I think you'd be happier in Logan Circle or Bloomingdale than any if those suburbs.

12:52 here - I'm not the PP who recommended Burke, but I do live there. Burke fits some of her criteria, but certainly not all. If she wants an urban feel, Burke will NOT work out for her. It does have the sense of community, family friendly atmosphere, and lots of young families. But urban, it is not.

That is why I suggested Del Ray. Huge artist community, lots of young families, walkable shopping/restaurants, etc.

You should look at Del Ray! It absolutely fits your wish list.

Anonymous wrote:I moved to DC from NYC, too, and am very happy living in Mount Pleasant. Of course, it is not as dense and developed as most of NYC. It has a very different vibe. But you can find diversity, cute houses, and access to transportation in DC proper. And on top of that, we're right near the park and the zoo. I also have NYC transplant friends near H Street, near Eastern Market and in Georgetown.

I get why the OP is looking in VA but it just seems odd to me that so many people are saying New Yorkers would be happier in the suburbs than in DC.

I think there are some people who clearly prefer cities or suburbs, and others who are more adaptable and seek out what they think is the "best" in a region. Obviously, if you crave city living, and despise the suburbs, you want to be in a few pockets or DC or maybe Alexandria (I wouldn't include Arlington, because it seems far more suburban than urban to me).

But, if you are equally open to cities and suburbs, you may conclude that living in the suburbs in this region is preferable to living in DC. As an ex-NYC resident, that's how I feel. NYC is clearly the hub of its region, but DC accounts for only a small fraction of this region. The close-in suburbs seem diverse, bustling and authentic to me, while DC feels like a pale imitation of a real city. Just my two cents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved to DC from NYC, too, and am very happy living in Mount Pleasant. Of course, it is not as dense and developed as most of NYC. It has a very different vibe. But you can find diversity, cute houses, and access to transportation in DC proper. And on top of that, we're right near the park and the zoo. I also have NYC transplant friends near H Street, near Eastern Market and in Georgetown.

I get why the OP is looking in VA but it just seems odd to me that so many people are saying New Yorkers would be happier in the suburbs than in DC.

Why does it seem odd? Most folks recommending probably live in the suburbs and may have never lived anywhere as dense as NYC. Took me a LONG time to get why folks want to live in subdivisions (FWIW, we still live in DC after 15 years in NYC). Suburbanites can have blinkered vision on what works for others. YMMV, but I'd rather fold up my stroller and wrestle my kid and me onto a bus, then drive from home garage to parking lot to go to the library, visit a bookstore, etc. Drive across America and you will see many people prefer the latter.

It is just so ironic that you recommend she drives across America to see people who prefer not to drive.

No, not what I wrote. The "latter" refers to driving from home to shop to school to library, etc., rather than the "former," which is schlepping to all those places via bus, subway, or on foot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved to DC from NYC, too, and am very happy living in Mount Pleasant. Of course, it is not as dense and developed as most of NYC. It has a very different vibe. But you can find diversity, cute houses, and access to transportation in DC proper. And on top of that, we're right near the park and the zoo. I also have NYC transplant friends near H Street, near Eastern Market and in Georgetown.

I get why the OP is looking in VA but it just seems odd to me that so many people are saying New Yorkers would be happier in the suburbs than in DC.

Why does it seem odd? Most folks recommending probably live in the suburbs and may have never lived anywhere as dense as NYC. Took me a LONG time to get why folks want to live in subdivisions (FWIW, we still live in DC after 15 years in NYC). Suburbanites can have blinkered vision on what works for others. YMMV, but I'd rather fold up my stroller and wrestle my kid and me onto a bus, then drive from home garage to parking lot to go to the library, visit a bookstore, etc. Drive across America and you will see many people prefer the latter.

It is just so ironic that you recommend she drives across America to see people who prefer not to drive.

Anonymous wrote:I moved to DC from NYC, too, and am very happy living in Mount Pleasant. Of course, it is not as dense and developed as most of NYC. It has a very different vibe. But you can find diversity, cute houses, and access to transportation in DC proper. And on top of that, we're right near the park and the zoo. I also have NYC transplant friends near H Street, near Eastern Market and in Georgetown.

I get why the OP is looking in VA but it just seems odd to me that so many people are saying New Yorkers would be happier in the suburbs than in DC.

Why does it seem odd? Most folks recommending probably live in the suburbs and may have never lived anywhere as dense as NYC. Took me a LONG time to get why folks want to live in subdivisions (FWIW, we still live in DC after 15 years in NYC). Suburbanites can have blinkered vision on what works for others. YMMV, but I'd rather fold up my stroller and wrestle my kid and me onto a bus, then drive from home garage to parking lot to go to the library, visit a bookstore, etc. Drive across America and you will see many people prefer the latter.

Anonymous wrote:I lived in FFX City for a decade. It's a lovely town. Small town feel, people are nice - they held doors for me and my kids everywhere, said hello, were polite in traffic (hard to believe). Nice playgrounds, nature trails (along Daniel's Run Stream) farmers market, great Lifetime Fitness gym, on metro... it was a great place to live. I only left because I downsized. Live in Oakton now which is nice too. But I loved FFX City.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/04/towns-cities-real-estate-lifestyle-real-estate-top-towns_slide_24.html

Old forbes article

I lived in FFX City for a decade. It's a lovely town. Small town feel, people are nice - they held doors for me and my kids everywhere, said hello, were polite in traffic (hard to believe). Nice playgrounds, nature trails (along Daniel's Run Stream) farmers market, great Lifetime Fitness gym, on metro... it was a great place to live. I only left because I downsized. Live in Oakton now which is nice too. But I loved FFX City.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/04/towns-cities-real-estate-lifestyle-real-estate-top-towns_slide_24.html

I moved to DC from NYC, too, and am very happy living in Mount Pleasant. Of course, it is not as dense and developed as most of NYC. It has a very different vibe. But you can find diversity, cute houses, and access to transportation in DC proper. And on top of that, we're right near the park and the zoo. I also have NYC transplant friends near H Street, near Eastern Market and in Georgetown.

I get why the OP is looking in VA but it just seems odd to me that so many people are saying New Yorkers would be happier in the suburbs than in DC.

I haven't read all of the comments but I'll recommend the Dunn Loring Woods neighborhood in Vienna. It's not that close to downtown Vienna but it's a great location being ten min from downtown Vienna, fifteen min to Falls Church, ten min to Tyson's and five min to Mosaic District. The schools are Stenwood/Thoreau/Marshall - which are all great and your kids will be able to walk to both elem and middle school. There is a great pool in the neighborhood and everyone is super friendly. The nice colonials go for about $625-675, so right in your range.

OP here: wow. This is a little treasure trove for me. So many great ideas. I so appreciate all of your insight. It seems like anything will really be a trade-off, so we'll rent and try to suss this all out. Thank you. Thank you.

Burke IS a short commute to GMU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to check out Burke. Family oriented, good schools and very close to George Mason.

But far from anything else

THANK YOU

I have yet to figure out how to reconcile this forum's love of short commutes and walkable neighborhoods with its willingness to recommend Burke for any or no reason, even when it makes zero sense for a poster.

what is all this political BS about? Do you want group think? There are people with differing opinions everywhere, and I think it good that NoVa is not all 100% democrat or 100% republican. It is actually a battleground state, where people fight for your vote and your voice is heard. My neighbors, to the extent political, which is rare, run the complete spectrum which I find refreshing.