Takoma Park is the obvious choice. With that budget, you can buy within walking distance to Metro and not have to worry about the whole lottery/charter/OOB gamble that you would have to contend with in the District. You could also apply for Spanish or French immersion programs within MCPS.

Anywhere along the corridor between Dupont (probably too expensive), Woodley Park and Cleveland Park would really suit you, for both community and schools. Across the park at Mt Pleasant could be okay too, if you used to lottery to find a better public school option.

Brookland is nice, but make sure you a) are OK with your neighborhood school or b) understand the charter school lottery system and have a school plan B (i.e., private school or move) if you don't get into the charter(s) you want.

I love Takoma. It reminds me very much of the leafy college town I grew up in - lots of single family Victorian homes with progressive signs in their yards, etc.

That said, I like living in the city. I live in Columbia Heights, just north of the metro. I like being able to walk to everything, including work (I work at 19th and K and it takes about an hour). Given your kids' age, it will be easier to get them into a good in bound public school. Powell has Spanish immersion (as someone mentioned on the other thread, though, Petworth is a fairly low income community right now so the student population at Powell especially in the upper grades is going to be heavily low income), as does Bancroft over in Mount Pleasant. I considered both, but we didn't get in anywhere this season.

If I didn't live where I lived now, I'd want to live in Woodley or Cleveland Park.

When are you moving? If you are moving for this school year then you need to move to a place where you can use the IB school because you will not be able to get an OOB spot in DCPS or a charter spot at this time for this year.

You might consider Mount Pleasant...leafy, suburban feeling close in. Very diverse. On bus lines and the green line - Columbia Heights stop. The IB school, Bancroft, is dual language. There are a lot of neighborhood families excited about the school but it is definitely an up-and-comer, not an established school like Oyster.

dsmoves wrote:The kids are 7 and 5.

We're in a very suburban-feeling part of NYC right now. There are lots of trees, parks, etc., but you can still hail a cab or get on the subway a few blocks away. My guess is we'd pick a suburban feel over urban... as long as that didn't mean we'd feel like we were in the middle of nowhere or couldn't go out to eat.

One of us will be working in DC on 17th and K, so commute will be important, too.

That commute is really easy from Silver Spring--just shoot down 16th in either a bus or your car or metro depending on what's the most convenient from your actual house.

With your budget, you could easily afford a house that puts you within walking distance of downtown Silver Spring or Takoma Park, both pretty progressive, diverse communities, with lots of parks and trees in the mix as well. It's as close as you can get to DC without being in it--and thus you avoid the problems of DC Public Schools.

We just moved to a bit more suburban Silver Spring, and we love it. It's relaxed, yet with tons of amenities.

With $900k, I'd second having a look at Bethesda, especially the parts walkable to the metro station. Schools are very good, restaurants are nice and walkable and world view is also progressive. If you do the charter thing (which you'd do for many of the DC areas mentioned, especially the PP's suggestion of Chancellor's Row in Brookland) you might also consider the southwest/waterfront. There are a good sized townhouses down there and it has a leafier, more suburban feel along the waterfront but still has great subway access.

Only DOMA section 3 was overturned. Section 2 is still valid. States do not have to recognize gay marriages celebrated in other states as they do opposite-sex marriages. VA may not be hostile, but it is not supportive either.

Lots of rainbow flags in Del Ray and South Arlington. Of course, in TP, Heather may have three or four mommies, not just two.

dsmoves wrote:We're relocating to the DC-area from NYC soon. We're a young gay couple with multi-racial kids. This limits us to DC and MD, since they're the only places with marriage equality. The kids go to public school now, and we hope to keep it that way. So, we're looking for that perfect storm of progressive, diverse, young, kid-friendly, and welcoming.

So far, the towns/neighborhoods people have suggested are:
Takoma Park, MD
Silver Spring, MD
Cleveland Park, DC
Chevy Chase, DC
Glover Park, DC
Adams Morgan, DC

Any other ideas? Feedback on the ones listed above?

TIA!

If you're already married, I don't know what the legal implications are of moving to a state that hasn't legalized day marriage (post-DOMA), but I would point out that Arlington is very gay-friendly--we have several openly gay elected representatives at the local and state level. And great schools.

So yeah, official Virginia policies suck, but not all parts of Virginia are hostile.

Capitol Hill-- around Eastern Market. Family Night (kids eat free!) at Mr. Henry's, a neighborhood gay bar. LOTS of gay families, leafy streets, yet you can hail a cab and great public elementary schools. I'd go for Tyler Spanish Immersion first.

Another vote for TP!

Welcome to Glover Park! Please consider GP!

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for Takoma Park. Leafy, walkable, great schools, easy access to downtown, lots of gay and multiracial families.

Yeah, there are literally pink houses in takoma park.

Another vote for Takoma Park. Leafy, walkable, great schools, easy access to downtown, lots of gay and multiracial families.