Yes. As college admissions approach we are so glad to be out of the i 95 pressure cooker. Our kids had a much more normal childhood and aren’t competing against over prepped inflated gpa started a non profit, national science award winners, travel soccer since age 5 recruited athletes etc. for getting into college. Most kids go to the state flagship or another near by state school. I don’t know if it’s easier to get into top schools from here but my kid will feel much better about his options.

So interesting to read because we live in another area but DH is constantly in DC for work so we have thought about moving to the DMV. We have many friends who live there but many complain about the cost. Whenever I tell them I want to move to the DMV, some are all for it and some think I’m crazy.

I’m sick of our property taxes (NJ) but love our house and excellent public schools and easy access to NYC, Philly, and DC.

Anonymous wrote:We moved to Virginia Beach and for me the most striking change was that there were no wait lists and shortages for kid activities. We joined a pool for summer league swim no problem. I could actually take the time to talk to my kids and other moms about summer camps rather than grabbing spaces when they were available. Space at the Girl Scout camp. We still joke about my husband waking me up early in January right after Christmas and freaking out because I hadn’t signed kids up for camps yet. I rolled over and told him to go back to sleep because that level of anxiety is now in the past. The only time I have encountered a waitlist is finding a vet for our pandemic puppy.

Also, unlike Fairfax County, in VB there are no HOAs to deal with, so no busy bodies running around and complaining about this and that, yet virtually everyone keeps their house up. City trash collection means we don’t have garbage trucks coming on our street 5 days each week. City has a HUGE number of parks, from smaller neighborhood parks to larger district parks. There are city Rec Centers in most areas, with Annual membership fees much lower than Fairfax County. Loads of water/beach sports options. Public Schools vary significantly, but there are good options (Cox FC, PA). Property tax rate is lower and housing costs also are lower.

The main downside is that the commute to NOB Norfolk is pretty bad, yet still not worse than metro DC. The several bridge-tunnels do get big backlogs during tourist season, however. So sensible to live and work on the same side of those. Job options are more limited than Metro DC, with many jobs having a military connection of some kind.

Phoenix seems like really odd rec for someone looking for a smaller metro area. Phoenix is absolutely massive and one of the largest metro areas in the US. I know it’s smaller than DC but I’m genuinely wondering if that difference is really noticeable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to a much bigger metro area but the lifestyle is so much more relaxed than the DC Area. We are 4 miles from DHs work, the kids school and our country club. All take about 15 minutes to get to. Work life balance actually exists. Working late means being home by 7. Most people don’t work past 3 or 4 on Friday. Plenty of things for the kids to do and they don’t fill up 2 seconds after they open.

Where is this?

I believe they said Phoenix. See 17:12

Yes, Phoenix. It’s very relaxed compared to DC. Your job is not the first thing people talk about. There are many of my kids friends’s parents that I have no idea what they do. There are trade offs. Public schools are awful but there are tons of private schools for a fraction of the cost of DC privates. And it’s hot. It’s not cheap if you want to live in the nicer areas. We live in one of the nicest areas of Phoenix and our house cost more than the one we sold in NOVA. There are less expensive areas but we wanted to be in Phoenix, not Scottsdale, Glendale, etc.

There are lots of things to do in Phoenix for kids? Like what? Also, when you say plenty of private schools, which do you mean? Obviously there's Brophy for boys and the Basis chain, but I'm honestly not sure how there are "plenty" of good private school options there are? Genuinely asking as we have also contemplated positioning a move back there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We moved to Central FL and wish we had done it sooner. People don't talk about work or politics at parties. No getting caught up in the SJW topic du jour. People focus more on fun activities. It's very easy to make friends. Great schools.

We knew we needed a change from the DC scene, but after moving it really hit us how crazy the DC mentality has become. Most of the country isn't like that.

I live in a close-in MoCo suburb, and I don't get this. There is very little of this. Maybe some talk of work, but just in a casual way, and no particularly competitive.

I live in NW DC and same. This trope confuses me so much. We are casual friends with a lot of neighbors, hang out regularly, and I barely know anything about their jobs or their political views. We talk about our kids, our hobbies, our weekend activities. With my close friends we talk slightly more about work and politics but it’s still a low priority conversation topic and doesn’t come up any more than it does with my friends who live elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We moved to Central FL and wish we had done it sooner. People don't talk about work or politics at parties. No getting caught up in the SJW topic du jour. People focus more on fun activities. It's very easy to make friends. Great schools.

We knew we needed a change from the DC scene, but after moving it really hit us how crazy the DC mentality has become. Most of the country isn't like that.

I live in a close-in MoCo suburb, and I don't get this. There is very little of this. Maybe some talk of work, but just in a casual way, and no particularly competitive.

Yes. We moved to Central FL and wish we had done it sooner. People don't talk about work or politics at parties. No getting caught up in the SJW topic du jour. People focus more on fun activities. It's very easy to make friends. Great schools.

We knew we needed a change from the DC scene, but after moving it really hit us how crazy the DC mentality has become. Most of the country isn't like that.

I’m so thrilled we left the dmv. Let competition for parking, for activities, for shopping, etc. Closer to family, more trees, less traffic. It’s so, so, so nice. I needed to be in DC to meet my spouse, but I do wish I’d met him sooner, so we could have moved out of the dmv sooner. All my besties are there, and you just can’t make the same quality of friendships in your 40s.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to a much bigger metro area but the lifestyle is so much more relaxed than the DC Area. We are 4 miles from DHs work, the kids school and our country club. All take about 15 minutes to get to. Work life balance actually exists. Working late means being home by 7. Most people don’t work past 3 or 4 on Friday. Plenty of things for the kids to do and they don’t fill up 2 seconds after they open.

Where is this?

I believe they said Phoenix. See 17:12

Yes, Phoenix. It’s very relaxed compared to DC. Your job is not the first thing people talk about. There are many of my kids friends’s parents that I have no idea what they do. There are trade offs. Public schools are awful but there are tons of private schools for a fraction of the cost of DC privates. And it’s hot. It’s not cheap if you want to live in the nicer areas. We live in one of the nicest areas of Phoenix and our house cost more than the one we sold in NOVA. There are less expensive areas but we wanted to be in Phoenix, not Scottsdale, Glendale, etc.

We moved to Orange County CA. The difference is significant - no one talks about all the stuff that is constantly regurgitated in the DMV. It's just a pleasant place to live, with pleasant people and nice weather all year round. Cost of living is higher but not that much so.

Anonymous wrote:Living nearer to helpful family reduced our strsss a lot, even more than a lower cost of living and less traffic (though those helped). Just knowing my mom could come babysit if childcare fell through was a huge relief.

I also think for me there was a comforting familiarity to the personalities and style of the area where we moved that just made me happier. I never felt like I quite fit in in DC.

Philly, btw, so I’m not sure if it counts as smaller.

Living nearer to helpful family reduced our strsss a lot, even more than a lower cost of living and less traffic (though those helped). Just knowing my mom could come babysit if childcare fell through was a huge relief.

I also think for me there was a comforting familiarity to the personalities and style of the area where we moved that just made me happier. I never felt like I quite fit in in DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to a much bigger metro area but the lifestyle is so much more relaxed than the DC Area. We are 4 miles from DHs work, the kids school and our country club. All take about 15 minutes to get to. Work life balance actually exists. Working late means being home by 7. Most people don’t work past 3 or 4 on Friday. Plenty of things for the kids to do and they don’t fill up 2 seconds after they open.

Where is this?

I believe they said Phoenix. See 17:12

Yes, Phoenix. It’s very relaxed compared to DC. Your job is not the first thing people talk about. There are many of my kids friends’s parents that I have no idea what they do. There are trade offs. Public schools are awful but there are tons of private schools for a fraction of the cost of DC privates. And it’s hot. It’s not cheap if you want to live in the nicer areas. We live in one of the nicest areas of Phoenix and our house cost more than the one we sold in NOVA. There are less expensive areas but we wanted to be in Phoenix, not Scottsdale, Glendale, etc.

Anonymous wrote:We moved to Virginia Beach and for me the most striking change was that there were no wait lists and shortages for kid activities. We joined a pool for summer league swim no problem. I could actually take the time to talk to my kids and other moms about summer camps rather than grabbing spaces when they were available. Space at the Girl Scout camp. We still joke about my husband waking me up early in January right after Christmas and freaking out because I hadn’t signed kids up for camps yet. I rolled over and told him to go back to sleep because that level of anxiety is now in the past. The only time I have encountered a waitlist is finding a vet for our pandemic puppy.

+1 to this.

Main stress reducers from moving to a smaller metro:

-little/no traffic, helps not only with commute but with other activities

-no problem getting kids into most activities

-LCOL