22.13 here. This was the link I meant to post. Conta 22.34 it suggests that plenty of folk find a way through the schools issues and are happy to stay in what have been identified here as the hipster neighborhoods. Our DS is turning 6 this year and we will be fine where we are through ES. What happens after that is unclear, but our plans are uncertain beyond 2016 in any case.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/277590.page

Granted, that is what cities are counting on these days to make their comebacks -- a churn of yuppies that leave before their kids hit ES and of empty-nesters. It is doable and sustainable. It's just not what I prefer.

Yep! And with the exception of the woman artist who has 3 children in Bloomingdale -- and maybe her, too -- I can pretty much guarantee that NONE of the District PPs on the previous 10 pages have children over the age of 6.

Which is fine, I'll cop to having had a toddler myself at one point

But it's sort of disingenuous or perhaps even lying by admission to insist that your little pocket of hipster DC is "awesome for families!!!!!!!" and stay silent on the fact that your schools really suck out loud. And that includes all but 4-5 charters, too.

Anonymous wrote:+1, pp. But note parts of dupont circ and cap hill which have good neighborhood elementary schools. Otherwise its the out of boundary / charter lotteries. Experience on these suggests you won't get your top preference, but that most people find somethong OK.

see for eg this thread on schools, not that it's necessarily representative but nobody on this thread saying that they moved to the burbs because they failed to find a spot through the various public school lotteries. Supports the case that most people find something acceptable, even if they don't live in the best school districts.

+1, pp. But note parts of dupont circ and cap hill which have good neighborhood elementary schools. Otherwise its the out of boundary / charter lotteries. Experience on these suggests you won't get your top preference, but that most people find somethong OK.

La native here. Nothing really compares to LA and you're looking for things that exist individually but not in one place in DC.

If you want funky hippy dippy green oriented types, takoma park. Lots of families, very community oriented, some beautiful houses, you could probably rent a small house. the MD side has better schools. Some ethnic food all around that area of MD, but beware that you are entering a land where amazing, inexpensive and hip restaurants are few and far between. You will also be shocked at how much produce sucks, and how expensive it is. On the other hand, you may be pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of public transportation and the general brain power of people in the DC area.

If you are more committed to urban life, then columbia heights, petworth, maybe bloomingdale, mount pleasant (a nice combo of ethnic, family, and urban, plus near a park and some nice charter schools), or logan circle/dupont, although the latter is more hip/trendy than funky/artsy. It is also the center of gay culture in DC (though not its only expression). But in these areas, you cannot count on great in boundary schools. Many of the areas with great in boundary schools in DC are pleasant but boring. the least boring might be cleveland park, but by no means is it funky.

I can't speak much to areas outside of DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

And yet our neighborhood is FULL of children and there is a bigger baby boom here in the last year than I have seen since I got here - us included. People are MOVING here and having babies. We have three kids here and most families here are on their second or third. To each their own...

I am curious. What's your options for schools ?

Gentrifiers are betting on charters. DCPS in the area is grim even at ES level: Seaton, Thomson, Langley. For some reason much of Bloomingdale also has a feed into Garrison ES, which is arguably a little better, but this is slated for closure.

And what are your options if you dont get a spot in a charter ?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

+1 it feels different for me than other places in the city (that are being discussed here)

Really? I live in Columbia Heights, and I don't get the feeling that it's too different, crime-wise.

OP, you've had lots of good suggestions, and please ignore those when feel the need to pull down other neighborhoods to build their's up. (Especially ignore the "DC sucks, you'll never be happy here" crowd, too - I get the feeling they'd be miserable wherever they are.) DC is different than other cities (shocking, I know), and has its pros and cons. just like anywhere else.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

+1 it feels different for me than other places in the city (that are being discussed here)

Left unsaid is the number of people who slink off into the night of Northern VA from the hip, supposedly gentrifying neighborhoods.

Granted, that is what cities are counting on these days to make their comebacks -- a churn of yuppies that leave before their kids hit ES and of empty-nesters. It is doable and sustainable. It's just not what I prefer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

And yet our neighborhood is FULL of children and there is a bigger baby boom here in the last year than I have seen since I got here - us included. People are MOVING here and having babies. We have three kids here and most families here are on their second or third. To each their own...

I am curious. What's your options for schools ?

Gentrifiers are betting on charters. DCPS in the area is grim even at ES level: Seaton, Thomson, Langley. For some reason much of Bloomingdale also has a feed into Garrison ES, which is arguably a little better, but this is slated for closure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

And yet our neighborhood is FULL of children and there is a bigger baby boom here in the last year than I have seen since I got here - us included. People are MOVING here and having babies. We have three kids here and most families here are on their second or third. To each their own...

I am curious. What's your options for schools ?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd highly recommend Columbia Heights around the 11th street corridor. there are a lot of people with young kids, great places to eat, and better walkability than bloomingdate, petworth, or takoma park (other places mentioned here).

am surprised to see all the bloomingdale posts (sock puppeting?!). It just doesn't seem like a great place to live, given the proximity to north capital street, crime, and general sketchiness. i sure wouldn't move there just for big bear and a couple other places to go drink.

Bloomingdale is changing so fast. All the development along Florida Ave, New York Ave, and now North Capitol are radically changing the area. Even Eckington is gentrifying. And there some beautiful old row house mansions in Bloomingdale especially the further north you go.

And I am the poster below you who said I was the last Bloomingdale PP but I'm now NOT because you posted too.
there is NO sock puppeting.
People DO like Bloomingdale for all the reasons that have been mentioned. The main thing that everyone is saying is that it is changing super fast. So people need ot realize it might not be what you think anymore!

recent price trends in bloomingdale suggest more than a couple of dcum sock puppets. 30% you according to zillow!
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/DC-Washington/Bloomingdale-home-value/r_121677/

You can thank the flippers for that. Just look at the houses offered right now and their prices history.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

And yet our neighborhood is FULL of children and there is a bigger baby boom here in the last year than I have seen since I got here - us included. People are MOVING here and having babies. We have three kids here and most families here are on their second or third. To each their own...

I haven't been following this thread closely, but OP should know that Bloomingdale has a fairly high crime rate compared to much of the city. I wouldn't want to live there with kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd highly recommend Columbia Heights around the 11th street corridor. there are a lot of people with young kids, great places to eat, and better walkability than bloomingdate, petworth, or takoma park (other places mentioned here).

am surprised to see all the bloomingdale posts (sock puppeting?!). It just doesn't seem like a great place to live, given the proximity to north capital street, crime, and general sketchiness. i sure wouldn't move there just for big bear and a couple other places to go drink.

Bloomingdale is changing so fast. All the development along Florida Ave, New York Ave, and now North Capitol are radically changing the area. Even Eckington is gentrifying. And there some beautiful old row house mansions in Bloomingdale especially the further north you go.

And I am the poster below you who said I was the last Bloomingdale PP but I'm now NOT because you posted too.
there is NO sock puppeting.
People DO like Bloomingdale for all the reasons that have been mentioned. The main thing that everyone is saying is that it is changing super fast. So people need ot realize it might not be what you think anymore!

recent price trends in bloomingdale suggest more than a couple of dcum sock puppets. 30% you according to zillow!
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/DC-Washington/Bloomingdale-home-value/r_121677/