I agree with you. When I lived in the District I thought people were generally very cool, but I love the burbs too and now read this stuff and wonder where all of these judgmental bitches came from? I am born and raised DC, live in Bethesda now and couldn't be happier. I am glad (or at least hope) that I don't know any of these haters!

I honestly think there are some people who are so obsessed with bashing the suburbs that they sit in their apartments and make up threads to try and make city living sound more attractive. The OP doesn't sound like a real person to me, at least not one that I'd want to know.

Good Lord, move where you want. Get some actual friends to talk to and stop complaining on an anonymous board. Take control and fix your life. Or do you just enjoy stirring up trouble and hate on DCUM?

I don't find Columbia Heights appealing at all. There's a palpable tension there, because it's disputed territory. You can tell the lower income residents don't like the newcomers who are making it harder for them to stay there. I guess if you'd find it exciting to live in the West Bank, or are totally clueless about how your presence is perceived, you might like it. There is a Metro station there, after all.

Anonymous wrote:OP - I agree, the burbs are awful, especially areas like Centreville, Springfield. I would die a slow death living out there.

If the streets in OP's Maryland 'hood are "car-choked" then I highly doubt she lives in a far-flung location.

I am genuinely curious to know where OP does live.

Anonymous wrote:OP - I agree, the burbs are awful, especially areas like Centreville, Springfield. I would die a slow death living out there.

Or you can die quickly from homicide in dc

OP - I agree, the burbs are awful, especially areas like Centreville, Springfield. I would die a slow death living out there.

Anonymous wrote:Your child will love the lawn and the suburbs. Kids don't care about dining out. You are just adjusting to a big change in your life.

Frederick booster (of sorts) here. You can really replace Frederick with Annapolis, Fredericksburg, Leesburg, or even Manassas in my previous posts.

FWIW, my DD didn't really use the yard until she was close to 5. Otherwise you had to hover over her making sure she didn't Darwinize herself -- for all that hassle, why NOT go to the park and see if there's other kids there, other moms there, etc.? Now DD enjoys the park quite a bit and DW gets to be 60s housewife, reading or doing whatever while DD entertains herself.

My DW is convinced DD couldn't survive w/o the yard + SFH, but the SFH is her thing (she's paranoid about neighbor noise, since we once lived in a duplex next to some screamers, and I don't really blame her) and my preference for urban-ish living is sated by living near downtown Leesburg.

Your child will love the lawn and the suburbs. Kids don't care about dining out. You are just adjusting to a big change in your life.

Anonymous wrote:
What exactly is "70% of the DCUM dream"?
Just curious.

Well look at downtown Frederick.

Shops? Yes, the usual assortment of cute places you might really go once a year if that, a few practical stores, and a store or two that'll end up becoming your favorite.
Dining? Yes. There's a few dozen restaurants within a mile.
Entertainment? Yes. Weinberg Center + Grove Stadium + Baker Park + Hood College
Parks? Yes. Baker Park, 3rd Street Park, Mullinix Park, etc.
Good schools? By DCPS standards, yes -- especially Parkway and Spring Ridge. Lincoln is more along the lines of Brent in terms of demographics.

But it's only near a MARC train and not near a Metro line of any sort (at least until 2100).

Can you go car-free? Not really, but you can't go car-free in Woodridge, Hillcrest, Shepherd Park, or any of the other DC neighborhoods that are safe and get you something other than a walk-in closet for $600k (which, by the way, gets you a 4-5BR townhouse with 2000+ SF in Frederick, or entry into the Baker Park neighborhood west of downtown and south of Hood College.

Those making over $300k a year really don't have to make hard choices the way someone with a housing budget of $500k has to make.

I'd certainly rank Frederick up there with the "village" spots of upper NW (Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, etc.) It's just that it's not near other cool/hip/fun areas -- to the N/W/E are "rednecks" and to the S are "Urbana suburbanites" who probably talk horrible stories of Frederick the way folks in Fairfax talk of DC.

Rent it out and move back.We live in 750 sq feet
1 -bedroom with baby on the way and a 7 year old who is with us part time.
We have made the tight space work for us.The 7 year old is in school from 9 to 6 pm, and we are out and about often.
Left Columbia Heights for Glover Park.A little quieter, but still walkable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You would hate it worse raising a growing child in a 800 sq ft home. I had one child in a 1300 sq ft home and nearly went nuts with the lack of space. Do you really want to raise your child in a closet?

Harsh. We have 2 kids in 1200 square feet and do just fine--as do many people throughout the rest of the world, including much of Europe. Maybe you own a lot of useless junk or are very messy?

I grew up in a much smaller apartment in yes, your beloved Europe, and I hate it, and I love my big house in McLean.

Anonymous wrote:
That's silly. Have you visited every school in this area? Or were you simply trying to put together a convincing sentence?

There is no other Spanish immersion, expeditionary school with a sustainable focus in the area. It is perfect for us. And for the pp, we will have 5 years to see how the middle school/high school progresses, but given what I have seen so far, I have great confidence, and I am not overstating by saying that it is likely she will see it through.