Bluemont neighborhood of Arlington
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Anonymous
| What is it like to live here? We're hoping to be in a neighborhood with a bit of a sense of community. The house that we're looking at is zoned for Ashlawn/Kenmore/Washington-Liberty - interested in experiences with those schools? |
Anonymous
| I don't have personal experience, but I have heard that Kenmore should be avoided. It was the one school that a couple friends in Arlington specifically called out as being problematic. |
Anonymous
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The principal of Kenmore is an Arlington native and is making progress in turning Kenmore around. The school draws from an area filled with low income kids, immigrants, and a smattering of middle class kids, including those who live in North Arlington but want to do the more technical studies Kenmore offers.
Ashlawn and Washington Liberty are fine. You cold always do parochial or private for middle school. It is a very friendly community with many young families who bought some of the new builds or well renovated older homes. |
Anonymous
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Here's a new construction Bluemont home listed for $2.55M - I think that's the highest price I've seen so far in the Bluemont neighborhood (at least below 66?)
We're in an older home in the neighborhood and are surprised to see something over $2.5M zoned to Kenmore. https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/5016-6th-St-N-22203/home/11243841 |
Anonymous
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I know that house it's infill. Just a bit too far imo to walk to Metro.
Bluemont is nice, generally safe. The middle school in imo iffy. |
Anonymous
| BTW our 3BR 3-1/2 bath house cost $150k new in mid 80s, we finished the basement for $25k 10 years later. It is in 6000 sq ft lot and Zillow says $1.1 million. |
Anonymous
Yep I was the PP who posted the $2.55M house. We’re in an “original” house around the corner closer to Bluemont Trail. We’ve been debating if we tear down and rebuild on our lot for our move up house but didn’t think comps support that + Kenmore gives us a LOT of pause from what we’ve heard from neighbors. Absolutely LOVE the neighborhood between the trail access, proximity to Ballston / DC, Lubber Run, etc. Wish this part of Bluemont had been pulled up into Swanson to keep Ashlawn together. |
Anonymous
Oh please. This is ridiculous. It’s middle school. It sucks almost by definition. I can’t imagine advising anyone to avoid that neighborhood and those schools because of the middle school. |
Anonymous
| I am not in that neighborhood but know people who are and like living there! Safe, a lot of access to parks and transit without feeling in the middle of urban development |
Anonymous
| Bluemont is a lovely part of Arlington, walking distance to Ballston, easy drive to Westover, super easy commute to DC, Tysons, Reston & Beyond and of course CC. If you find a house you like in that area, don't hesitate. If zip code matters to you, you prefer to rub elbows with richer neighbors, and you don't mind driving EVERYWHERE, then look further north in 22207. |
Anonymous
Eh all the new builds are $$, but it’s more subtle wealth because they’re prioritizing convenience vs exclusivity. So you get a different type of buyer than you’d see in 22207 even if their HHI / NW is the same. Also lots of people who moved here for their starter home back in the early 2010s when it was a lot less expensive stick around for the lifestyle (trail, pool / tennis club, Ballston walkability) so you’ve got people making big $ staying in / renovating original houses. |
Anonymous
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We actually like kenmore. It is fine - there is a high Latino population from south Arlington but they avoid the white kids for the most part and stay with their own.
Also, kenmore has higher placement classes that are just for the higher achieving students. Swanson is not perfect either. Half of ashlawn goes there or kenmore and we hear similar stories from their friends there that you get with kenmore. W&L sucks - totally overlooked and lots of Yorktown kids are wavered in for their IB and other programs. Meanwhile Yorktown is under enrolled. Bluemont is is a great area - but get wait list now for Arlington forest pool - like 5-6 years last I heard unless you buy very close to pool. |
Anonymous
| Also it is a nice area and walking distance to ballston but also has an awesome path for kids/dogs/etc. lots of young kids all over |
Anonymous
Racist much? |
Anonymous
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We moved from Clarendon to the suburbs of Bluemont about 14 years ago. We liked Clarendon and our house but it was not a great place with little kids for things like bike riding or even walking around with fear of them getting hit by the never ending cars cutting through the neighborhoods.
We too had fear of the Kenmore reputation but it was fine. Like previously posted, it is self segregated. The only issues we have heard of is if a Hispanic kid went to ashlawn and made white friends the Hispanic kids from south Arlington are known to give them a hard time for it. I would say it is no worse than Swanson - which our friends who go there said has a serious “mean girl” clique/vibe last few years. Neighborhood wise it is fine, reminds me of my old Clarendon neighborhood where it was tear down central in 2005. The lots are cheap compared to Clarendon and walking to ballston takes about 15 minutes for us. Which is about on par for things to do with Clarendon now. As the last of the original residents age out of the tiny 1950s homes that all look the same I assume they will be replaced with McMansions like every where else in Arlington. Many of those homes are rented out currently so as the owners pass away typically the children are selling them off. |