Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many great neighborhoods! This is such a great thread. We love our neighborhood, westover, for many similar reasons. Feels like a small town in many ways but with the ease of being close to everything. Walkable to shops, farmers market on Sundays, library, hardware store. Great access to trails, biking, parks. Kind and friendly neighbors and people are out and about a ton walking places so you get to know each other.

It’s a good spot and I loved reading about all the other great spots, this area sometimes doesn’t get enough credit. If you can find a good neighborhood and try to keep your world “small” (vs activities for kids in far flung places) you don’t experience some of the negatives like traffic etc. as much.

I love Westover! Great farmer's market!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Columbia Heights and we LOVE it.

We don't have a car and we can walk to so many places - friends houses, several playgrounds and splash pads, grocery store (though we get the bulk of our groceries delivered), Target, restaurants, coffee shops, church, library, school, the zoo. We also have the metro nearby and about a million bus lines. We love walking, and since we're on the southern end of Columbia Heights, we can also walk to our downtown offices (we're both on a hybrid schedule) in about 35 minutes. We thought with two kids we'd need a car, but the idea of getting one right now is laughable to us - totally not needed.

Our neighbors are great - there are at least six families with kids our kids ages (toddler and preschooler) within 2-3 blocks. We run into families we know on walks and at the playground all the time. Everyone is friendly, laid back, and fun. There are older kids as well, though fewer and we don't know as many of them well, and a lot of babies. But I know most of the neighbors - if I needed a cup of sugar or something, there are probably 12 doors I could knock on. Some of the older kids had a very well-attended lemonade stand on the corner a few weeks ago. Just delightful.

The broader neighborhood is very diverse, racially and socio-economically, which we really like, though most of the families that are super nearby are white. We're meeting more diverse families now that our kid is in school, which is nice.

I know, statistically, there has been a lot more crime in DC, but honestly, a lot of that seems like carjackings which obviously don't affect us. I feel perfectly safe walking around with my kids after dark (well, in the winter, in the summer they're in bed before dark!) and I walk to and from the metro at all hours by myself without a second thought.

I’m just curious for people who don’t have a car. How do you visit relatives and friends?

Anonymous wrote:We live in Columbia Heights and we LOVE it.

We don't have a car and we can walk to so many places - friends houses, several playgrounds and splash pads, grocery store (though we get the bulk of our groceries delivered), Target, restaurants, coffee shops, church, library, school, the zoo. We also have the metro nearby and about a million bus lines. We love walking, and since we're on the southern end of Columbia Heights, we can also walk to our downtown offices (we're both on a hybrid schedule) in about 35 minutes. We thought with two kids we'd need a car, but the idea of getting one right now is laughable to us - totally not needed.

Our neighbors are great - there are at least six families with kids our kids ages (toddler and preschooler) within 2-3 blocks. We run into families we know on walks and at the playground all the time. Everyone is friendly, laid back, and fun. There are older kids as well, though fewer and we don't know as many of them well, and a lot of babies. But I know most of the neighbors - if I needed a cup of sugar or something, there are probably 12 doors I could knock on. Some of the older kids had a very well-attended lemonade stand on the corner a few weeks ago. Just delightful.

The broader neighborhood is very diverse, racially and socio-economically, which we really like, though most of the families that are super nearby are white. We're meeting more diverse families now that our kid is in school, which is nice.

I know, statistically, there has been a lot more crime in DC, but honestly, a lot of that seems like carjackings which obviously don't affect us. I feel perfectly safe walking around with my kids after dark (well, in the winter, in the summer they're in bed before dark!) and I walk to and from the metro at all hours by myself without a second thought.

Anonymous wrote:Used to love Capitol Hill but now I'm afraid to walk or drive around at night with the major uptick in violent crime (multiple shootings within the last month alone).

Anonymous wrote:We love East Falls Church. Not as expensive as FCC but we use the amenities there and also enjoy a larger lot and less debt. Lots of families in our neighborhood and nice people.

Anonymous wrote:Waycroft-Woodlawn in Arlington. Love most of my neighbors, the schools (Glebe/Swanson/W-L), the park, walkable restaurants in Ballston, the ability to get to DC so easily. I left DC reluctantly, but this neighborhood has been great for the family phase of my life. It's more expensive now, so that would be a problem for me if I was looking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbia, Md! The best.

Why???

Anonymous wrote:We live in a neighborhood in Alexandria called Beverley Hills (22305 is the zip code) and love it. Most people don’t know that name so we usually just say we live 1 mile up the hill from Del Ray.

This neighborhood is really calm and peaceful with a huge mature tree canopy. People are friendly and we meet a lot of neighbors out dog walking. It is a great location within NoVA because it has the small Del Ray Main Street down the hill which has nice community events, parades, art shows, farmers market, etc but is also a quick drive to Old Town Alexandria, places all over Arlington, 8 minutes to DCA, pretty easy drive into DC.

Many of the brick homes here from the 1940s-60s have been significantly renovated but there aren’t a lot of tear-downs. I prefer that vibe to neighborhoods where you have a hodgepodge of run down shacks next to McMansions and constant construction sites, or new developments where every house is identical.

Anonymous wrote:We love our neighborhood in Central Frederick County. There are many young families here and it's relatively diverse; more so than our old neighborhood in NW DC at least. The schools are solid with a lot of resources. The kids in our neighborhood are super nice to each other and very respectful.

Downtown Frederick is about 15 minutes away and it has great restaurants and a lovely area to walk around near Carroll Creek. Baker's Park is beautiful and well maintained. Our offices are based in Rockville but we work remotely; I work 100% remote and DH goes in once a week.

It's about a 45 minute drive one way. Under 1.5 hours at its absolute worst which doesn't happen too often. This area is getting more an more built up by the years so I know more god things are to come.

We've been here for almost 5 years with no complaints outside of a lot of family and friends still living closer in so usually when we want to be more social it's about an hour to 1.5 hours drive. We are effectively an hour away from Baltimore, DC, and Dulles airport. About 1.5 hours away from Philly.

Anonymous wrote:So many great neighborhoods! This is such a great thread. We love our neighborhood, westover, for many similar reasons. Feels like a small town in many ways but with the ease of being close to everything. Walkable to shops, farmers market on Sundays, library, hardware store. Great access to trails, biking, parks. Kind and friendly neighbors and people are out and about a ton walking places so you get to know each other.

It’s a good spot and I loved reading about all the other great spots, this area sometimes doesn’t get enough credit. If you can find a good neighborhood and try to keep your world “small” (vs activities for kids in far flung places) you don’t experience some of the negatives like traffic etc. as much.