9 Things We’ll Miss Living in a Dog-Friendly City

I know, I know, we’ve only announced a few times over the past two weeks, but we are officially moving to the suburbs. While we are incredibly excited for this transition and we are so happy to be able to own a home with a fabulous yard for our dogs Duke and Navy, I am also nervous about the transition.

Sure, I’ve complained once or twice about how much I dislike DC and the city life, but there really is so much of DC that I love. DC has been my home for the past 5.5 years, and Zach’s home his entire life. Duke and Navy have always been city dogs too. This move is going to be a big adjustment for our family.

As I took Navy and Duke on one of their last walks in our current neighborhood, I jotted down some of the things we will miss living in a dog-friendly city. 

1. DOG-FRIENDLY PATIOS

It is no secret that Zach and I like to eat and drink. Because we work such hectic schedules, we don’t get a lot of quality time with the pups or each other. When we do have some free time, we like to spend it with each other and our dogs. We like to try to find restaurants that we can bring Duke and Navy to. The DC area has so many amazing restaurants and bars with dog-friendly patios. I am not sure if we will see much of that in the suburbs.

2. DOG-FRIENDLY EVENTS

Another amazing thing about living in the city is there is no shortage of things to do. It seems like there is an event every single weekend in the DMV. Even though we are only moving about 45 minutes away from the city and can certainly travel in for big events, we won’t be able to make everything. 

3. VARIETY OF DOG-FRIENDLY BUSINESSES

There is truly an abundance of dog-friendly businesses in the DC area. We currently have about five different boarding and daycare facilities within a 2-mile radius of our apartment. We also have three different pet supply stores also within that 2 mile radius. When we move to the suburbs we won’t have such a wide variety of businesses to choose from. What if we hate our local groomer?!

4. BEING SO CLOSE TO EVERYTHING

I definitely should have prefaced this in the beginning of this post, but we don’t actually live in DC proper. I mean, a lot of people who say they live in DC actually live just outside of the city. We live in Arlington, Virginia which is less than 10 minutes from DC. One thing we love so much about this area is that we really are so close to everything. Whether we want to go for a quick walk at sunset in Old Town Alexandria or stroll along the National Mall, we can easily make the trip where we are at currently.

5. WALKING

DC traffic is the worst. I love just being able to walk to different places. When we move to the suburbs we won’t be able to necessarily walk to different restaurants or walk to different shops, we will need to get into our car and drive wherever we want to go.

6. DOG PARKS

I swear we’ve mentioned this before but we are not the biggest fans of dog parks. After a few bad incidents of bringing Navy to a dog park, we tend to err on the side of caution and not bring the pups there. But I still did love meeting up with friends all the different local dog parks in our area! We have a pretty good group at a few of our local dog parks.

7. DOG WASTE BAGS + WASTE STATIONS

Serious question … when we move to the suburbs where the heck am I going to toss my poop bags when we are out on walks?! Lord knows I do not want to carry around Duke or Navy’s poops! 

8. THE NEIGHBORHOOD DOGS

Since bringing Navy and even Duke home, we’ve lived in three separate neighborhoods of Arlington. So many people in this area have dogs. Throughout our walks with Navy and Duke we’ve  really gotten used to the other dogs we see out. If I don’t wear a watch or bring my phone with me in the morning, I always know if I am running late based on who I see walking the block. 

9. OUR FRIENDS

Creating a social media account for our dogs was probably the best thing I ever did because it allowed us to meet so many amazing people who grew to become some of our best friends.  Again, we are really not moving too far away and I know I’m probably being super dramatic but I am afraid I will not see some of my friends as often once we move. 

I do have a lot of anxiety about moving to the suburbs and moving in general, but I am also really excited for this new step for our family. Transitioning from city life to life in the suburbs will be hard at first, but I am positive it is the right move for us. Thankfully, we are still very close to the city and we will travel in to visit as much as we can.

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Do you live in the suburbs or in the city? Let us know in the comments below!