Washington DC or Philadelphia (Arlington, McLean: apartment, renting, condo)

[pampam123]

Hi All! I posted the same thread in the Philadelphia forum, and I wanted to post here as well to see some DC opinions. My original post is below, however, it seems that we will likely narrow our choice between the greater Philadelphia area and the greater Washington DC area. We definitely needed a change from Dallas, and in the Philadelphia board I have gotten a big push to live in the city of Philadelphia because we wanted a more exciting, everything at out fingertips lifestyle! We have looked into many Center City Philadelphia neighborhoods as well as some walkable suburbs within an hour to the city.

Can anyone share some information about living in downtown DC or one of its closer suburbs, and how that compares to Philadelphia/ suburbs? Thanks!


My young family will be leaving Dallas within 6 months with 3 relocation options: Philadelphia, Washington D.C. or Atlanta. We are not familiar with any option, we are both from Switzerland. We lived in Highland Park for 8 years and are thankfully ready to leave. We are planning visits to each area over the next few months, but I want to see opinions from area residents as to what might work best for us.

We are a very active couple, fitness is very important to us. We love an exciting, open minded, culturally diverse area. Highland Park is aesthetically beautiful, but Dallas lacked an energy that we are seeking. I feel that we want a big city with food, shopping, history, the arts, recreation, and people from all walks of life at at our fingertips. Coming from Zurich and another 3 years in London, Dallas was a major culture shock. We have always resided in the suburbs during our time in the states and are still open to that, but also open to downtown living, pending we can find a nice home with good schools and a recreation space in our budget. By the looks of it Philadelphia and DC look to be significantly more expensive for what we are used to.

Job location would be in Center City Philadelphia, McLean Virginia, or Midtown Atlanta. We are willing to commute an hour outside of that target location.

When are you moving? -- Spring 2018
Where are you coming from? -- Dallas, TX
Why are you moving? -- Work
Where will you be working? -- Open.. potentially Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta
Have you been here yet? -- No

Will you buy or rent? -- Prefer to buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? -- House or condo, and can go up to $2M, but prefer $1.5M.
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend?
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up?

Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb? -- PA or Philadelphia

Are you married or single? Do you have children? -- Couple with 1 young daughter
Do you prefer public or private schools? -- Either or, as long as they are top notch
Do you have pets? -- 3 cats
Do you want or need a yard? -- Either a yard or some sort of recreation space.
Are you keeping a car? -- We have 3 cars, will gladly get rid of some.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? -- We are open at this point.

What do you want to be closest to?

I want everything close by, either walk or short drive.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?
Diverse

Favorite Beverage - Craft Beer, wine, water?
Wine

[17thAndK]

I think you could get from three possibilities down to two pretty easily simply by "chopping" Atlanta. It's a nice enough place and all, but it's not on the same plane as DC or Philly. Those two are tough to differentiate. Philly is a more bustling mainline East Coast big city place. DC has a 12-story height limit, and so has a short, open, airy, more European sort of feel. Both are diverse, have great shopping and dining, tons of museums, galleries, parks, and other amenities of all sorts, as well as good mass transit, and really bad traffic during rush hour. Weather is similar, but DC is a tad milder.

[Flamingo13]

Not sure why you're posting in the Northern Virginia thread if you are asking about DC.

[Vectorhead]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

Not sure why you're posting in the Northern Virginia thread if you are asking about DC.

The OP stated "Can anyone share some information about living in downtown DC or one of its closer suburbs, and how that compares to Philadelphia/ suburbs? Thanks!"

[Yenisei]

Although the market is more expensive in DC than in Philadelphia, if you can spend $1.5 Million you can get a very nice place even in the former city.

Having lived in both places, I'd recommend DC/No Va for people from Europe.

[pampam123]

Thanks everyone. We are actually planning a visit to both areas right before the holidays to see what fits our needs better!

[Ffxdata]

They definitely have a different feel. I like Philly in the trips I’ve been there. Seems like crime might be a little different. They have very different histories too.

[From66to40]

I answered on the other forum, too: Definitely DC. No question. Your budget was good, but you might get more for the money in Arlington than in DC proper.

[Hal Roach]

Philly has more "heart," but PA has chronic tax and infrastructure problems. Perhaps, Old Town. You would still need private schools, but taxes are more favorable in VA, even though property taxes are less in DC. Glover Park, Woodley Park, Tenleytown come to mind, if willing to live in DC, and the private school options might be better. Do you use walkscore? I recall 1600 Penn Ave. getting a 93..very walkable, and apparently they have cleared out a lot of the criminal element there, but it seems to resurface every 8-12 years.

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by 17thAndK

I think you could get from three possibilities down to two pretty easily simply by "chopping" Atlanta.

Indeed, if you're looking for a change of pace from Dallas, you won't find it in Atlanta.

Your budget is generous enough to live well in the smarter quarters of either metro DC or Philadelphia. I enjoy both cities, but they have complementary strengths in many ways. But hey, regardless of which one you choose, they're only 100 miles apart! (100 miles from Highland Park gets you to... Waco.)

DC advantages:
- Much larger international community that supports German-language private school and film festival, an expat newspaper, etc.
- Well-educated, achievement-oriented neighbors; more meritocratic and less materialistic than the American stereotype
- Many excellent neighborhoods that meet your criteria
- Greener, cleaner, more polite than other Northeast cities
- Excellent nearby wineries, mountain hiking (OK, by Swiss standards they're "slight hills")
- Unparalleled variety of museums and educational opportunities, including historic sites

The "diplomatic quarter" here, with embassies and expat everything, is in upper Northwest Washington -- principally along Massachusetts Avenue and River Road from Dupont Circle west to the town of Potomac, Md. This also happens to be among the most expensive parts of the country.

Philadelphia advantages:
- Much lower housing prices; more for your money
- Easier traffic
- Center City office = livelier area, potential to walk to work/shopping/arts
- Larger financial industry, for career advancement
- Plenty of old houses and neighborhoods with historic charm, many 18th-century US historical sites, scenic small-farm countryside (but its mountains are less scenic, more industrial), closer to beach resorts
- Better comprehensive art/science museums
- Higher-quality colleges/universities