Crunchy-con Washington DC?

I dunno, the first smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud will hit smack dab on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This will probably make the area a little more polluted, but it should drive property values down.

Tacoma Park, MD is very crunchy, but not conservative. Easy access to downtown, too.

The Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria is fairly crunchy, and has a few conservatives. There are a few small businesses on the main drag of Mt Vernon Ave which include a great coffee shop, a Wisconsin-style custard parlor, and a really great restaurant called The Evening Star. Prices are more reasonable here than many places in the city, or nearby Old Town. You can drive into the city in about 20 minutes, or walk/bus to Braddock Rd Metro for a total of 45 minutes commute into the downtown area.

http://www.delraycitizen.org/

I live in Gaithersburg, and there is a very strong community of Catholics here - some crunchy (like my own family), most conservative. Along with the Mother of God community mentioned already there is also a very active Catholic homeschooling group as well as two awesome Catholic parishes here. We also have access to a number of Eastern Catholic and Orthodox parishes (there is a very awesome Melkite Church in NoVa). I don't know much about the Protestant churches here, however.

We have a small yard, but are able to have a pretty good sized garden (about 13'x15') for these parts. But the price of living here - specifically housing - is almost prohibitive for newcomers; we were fortunate enough to move here before the big run-up of prices. Don't expect to get anything other than a townhouse suitable for a family here for less than $400k.

If you live a bit further out - say Damascus or even Frederick - the houses are cheaper and the land a bit more abundant, but unfortunately the Catholic parishes are more liberal in general, and it is more difficult to reach Eastern Catholic or Orthodox parishes.

Gaithersburg has some great communities, but I found the general aesthetic environment and heavy traffic unbearable, so I moved to a cute little neighborhood in Frederick. It is a looooooong commute down to Washington, though.

Sure, Alexandria is awesome, but very, very expensive. I'd totally live there if I could afford it.

We've lived for 15 years in Arlington, VA, having bought a house here before real estate prices got so high (they're still high now, although lower than they've been), and started a family in what has proven to be a very stable neighborhood. The lower tax rates in VA than in MD were a factor in our choice of where to live. We were originally members of an Evangelical Episcopal parish but now belong to an Orthodox parish in Falls Church, VA (Fairfax County). Within our parish, families pursue a range of schooling options for their children (public, private religious, and home schooling). The political leadership of Arlington County consists of liberal Democrats, but our own neighbors are very family-oriented and diverse in terms of their political views. We appreciate that county officials are very much in favor of green park space, bicycle trails, and mass transit. There's a farmers' market in nearby Falls Church City, several Trader Joe's and Whole Foods markets, a great vegetarian restaurant within 5 minutes, and easy access to Metrorail and Metrobus. Further out in Northern Virginia (towards Manassas to the west or Stafford County to the south), the environment tends to be more conservative in terms of politics, but there is still a lot of park space and bicycle trails, and VRE for those wanting to commute by some means other than our extremely congested highways.

My suggestion would be to let your major life activities inform the choice of a neighborhood, among those you can afford. Where will you work? worship? study? shop? go walking or biking or swimming? While it is good to discover neighbors who are kindred spirits in important ways, it is also a blessing to be a witness to one's faith and values, which is why I am thankful for the diversity of people who live in the Washington, DC, region.

Mark Dever. 9Mark ministries. Perfect for Baptists, presbyterians, refomed people, and conservative arminians. AKA conservative protestants.

http://www.capitolhillbaptist.org

I'm always fascinated by suggestions of Winchester and Frederick and Culpepper or even suburban Baltimore when people talk about living in the DC area. If the Crunchy Con ethos is focused on family, how does a 90 or 120 minute commute each way further that ethic. How are children helped by having dad--and it's almost always dad--having 12 and 14 hour days away from the family just so they can live on a larger plot of land? Imagine homeschooling and raising your kids with dad gone 12 to 14 hours a day. How is that good for the kids?

If your job requires you work in a city, then you shouldn't be living more than an hour commute each way from work . . . and that's at the far extreme. Anything more than that, and you become an absentee parent and spouse IMHO.

There are affordable areas in Arlington and Fairfax. The suggestion of Manassas Park is a good one, as long as the commute is doable. In Maryland, anything beyond Gaithersburg or Columbia is probably not within a commuting distance that is good for the family.

I had heard Manassas Park was not a nice area and the schools were bad. Perhaps I've been misinformed??? If so, please educate me as MP is one of the few areas of NOVA in my price range.

As a resident of a 50-year-old neighborhood inside the Beltway in Fairfax County VA, I double-second Daniel's thoughts. There are some less expensive neighborhoods here. In the inside-the-Beltway 'burbs, the kids bike over to each other's houses daily, you can't look out the front window for 5 minutes without seeing old folkswalking their dogs, and there are Catholic/Orthodox parishes as 'orthodox' as you'd like, quite close by.
If you want to live in Frederick, Winchester,or Loudon County, please get a job there. Defy the ridiculous 1 1/2 hour commute, live in an older house and don't judge the livability of a neighborhood by conservative/liberal labels.

Rod, you've posted about Cruncy Communities in the DC area, and recently made the suggestion of Virginia's Staunton as a Crunchy Community. How about more posts talking about Crunchy Communities across the country, both from a lifestype perspective and a political one?

As a PP mentioned, it's really hard to answer this question without knowing where the daily work commute will be heading. Will it be in DC, or in a suburb? If in DC, what part? Different parts of the area are best accessed by different transportation systems, and as everyone in DC knows, commutes are a major quality of life issue.

Since much of the talk has focused on Virginia, let me put in a plug for northern Montgomery County. (I'm more crunchy than con, so I'm probably happier here than other posters might be.) The major downside is its distance from central DC, though it can be reached by commuter rail or creative use of Metrorail/Metrobus. The upsides, however, are many. The county's agricultural reserve is an enormous crunchy con bonus. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's 90,000 acres of protected farmland surrounding the developed 270 corridor. In exchange for keeping the land rural, landowners in the reserve can sell transfer rights to developers, who then get to build more dense developments elsewhere. I live near it, not in it, but I benefit from having local farmers from whom I can buy poultry, eggs, and milk, several pick-your-own farms within a short drive, and a lovely setting filled with parks, nature reserves, and bike paths. The county's genuine New Urbanist commitments show through in much of the upcounty public development. Of course, like any suburbanites, we upcounty folks depend on cars too much. But there are a surprising number of places to which we can walk, and a good community feel. The Kentlands is extremely walkable, though extremely expensive too. Further upcounty, the Germantown town center (walkable from many surrounding neighborhoods) has a beautiful new arts center and library, alongside restaurants and grocery stores. There are kids everywhere upcounty, and the local amenities acknowledge it. Take a look at the programming for the Black Rock Center for the Arts or Black Hill Regional Park, and you'll see.

It helps that both my husband and I work from home a lot, and have flexible jobs. A lot of our driving involves going back and forth to church and the Catholic school. Still, it's more liveable around here than you might think, and at least part of that is a direct result of the county's way of doing things.

I'm sorry your job is taking you to DC, not out of it. I recently took my family outta there, after living our entire lives in Montgomery County -- the last 20 in Germantown. Sorry, but the new library and Black Rock Arts Center -- even California Tortilla across the street -- couldn't compensate for having to schedule our entire lives according to the 6-9am/3-7pm rush-hour mess. More than enough was finally enough.

Aside from a few friends and family members, we don't miss the DC area at all. And, we keep running into more people who have done the same. Hidden bonus: it's way easier to be both crunchy and con -- for the first time in my life, I have a congressman who supports my conservative views!

Lots of good suggestions here; I especially agree that the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria and north Arlington are best if you can afford it, but most people can't. Fairfax City is a more affordable choice, but not as walkable.

Another location that hasn't been mentioned is south Oakton (south of Chain Bridge Road). Most of Oakton consists of ostentatious McMansions spread wide apart by woods, but the south end is full of townhomes that are mostly 25-30 years old, and full of young families. Children play in the streets in the evenings this time of year and most people can name at least a dozen neighbors. You can walk to a number of stores, and walk or take a 5 minute bus ride to the Metro. Not a LOT of room for gardening, but the back "yards" of the townhomes can accommodate small-to-midsize gardens if that's your priority.

oOOO.. I almost forgot about Washington Grove. I love that place! It is like a fairytale village right next to the commuter rail. Good luck finding a home there, though. Once people move in, it is so great that they are reluctant to leave.

Traffic sucks big time here, but we live in Frederick and work in Frederick. (Frederick is considered a DC ex-urb, but it is a fabulous city in its own right. I can't sell it hard enough. I love it here.)

I'll echo the recommendations made of the Del Ray section of Alexandria. It's crunchy, walkable, has its own farmer's market, and near the metro.

As others have said, commute is key. Live near where you work. I commute into the city from north Alexandria on the bus and metro. It's great. If you're working in the city, forget Frederick (MD), Manassas (Park or otherwise), Leesburg, or anything else west of Fairfax. I'd even say Fairfax is too far out, but lots of people do it.

Most people who live in MD or VA swear by the particular state in which they live. I'd choose VA over MD any day, but, like everyone else, am biased. The quality of life is just as good in VA, and the taxes are lower. Despite what others have implied, VA is not a bunch of track homes until you get outside the beltway. Inside, there are plenty of old communities with small, manageable homes and green spaces.

I'm not familiar with MD churches, but I always tell people that if you can't find a church N. VA that you like, you've waaay to picky. There are plenty for all styles.

Oh, I forgot. Bowie schools are the best in PG County, which means they're pretty bad. But homeschooling is easy, and there are lots of homeschoolers. There are also a lot of private schools if that's your preferred route.

I live in Falls Church city which is a fabulous place to live in - close to Tyson's Corner, 2 metros, Trader Joes, great Saturday market, freeway access, lots of cool ethnic restaurants and some of the best schools in the state. I have really enjoyed northern Virginia, land of great wineries and Skyline Drive hikes. That said, I am *moving* to Maryland - much closer to the District (where I work) cuz of the commute and the need to be back at my daycare by 6 - pretty hard when one is driving back into Virginia on those awful bridges. If anyone wants to buy a 2-bdrm condo in FC, let me know!
The Peoples Republic of Takoma Park is beats all DC locales for crunchiness, believe me but the prices for homes are a little high. I'm looking at the city of Hyattsville which has taken on an art district and is really coming up in terms of coolness. There's a bunch of homeschooling Catholics there who are trying to draw in like-minded folks to form an unofficial and supportive community.
I notice hardly any one on this blog is suggesting folks come live in the District!

SOrry, for some reason my name and Web link didn't publish in the last post. Trying again here ... -