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If you had $1,000,000 budget for a home, work in DC and desire a short cummute, and cannot afford
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Anonymous
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Arlington, Arlington, Arlington... esp the parts close to Metro for the commute. If you are looking to stay in a neighborhood for the long haul, I would not go to DC because beyond Elementary school, what good options are there? All of Arlington county schools rate very high; because the county is small, you really see your taxes at work and directly benefit you from trash pickup, to maintenance of the roads; lots of excellent parks and trails; lots of young families (and old).
Regarding TH vs SFH - that's a personal decision. I have lived in a TH and will never again share a wall. |
Anonymous
Deal, Hardy, Wilson academies, Banneker, School without Wall, Latin PCS. Ellington for a small subset. Really. |
Anonymous
| that's "Walls" |
Anonymous
I live in Arlington and what the pp said above is key to me. I know there are lots of nice parts to DC and I know people say things are getting better, but issues with the DMV, getting your car registered, problems with emergency services I (long article in Washingtonian this month about this) are just not worth it to me. Arlington is great because you can still get to DC in about 10 minutes and it does have a lot to offer as far as restaurants, stuff for kids, great schools, etc. |
Anonymous
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Agree with above posters about Woodley; we lived there for five years before buying in Upper NW, and we miss it. It's truly the best of all worlds. If we had had $1M when we were buying, we would have stayed there.
Arlington is lovely, but if you like city living and have $1M to spend, I can't see why you'd move there. If you can afford a house in Woodley or Cleveland Park, you have access to everything you'll want -- good schools (Oyster k-8 or Deal 6-8, Wilson/Banneker/Walls/charters) and Adams Morgan, Dupont, the zoo, a bunch of parks, school, etc., within walking distance. Also on the schools front, check out the "roll call" posting on the DCPS board -- you'll see that many of us are excited about our long-term public options in the city. And I've never had a problem with DC DMV, although PP is right about emergency services. OP, before making a decision, talk with people who live in the locations you're considering. Don't buy into the assumptions people make based on someone's sister's cousin's boyfriend who lived in DC 15 years ago. I've lived in DC and Arlington and have good and bad things to say about both. No place is perfect, so make sure you're getting accurate information. Good luck! |
Anonymous
Ah, the difference between online "research," which is a great starting point, and actually spending some time at the schools -- checking out their facilities, observing their classes, talking with their teachers and principals. Oyster has 27-28 kids in many of its early year classes; Mann is ~22, and often with a third adult (a MA teaching fellow from AU) in the room. The (new) Oyster principal might turn out well, but she's currently in over her head; the Mann principal most certainly is not. Mann's teachers are, on balance, considerably stronger than Oyster's, especially Oyster's Spanish teachers (which is not surprising -- it's hard enough to find strong elementary teachers, period, let alone strong native-Spanish-speaking elementary teachers). There is not a blade of grass in Oyster's outdoor space (or in Eaton's), and it's not even remotely as large or nice as Mann's. Oyster also has about twice as many kids as Mann. Notwithstanding the strong attraction of Oyster's dual immersion program, if all else were equal, Mann over Oyster would be a no-brainer. (Of course, all else is not equal -- Woodley is more convenient, more enjoyable, and more affordable than Wesley Heights.) Eaton is a much closer call, but its teachers, especially at the younger grades, are stronger on balance than Oyster's, and its classes are not as crowded. Regardless of the schools' respective reputations, if you work with the demographic data to compare apples to apples, Eaton's test scores are marginally better than Oyster's. And Cleveland Park is as nice, fun, and convenient as Woodley. How all that balances against Oyster's dual immersion instruction is a personal weighing. I know this post must read as an anti-Oyster tirade. That's not the way it was meant -- it's just a rebuttal to the inaccurate Oyster-booster's post. With the possible addition of Murch (about which I do not have sufficient basis to opine), Oyster, Eaton, and Mann would be my three DC recommendations based on OP's criteria. Picking among them would not be easy, but I personally would be quite happy to send my children to whichever one was my in-boundary school. |
Anonymous
Wow. Can you say "poorly-hidden agenda"??? This is such a blatant (and undeservedly so) swipe at Oyster, that I have to wonder if PP isn't trying to prop up home values in her neighborhood around Mann? It's manifestly impossible that PP could know more about Oyster or any other DCPS school than Chancellor Rhee does, and yet Oyster is where Chancellor Rhee chose (out of all the schools in the District - including Mann) to send her two DC. Seriously, that post just made me laugh! (And no - I do not have a child at Oyster. I just couldn't let such an obvious smear pass by without comment.) |
Anonymous
Alexandria or Arlington would be my top choices (though I am biased as I live in the historic part of Old Town). Arlington has better schools when you get to middle school/high school, but some of Alexandria's elementary schools are awesome (though some are also a disaster, you have to be careful). Your taxes are also less than in DC. I'm a Virginian, so I won't comment on MoCo....
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Anonymous
Ah, the difference between an anonymous DCUM poster, and the DCPS Chancellor of Schools. You're right, it reads as a bit of a tirade. Who should I believe actually has more school/teacher/student/budgeting/testing/etc. data at her disposal? (Anonymous DCUM poster? Or Chancellor Rhee? Anonymous DCUM poster? Or Chancellor Rhee? It's just SO hard to choose!) |
Anonymous
I'm a PP who touted Oyster, but I have to say that you're coming across as a bit hysterical. Oyster gets an enormous amount of positive feedback and publicity (even more now that Rhee has her kids there); while I don't necessarily agree with the PP's assessment of its virtues vs. those of Mann and Eaton, I don't quite see why you're so upset by it -- especially since she said it would be one of her top choices in the city! I also don't think Rhee's choice of Oyster is clear evidence that it's a stronger school than any other; I'm guessing it worked for her family for any number of reasons, reasons that may or may not be factors for my family or any other poster on this board. My kids will go to Murch, so I really have no agenda here -- other than hoping to promote generally positive feelings about DCPS. Let's be happy that we have so many great options and not spend time tearing them down! |
Anonymous
I really do love North Arlington, esp. 22207, but it is not walkable the way Woodly Park/Cleveland Park/Adams Morgan is. Not saying one is better or worse, but it's not the same. "People walk in it" isn't the same WALKABLE neighborhood on a scale that was built for pedestrian traffic not automobiles. |
Anonymous
| As someone who lives in Montgomery County (so that we can have a short commute), I wish we lived in VA so someday we could take advantage of their terrific instate colleges/tuition. Just something to think about as you make your choice. |
Anonymous
Actually, that's another point for DC too. DC college bound students qualify as "in-state" students for tuition for MANY public colleges and universities around the country. (Applicants from households with incomes over $1M are not eligible.) It's called the DC Tuition Assistance Grant, and you can more about it here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/26/AR2008032601176.html |
Anonymous
That's true...it is the suburbs after all. OP, it really depends on what you are looking for. Do you want to be in the city or do you want the suburbs? People love both for different reasons and you can get a really nice house for that price in both D.C. and the inner 'burbs. I am the poster who recommended CHerrydale, Maywood, Lee Heights, etc. in Arlington. While those neighborhoods are definitely nothing like D.C. as far as what you can walk to, they are not quite as far out as some of the other parts of Arlington where you really need a car to get to anything. From my house in 22207, we can walk to the Lee Heights shops (Tree Top Kids, 3 restaurants, Starbucks, etc). We can also walk to a playground and Safeway, dry cleaners, etc. are just a 2-3 minute drive or a 20 minute walk away. So, even in Arlington there are going to be variations in what part you live in and what amenities are available there. |
Anonymous
| 11:46. I once posted on this site (different thread) and was called out for being Rhee, which last time I checked the mirror was not the case! She's a pretty busy woman, so I sort of doubt she spends much time on DCUM, although we are certainly an entertaining bunch! |