeable thing about DC is that since so many people work 9-5 office jobs, getting something like an oil change or going to Costco on the weekend can be an absolute nightmare because EVERYONE does it on the weekend. If you're going to SAH, that will be a nonissue since you'll be able to take care of things like that when other people are working in their offices. I have nightmares about trying to get out of the Arlington Costco parking lot during rush hour in December.

School competitiveness -- basically the same, from what I hear. In Chicago, there's a lottery and a testing system (not the case in DC, just a lottery for most schools). Rich people in both areas often go private, especially if the lottery fails them. Kids in both cities are pushed into extracurriculars of all sorts.


Anyway, I could go on, but those are my thoughts. There's also a quick covid note -- DC people are uber cautious. That'll be new to you if you're coming from Wisconsin.

DC has more and better (and less expensive) museums than any other city in the US. I lived in NYC. It has nice museums. But far fewer museums per capita and none of them are really free.

DC has good parks per capita:
https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/05/28/dc-officially-has-americas-best-park-system/

And yes, it's a company town. Last I heard, jobs are helpful for a city. DC has lots of those.

It also has a large and growing homeless population.

Housing is getting very expensive, but that's a national problem and DC isn't looking so bad now that every other area with jobs has quickly rising housing costs.

DC people are very focused on their careers and jobs. This can tend to make them self-important. God bless our teachers. They get treated like crap.

There are some neighborhoods where people are less pompous. There are also neighborhoods where many or even most people are not transplants but were born in this region. There tends to be a lot of overlap in these two groups of neighborhoods.

The area is quite divided along party line. Tell us more about what you're like: political affiliation, hobbies, your kids, your careers, public or private school, and we can give you some idea of where you'll feel the most comfortable.

As a DC native, I miss the days when the Metro was heavily used and ran very frequently. The Metro, with all its issues, is great. A huge asset of this region.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t move expecting DC to impress you or offer what a city like London or HK has to offer.

And compared to Milwaukee?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people live in DC for work. Majority of people are career focused. DC isn’t a city you move to for other reasons besides a job.

DC is a great place to live for things beyond work. Free museums and zoo; close to beach and mountains for easy weekend getaways, college and pro sports, theater and the arts, great hikes and biking in DC proper and within the beltway; world class health care options. There is a lot here beyond "a job"

Yes DC offers these thing, but so does every mid-sized city on the eastern seaboard. No one is moving to DC because of the proximity to Rehobeth or hiking in Shenandoah. There is a national park in every single state. You can bike in and around many cities. Most cities have a zoo and museums. College? Most people who live in DC don’t want to send their kids to college here. Professional sports? Again, almost any decent city is going to have professional sporting events. Not sure I’d rank DC very high when it comes to the arts and entertainment. It’s not a creative city.

Seriously most people living in DC and the surrounding suburbs is here for work. It’s a company town. There are very few people living in DC who are independently wealthy or don’t work in the area. It’s also very transient. It’s very different from world class cities like NY or LA where the cities offer a lot more compared to other cities. No one dreams of moving to DC one day to live here because DC in itself is that amazing. Instead they move to DC because of the job opportunities.

This is obviously overwrought. Dilute it to a third of its present concentration and it’s helpful. It would also be helped by some understanding of what’s unique about DC, for better or for worse, but a few paragraphs will always miss a few things.

I wouldn’t move expecting DC to impress you or offer what a city like London or HK has to offer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work around the corner from the Volta rec center and frequently walk the streets. I mostly see Nannie’s with kids or college students. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful and far from the “touristy” section of Georgetown, but if I was a SAHM, I think I would feel lonely.

I wouldn’t rule out private. you can read all about DCPS. It wasn’t for us, but honestly, the publics in MCPS aren’t much better. Definitely not anything you will get like a true suburb, town school. That said, you may find more of that community and friendship you’re looking for.

People are friendly - more so than the Northeast, less so than the south. And everyone is die hard into politics and defining themself by what they do. It may not be a bad thing if that’s what you’re into.

Best of luck with the move.

I live not far from Volta (Georgetown, for those of you who aren’t familiar) and there are lots of families here, I have many nice SAHM friends. Maybe the people you think are nannies are really us mommies!

This isn’t to say some people don’t have nannies (including some SAHM) but we for sure are here. The pool there is an amazing free resource for us with kids and the tennis courts are nice too (kids can take lessons).

Not tremendously diverse, however. And it is quite expensive. Burleith and Glover Park are good alternatives.

Where are the mommies you mention hanging out?

I’ve spent time at both playgrounds in Georgetown and it is 90% nannies.

Georgetown itself is mostly home to singles, older couples, retirees, etc. There are more families than in the past, but it’s hardly a neighborhood I would describe as having a lot of SAHMs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people live in DC for work. Majority of people are career focused. DC isn’t a city you move to for other reasons besides a job.

DC is a great place to live for things beyond work. Free museums and zoo; close to beach and mountains for easy weekend getaways, college and pro sports, theater and the arts, great hikes and biking in DC proper and within the beltway; world class health care options. There is a lot here beyond "a job"

Yes DC offers these thing, but so does every mid-sized city on the eastern seaboard. No one is moving to DC because of the proximity to Rehobeth or hiking in Shenandoah. There is a national park in every single state. You can bike in and around many cities. Most cities have a zoo and museums. College? Most people who live in DC don’t want to send their kids to college here. Professional sports? Again, almost any decent city is going to have professional sporting events. Not sure I’d rank DC very high when it comes to the arts and entertainment. It’s not a creative city.

Seriously most people living in DC and the surrounding suburbs is here for work. It’s a company town. There are very few people living in DC who are independently wealthy or don’t work in the area. It’s also very transient. It’s very different from world class cities like NY or LA where the cities offer a lot more compared to other cities. No one dreams of moving to DC one day to live here because DC in itself is that amazing. Instead they move to DC because of the job opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of apartment/condo buildings along Connecticut Avenue in NWDC that are zoned for good elementary schools, so you night try looking along that corridor from Woodley Park up into Chevy Chase (DC). We are in-bounds for Murch and live in Forest Hills and we love it. Close to the Soapstone Trail (a spur into Rock Creek Park), a great bookstore, a great wine store, a great bakery, etc. Easy to commute on the Red Line, easy to get to the library and the Zoo and lots of other stuff, as well as easy to get into downtown for museums and other cultural resources.

We just moved from a nice apt walkable “good schools” etc and thank the good lord. Two stabbings in the last two weeks, robberies, homicides. Sorry - the schools and neighborhood are in free fall. DC is hosed. So glad we got out!

Op, cattiness, yes lots of it. The women in this area are monsters to other women. Think about that and what you'll be exposing yourself to, especially if you are a SAHM. The things I've witnessed over the forty years I have lived here would make for an interested reality tv show. Funny thing, these people don't think there's anything wrong with them, it's always everyone else. There is a reason we always got that "look" when we would tell people we were from DC while traveling, eventually we just told them outside of DC proper, too uncomfortable to field their negative comments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NWDC is friendly and a great place to raise kids, especially if you want them to have a sense of confidence in navigating cities as they grow into adolescence. A great mix of interesting people. I love living here. Good luck with your move!

Stressful, cut throat, superficial, competitive, sneaky, petty too when it comes to kids. The schools in NW can be pressure cookers. Works for some kids but if you have kid who are not top students they will feel behind.

[b]This has been our experience. Absolutely awful. My husband grew up here and so actually believes that kids' childhoods are supposed to be some kind of strenuous boot camp for life. His childhood in DC was basically an elitist pressure cooker under the thumb of a narcissit mother. Other than the narcissist mother, my poor children have experienced the same. They hate it and can't wait to go somewhere where real people live. They cannot believe how friendly people in the world are when they go to other places.

[/b]
NP. I need to know more, such as where you live, where your kids go to school , and what you and DH do for work and social activities

I am a fed lifer married to a high school teacher whose kids go to public school and who socializes with mostly other feds, teachers, nonprofit types. Neighbors mostly have similar type jobs-- even the lawyers are in public-interest fields. What you describe doesn't fit our experience.

My kdis grew up here, and are now at college elsewhere. They don't think this is true at all, and while they are enjoying their respective new locations (MA and MI), they like it ere and have found positives and negatives elsewhere. Perhaps your attitude rubbed off on your kids? People are very friendly in other places, but not necessarily actually any kinder or better people. The one thing they do like about this area is that people are much more well informed about the world outside of the US.

My DC are in college too, as you say, "elsewhere." They got as far away from DC as possible, hated everything about the parents here and the way children are raised. And no, before you ask, they didn't run from us, we have a second home near where they both attend college. There's a lot of truth in the statement about strenuous boot camp of life, only those that support that type of child rearing will call it out as positive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is the 5th largest city in the US but it’s not dense like NYC. It’s filled with highly educated people with elite and high paying jobs. That’s the demographic in the $2M range.

Thank you for this! That's what I'm gathering and there are definitely varying opinions on how people feel/experience that.

Hi there! We work in similar fields and had a similar set of preferences as you. I’d stick with NWDC and look for the best house you can find in Chevy Chase DC, anywhere down Wisconsin (Glover Park, Georgetown etc) or zoned for Mann or Key. We live in Palisades and love it- it sort of feels like a small town within the city. Kids are super, super happy with school and have friends from all over the world. IMO it’s a great place to grow up. We personally are planning to stick with DCPS through middle/ high school if possible, but could do private if really necessary. The suburbs are ok, tbh I’m not a huge fan of the housing stock. Maybe in the more walkable areas of Bethesda or Arlington you’d be happy, but the houses get very expensive fast. Welcome! I think you’ll love it here!

Anonymous wrote:DC can have a very suburban feeling. Most people in your bracket are not happy with DC schools. If you are set on public school Bethesda Mclean or private in DC. The lottery drives many parents crazy. Some international transplants are not happy that the central urban areas are very expensive/ walkable/ fun but the schools aren’t great. Some of the schools are but it takes luck. I personally didn’t want to rely on luck for my kids. Best to you. DC is a great place to live !

Thanks! Yes, we did the lottery last year in anticipation of the move and I'm glad I did, even for the "practice". I wouldn't rely on it as a strategy for getting into a choice school. We are trying to research the areas that could potentially tick two boxes....walkability/city and good schools. Will be tough to find given the RE market, but I'm reading that the market is predicted to be less frenzied in 2022....let's see. Hoping we don't have to live in temp housing with our belongings in storage too long.

Anonymous wrote:DC is the 5th largest city in the US but it’s not dense like NYC. It’s filled with highly educated people with elite and high paying jobs. That’s the demographic in the $2M range.

Thank you for this! That's what I'm gathering and there are definitely varying opinions on how people feel/experience that.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I'm a SAHM, my husband works in digital/cloud consulting. Budget probably needs to be $1.8, although we'd LOVE to spend less!! The market is so tough for buyers at the moment, so we just might have to push the budget. We were going to relocate this year, but houses in DC would be pending in a few hours. If we don't live there, I don't know how we will be able to purchase. I'm sure our current house will sell quickly, however, I feel we'll have to live in an apartment in DC for a while as it would be a miracle to get the first house we make an offer on.

See if you can find a house on VRBO in Gtown for a month or two!