S/O: Most overrated neighborhood in the area?

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised when people point out how ugly Arlington is. Sure, it's lacking in curb appeal - just like 95% of the DC area. There are very few parts of the DC area that are really attractive - part of why DC on the whole is overrated. At least on DCUM. I don't know many people who live in other cities who are dying to move here. The only reason I ever hear about is for jobs (incl me!).

[Anonymous]

I think Georgetown is the most overrated. I live in NWDC. Georgetown is a nightmare in my book. I have family who lives there and everything costs more (the "Georgetown price") for home services, the rats are out of control, the students in the West Village are obnoxious and committ offensive, drunk, acts at night, the streets are terribly crowded and parked cars get dinged all the time, you get nothing nice even for a million dollars, two million barely buys anything decent, thefts happen in broad daylight all the time (packages from front doors, bikes from garages and sheds...), constant road construction.... Clearly I could go on... I know lots of people LOVE Georgetown and "would never live anywhere else" or would love to live there but, I totally disagree. I think Georgetown is, by far, the most overrated neighborhood in the DC Metro area.

[Anonymous]

The Arlington hate comes from people who bought $1mm homes in AU Park with chain link fences, Wilson, crime no back yards and have to shell out another $30k for private school. I can understand it.

[Anonymous]

Do people who think Arlington is ugly think all of it is ugly? Or just Lyon Village? Or just the many 1950s ramblers that are all over North Arlington.

I heart Maywood. I think it's beautiful, not that I live there and not that I love it enough to want to move.

[Anonymous]

Beauty/ugly is pretty subjective. I happen to think well-maintained urban areas are much prettier that well-maintained, ostensibly picturesque suburbs - so Georgetown and Dupont as opposed to McLean. Having said that, how pretty a neighborhood is is pretty low on my list of priorities - I'm much more concerned about the commute, the amenities, the schools, etc. As long as a house isn't significantly more ugly that the surrounding homes (negative curb appeal, in other words), I really don't stress about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Georgetown is the most overrated. I live in NWDC. Georgetown is a nightmare in my book. I have family who lives there and everything costs more (the "Georgetown price") for home services, the rats are out of control, the students in the West Village are obnoxious and committ offensive, drunk, acts at night, the streets are terribly crowded and parked cars get dinged all the time, you get nothing nice even for a million dollars, two million barely buys anything decent, thefts happen in broad daylight all the time (packages from front doors, bikes from garages and sheds...), constant road construction.... Clearly I could go on... I know lots of people LOVE Georgetown and "would never live anywhere else" or would love to live there but, I totally disagree. I think Georgetown is, by far, the most overrated neighborhood in the DC Metro area.

I have a house on the East Side and I LOVE it. It is quieter than my current close-in suburb. It is beautiful. We don't have problem with students in that area. IF you are at least 2 blocks up from M and 2 blocks over from Wisconsin it is peaceful. I stay off of Wisconsin and M. If I were going somewhere in that location I always cut through the neighborhood.

I am moving back as soon as my kids are out of the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From seeing the latest public school results i think anything in Arlington is overated

What are the "latest public school results"?

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/234030.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beauty/ugly is pretty subjective. I happen to think well-maintained urban areas are much prettier that well-maintained, ostensibly picturesque suburbs - so Georgetown and Dupont as opposed to McLean. Having said that, how pretty a neighborhood is is pretty low on my list of priorities - I'm much more concerned about the commute, the amenities, the schools, etc. As long as a house isn't significantly more ugly that the surrounding homes (negative curb appeal, in other words), I really don't stress about it.

Good thing; not so many Ms and Ds raising their kids in Dupont or even Georgetown, compared to McLean.

[Anonymous]

I used to live in Maywood and yes, it is one of the prettier parts of Arlington but it is still pretty patchy with some dun-down houses and ugly rambler in-fills. Palisades, the most similar area in NWDC, has just as much of the charm and less of the ugly IMO.

Arlington IS ugly though, really ugly, and almost all of it. Some pretty areas of Country Club Hills, Cherrydale, Maywood and Lyon Village but even in the prettier areas, you still get the in-fill 1950s rambler or split level or an abandoned/run-down house. There also seem to be less of a premuim put on pretty landscaping.

I certainly do not hate Arlington, it is a convenient place to live but, it is UGLY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You dipped your toe into this water and now realize it's a bit too hot and you got all pissy. Girl please. Look at the title of the thread. I stand by my assertion that Arlington is overrated (especially on these boards) and has ZERO aspirational qualities. People hope 1 day that they make enough money to move to parts of NW, Mclean/Great Falls, Potomac and Bethesda/Chevy Chase. I've never heard someone say "When I'm CEO/partner I'm going to move to Arlington YEAH!". So yeah DCUM overrates Arlington. Deal with it.

Oh, I see. So you are saying that you hang out with social climbers?

Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think every expensive area in DC metro have been mentioned here. What about up and coming places? Which one is the most overrated?

I have a friend who bought in the H-street corridor, one side of it was already out of her price range, so she bought on the other side and is afraid to leave her house at night after the shooting under her windows. I drove around a few times and don't see the appeal of that area at all, sure, there are some new places opening up catering to the yuppsters, but I think it still has a long way to go.

I still hold out hope for H St North. It really is beautiful housing stock, and would be sort of the natural thing to connect Eckington and "NoMa" with the triangle below florida. (dare I say it, TriBeFla?)

But H St itself really puts me off. It's so unorganic -- it's not like it's even thriving mom & pop shops mixed with more upscale places and amenities for everyone. Unlike in Columbia Heights, where you mix pupuserias with more expensive restaurants and Target & 5 Guys. Instead, H st is this very jarring mixture of really sad-sack places and parachuted-in "trendy" bars. The combination is really off-putting for everyone, I think. Maybe the new Giant will unite the street a bit more.

[Anonymous]

I obviously don't read the Real Estate forum enough bc I had no idea there was this much vitriol between Arlington and McLean residents ... Coming from the other side of the river, I always thought of those towns like the counterparts to Bethesda and Potomac, respectively - and I really don't think either Bethesda or Potomac trashes the other.
Back to the Op's question -- I echo those Georgetown comments, as well as most other expensive areas of DC which are not metro accessible and have crappy public schools ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to live in Maywood and yes, it is one of the prettier parts of Arlington but it is still pretty patchy with some dun-down houses and ugly rambler in-fills. Palisades, the most similar area in NWDC, has just as much of the charm and less of the ugly IMO.

Arlington IS ugly though, really ugly, and almost all of it. Some pretty areas of Country Club Hills, Cherrydale, Maywood and Lyon Village but even in the prettier areas, you still get the in-fill 1950s rambler or split level or an abandoned/run-down house. There also seem to be less of a premuim put on pretty landscaping.

I certainly do not hate Arlington, it is a convenient place to live but, it is UGLY.

you're entitled to your narrowminded view but from where we sit (Lee Heights, with a wooded park area running from our house ~2 miles to the Potomac) I'd have to say you're only revealing your ignorance.

don't like it? don't move here... you won't be missed. ;-o

[Anonymous]

OP here ... I'd rather live where we do (Lee Heights) and have several million $ in the bank than spend it all on some trophy house in a neighborhood full of social climbers in (fill in the blank with your favorite McLean/Spring Valley/MoCo/DC neighborhood). LOL....

[Anonymous]

oops... 21:50 here.. .meant "PP" not "OP".