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My wife and I currently live in NW DC (Mt Vernon Square/downtown near Chinatown/Gallery Place). In Jan 08 we doubled our size with the birth of twin boys. We currently live/own a 5 bdrm 3.5 bath rowhouse (the basement has been completed separated and we rent it as a 2bdrm 1.5 bath, so we are left with 3 bdrms). The location has been great for my wife and I. We both work in the city and have been fortunate enough to work close enough that we could walk to work. We own only one vehicle which is primarily used for trips to Home Depot or grocery shopping. Although this summer a new SAfeway is due to open at a nearby development site that will only be two blocks away. But with the addition of the twins we have to start thinking about space/schools/parks/play areas/parking, etc. Those factors considered our rowhouse/location is not the best suited to raise the twins. But we love the urban vibe. We are considering upper NW DC (Chevy Chase/AU Park/Friendship Heights) and figure on a range of $750K - $1million for an average 4 bdrm SFH, but then there is the issue of schools.I understand there are a few decent public schools in those areas mainly Lafyette, Deal and Wilson, but I understand those schools only to be good according to DC standards which are the lowest of the low. This being the case we would prefer to send the boys to a catholic and or private school and would expect to pay at least $20K/per year for an average grade school. Due to the issues which the DC public schools being so bad and the cost of private school in the city we have been considering NOVA (public transportation accessible) where would still expect to pay in the range of $750-$1 million for a 4bdrm SFH but where we would at least feel comfortable using the public school system. I also believe peace of mind is an intangible that is likely to be greater in NOVA considering the things that come with living in DC (crime, loitering, pan handling, attitudes, etc)
I guess our dilemma can be summed up as ..move to upper NW DC, where real estate is expensive, where we still need to pay for private school (or do we?), but we would still have that walkabilty option, metro and urban vibe or move to NOVA where housing is about the same, where the public schools are great but where we may need to purchase a second car (is NOVA doable with 1 car?) although most of the places we are considering are probably equal distance to DC (work) as say Friendship Heights.
I would like to hear from anyone out there who faced the same dilemma, your outcome, any economic/financial differences, and how things are working out.
Our taste…, we typically lean away from newer homes/developments and prefer an older home, even if it needs works. We would prefer to fix it to our liking.
Well, first congrats on the twins! I have them myself-boy and girl 15 months old. We just moved to NOVA a little bit ago...we live in Ashburn in a single family. We are one income as daycare for twins is EXPENSIVE and due to my high risk pregnancy I wasn't working while pregnant, so...Anyway...our home is a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath (although most around here seem to be 3.5 baths) and we have 3400sqft with the finished basement. 2 car garage and .20 acres. Plenty of room for us. We moved from a carriage home in Philly that was 3000sqft, but like yours, the basement was seperated.
My husband works in Tysons and the commute is not bad at all...I don't know what it would be like in DC. BUT, Ashburn is not urban at all...suburbia would be the word I would use to describe it. Great for me as there are TONS of stay at home moms everywhere you turn. Lots of trees, clean, and great schools.
Good luck. Raising twins is fun and a challenge-you will become an expert in logistics, lol!
Hi, I think North Arlington is a good compromise for you. You wouldn't get the space or yard size as farther out (e.g., Ashburn) but you won't lose as much of the urban "vibe" either. The schools are excellent. The biggest challenge I think you will face is that IMHO there isn't much on the market in that range now that is large enough for you, and sellers above that range seem to believe that if they wait longer without dropping the price, the market will move up to them. There are a lot of houses that have been on the market a long time above the $1MM mark. To be fair, some of those houses are very large, probably larger than you need. No property seems to be in the middle these days (or maybe they were all snapped up quickly since the demand for them is strong), though more may come on the market this spring! If you metro to work and you buy a place near the metro, one car should suffice easily.
Funny! This is the second time twimma promotes Ashburn (last time to someone who was going to work in Crystal City and wanted to be close)! Ashburn offers a lot but not what this person (like the other one) is seeking. Ashburn does not have that urban feel and is very far from DC.
Like PP said- north Arlington is nice, lots of shops, restaurants, can have a walk around area. Alexandria (Old Town) is nice but you get very little space- almost like what you have now- and public schools are not good (just letting you know). I personally think North Arlington is your best bet- Courthouse, Ballston, Clarendon.. they are all close together, consider visiting these neighborhoods.. I personally prefer Clarendon..
if you want to move outside the district then for what you are looking for i would suggest one of the "better" neighborhoods in alexandria, such as old town or del ray, a great little neighborhood with adorable single family homes and tons of young families (many with dogs, if that suits you) that is somewhat close to the braddock rd. metro station. also, i'd look into old town, as someone else mentioned. we lived in old town near the braddock rd metro and i walked to the metro everyday to commute to work in downtown dc. we had two cars but probably would have been fine with one. there are tons of great older homes that would likely be in your price range. there is also an area called "rosemont" (i think that's the name) near old town with really nice older homes as well. some of the streets are on a hill behind the masonic temple with fabulous views of downtown. i loved just driving around there--lots of beautiful older homes with tons or character and charm. if you are working in dc but are considering northern VA, i would think these neighborhoods in alex. would be the best option b/c it has the type of homes and atmosphere you want (not at all suburb-ey) and it's only 5 miles away and so the commute, whether you chose to drive or take the metro, would be pretty short. however in alex, the schools are bad so you would definitely have to consider private school.
in dc, have you considered the cleveland park or cathedral heights areas? i think the schools are supposed to be good there, but i haven't done any research on it.
Funny! This is the second time twimma promotes Ashburn (last time to someone who was going to work in Crystal City and wanted to be close)! Ashburn offers a lot but not what this person (like the other one) is seeking. Ashburn does not have that urban feel and is very far from DC.
Like PP said- north Arlington is nice, lots of shops, restaurants, can have a walk around area. Alexandria (Old Town) is nice but you get very little space- almost like what you have now- and public schools are not good (just letting you know). I personally think North Arlington is your best bet- Courthouse, Ballston, Clarendon.. they are all close together, consider visiting these neighborhoods.. I personally prefer Clarendon..
Excuse me...I did write that it is NOT urban AT ALL. I wrote what I know about. Why I responded to this post was b/c I too have twins and I wanted to share THAT experience with living in this area. As for "promoting Ashburn" in the other thread about Crystal City, you need to go back and re-read it as I said I DO NOT KNOW WHERE CRYSTAL CITY IS BUT I LIKE ASHBURN. People tens to write what they KNOW about. I would be misrepresenting myself if I wrote about say Reston. Yes, I like Ashburn and will tell people so. it is nice and works for us. Can't believe you are calling me out on my OPINION. Really.
DC Resident, congratulations on the new babies! My heartfelt advice is: don't even try to make any decisions for a while. You and your wife are undoubtedly still adjusting to parenthood and not getting much sleep or time to gather your thoughts right now. Your wife may surprise you by deciding she'd rather not go back to work for a while, or at all. Or she may go back to work and decide that it's not worth it and come back to be with the babies full time. Or she may find that working fulltime is fine, but not want to add the extra time spent commuting. Or you may both decide that the move to Nova is best. Not trying to be sexist, just realistic, but to be fair I'll add that YOU might decide to in some way alter your work schedule because of your family. Your taste in housing may change if you decide that the extra work of an older house isn't worth the energy it takes away from your boys.
Who knows? But that's the point, you can't know for sure at this early stage how things will pan out, no matter how confident you were before the babies arrived. Plus you really don't want to add the stresses of house-hunting and house-selling to your lives right now. Your children are babies, they don't care where they live, they just need as much of your attention as possible right now. You sound like a great responsible dad. But the big decisions can wait; just take the time now to enjoy your babies, to help your wife as much as possible, and to grab whatever moments of sleep that you can! Worry about everything else much, much later. Congratuations again.
I appreciate those of you who provided insightful responses. Most of the information was right on point with my research. We did do a drive through of Del Ray/Rosemont and Lake Barcroft, VA areas a few weeks ago. I thought Rosemont was very nice, convenient to the metro and allowed for some walkability. But I understand the public schools in Alexandria are not as highly rated as in Arlington/City of Falls Church or Bethesda. Since the prices in Rosemont are not drastically lower than most other places and since a move there would not seem worth it if we were not interested in using the public school system..I would chose DC over Rosemont I think. Lake Barcroft was nice with the lake and beaches, but the area just outside of the neighborhood seemed pretty run down. And I also understand the schools that serve the Barcroft area and not some of the better schools in NOVA...again defeating the purpose of a move to VA.
So..the goods spots for us in DC are the Pallisades, AU Park, Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park...in NOVA..Alrington and the City of Falls Church seem worth investigating..in MD Bethesda/Chevy Chase seem like good options as well.
Yes, I realize we do not need to make any quick move but I would not hesitate to make a move on the perfect match. Really at this point I am just getting an idea of whats out there so I can at least watch certain areas and do a little investigating.
The type of house we would prefer is either an older house with some character or a mid-century house that has the potential for a modern/contemporary rehab. For instance I found this MLS listing..
AR6664123..seemed like a great match...close to DC, had the potential for a modern/contemporary facelift (it appears some of this was already started), in Arlington...good schools, right price range, but wouldn't you know it seems to already have a contract pending.
Found some more interesting areas...Woodmont in Arlington and Burning Tree neighborhood in Bethesda. We like to potential the houses possess for a modern/contemporary rehab.
The type of house we would prefer is either an older house with some character or a mid-century house that has the potential for a modern/contemporary rehab. For instance I found this MLS listing..
AR6664123..seemed like a great match...close to DC, had the potential for a modern/contemporary facelift (it appears some of this was already started), in Arlington...good schools, right price range, but wouldn't you know it seems to already have a contract pending.
I saw that one and agree with you - although it appears that there is no back yard - that there is a steep drop off behind the house, which might not be good for small kids. This is the case with a lot of houses in hilly parts of Arlington. On the other hand, if I'm wrong, or if having a back yard isn't a priority for you, you never know with contingent contracts - they don't always go through and you may be able to snap up this house!
I hope you can find just the right place.
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