OP here again. Thanks for all the advice. I'm done. I'll go rent in Potomac.

Anonymous wrote:

On a side note. I think that people here put too much importance on what the school does and not enough on the parents. Every meaningful study of schools shows that as incomes of the students rise, so does performance, no matter what else is done. Most of the neighborhoods are rapidly gentrifying. I just think it's funny that people don't think that as the demographics change, the schools want. From what I've read about some schools in east MoCo, a good school can certainly turn into a mediocre one in that period of time.

This is so wonderfully naive--especially as it relates to DCPS particularly--that I don't know where to begin. I'll just say that I wish you the best with this line of thinking and that you might contemplate doing a little more research.

Anonymous wrote:OP here again. Thanks for all the advice. I'm done. I'll go rent in Potomac.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

On a side note. I think that people here put too much importance on what the school does and not enough on the parents. Every meaningful study of schools shows that as incomes of the students rise, so does performance, no matter what else is done. Most of the neighborhoods are rapidly gentrifying. I just think it's funny that people don't think that as the demographics change, the schools want. From what I've read about some schools in east MoCo, a good school can certainly turn into a mediocre one in that period of time.

This is so wonderfully naive--especially as it relates to DCPS particularly--that I don't know where to begin. I'll just say that I wish you the best with this line of thinking and that you might contemplate doing a little more research.

I really just came here to ask about inventory. But all I'm saying is that no one knows where these schools will be in 5-10 years, especially in a city whose demographics are changing rapidly. I've done a lot of research. The things I stated about parental income and school performance are incontrovertible. They are fact that has been proven over decades of study in numerous locations. Why would something that happens everywhere else in this country not happen here?
Maybe I'm naive, but I think a lot of things accepted as dogma, are not necessarily true.

I'm not trying to be mean or rude. I really appreciate the advice that everyone has taken the time to give. But that last post was insulting. I'm going into this with my eyes open. My job has included working with kids in a school system worse than DCPS.
I'm saying I don't know what will happen and am willing to accept some uncertainty. People on here who say they do know what will happen probably don't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We already have a realtor and a lender. We've been lurking for a while and did a recon visit back in April,,but haven't been able to commit until now.
I definitely don't need something West of the Park, it's better for our commutes to be East. We also have will child care already worked out through work.
When I said I didn't know what would happen in 5 years, I meant with the school system, not my situation. I'm a big believer in the idea that schools are not good or bad, and the big determinant of a schools quality is the income of the parents. I think if you bussed the entire student population from Bethesda into a poor performing school in SE and vice versa, the performance of the students would likely not change. In fact I suspect that given an influx of motivated students with wealthy families to the school in SE would probably do better.
It's fairly obvious that the demographics of the District are changing at a rapid clip and in 5 years the distribution of wealth in the area will look very different. The schools will likely improve and the calculus will change. So buying now planning on what schools will be like in 5 years seems silly to me.
And I'm a little sad to be leaving my college town, but the opportunity for me is very promising. That's the thing about the city. More opportunities.
I actually liked Brookland, especially the yards. Takoma is nice as well. Brightwood, not as much. The only thing I worry about Brookland is that it is very hot and the potential to overpay is high. I've actually done a fair bit of research and there are probably 5-6 neighborhoods that are acceptable to us where we probably would be very happy, especially given my school philosophy..

Thanks for the advice.

What do you mean west of "the park?"

Schools in DC are horrible unless you get into a charter school, and I think there is a whole thread on that. You are in la-la land with regard to the schools. But based on your ideologue, hypothetical rhetoric, I think you would fit in SE or NE PERFECTLY. The ideologue transplant. Perfecto - BINGO!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We already have a realtor and a lender. We've been lurking for a while and did a recon visit back in April,,but haven't been able to commit until now.
I definitely don't need something West of the Park, it's better for our commutes to be East. We also have will child care already worked out through work.
When I said I didn't know what would happen in 5 years, I meant with the school system, not my situation. I'm a big believer in the idea that schools are not good or bad, and the big determinant of a schools quality is the income of the parents. I think if you bussed the entire student population from Bethesda into a poor performing school in SE and vice versa, the performance of the students would likely not change. In fact I suspect that given an influx of motivated students with wealthy families to the school in SE would probably do better.
It's fairly obvious that the demographics of the District are changing at a rapid clip and in 5 years the distribution of wealth in the area will look very different. The schools will likely improve and the calculus will change. So buying now planning on what schools will be like in 5 years seems silly to me.
And I'm a little sad to be leaving my college town, but the opportunity for me is very promising. That's the thing about the city. More opportunities.
I actually liked Brookland, especially the yards. Takoma is nice as well. Brightwood, not as much. The only thing I worry about Brookland is that it is very hot and the potential to overpay is high. I've actually done a fair bit of research and there are probably 5-6 neighborhoods that are acceptable to us where we probably would be very happy, especially given my school philosophy..

Thanks for the advice.

What do you mean west of "the park?"

Schools in DC are horrible unless you get into a charter school, and I think there is a whole thread on that. You are in la-la land with regard to the schools. But based on your ideologue, hypothetical rhetoric, I think you would fit in SE or NE PERFECTLY. The ideologue transplant. Perfecto - BINGO!

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We already have a realtor and a lender. We've been lurking for a while and did a recon visit back in April,,but haven't been able to commit until now.
I definitely don't need something West of the Park, it's better for our commutes to be East. We also have will child care already worked out through work.
When I said I didn't know what would happen in 5 years, I meant with the school system, not my situation. I'm a big believer in the idea that schools are not good or bad, and the big determinant of a schools quality is the income of the parents. I think if you bussed the entire student population from Bethesda into a poor performing school in SE and vice versa, the performance of the students would likely not change. In fact I suspect that given an influx of motivated students with wealthy families to the school in SE would probably do better.
It's fairly obvious that the demographics of the District are changing at a rapid clip and in 5 years the distribution of wealth in the area will look very different. The schools will likely improve and the calculus will change. So buying now planning on what schools will be like in 5 years seems silly to me.
And I'm a little sad to be leaving my college town, but the opportunity for me is very promising. That's the thing about the city. More opportunities.
I actually liked Brookland, especially the yards. Takoma is nice as well. Brightwood, not as much. The only thing I worry about Brookland is that it is very hot and the potential to overpay is high. I've actually done a fair bit of research and there are probably 5-6 neighborhoods that are acceptable to us where we probably would be very happy, especially given my school philosophy..

Thanks for the advice.

Anonymous wrote:

On a side note. I think that people here put too much importance on what the school does and not enough on the parents. Every meaningful study of schools shows that as incomes of the students rise, so does performance, no matter what else is done. Most of the neighborhoods are rapidly gentrifying. I just think it's funny that people don't think that as the demographics change, the schools want. From what I've read about some schools in east MoCo, a good school can certainly turn into a mediocre one in that period of time.

This is so wonderfully naive--especially as it relates to DCPS particularly--that I don't know where to begin. I'll just say that I wish you the best with this line of thinking and that you might contemplate doing a little more research.