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....!

I lived in the DC area for almost 17 yrs. When we first moved there DH was in the USAF and we lived in Laurel, MD and then on base. We also lived in Columbia, MD. When he left the service we moved to VA and lived there in Fairfax for many years. I think it's better to live in VA because it's closer to the Pentagon and the commute will be less than if you live in MD, and yes, you should worry about the commutes. (When I moved away it took me over an hour to go 12 miles to work.) Also, will you all have two cars? If not, you want to be close to public transportation (not always a possibility in the US) so make sure you have bus and/or metro (that's the subway, or as they call the Tube in London) access. Another possiblity is where the commuter train runs, but you will be a lot further out from the metro area.

I would not live in DC under any circumstances as the schools are terrible. There are good and bad areas, but it's not as bad as the reputation ..just don't go into SE under any circumstances and NE isn't good either. The western part is the best. SW isn't good to live at, but congress and lots of govt. bldgs. are located there so it's pretty safe in daylight. There are some nice neithborhoods, but Georgetown doesn't have metro access and parking/traffic is awful. Also, DC doesn't have proper amenities such as shopping and you will have to go to VA or MD for major shopping anyway. The best schools are either in Montgomery County, MD or Fairfax, Co., VA. The suburbs are also more family-friendly with lots of parks and stuff.

Re: supermarkets, I keep hearing about how the supermarkets are horrible in the US, but I think outside of Waitrose, they are pretty bad in the UK, and there's so many things you can't get in the UK and you can get almost anything in the US. Whole Foods is wonderful, Wegamans's is good, Trader Jo's too. The major markets are Giant or Safeway, and the discount ones (Food Lion, Food 4 Less, etc. ) are good for paper goods/canned items, but that is about it. Sutton Place Gourmet is also wonderful. Get a membership at Costco and you can buy items in bulk which are a lot cheaper, and don't worry about space as you'll have a large, US refrigerator. Americans shop less often and buy a larger number of items on each visit.

You will probably think the bread tastes sweet, or at least that's what I've heard from others, but try Whole Foods and Trader Jo's first. If you don't like them, well then you probably won't like the others, but that's a good start.

We loved living in the DC area, but got tired of the long commutes and work hours. If you didn't put in a min. 10 hr. day, you were a slacker and might be laid off...Americans work too many hours, but that's just the way it is, but the US military is not bad about this on a day-to-day basis as long as you're not deployed so it will be fine fo you DH too.

Be sure to visit the Shenandoah Mountains, eat some crabs in MD and go to the beach a lot while you're in the US. There's so much to do in that area, and a lot of it is free. Also, Americans don't hate kids, and they are welcome in just about any restaurant. You don't have to eat crap to eat with your kids. Enjoy your time there.

wow, expat, thanks so much for your post - very helpful. We're very excited about moving over, and it's looking like VA will be where we are homed. My dh has been told as long as he is on the blue or yellow line, it'll be fine for commuting to the Pentagon. does that sound right to you?

i'm (rather pathetically) looking forward to shopping in the american supermarkets - i really love when things are different from what you're used to and am not one to complain if I'm not getting my 'British' things. That's the whole point of living overseas - embracing the differences!

I also hear that DC is very toddler/child friendly, which is great. I just need to find a pre-school for my ds, which I can't do until we know where we'll be living.

Yes, the blue and yellow lines go to the Pentagon but if you live near the orange line (it ends in Vienna, VA) you can transfer to either the blue or yellow at the Rosslyn station so this isn't a problem either. Transferring isn't a big problem, especially not during rush hour when the trains are very frequent.

Americans are very outgoing so just feel free to strike up conversations in the parks or have DH ask people at work about possible pre-schools. That area is very transient with people moving in/out of the area so before you know it, you won't be the 'new kid on the block anymore'.

Have fun and enjoy your stay. I'm enjoying England and already know I'll miss the butter and creams when I go back to the US..and all the friends I've made here. Hope to be here about 4-5 more years.

Hi weewilliewinkie--I just moved to the UK from DC. It's a nice area when you have kids. First off, will you have a car permanently when you move there? Once you know that, then you know where you can look. Also, what sort of person are you? DC can be very stuffy and it would help to know wha t you prefer to steer you to the right place. A few points:

1. $2800 is not tons of money in DC. For example, in Geogetown you will only get a 2bed apt, or teeny tiny house for that $$$. Georgetown is a nice neighborhood--good parks, excellent shops, very safe. But it is $$$ and very pearl and twinset-y. But it has tons of kids stuff. It also has NO metro. The closest metro is a good 20 minute walk away.

2. The Pentagon is on the Blue and Yellow lines, so ideally you want to look at neighborhoods on these two lines. You might want to take a look on the Virginia side at Old town, Alexandria which is the King Street stop. It's a wonderful neighborhood with lots of old houses full of character. You should be able to get a decent house for $2800 in that area. Lots of kids stuff to do, very safe and has great shops and is near the river. Another neighborhood is Capitol Hill on the DC side. This is on the Blue and Yellow line as well and would take your dh 10 minutes to zip over the river. I lived in Capitol Hill and really enjoyed it. You can definitely get a nice house for $2800. Capitol Hill is a gentrified neighborhood so you still get the rough edges around it. But it has a very tight knit parents community, and lots of kids things to do. It i very walkable (I advise trying to find a house near Stanton or Lincoln Park).

3. There are some nice neighborhoods in northwest DC, but commuting time will be longer. Dupont Circle is quite funky (as funky as DC gets), and is very close to Georgetown (but has a metro). Woodley Park is nice, and near the National Zoo. Cleveland Park is also a nice family neighborhood.

Good luck and feel free to ask any more questions. Oh, check out DCUrbanmom.com--a whole web site/ list serv for DC area parents. Very helpful resource.