Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps, we're in Petworth and everyone we know that's left has gone to MoCo. Mostly Takoma Park/Silver Spring, some to Bethesda. You'd be in good company if you ended up there!

Also in Petworth, my kids lucked into a J-R feeder and we are also probably suburb bound because the schools just aren't good enough to justify the cost of moving in bounds.

Why move in-bounds if you lotteried into a feeder? Isn't that the entire point of the lottery? And I'm not saying J-R is perfect, but it's certainly not any worse than Takoma Park and Silver Spring schools. Sounds like OP isn't considering Bethesda or McLean, so apples to apples, her "upper NW" and MCPS options (Blair, Einstein) are going to be very similar.

Because the commute is extremely disruptive for marginal educational benefit (in our case).

Where are you looking to move though? I'm assuming not Takoma Park if you're looking for more than a marginal benefit in the move...

OP here, not the person you're replying to. But my main motivation to move is safety. I don't feel safe and my kids are not getting the freedom I want them to have as a result. I don't need it to be like a gated community, but DC has been awful with shootings lately, increasingly during the daytime. TP is surely an improvement?

Anonymous wrote:Just buy in Arlington or McLean... You have the money for a nice SFH.

Anonymous wrote:You can get a house in Bethesda for as little as 800K. It won't be fancy, though.

Anonymous wrote:Did you just start looking? My friend just bought a 1.5M in bound for Murch. It is possible.

Anonymous wrote:
Prices have increased at a higher rater than salaries, OP. You knew that, right?

Everyone is in the same boat.

We're still not sure if the US can avoid a recession in 2023 and 2024, but even if there is a recession, upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase and some areas of NoVa will always increase in price.

So unless you're benefiting from free preK in DC, I'd move to MD or VA right away, in an area with great public schools and public transport - not necessarily to put your kids in there, but to guarantee the continued value of your house. It's an investment consideration. Of course the excellent public school clusters will also be expensive. I'm in Bethesda just west of downtown, and houses are 2M+ here.

Anonymous wrote:... And it feels like no amount of money is enough. It's like a bottomless pit that we keep throwing money into and we're further behind than ever.

We are currently in Petworth with a 7 and 5 yo. We like it here but feel ready for less crime, better schools, while keeping some proximity to downtown and neighborhood walkability. I targeted Chevy Chase DC as being possible, maybe AU park if we got lucky.

For 3-4 years I've squirreled away money. We've turned down vacations, I've grocery shopped and cooked even as our jobs and lives got crazier. We have shared one paid off car. We're not suffering, but we've been working toward a goal.

I really thought a 1.5m budget would get our foot in the door. I knew we wouldn't get a newly renovated house for that price, but something livable that we could commit to updating slowly over time.

This year we will hit our savings target for $1.5, and all the houses are now $1.9+. Inventory is awful. We're further behind than ever before, and threads in this forum are suggesting that prices will never drop. It's so disheartening.

I know I am not owed a house, and I'm sure I'll get attacked. But I'm feeling so sad that we worked for so hard toward a goal only to see it slip further away every year. I just feel sad for myself and our family, and disappointed that we have to give up some part of our goals.

Hindsight is 20/20 but I wish we had just taken out a massive mortgage and bought last year when there was inventory. Now, unless prices come down considerably, we'll probably have to leave the city. It feels like it happened so quickly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps, we're in Petworth and everyone we know that's left has gone to MoCo. Mostly Takoma Park/Silver Spring, some to Bethesda. You'd be in good company if you ended up there!

Also in Petworth, my kids lucked into a J-R feeder and we are also probably suburb bound because the schools just aren't good enough to justify the cost of moving in bounds.

Why move in-bounds if you lotteried into a feeder? Isn't that the entire point of the lottery? And I'm not saying J-R is perfect, but it's certainly not any worse than Takoma Park and Silver Spring schools. Sounds like OP isn't considering Bethesda or McLean, so apples to apples, her "upper NW" and MCPS options (Blair, Einstein) are going to be very similar.

Because the commute is extremely disruptive for marginal educational benefit (in our case).

Where are you looking to move though? I'm assuming not Takoma Park if you're looking for more than a marginal benefit in the move...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps, we're in Petworth and everyone we know that's left has gone to MoCo. Mostly Takoma Park/Silver Spring, some to Bethesda. You'd be in good company if you ended up there!

Also in Petworth, my kids lucked into a J-R feeder and we are also probably suburb bound because the schools just aren't good enough to justify the cost of moving in bounds.

Why move in-bounds if you lotteried into a feeder? Isn't that the entire point of the lottery? And I'm not saying J-R is perfect, but it's certainly not any worse than Takoma Park and Silver Spring schools. Sounds like OP isn't considering Bethesda or McLean, so apples to apples, her "upper NW" and MCPS options (Blair, Einstein) are going to be very similar.

Because the commute is extremely disruptive for marginal educational benefit (in our case).

Where are you looking to move though? I'm assuming not Takoma Park if you're looking for more than a marginal benefit in the move...

OP here, not the person you're replying to. But my main motivation to move is safety. I don't feel safe and my kids are not getting the freedom I want them to have as a result. I don't need it to be like a gated community, but DC has been awful with shootings lately, increasingly during the daytime. TP is surely an improvement?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it helps, we're in Petworth and everyone we know that's left has gone to MoCo. Mostly Takoma Park/Silver Spring, some to Bethesda. You'd be in good company if you ended up there!

Also in Petworth, my kids lucked into a J-R feeder and we are also probably suburb bound because the schools just aren't good enough to justify the cost of moving in bounds.

Why move in-bounds if you lotteried into a feeder? Isn't that the entire point of the lottery? And I'm not saying J-R is perfect, but it's certainly not any worse than Takoma Park and Silver Spring schools. Sounds like OP isn't considering Bethesda or McLean, so apples to apples, her "upper NW" and MCPS options (Blair, Einstein) are going to be very similar.

Because the commute is extremely disruptive for marginal educational benefit (in our case).

Where are you looking to move though? I'm assuming not Takoma Park if you're looking for more than a marginal benefit in the move...

OP here, not the person you're replying to. But my main motivation to move is safety. I don't feel safe and my kids are not getting the freedom I want them to have as a result. I don't need it to be like a gated community, but DC has been awful with shootings lately, increasingly during the daytime. TP is surely an improvement?

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you renting right now?