Yippee!! Moving to Washington DC for 2 years - advice needed on where to rent....

[weewilliewinkie]

Dh is in the RAF and we've been given a 2 year posting - he'll be working in the Pentagon. Hooray! We move in July. I have a 3 year old and am about to drop another who will be about 4/5 months old.

We're being given a housing rental allowance of up to $2800/month - seems like loads to me! I wonder if anyone could enlighten me on where would be best to live. DH wants to be near a metro line and not far from work - no long commutes. I assume this means we want to live in a DC suburb. We will rent a car but I also want to live somewhere 'walkable'- near pre-schools/nurseries, toddler groups, parks etc. We have a real estate agent allocated to help us, so I'd like to be able to give her ideas of locations before she fires ahead and just plonks us somewhere that might not be entirely suitable. Just want to make the most of this posting (we've been in Germany for far too long and are desperate to leave! - no offence meant ).

any advice would be gratefully received...many thanks....!

recent thread on same subject

Keep your thread bumped for MrsApronstrings too.

Congratulations!
BTW, I heard about this site I find it a useful 'tool' for Family Safety, while researching neighborhoods and schools.

Good Luck

Congratulations!

I'm no help as I'm in the midwest but am bumping this in the hope that someone else can help.

Good luck!

thanks for your messages...

had a look at the other thread, cheers! Was just hoping any DC mums would be able to suggest specific areas to rent in or avoid...I have heard that DC has its dodgy parts, much like many cities, I suppose...

I'm hoping that the amount we have available to pay in rent will mean we end up in a nice part of town...

I'm so excited about the shopping!!!

Try bumping this later when the US people will be around. Or you could try CATing MrsApronstrings. I haven't seen her around for a while.

i will ring her!!!

OH good. I hope she's ok!

here she comes!

i hope!

Hi haven't been on for ages - just checking if my name and password are right.....

yeeeaaahhh...

Congrats, i'm glad you are excited for the move. We are busy organinsing our return to the UK atm but I am really glad we have lived here - and for my surprise souvenier I get to take home (dd2)

I don't think $2800 will seem like a fortune when you start looking, but should be enough to rent a small house in a nice neighbourhood. I am not very good at the specifics of renting in DC and where I live - although its a great walking community etc would be too far to commute from what you say - it takes at least 40 mins to near the Pentagon, and a change of trains. Although plenty of people do live here and make that trek imo its a bit far. Bethesda is really nice, and much nearer than here, Alexandria is also lovely, although a bit patchy from what I gather. DC as a school district does not have a good reputation. Chevy Chase is really nice, and quite up market - people from here either aspire to live there or are really down on it because high school kids seem to drive lexuses and carry gucci handbags. It LOOKS really nice but I have no real idea about the reality of living there. You should think about using a realtor - you wont pay them and if you have someone good they should be knowledgeable about the area etc. I can find you a recommendation if you want.

Don't want to make this too long initially - feel free to cat me, ask specifics etc.
Twirl is moving here soon and she is coming over in Feb to look at some neighbourhoods closer to DC than mine so she is def worth contacting

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Hey Wewilliewinkie
Yes I am moving out at the end of March (yikees, seems really close now). Hubby is being posted out by Govt here. I have loads of info that I can give you on books to read, suggested nice areas around DC, websites etc so please please CAT me so we can chat more easily. I also have a nearly 3 year old DD and a 7 month old DS. Wishingchair is possibly moving out in April too. We can start our own coffee morning!
Speak soon
Twirl

wow! thanks for all those replies....

our own coffe morning - sounds fab! I'd be well up for that. I have a 3 year old and am due no.2 in 3 weeks....eek...so s/he will be 4/5 months when we get there.

Thanks for all the advice on places to live...bizarrely I've been reading loads of John Grisham books lately and he writes about DC in some detail so I recognise the neighhbourhoods you're talking about. Twirl, where are you going to live? Is your DH working in the city too? Georgetown sounds like it'd be a nice spot, and at the end of the day it's more important to dh and I that we live in a nice safe area than worrying about his commuting distance......well that's my opinion! I'd feel quite out of place staying somewhere too designer-y, iykwim - I'm never that groomed!

We are using a realtor - I just want to have some input before she plops us somewhere that might not be entirely great for us. I can't wait to get there!!!

We are using a realtor too and we think we will be looking to live in Bethesda or Chevy Chase area in Southern Maryland, or the Old Town Alexandria area in Northern Virginia. DH will be downtown in the city but we don't fancy living in the city, want nice safe suburbs too. Georgetown looks wonderful but we won't get a 4 bed house there - it's very expensive. There is a good website a bit like mumsnet called DCurbanmoms (sorry can't do links) and there are loads of archived conversations about where to live. I found it really useful. Also there is a book called the Newcomers Guide to Living and Working in Washington DC which has area descriptions. I think that McLean/Vienna/Fairfax/Arlington ares in Northern Virginia are supposed to be nice.
It's very exciting isn't it! Do get in touch if I can help you at all .

I think Arlington is a reasonably priced area with plenty of families - we have firends who live there.

Mamama - how is your neighbour?

Twirl - all set for your trip?

How exciting - love the coffee morning! We are still waiting for confirmation if we're going or not so I'm one step behind you guys. If we do go then DH will be working in Roslyn which is really near the Pentagon. Gah - DD2 is crying so got to go. Let's keep in touch. Hopefully soon I'll know if we're going too. I've got a 4 year old and a 5 month old so similar-ish!

am bumping this as it's getting close to our big move and I'm getting so excited!

looks like we'll be living in Virginia - possibly Annandale. Hoping to get a nice big house with a playroom!

Nothing really to add, just wanted to see if anyone from this thread was still around...

Greetings from Washington DC!!! We have been here for 7 weeks now and so far I'm loving it. The weather is very hot here so pack accordingly. When are you coming? Can I help you with anything?

hi Twirl!

we've got someone finding a house for us - dh is military so we won't have any say in where we get to live but by all accounts we should get a reasonably big house in a decent area. Where are you? Are you still on for a regular coffee morning/play date?!

So, what's it like? I keep getting told that DC is very dangerous, that American supermarkets are crap, - but hey - who cares?! I'm so looking forward to getting over there and expereincing America properly. I kind of always knew I would end up living there (even if it's only for a few years).

Haven't read back through the thread - what are you doing out there? What does your dh do?