Anyone in Washington DC? Advice needed...

[Twirl]

Hello. DH wants to move to Washington for work and I have mixed feelings as I am a sahm (2 1/2 and 3 months) and am worried about finding friends and activities to do with the kids. Is there anybody who lives in Washington who can tell me what its like for sahms? Thanks

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hi, if it's any help, we have friends who lived in DC until a couple of years ago. They lived in an area out near Dulles airport, Great Falls, Virginia , i would describe it as 'upscale suburban'. My friend found it all a bit snotty, she was always the one trying to arrange playdates and the mums would just drop their kids off and not hang around for coffee, all very high maintenance and competitive. Having said that, I loved visiting DC, the Mall, the museums, Annapolis etc are fab but being a tourist is very different from living somewhere. Traffic is awful. Maybe look for a US or expat mumsnet style site and see if anyone can help?

Hi I am in Gaithersburg - last stop on the metro from dc - commuter belt - how can I help?

If you're looking at a map metro is called Shady Grove, been here nearly three yrs, am sahm with 4 dcs

Thanks so much for the info Foxtrot, I'll definitely browse for a website. Your poor friend must have found it hard! MrsApronstrings, have you enjoyed your time in Washington? Did you find it easy to make friends or did you feel like an outsider? Are the lots of things to do with kids?

We have decided to move back next year. tehre are things I have really enjoyed. I have met some of the nicest people I have ever known while here. We were really welcomed into the community and have stacks of friends. The lifestyle is very easy going - in our area it is quite affluent but not stuck up, people invite you for drinks , parties, informal meals, get togethers on a regular basis. I would not tbh want to live in dc - I think it is very hard to judge areas, good areas are expensive, public schooling is bad. For us the leafy 'burbs have a lot of what we need. Swimming pools (outdoor,free for summer use) parks and playgrounds etc,bowling , eating out are plentiful here. OUr children's schools are good. You will have to pay for all nursery ed. - and they start school a year later. Things like english toddler groups are harder to find (and called playgroups) but there are numerous my gym,tumble tot type thingd, music and art classes etc. I have many sahm friends - we have coffee and playdates much like I would have done in England, I often walk with friends too - which i wouldn't have done in england. I think the culture means that people are a little less relaxed - for example you don't see many messy houses (apart from mine[Grin]). For our older ones too we find the culture too pushy for our taste - everyone talks as if there children are straight A students- and they are not, piano lessons and tuors abound- , it is quite a 'stuff' oriented lifestyle - if you look around old mn threads you'll see how much this gets to me. But on the whole I wouldn't be with out the experience, if I knew what I know now I would definately still ahve come, I will really feel at home again in england and hope I keep some of what I've learnt here and will cheerfully wave goodbye to other things.