Anonymous wrote:Some will return. They always do.

I don’t know anyone who has returned.

Anonymous wrote:I hate this part about living in DC. My sense is that there is more stability in the close-in suburbs and in the NW. Have you explored moving to Takoma Park/Silver Spring?

Definitely true. I live in a NW DC neighborhood with very little turnover. We are zoned for decent schools, and there are also a lot of locals here--I think both of these contribute to the feeling of permanence. Most people we know plan on staying for the longterm. In almost 5 years here, we've only had one family we know move away (for a job in another state).

Anonymous wrote:It is a challenge to live in this area. Little chores can take hours with traffic and crowds. It can be quicker to complete a grocery run in NYC. These are the reasons our friends are leaving for places like Nashville, Richmond, Raleigh and of course the NE. I suspect we may do the same once DS reaches school age.

We spent a year in Richmond and it was so easy to do everything. We had to drive out to short pump for a lot of the big box type stores and Trader Joe's but even though it was 10-15 miles it was still quicker and easier than going two miles here most days. They have good restaurants and decent museums with easy and free parking. Wages are lower though so we couldn't stay. I was sad to leave

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only lawyers or lobbyists stay in dc, do you want to spend the rest of your life around lawyers? Or lobbyists? Normal people don’t. Add in the costs and easy to understand why most families leave DC

This is just false and stop saying it. I am raising my kids here and almost all of my friends are still here. I don’t find it any more transient than where I grew up (Midwest small city). It just depends on your circle- we are mostly educators/nonprofit types and feds. Not strivers.

I call BS. A family of “educators/non-profits” living happily in dc or inner suburbia is an just code for “our parents paid our down payment and currently pay for private school.”

Grow up.

It is a challenge to live in this area. Little chores can take hours with traffic and crowds. It can be quicker to complete a grocery run in NYC. These are the reasons our friends are leaving for places like Nashville, Richmond, Raleigh and of course the NE. I suspect we may do the same once DS reaches school age.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a very transient area. It's just part of life. Sorry, OP. It's hard when good friends move.

Most of our friends from early jobs have left. THis is not a real American town. It is transient and mostly immigrants

I find this very offensive. You do realize there are three and four generations of DC residents. Are you saying they aren't real Americans? For shame!

We’re in a similar boat, OP, except we’ll be following suit and leaving in short order. The COL calculus has shifted to the point where this area is no longer a good value proposition for us. DH and I are lawyers and have had very little trouble securing interviews with the top firms in midsize markets. It’s a great economy so it’s a great opportunity to look elsewhere.

We are similarly situated, and we found that there was a big group of departures when other families had to make decisions about schools when their kids hit kindergarten age.

After that things stabilized, as the school decisions were made.

We made new friends fairly easily at that point because there were many other families in the same circumstances, and there's a natural incentive to get along with the parents of your kids friends at school.

While it is sad watching families go because of the transitory nature of the area, the flip side of that coin is that people here are more open to new friendships because of it.

I grew up in DC and stayed here for awhile, but other than the lawyers and GS workers, most of my core group that lived here for 2-4 years after college boomeranged back to where they grew up (mostly in the northeast in my case.) A few others moved to better locales - bay area, san diego, seattle.

Even those who stayed are wistful about eventually getting out.

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the reasons native Washingtonians don’t go all out to befriend people who move here.

Local here, I also tend to be less interested in people that say my town is transient. It’s like saying my home is a shanty....that’s obviously not what hey mean, but it just bugs me and I next them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some will return. They always do.

I did, TWICE. 10 months until I leave again

Do you have kids? Isn't it disruptive to them to keep moving away and returning?

He's 6. Some of the moves happened before he was born, will be 7 at what I hope is our final move. He's excited for this move and was for the others too.

I hate this part about living in DC. My sense is that there is more stability in the close-in suburbs and in the NW. Have you explored moving to Takoma Park/Silver Spring?

Yep. It will happen again and again. I have a couple solids who are natives of this area so they aren't going anywhere but otherwise, a new friend group every 2-4 years is not atypical. Even for the people who don't move to another state but just somewhere like Warrenton, you'll never see them again. Nobody wants to spend an hour on 66 to see friends for lunch.

Anonymous wrote:Only lawyers or lobbyists stay in dc, do you want to spend the rest of your life around lawyers? Or lobbyists? Normal people don’t. Add in the costs and easy to understand why most families leave DC

This is just false and stop saying it. I am raising my kids here and almost all of my friends are still here. I don’t find it any more transient than where I grew up (Midwest small city). It just depends on your circle- we are mostly educators/nonprofit types and feds. Not strivers.