Can somebody please exain why South Arlington is considered inferior to North Arlington?

[Anonymous]

Above $1.5 million, people generally are going to look in DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, McLean or Great Falls. Not Arlington, whether North or South.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The interesting thing is that no one talked about "North Arlington" and "South Arlington" until all the white yuppies started piling into Arlington. It used to just be Arlington, with different mailing addresses depending on whether you were north or south of Route 50.

It all seems a little over-the-top, given that the real money is still mostly elsewhere.

Native Arlingtonian here and I agree with this assessment. There was no "North" and "South" distinction when I was growing up.

Not exactly. It was always S and N in my lifetime. Maybe in the olden days there wasn't a dichotomy, but that's when the county was homogeneous, and there were no run down garden apartments.

I'm sorry but I beg to differ. Growing up no one ever said they were from "North" Arlington or "South" Arlington. They might say what high school they went to or what neighborhood they lived in if asked what part, which was the logical next question. And when you did say "I went to Yorktown" or "I went to W-L" it wasn't perceived that one was better than the other, in spite of their rivalry. I also don't recall any discussion of Wakefield being a horrible school. I knew kids at all three schools and everyone was happy with their high school, kids and parents both.

When I was growing up, average working families (which, in the 70s and 80s usually meant dad was working while mom stayed home) could buy homes in nice neighborhoods in North Arlington. Back in those days you didnt need to be a two-income family of doctors and lawyers to live in a nice house in Arlington. My dad was a federal employee, as were many of my friends' dads, and my mom was a teacher who only went back to work when I was in middle school. They bought their home in the 60s and could never afford to buy in that neighborhood today. They were typical of the families that lived in all parts of Arlington in that era, before Metro, before people began to flee DC schools, before people began to live in Chantilly and South Riding and Ashburn and commute daily from those places to DC, before people decided that 4 bedroom/2 bath houses without a great room and commercial kitchen were too small for their families.

I agree with the PP who said that the influx of Yuppies, (and in my opinion also increasing wealth, competition, and snobbery), has created the "distinction" between North and South Arlington. You can decide for yourself, OP, whether you want to use standardized test scores, income statistics, and "greatschools.com" to inform your real estate decisions (or the advice of the pro-North anti-South Arlington DCUM crowd).

Back in the 70s and 80s all three high schools were similar, as you recall. Wakefield was in fact a nationally ranked school back in the 70s and Gunston had the reputation of being a "rich school" and was a mirror image of Williamsburg.

I don't think it was the "Arlington Yuppies" that created the N-S divide; the reason for the growing dichotomy was the increasingly poor and run down garden apartment neighborhoods in South Arlington. I grew up in the 90s, and there was a distinction between N and S Arlington. Gunston in the 90s had the Arna Valley kids and very few from the Ridge. Gunston and Williamsburg had become polar opposites. And Rt 50 was the dividing line between the school boundaries. South Arlington did have the better mall, so the negative image of South Arlington was not exactly cut and dried.

Now that us 90s kids are starting our own families in Arlington, we tend to be a little less absorbed with the whole N v. S thing. South Arlington is staging a comeback, and we know APS has good schools throughout the county. But for better or worse, I believe the two distinct identities are here to stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Above $1.5 million, people generally are going to look in DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, McLean or Great Falls. Not Arlington, whether North or South.

I'd say the people that buy homes in Arlington over 2 mill, don't really care about "Arlington" or the schools. They're moving for the look of the neighborhood, maybe a river or cathedral view, and the convenience of being close to DC. And the over 2 mill crowd will most likely send their kids to private school. So public schools aren't a factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The interesting thing is that no one talked about "North Arlington" and "South Arlington" until all the white yuppies started piling into Arlington. It used to just be Arlington, with different mailing addresses depending on whether you were north or south of Route 50.

It all seems a little over-the-top, given that the real money is still mostly elsewhere.

Native Arlingtonian here and I agree with this assessment. There was no "North" and "South" distinction when I was growing up.

Not exactly. It was always S and N in my lifetime. Maybe in the olden days there wasn't a dichotomy, but that's when the county was homogeneous, and there were no run down garden apartments.

I'm sorry but I beg to differ. Growing up no one ever said they were from "North" Arlington or "South" Arlington. They might say what high school they went to or what neighborhood they lived in if asked what part, which was the logical next question. And when you did say "I went to Yorktown" or "I went to W-L" it wasn't perceived that one was better than the other, in spite of their rivalry. I also don't recall any discussion of Wakefield being a horrible school. I knew kids at all three schools and everyone was happy with their high school, kids and parents both.

When I was growing up, average working families (which, in the 70s and 80s usually meant dad was working while mom stayed home) could buy homes in nice neighborhoods in North Arlington. Back in those days you didnt need to be a two-income family of doctors and lawyers to live in a nice house in Arlington. My dad was a federal employee, as were many of my friends' dads, and my mom was a teacher who only went back to work when I was in middle school. They bought their home in the 60s and could never afford to buy in that neighborhood today. They were typical of the families that lived in all parts of Arlington in that era, before Metro, before people began to flee DC schools, before people began to live in Chantilly and South Riding and Ashburn and commute daily from those places to DC, before people decided that 4 bedroom/2 bath houses without a great room and commercial kitchen were too small for their families.

I agree with the PP who said that the influx of Yuppies, (and in my opinion also increasing wealth, competition, and snobbery), has created the "distinction" between North and South Arlington. You can decide for yourself, OP, whether you want to use standardized test scores, income statistics, and "greatschools.com" to inform your real estate decisions (or the advice of the pro-North anti-South Arlington DCUM crowd).

+ 100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because North Arlington has the "Mothers of North Arlington" group and S. Arlington's got nothing.

Yes. MONA is in many ways like MS-13. But I would fuck with MS-13 before MONA.

Best. Post. Ever.

Signed,
A S. Arl. mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Above $1.5 million, people generally are going to look in DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, McLean or Great Falls. Not Arlington, whether North or South.

I'd say the people that buy homes in Arlington over 2 mill, don't really care about "Arlington" or the schools. They're moving for the look of the neighborhood, maybe a river or cathedral view, and the convenience of being close to DC. And the over 2 mill crowd will most likely send their kids to private school. So public schools aren't a factor.

Look at the inventory of $2M+ homes in Arlington compared to McLean, Potomac, Bethesda, Chevy Chase and NWDC. Homes at this price point in Arlington tend to be more of a rarity. In the other areas, it's not unusual to see homes that are $4M+. Arlington is still (and probably always will be) much more middle class than other areas around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Above $1.5 million, people generally are going to look in DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, McLean or Great Falls. Not Arlington, whether North or South.

I'd say the people that buy homes in Arlington over 2 mill, don't really care about "Arlington" or the schools. They're moving for the look of the neighborhood, maybe a river or cathedral view, and the convenience of being close to DC. And the over 2 mill crowd will most likely send their kids to private school. So public schools aren't a factor.

Look at the inventory of $2M+ homes in Arlington compared to McLean, Potomac, Bethesda, Chevy Chase and NWDC. Homes at this price point in Arlington tend to be more of a rarity. In the other areas, it's not unusual to see homes that are $4M+. Arlington is still (and probably always will be) much more middle class than other areas around here.

The middle class is not the ones buying 1.5 million dollar houses, they are the ones buying up to 1 million

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Above $1.5 million, people generally are going to look in DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, McLean or Great Falls. Not Arlington, whether North or South.

I'd say the people that buy homes in Arlington over 2 mill, don't really care about "Arlington" or the schools. They're moving for the look of the neighborhood, maybe a river or cathedral view, and the convenience of being close to DC. And the over 2 mill crowd will most likely send their kids to private school. So public schools aren't a factor.

Agreed. Calling people in anything over 1 million dollar houses 'poor' is what is ridiculous. The starting in our NArl neighborhood is $1.25 mill and nobody is here in the summer because they own summer homes too. We are here for the location snd grear combo of walkability and fantastic public school. The 'cache' of the neighborhood to douchebags means nothing to us. Same with schools. A great school is a great school. Who needs the car sticker that says I pay $40k/year for Kindergarten?

I guarantee the people perpetuating the class distinctions on this board aren't the ones in the 4 mill houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Above $1.5 million, people generally are going to look in DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, McLean or Great Falls. Not Arlington, whether North or South.

I'd say the people that buy homes in Arlington over 2 mill, don't really care about "Arlington" or the schools. They're moving for the look of the neighborhood, maybe a river or cathedral view, and the convenience of being close to DC. And the over 2 mill crowd will most likely send their kids to private school. So public schools aren't a factor.

Look at the inventory of $2M+ homes in Arlington compared to McLean, Potomac, Bethesda, Chevy Chase and NWDC. Homes at this price point in Arlington tend to be more of a rarity. In the other areas, it's not unusual to see homes that are $4M+. Arlington is still (and probably always will be) much more middle class than other areas around here.

The middle class is not the ones buying 1.5 million dollar houses, they are the ones buying up to 1 million

You know this to be true? Hmmm--what about the person that buys more than one 1 million + house? Many of us just don't own 1 home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Above $1.5 million, people generally are going to look in DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, McLean or Great Falls. Not Arlington, whether North or South.

I'd say the people that buy homes in Arlington over 2 mill, don't really care about "Arlington" or the schools. They're moving for the look of the neighborhood, maybe a river or cathedral view, and the convenience of being close to DC. And the over 2 mill crowd will most likely send their kids to private school. So public schools aren't a factor.

Look at the inventory of $2M+ homes in Arlington compared to McLean, Potomac, Bethesda, Chevy Chase and NWDC. Homes at this price point in Arlington tend to be more of a rarity. In the other areas, it's not unusual to see homes that are $4M+. Arlington is still (and probably always will be) much more middle class than other areas around here.

The middle class is not the ones buying 1.5 million dollar houses, they are the ones buying up to 1 million

You know this to be true? Hmmm--what about the person that buys more than one 1 million + house? Many of us just don't own 1 home.

Yes! We decided to keep our city home and rent it out. It made much more sense in the long term. Renters have paid the mortgage on that rowhouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Agreed. Calling people in anything over 1 million dollar houses 'poor' is what is ridiculous. The starting in our NArl neighborhood is $1.25 mill and nobody is here in the summer because they own summer homes too. We are here for the location snd grear combo of walkability and fantastic public school. The 'cache' of the neighborhood to douchebags means nothing to us. Same with schools. A great school is a great school. Who needs the car sticker that says I pay $40k/year for Kindergarten?

I guarantee the people perpetuating the class distinctions on this board aren't the ones in the 4 mill houses.

Very defensive and the NArl reference is but one giveaway.

It's OK to live in Arlington, really. You don't have to pretend SArl is another planet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Agreed. Calling people in anything over 1 million dollar houses 'poor' is what is ridiculous. The starting in our NArl neighborhood is $1.25 mill and nobody is here in the summer because they own summer homes too. We are here for the location snd grear combo of walkability and fantastic public school. The 'cache' of the neighborhood to douchebags means nothing to us. Same with schools. A great school is a great school. Who needs the car sticker that says I pay $40k/year for Kindergarten?

I guarantee the people perpetuating the class distinctions on this board aren't the ones in the 4 mill houses.

Very defensive and the NArl reference is but one giveaway.

It's OK to live in Arlington, really. You don't have to pretend SArl is another planet.

Sarl is like georgetown vs anacostia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am someone who looks at purchasing in expensive and high quality neighborhoods and would never consider south Arlington due to schools and lower property values.

When looking at places I always start with schools and location then adjust until I can be in budget without compromising those two items.

I consider most of North Arlington to be a similar price point and comparable to Mclean, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, the prices of the new homes speak for themselves. So yes it is quite comparable and since the middle class can range from 100-500k in the DC area I would consider it to be middle to upper class. The reality is that south Arlington has a lot of poverty and it ranges from poverty to middle class.

Well, according to another thread on DC Urban Moms we are far from middle class (HHI $300k) and we live in S. Arlington--where we are laughing all the way to the bank. Do you know what the difference is between a $500K mortgage and a $1M mortgage? About $30,000 in payments a year (plus our taxes are about half as much, too). I'd rather have another 30K a year to spend on whatever I want than bragging rights from an odd numbered zip code. Plus, in 22204 we could afford a brand new house that is bigger than lots of brick colonials and ranches in N. Arlington that cost twice as much or require cumbersome additions to be livable. Not worried about any property in Arlington losing value, and we're here for the long run so lower price appreciation just means lower taxes.

We have two kids in a Title I, 75%+ minority school and they are getting a great education and are perfectly happy. Its 5 minutes to Metro and then 2 stops to my job in DC. I've lived in this neighborhood for 10 years and there's been no crime. Since schools, commute, and crime are the reasons people always put forth--and I don't see that any of those things are worse in S. Arlington, at least for people who live in SFH neighborhoods--I am baffled as to why people pay such an enormous premium to live north of Route 50--it seems like just throwing money away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. MONA is in many ways like MS-13. But I would fuck with MS-13 before MONA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am someone who looks at purchasing in expensive and high quality neighborhoods and would never consider south Arlington due to schools and lower property values.

When looking at places I always start with schools and location then adjust until I can be in budget without compromising those two items.

I consider most of North Arlington to be a similar price point and comparable to Mclean, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, the prices of the new homes speak for themselves. So yes it is quite comparable and since the middle class can range from 100-500k in the DC area I would consider it to be middle to upper class. The reality is that south Arlington has a lot of poverty and it ranges from poverty to middle class.

Well, according to another thread on DC Urban Moms we are far from middle class (HHI $300k) and we live in S. Arlington--where we are laughing all the way to the bank. Do you know what the difference is between a $500K mortgage and a $1M mortgage? About $30,000 in payments a year (plus our taxes are about half as much, too). I'd rather have another 30K a year to spend on whatever I want than bragging rights from an odd numbered zip code. Plus, in 22204 we could afford a brand new house that is bigger than lots of brick colonials and ranches in N. Arlington that cost twice as much or require cumbersome additions to be livable. Not worried about any property in Arlington losing value, and we're here for the long run so lower price appreciation just means lower taxes.

We have two kids in a Title I, 75%+ minority school and they are getting a great education and are perfectly happy. Its 5 minutes to Metro and then 2 stops to my job in DC. I've lived in this neighborhood for 10 years and there's been no crime. Since schools, commute, and crime are the reasons people always put forth--and I don't see that any of those things are worse in S. Arlington, at least for people who live in SFH neighborhoods--I am baffled as to why people pay such an enormous premium to live north of Route 50--it seems like just throwing money away.

I am sure you'll be laughing when juan becomes your teen moms dad