Anonymous wrote:We moved from DC, and yes, eventually, we lost our friends in DC. We made lots of new ones though. So, it all evens out.

You live in Dupont and still commute 30 minutes? We're in Vienna and it takes me 30.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - thanks, all! What I want to know is how I can find a house on a street with young families and block parties and great new friends like a couple of the PPs. Either of you want to post your neighborhood? And the PP who said that I'll still see the good friends and the peripheral ones will fade is wise and I'm sure that's true. It just seems like such a massive change that I'm not sure I'm ready for yet. But I know I need to do it in the near future.

Are you all happier in your new houses with space and a yard? Any regrets?

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you will almost certainly see your current friends much less often. You will probably also make great new friends. If you don't actually want to leave the city, though I don't think you have to. Our house on Capitol Hill has 3 beds, two baths, and a yard, and it would sell for way less than 800,000.Our kids go to a great public school and we walk/bike everywhere. I'm sure there are other neighborhoods like this, too, within the city.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I haven't moved from DC out, but where I used to live before moving to the DC area, the social life was centered around school families (has to do with the geography/traffic)

I have moved my to another school, right down the street, and wouldn't you know it, my social circle changed even though we had the same house.

It's not so bad, OP. What's great about the situation is it creates a sieve where only your true friends stay with you. Meanwhile you pick up another set of friends.

Now as a tangent, we live in N. Arlington and it's super-close, IMO, time-wise as long as not in peak traffic. And the metro is easy too.

Final thought for staying in your area…I don't know about real estate out here, so this may not work. Where I'm from, at one time I considered buying two condos next to each other, and breaking down the interior wall (or part of the interior wall). Then I could have had a large place, basically have everything but the yard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op-- we moved to a close-in, walkable neighborhood.

Now- i don't want to drive or metro anywhere. It is just so convenient (especially when you are drinking) to keep it local.

You may find that YOU are the one that changes. You might find that going into the city seems like a hassle and be just like the people that find coming into VA a hassle.

I now think of going 10-15 miles---as a long trip. I hate getting in my car.

That said--for good friends--we BOTH take the hit. One of the benefits of my move is I now have a great spare bedroom off a rec room that dc friends and family have been known to crash and then do brunch in the morning.

You can't build your life around others because one day they may decide to up and move.

What happened during your childhood that you hate cars? Cars not inanimate objects. You should seek help for that fear.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - thanks, all! What I want to know is how I can find a house on a street with young families and block parties and great new friends like a couple of the PPs. Either of you want to post your neighborhood? And the PP who said that I'll still see the good friends and the peripheral ones will fade is wise and I'm sure that's true. It just seems like such a massive change that I'm not sure I'm ready for yet. But I know I need to do it in the near future.

Are you all happier in your new houses with space and a yard? Any regrets?

SFH neighborhoods in walkable areas tend to attract social people. Higher density causes more interaction. Throw in a good public school and it will be teeming with families that wanted a little more yard than a rowhouse provides.

We were thrilled with our new house and yard (not too big that yardwork isn't a big deal). Kids go to the park a lot. Having a place where guests could park (I still need to give them parking hangers) but they aren't circling around the neighborhood for a 1/2 hour looking for a spot--is fabulous.

We have more to walk to now than I did before and I was in an active part of NW. Metro and all amenities (gyms, grocerys, bars, restaurants, parks, movie theather, drycleaners, coffee shops, some retail, hair salons, oil changes (means a lot when you can walk home after dropping it off), dentist, nail salons, massage center, etc., etc. are all within a few blocks...yet the neighborhood itself manages to retain some of suburbia.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op-- we moved to a close-in, walkable neighborhood.

Now- i don't want to drive or metro anywhere. It is just so convenient (especially when you are drinking) to keep it local.

You may find that YOU are the one that changes. You might find that going into the city seems like a hassle and be just like the people that find coming into VA a hassle.

I now think of going 10-15 miles---as a long trip. I hate getting in my car.

That said--for good friends--we BOTH take the hit. One of the benefits of my move is I now have a great spare bedroom off a rec room that dc friends and family have been known to crash and then do brunch in the morning.

You can't build your life around others because one day they may decide to up and move.

What happened during your childhood that you hate cars? Cars not inanimate objects. You should seek help for that fear.