Nvm I see you found a house, it looks awesome! Congrats on the find!

Definitely not Chevy Chase, and maybe not Cleveland Park either!!! Those are wealthy preppy Range Rover places. What about like, Shirlington? Which is in Arl btw, but you are much more likely to find laid back outdoorsy mildly crunchy vibes in pockets of Arlington

Ndldc wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This house is two blocks from Whittier which has an amazing principal and can't speak to 4th yet but great K teachers. It's easily walkable to TKPK, the metro, the playground, and it's in price range. Honestly I have no idea why people are recommending Cleveland Park which is not at all TKPK like. It's a great neighborhood but very different and much more expensive.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6420-2nd-Pl-NW-Washington-DC-20012/488130_zpid/

To whoever posted this: lease contract signed and we move in August 1st! You’re right, it’s for everything we were looking for. A thousand thanks!!

It's a really wonderful community with families walking to school and looking out for each other. I hope you enjoy your year here!

I think you already figured this out but we lived in TkPk through middle school and it's really NBD to have kids at TPES and PBES. They are connected by stairs and are a 3-4 minute walk. I would 100% not hesitate to do this, especially if you stay at home (sounds like you do). It's a wonderful place to have kids. For K, if your kid is new making friends is no issue. For 4th, you may want to ask the principal for a few family connections to meet other families in the summer. Everyone talks about how many and how big the classes are but honestly, we had no problem with it.

When the baby gets a bit older, send him/her to De colores, a Spanish immersion Montessori in the neighborhood just down from Whittier! It’s a wonderful little school that my kid attended from 16 months to 4 years. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Love this as an outcome for the OP!

Anonymous wrote:This house is two blocks from Whittier which has an amazing principal and can't speak to 4th yet but great K teachers. It's easily walkable to TKPK, the metro, the playground, and it's in price range. Honestly I have no idea why people are recommending Cleveland Park which is not at all TKPK like. It's a great neighborhood but very different and much more expensive.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6420-2nd-Pl-NW-Washington-DC-20012/488130_zpid/

To whoever posted this: lease contract signed and we move in August 1st! You’re right, it’s for everything we were looking for. A thousand thanks!!

Anonymous wrote:We live in DC and love it and would love in Brooklyn if we lived in NYC.

but if I were to move to the suburbs, it would absolutely be Takoma Park. No other suburbs/suburban parts of DC have the same vibe.

+1.

I also speak from experience as someone who grew up in Silver Spring but had lots of friends in TKPK. It’s a wonderful neighborhood. (Though it’ll take a lot to get me to leave the city.)

OP, I feel like you will be happier in DC proper (MD is bad at sidewalks) - pretty much anywhere in NW DC if you don't need to worry about middle school, especially if you take transit. Petworth meets a lot of your criteria but harder to get a standalone home (it's a baby paradise though). Takoma and Shepherd Park could be good, Crestwood is near Rock Creek Park which is awesome but less good on the transit side, unless you're up for embracing buses and biking.

If you go the DC route you might want to choose by school boundaries. Any West of Rock Creek Park school is fine, East of the Park you have good options in John Lewis, Barnard, Shepherd, Whittier, Truesdall (these are just schools I know people are happy at) - some schools in DC are bilingual so if you're not bilingual you will have to be moved to another school (Bancroft in Mt Pleasant falls into this category).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best area like Takoma Park is Takoma Park itself.

This. Just live on the DC side for the one year if the different elementary schools is an issue. Both Takoma and Whittier are good schools.

People here are throwing in wild choices. Definitely do not move to Forest Glen if walk ability is any part of your criteria. It's a perfectly fine neighborhood if you want to be near the metro and driving to things but it's wedged next to one of the worst stretches of a terrible stroad right off a highway exit/entrance.

+1 true

I will add that rather than Forest Glen, living in or near the Town of Kensington gives you walkability to some pretty decent restaurants and shopping (the MARC train goes straight into DC if that works with your schedule - check the train times/stops). A heads up that there are different schools there depending on where you live, and the school boundaries are most certainly going to change in the next couple of years as there is a boundary study underway due to the completion of a new high school. We are in the less expensive area zoned for Oakland Terrace ES which is widely respected in MCPS, and we've had a great experience. It has a school-wide Spanish immersion program for all students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also: Arlington feels too suburb-y/wealthy for my husband, who has been there.

And, AI responded to my question by recommending, roughly in order, Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park, Friendship Heights/Tenleytown, Takoma DC, and Petworth. Is it right?

If Arlington (all parts of it? Really?) feel too wealthy for your husband, Chevy Chase and NW are not going to be better.

Exactly. Look in South Arlington (any neighborhood south of Rt 50). But if N Arlington is too wealthy and suburban, Chevy Chase is even wealthier, but just as suburban, even if you stay in the city side.

I'm not sure anyone would consider those places walkable though? Maybe Pentagon City area but leafy plus walkable in that area is probably Old Town or Del Ray. Ultimately, I don't think Virginia is a fit if the previous residences were H St., Brooklyn, and an affinity for TKPK.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also: Arlington feels too suburb-y/wealthy for my husband, who has been there.

And, AI responded to my question by recommending, roughly in order, Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park, Friendship Heights/Tenleytown, Takoma DC, and Petworth. Is it right?

If Arlington (all parts of it? Really?) feel too wealthy for your husband, Chevy Chase and NW are not going to be better.

Exactly. Look in South Arlington (any neighborhood south of Rt 50). But if N Arlington is too wealthy and suburban, Chevy Chase is even wealthier, but just as suburban, even if you stay in the city side.