Inner Suburbs/Outer Suburbs

A few weeks ago, my kids and I got lost in the wilds of Germantown.  We were trying to find a gas station after a fun afternoon at the South Germantown Recreational Park and I was relying on my psycho GPS to lead me to some fuel.

I eventually found a gas station on my own after my GPS led me on a 30-minute wandering tour of residential subdivisions.

Whoa.  It's NICE out there.  Country lanes, split rail fences, sweeping lawns, even the occasional old barn.  We passed by a school that was fresh and new, with pretty landscaping and plenty of space for kids to run and play.  Gorgeous parks and amenities.

It makes me wonder, what would life be like out there?

We live in an inner suburb in Prince George's County.  It's a lovely, old-fashioned, tight-knit neighborhood.  I can walk to Target, Starbucks, my doctor's office and the Metro.  But our yard is tiny and so is our house.  When my kids need space to play, we go to the neighborhood park.  We have learned how to avoid the rush hour traffic that surrounds our neighborhood in the morning and evening. We sleep through sirens that go rushing by a block away in the middle of the night.  We also lock our car doors and keep a close eye on the kids when they are playing outside.  Crime is on the rise here and daytime break-ins have become a weekly occurrence.  The incidents are getting more bold and scary as the weeks pass.

Obviously, there are advantages and disadvantages of both the inner and outer 'burbs.  When my husband and I bought this house, we looked at both options and decided the inner 'burbs were the right choice for us.  We were newly-married, young professionals. 

But now that we have four kids, and I'm no longer commuting downtown, I often wonder if we shouldn't re-evaluate.  A yard where my boys could practice their golf or baseball swings would be so nice.  A bigger house with a more modern floor plan would also be a dream.  A family room?  What would it be like to have one of those? 

Honestly, I am a city girl at heart.  If it were just me, I would move to an even more urban neighborhood.  But, with kids and school systems and space and quality of life issues, it is really a difficult choice for us.  My husband would be spending many hours commuting if we moved to the outer suburbs.  A quick trip to the Smithsonian or the Zoo would be an all-day journey.  I couldn't walk off my pumpkin spice latte on the way home from Starbucks.

I continue to waiver back and forth.  Driving through those outer suburbs puts my mind in a swirl.   Perhaps my psycho GPS has a secret agenda.

This is an original DC Metro Moms post.  No matter where Sue lives, the laundry room will be where she spends far too much of her time.  You can read all about it at Laundry for Six.