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I am a single mom living in the west and am considering a move to DC. I am the mother of a 6 year old, providing the drastic majority of her support. I am an attorney who returned to school to fulfill the requirements to take the patent bar. I am finishing my schooling and am looking to return to practice. I have worked at a law firm in the midwest for a couple years and found the midwest professional scene not to be a great fit for me.
I've visited DC and think it could be a great fit for me. However, the idea of moving to a place with such a high COL is intimidating. Does anyone have suggestions for finding a quality school and a safe neighborhood? I prefer a shorter commute, so I can spend less time on the road and more time with my daughter. I'd also like to live around other black professionals if possible.
I am a single mom living in the west and am considering a move to DC. I am the mother of a 6 year old, providing the drastic majority of her support. I am an attorney who returned to school to fulfill the requirements to take the patent bar. I am finishing my schooling and am looking to return to practice. I have worked at a law firm in the midwest for a couple years and found the midwest professional scene not to be a great fit for me.
I've visited DC and think it could be a great fit for me. However, the idea of moving to a place with such a high COL is intimidating. Does anyone have suggestions for finding a quality school and a safe neighborhood? I prefer a shorter commute, so I can spend less time on the road and more time with my daughter. I'd also like to live around other black professionals if possible.
Thanks for your suggestions.
By DC do you mean metro or city? Public schools in DC are not good. The best public schools are in Arlington, Fairfax, and loco counties. You could live vy the metro and commute by it.
Maryland tends to have a lot more black professionals than Virginia, and as the other poster said, it is generally speaking going to be much easier to find quality schools in the suburbs than the city proper.
Takoma, Shepard Park neighborhoods in DC would be a good fit inside the city, these two neighborhoods have a number of Black Professionals. Shepard Park is kind of known for it inside the city, as it's historically had that role. Outside the city, if you want good schools, it is probably going to be somewhere in Montgomery County in Maryland, or Arlington/Alexandria in Virginia. There are some places in PG that might also be decent.
With that being said, the area in general is expensive. There is no avoiding that aspect. In general the DC area has a number of Black professionals, they are not hard to find. But the COL is very high, but considering your profession is patent law, almost all of the key cities are high COL.
With all that being said, knowing your budget for a rental is key, as well as the size place.
dc is like a big clusterfluck, if that's how you want to live. there are lots of great places to see and go but it's kind of marginalizing, based on what you can afford. if you're just middle class or below, it's no piece of cake at all.
I am a single mom living in the west and am considering a move to DC. I am the mother of a 6 year old, providing the drastic majority of her support. I am an attorney who returned to school to fulfill the requirements to take the patent bar. I am finishing my schooling and am looking to return to practice. I have worked at a law firm in the midwest for a couple years and found the midwest professional scene not to be a great fit for me.
I've visited DC and think it could be a great fit for me. However, the idea of moving to a place with such a high COL is intimidating. Does anyone have suggestions for finding a quality school and a safe neighborhood? I prefer a shorter commute, so I can spend less time on the road and more time with my daughter. I'd also like to live around other black professionals if possible.
Thanks for your suggestions.
I would suggest Brookland, Fort Lincoln, Fort Totten, or Woodridge in NE DC, I would suggest Sheppard Park, Petworth or Brightwood in NW DC and I would suggest the Hillcrest, Fairfax village or Fort Dupont areas in SE DC. There are some other good neighborhoods with lots of Black professionals in DC though, I just named some of my personal favorites. In PG county, I would say Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Greenbelt, Laurel, Largo or Mitchellville. There really aren't any Black neighborhoods with a high concentration of professional Blacks in VA so I didn't bother. Well... maybe Alexandria for VA.
I would suggest Brookland, Fort Lincoln, Fort Totten, or Woodridge in NE DC, I would suggest Sheppard Park, Petworth or Brightwood in NW DC and I would suggest the Hillcrest, Fairfax village or Fort Dupont areas in SE DC. There are some other good neighborhoods with lots of Black professionals in DC though, I just named some of my personal favorites. In PG county, I would say Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Greenbelt, Laurel, Largo or Mitchellville. There really aren't any Black neighborhoods with a high concentration of professional Blacks in VA so I didn't bother. Well... maybe Alexandria for VA.
I would add in Takoma, DC, Manor Park, DC (though north end is safer), and Silver Spring, MD. There are many Black Professionals I know in these areas. Hyattsville, MD is also nice.
There are Black Professionals in Arlington and Alexandria, but the further away from the urban core, the less diverse it gets. I really do not know many black professionals who live far out there outside of PG.
With all that being said the DC area is EXPENSIVE. Black, White, it doesn't matter, the COL is high. There are not many middle class neighborhoods in DC, the few left are quickly becoming more affluent.
Prince William county, VA is affordable and has great schools. Quite a lot of black professionals out there a lot with other races, it's quite diverse actually. Look at Woodbridge, Lake Ridge, Montclair, Manassas, Dumfries, Dale City.
Hi,
You posted this almost six months ago. I wondered how it turned out for you. I am in a similar position but as a teacher (!) Please update me at: [email]caribbeanprincess@hotmail.com[/email]
are you looking to rent or buy? how much space are you looking to have? where will you be working? as others have mentioned, these are the basic and important first cut set of variables that would help us offer you ideas and suggestions.
also, assuming your DD will be in 1st grade, you need to think about the type of school for her. As another PP mentioned all the close in jurisdiction are all equally fantastic but there are differences in terms of before/after school care (some districts guarantee it whereas in others there are long wait lists). and once you can help us with more information we would be able to provide you with feedback on schools too.
GL
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