Would you move for Deal and J-R?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interested in hearing more why people like Mt. Pleasant in particular. (I'm not sure I have ever been there and am asking out of total ignorance).

Think the idea is most Mt. P is denser and closer to the city, as opposed to the suburban nature of most houses in the Deal/Wilson catchment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interested in hearing more why people like Mt. Pleasant in particular. (I'm not sure I have ever been there and am asking out of total ignorance).

I’m one of the PPs who likes Mt. P. It’s a vibrant, extremely diverse, interesting, walkable neighborhood with a strong sense of community. Fantastic restaurants, great public transportation options, lively, beautiful houses with lots of density. Geographically pretty central.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WOTP can be a worse commute downtown than crossing the bridge from parts of Arlington. Looking myself, and I have a hard time understanding what the benefit of paying to be near Deal and JR. Arlington has well-funded schools with solid cohorts. For out of bounds options you have to look at TJ v. Walls/Banneker. And then for college, in-state tuition at UVA is superior to DC Tag.

Arlington RE is also really expensive, and not everyone is committed to sending their kids in state for college. And having a lot of friends with kids in APS, I am confident that the quality of education my kids got/are getting at JR is at least as good as what’s on offer at Yorktown, W-L, etc.

[Anonymous]

No I would move to VA in a good pyramid and then get the state school option too over Deal and JR.

[Anonymous]

I did, and, thus far, I am happy with the choice. My kid has met a lot of nice people at Deal and JR. They also have found fun and interesting extracurriculars. If your kid is a self-starter, all of the opportunities are there.

If your kid is determined to use drugs in the restroom, they are going to be able to do that at a large public school. Even in the burbs, I dont think you can find the kind of staffing you would need to stop that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to say. Basically most of the JR and Deal neighborhoods are as suburban as the close in VA and MD suburbs and lack any real urban flavor anyway, and the suburban schools are generally better, so if it were me I'd just leave the city. The one exception I can think of is Mt Pleasant.

Well a particular kind of suburban-don't think the poster is interested in all of the close in MD suburbs.

Well, my point is that the large majority of the JR and Deal boundary is indistinguishable from the close in MD suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interested in hearing more why people like Mt. Pleasant in particular. (I'm not sure I have ever been there and am asking out of total ignorance).

Think the idea is most Mt. P is denser and closer to the city, as opposed to the suburban nature of most houses in the Deal/Wilson catchment.

Denser, closer, much more interesting, totally walkable, beautiful large rowhomes and ethnic diversity. Unlike Upper Caucasia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WOTP can be a worse commute downtown than crossing the bridge from parts of Arlington. Looking myself, and I have a hard time understanding what the benefit of paying to be near Deal and JR. Arlington has well-funded schools with solid cohorts. For out of bounds options you have to look at TJ v. Walls/Banneker. And then for college, in-state tuition at UVA is superior to DC Tag.

Arlington RE is also really expensive, and not everyone is committed to sending their kids in state for college. And having a lot of friends with kids in APS, I am confident that the quality of education my kids got/are getting at JR is at least as good as what’s on offer at Yorktown, W-L, etc.

Sorry, but this just isn’t true. I’d send my kids to JR in a heartbeat, because I don’t think kids necessarily need to go to the “best of the best” if they have committed and involved parents, but by every objective measure Yorktown and W-L are better schools. It’s kinda laughable to suggest otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WOTP can be a worse commute downtown than crossing the bridge from parts of Arlington. Looking myself, and I have a hard time understanding what the benefit of paying to be near Deal and JR. Arlington has well-funded schools with solid cohorts. For out of bounds options you have to look at TJ v. Walls/Banneker. And then for college, in-state tuition at UVA is superior to DC Tag.

Arlington RE is also really expensive, and not everyone is committed to sending their kids in state for college. And having a lot of friends with kids in APS, I am confident that the quality of education my kids got/are getting at JR is at least as good as what’s on offer at Yorktown, W-L, etc.

Sorry, but this just isn’t true. I’d send my kids to JR in a heartbeat, because I don’t think kids necessarily need to go to the “best of the best” if they have committed and involved parents, but by every objective measure Yorktown and W-L are better schools. It’s kinda laughable to suggest otherwise.

I'm talking about the experiences of students at these schools. Literally, comparing what our kids are doing in the same classes, quality of teachers, etc.

[Anonymous]

I live in Mt. Pleasant. Bought at a more affordable moment, and currently golden handcuffed. Echo what everyone says about the positives, with a minor but undeniable safety asterisk. And yet - I’m baffled by the wave of neighborhood praise here. This is a schools forum, and the question was about middle and high schools. And if you live in Mt. Pleasant and want your kid to attend a halfway decent school: your odds are somewhere between slim and none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Mt. Pleasant. Bought at a more affordable moment, and currently golden handcuffed. Echo what everyone says about the positives, with a minor but undeniable safety asterisk. And yet - I’m baffled by the wave of neighborhood praise here. This is a schools forum, and the question was about middle and high schools. And if you live in Mt. Pleasant and want your kid to attend a halfway decent school: your odds are somewhere between slim and none.

(As in: Yes if you’re in the tiny Bancroft zone. No if you’re two blocks outside it.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to say. Basically most of the JR and Deal neighborhoods are as suburban as the close in VA and MD suburbs and lack any real urban flavor anyway, and the suburban schools are generally better, so if it were me I'd just leave the city. The one exception I can think of is Mt Pleasant.

My impression is that most people who move to Ward 3 for schools, especially by elementary, don't really see city amenities, transit, or walkability as priorities.

But I'd love to hear from people who do care about those things and moved to Ward 3 for schools: what sold you on Ward 3 over any of the MD and VA suburbs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No I would move to VA in a good pyramid and then get the state school option too over Deal and JR.

I sent my JR kid to Virginia alone. He is working on getting in state for GM transferring from Nova. He got 30 credits transferred from JR. Paying out of state for Nova is not bad at all for one year.
He got his DL, his car, his health insurance, voting, and work all in Virginia separate from parents in DC.

[Anonymous]

I'm curious why people say Mt Pleasant but not Adams Morgan, the other neighborhood east of the park/suburbia that feeds to JR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to say. Basically most of the JR and Deal neighborhoods are as suburban as the close in VA and MD suburbs and lack any real urban flavor anyway, and the suburban schools are generally better, so if it were me I'd just leave the city. The one exception I can think of is Mt Pleasant.

My impression is that most people who move to Ward 3 for schools, especially by elementary, don't really see city amenities, transit, or walkability as priorities.

But I'd love to hear from people who do care about those things and moved to Ward 3 for schools: what sold you on Ward 3 over any of the MD and VA suburbs?

We certainly saw all of those things as priorities and chose a neighborhood in upper NW that offered that and good schools (Conn Ave. corridor near Van Ness metro). We have bus and Metro, can walk to schools, stores, etc. We like living in DC; we never considered VA or MD.