Why Is Obama Staying In D.C.?

If you just happen to be a resident of Washington, D.C.'s affluent Kalorama neighborhood, then congratulations: President Obama will be your new neighbor. The president made headlines this week for news other than publicly dissing Donald Trump overseas. It was announced this week that Obama will move into a nine-bedroom house in D.C. when his presidency comes to a close in 2017 (*sniff*).

Obama's decision to remain in D.C. is a bit of surprise, considering how much the president loved the decades he spent in his adopted city of Chicago. But the president has a good reason for staying in the nation's capital: Obama wants his youngest daughter, Sasha, to finish high school in D.C., according to Politico, which first reported the news of the Obama's future Kalorama residence.

In March, the Washington Post reported that Obama told a group of supporters at an event in Milwaukee that his family will stay in Washington for the next few years for the sake of Sasha's education. "We’re going to have to stay a couple of years so Sasha can finish [high school]," the president said. “Transferring someone in the middle of high school — tough."

There you have it, folks — Obama is a cool dad. That, or Sasha Obama is the greatest negotiator of our time.

At the time of that March meeting, the Obamas did not have their future residence set. Now, we know that the Obama family will be living the good life in a nine-bedroom, 8,200-square-foot house in Kalorama, which is located in northwest Washington, D.C.

According to CNN, the Obamas are planning to lease — not buy — the home, which is currently owned by former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart. The house was built in 1928, and is just one of many historic mansions in the neighborhood. Kalorama is also home to Embassy Row — majestic, upscale townhouses serving as government residences.

It's a bit unusual for a president to remain in Washington, which is why Obama's decision has garnered attention. Obama will be the first president since Woodrow Wilson to reside in Washington following the presidency. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, moved back to Texas following his eight years in the White House. In December 2008, a month before he left the Oval Office, Bush bought a home in Dallas.

After he left the White House in 2000, former President Bill Clinton did not return to his home state of Arkansas. Instead, Clinton moved to Chappaqua, New York, where Hillary Clinton began serving as a junior member of the U.S. Senate.