Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks all for your feedback. We will definitely look at Mt. pleasant and CH. Perhaps Bloomingdale too.

Quick question, how do you all apartment hunt? I've heard craigslist, trulia, and mrishomes listed in this thread. The latter two seem remarkably user friendly but both currently only show 1 apartment in Mt pleasant, so maybe there's not much stock there? Any other thoughts/suggestions once again appreciated, you guys have been the best!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who said Mt. Pleasant is most like neighborhoods in Brooklyn and I still think it's your best bet. It's very Park Slope, including easy access to fantastic green space in Rock Creek Park.

But then I recalled that so many of my friends with kids live in Adams Morgan and Kalorama, which are also really great places to land if you're good with apartment or condo living.

Out of curiosity, I did a search for rental properties, 2 BDRM for up to $3K on mrishomes.com for the neighborhoods Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Kalorama, Mount Pleasant and Petworth. Lots of great results are laid out on a map there, that gives you a very good reference for the area I think you want to look in. You can see Soldier's Home as a big green space on the eastern edge of the zone and National Zoo/Rock Creek Park as the boundary to the west, and you'll also get a feel for the housing stock in various areas. I'm a big fan of the older buildings in Kalorama. Keep in mind that the further west and south you go, the greater the amenities and walkability.

Again, I'm in Petworth and the changes here just within the next 6 months are going to alter that walkability/amenities formula - we have a new grocery and lots of restaurants coming in near the Petworth Metro - but having lived in NYC for a while I think a Brooklyn family would be most happy in the area formed by Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan and Kalorama.

The above is good advice.

I'm a PP who recommended Mt Pleasant. Mount Pleasant is a great neighborhood, and it's literally next door to CM now, and a straight shot up and down 16th if/when they move to soldier's. It offers the best commute to soldier's of all of these options, except Petworth, which would be better, and Columbia Heights, which might be slightly worse or the same, depending where exactly. Bloomingdale would be a worse commute and Capitol Hill would be terrible, in comparison to the more northwest neighborhoods.

If you are renting for 3 years only, why compromise? Not trying to be mean, but for what it's worth a lot of people look to Petworth and Bloomingdale because they are priced out of Mount Pleasant row houses. Right now the same row house could be $900k in Mt P, 750k in Bloomingdale and 600k in Petworth. Columbia Heights was always cheaper too but it's caught up fast. But this doesn't concern you OP, so why not live in Mount Pleasant (or Adams Morgan or Kalorama, also expensive per square foot). Unless being next door to the school is important for you, in which case wait for the confirmation and go Petworth.

No offense to the Park View poster but why on earth would someone with a $3k budget for 2 BR only staying 3 years live in Park View (FYI this is far-east Columbia Heights, east of Georgia Ave)? I can see the logic in buying a house there now, but I don't see why you would recommend it for this budget for a 3 year short term stay. There is still quite a bit of crime, not a lot of eating and shopping options, and the commute to CM will be bad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who said Mt. Pleasant is most like neighborhoods in Brooklyn and I still think it's your best bet. It's very Park Slope, including easy access to fantastic green space in Rock Creek Park.

But then I recalled that so many of my friends with kids live in Adams Morgan and Kalorama, which are also really great places to land if you're good with apartment or condo living.

Out of curiosity, I did a search for rental properties, 2 BDRM for up to $3K on mrishomes.com for the neighborhoods Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Kalorama, Mount Pleasant and Petworth. Lots of great results are laid out on a map there, that gives you a very good reference for the area I think you want to look in. You can see Soldier's Home as a big green space on the eastern edge of the zone and National Zoo/Rock Creek Park as the boundary to the west, and you'll also get a feel for the housing stock in various areas. I'm a big fan of the older buildings in Kalorama. Keep in mind that the further west and south you go, the greater the amenities and walkability.

Again, I'm in Petworth and the changes here just within the next 6 months are going to alter that walkability/amenities formula - we have a new grocery and lots of restaurants coming in near the Petworth Metro - but having lived in NYC for a while I think a Brooklyn family would be most happy in the area formed by Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan and Kalorama.

The above is good advice.

I'm a PP who recommended Mt Pleasant. Mount Pleasant is a great neighborhood, and it's literally next door to CM now, and a straight shot up and down 16th if/when they move to soldier's. It offers the best commute to soldier's of all of these options, except Petworth, which would be better, and Columbia Heights, which might be slightly worse or the same, depending where exactly. Bloomingdale would be a worse commute and Capitol Hill would be terrible, in comparison to the more northwest neighborhoods.

If you are renting for 3 years only, why compromise? Not trying to be mean, but for what it's worth a lot of people look to Petworth and Bloomingdale because they are priced out of Mount Pleasant row houses. Right now the same row house could be $900k in Mt P, 750k in Bloomingdale and 600k in Petworth. Columbia Heights was always cheaper too but it's caught up fast. But this doesn't concern you OP, so why not live in Mount Pleasant (or Adams Morgan or Kalorama, also expensive per square foot). Unless being next door to the school is important for you, in which case wait for the confirmation and go Petworth.

No offense to the Park View poster but why on earth would someone with a $3k budget for 2 BR only staying 3 years live in Park View (FYI this is far-east Columbia Heights, east of Georgia Ave)? I can see the logic in buying a house there now, but I don't see why you would recommend it for this budget for a 3 year short term stay. There is still quite a bit of crime, not a lot of eating and shopping options, and the commute to CM will be bad.

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who said Mt. Pleasant is most like neighborhoods in Brooklyn and I still think it's your best bet. It's very Park Slope, including easy access to fantastic green space in Rock Creek Park.

But then I recalled that so many of my friends with kids live in Adams Morgan and Kalorama, which are also really great places to land if you're good with apartment or condo living.

Out of curiosity, I did a search for rental properties, 2 BDRM for up to $3K on mrishomes.com for the neighborhoods Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Kalorama, Mount Pleasant and Petworth. Lots of great results are laid out on a map there, that gives you a very good reference for the area I think you want to look in. You can see Soldier's Home as a big green space on the eastern edge of the zone and National Zoo/Rock Creek Park as the boundary to the west, and you'll also get a feel for the housing stock in various areas. I'm a big fan of the older buildings in Kalorama. Keep in mind that the further west and south you go, the greater the amenities and walkability.

Again, I'm in Petworth and the changes here just within the next 6 months are going to alter that walkability/amenities formula - we have a new grocery and lots of restaurants coming in near the Petworth Metro - but having lived in NYC for a while I think a Brooklyn family would be most happy in the area formed by Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan and Kalorama.

Anonymous wrote:I'm biased but I think the commute from Capitol Hill to the Old Soldier's Home would be miserable on a daily basis.

We live in Columbia Heights, the north part that a PP mentioned--blocks from the Coupe and the trolley playground at 11th and Monroe. We've been in the neighborhood for about 8 years and the walkability is one of the things that makes it really, really hard for us to think about moving anywhere else. We're very spoiled being able to walk to so many playgrounds, restaurants, grocery stores, Target, etc. The one thing that we haven't really found is a good sense of community with other parents in the neighborhood. We live on a busier street that has a lot of renters, and our oldest kid (5) seems to be at least a year or two older than the majority of kids in the neighborhood. But we're also guilty of not making the effort with families who live nearby, although now that that kid is in PK we've started making friend with some of the families at his school who live in the area.

Also, I don't know the status of CM's location change, but if there's any chance it'll stay at the current location for another year (or more), then I definitely wouldn't recommend the Hill or even Bloomingdale. The part of our daily commute that takes the longest is getting from Columbia Heights to the other side of Mt. Pleasant--everyone else in the city seems to be trying to go the same direction at the same time each morning.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I live in the Atlas District (NE Cap Hill) and we didn't even consider CM. The commute is just not feasible.

I think a Brooklyn family would be most happy in the area formed by Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan and Kalorama

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. First of all, thanks for all your concern everyone ( ) but I am not cheating anything. I have been upfront with CM the whole time. They have a copy of my government orders showing the summer transfer. They informed me that I can enroll now with those orders, but will need to demonstrate proof of residency by the first day of school -- which I will certainly do.

Anonymous wrote:The biggest issue here is that OP is coming just for a few years. That means she is taking up early elementary spots with no intention of staying past Kindergarten. That is very sad for the child who doesn't get in who would have stayed all the way through elementary - on many, many levels.

Quotes like the above are NUTS! Yes, we'll be here temporarily -- for 2 to 3 YEARS! What would you have me do doing this time? Not enroll my child in school? Purposely pick a lesser school? (Note that I struck out of the common lottery and other individual school lottery, so I have no other public options for PS3). Give me a break! I did not buy or cheat my way into the lottery, I entered and crossed my fingers and got lucky (for once!). I'll be a resident and paying my taxes every year, so have just as much right as you do to take my kid to the best possible school that I can. (But kudos to you for agreeing to keep your DC in your current PS3 for the next 15 years until he graduates, that's a very noble commitment).

Finally, thanks to all the previous posters who have provided neighborhood input, it's all been very helpful. Looking like Mt. Pleasant area is seeming ideal, though will definitely check out CH, Bloomingdale,etc..... I'd love to hear a little more from those in Capitol Hill (or NE Capitol Hill, e.g. Atlast district) regarding the best areas to check out/wander (within my price range). Also curious how the commute (driving) from Old Soliders Home to/from say Capitol Hill would compare to that to/from Mt. Pleasant....

Thanks again to all (well, to the non-bitter, non-paranoid posters, anyway).

We drive from Bloomingdale to and from NE Capitol Hill every day (during commute) and it takes about 20 minutes. the problem is you have to get through the NY/Florida intersection which is a mess. Then you'd have to add at least 5-10 minutes longer to get to the soldiers home, so while it's a good location to live and may well offer what you're looking for (it's a great neighborhood) it's not very convenient for CM.