Say what's up to Raising Astoria, the WhatsApp community that makes parenting less lonely

At the beer garden, at the library, with my 10-month-old in tow, other parents inevitably ask me if I’m in the group. Duh, I have a phone and WiFi access — of course I’m in the group. 

“The group” is Raising Astoria, a 1,000+ member WhatsApp community created for parents in Astoria, Queens, with around 100 individual WhatsApp groups — ranging from the practical (a group where parents share tips for navigating the Astoria Park Pool and report live wait times) to career-focused (there’s a group for moms who work in theater, and ones for parents working in mental health and academia), to parenting-specific (including a breast pump part swap and a homeschooling families group), and everything in between. In addition to robust digital discussions, the group hosts regular in-person parents’ book clubs, moms’ and dads’ nights out, stay-at-home parents meetups, and community swaps. 

My husband and I moved with our baby earlier this summer to Astoria from the Upper East Side, seeking more square footage and craving neighborly interactions beyond “Which floor?” and overheard domestic disputes through the open windows. Raising Astoria feels like the epitome of what we were looking for, and illustrates what makes Astoria, and New York City, so special. 

“There are other mom groups that I go into and I’m like, ‘phew, this is a little bit scary,'" Briana Williams, a Raising Astoria mom, told me. "But with Raising Astoria, everyone is just so positive, and not in this false toxic-positivity way, but just genuine and humble and seeking advice and counsel and also so willing to give advice and counsel.”