What is stopping NoVA from reaching SV level prices?

[Anonymous]

*sigh* Foolish me, thinking we could have a constructive conversation about tech in the local economy instead of another Arlington vs. DC pissing contest.

[Anonymous]

There was nothing even remotely constructive about the delusion going on in this thread

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:NoVA isn’t even the most desirable spot locally, not sure why they think they are relevant nationally. When your claim to fame is being close to somewhere such as DC in this case, you should be a bit more humble about your alleged greatness.

So, do you not think the fact that it’s the capital city is significant? Or, you think there shouldn’t be a capital city? Or, that it should be NYC or Palm Beach instead? I mean, DC is so inconvenient for Trump’s golf game.

NoVa isn’t the captial city, DC is. NoVa isn’t even the capital of Virginia is is often pushed around by Richmond which is one of the things that will always hold it back.

You implied that being close to the capital city is no big thing. It is. Short of being part of the city, Arlington is one of the closest. I’m not arguing that it should or will reach SV levels. I think PPs unthread make good points about factors (like Prop 13) that aren’t in play on a large scale here (Arlington County’s tax forgiveness is much more limited in scope, and hasn’t been enough of a factor, historically, to limit housing supply to the extent that prices are affected). But being so close to DC, and Tysons, and now National Landing, is a big draw for people who prioritize short commutes. Current prices reflect that reality.

Once again being close to cool areas isn’t the same as being a cool area. No one in DC says if only I lived closer to Columbia Pike! You are confusing convenient proximity to being somewhere. DC is an important place, Arlington is near to an important place.

That is what is keeping Arlington from being special, the fact that it isn’t.

Exactly. Arlington is just a suburb and nothing more. It's as bad as people who live in Jersey who say they live in NYC. No, being across the river from NYC doesn't mean you're in NYC. P

I mean, it was just a suburb, a desirable one, as the market already shows. But I’d argue that it’s not going to remain just a suburb now that it has Amazon. Doesn’t mean it’s the next SV, but it does portend change. Anyway, the point is Amazon made their choice and I think it will be a fairly significant event influencing how this region grows and changes over time.

Arlington literally has the nation's defense HQ there with the Pentagon... It's still a suburb of DC, whether or not you want to admit it. Amazon isn't going to give it magic "city" powers suddenly...

If I were a betting person, I would bet that Arlington County incorporates as a city at some point in the not-too-distant future. Even if it doesn’t, I don’t know why it matters that it’s outside of the DC boundary, except for tax purposes. It has urban and suburban parts, much like DC. Of course DC will be a power center and the larger city, probably as long as I’m alive, but it might not be the only one, is all.

All of VA gets to vote if Arlington incorporates, not just Arlington and there fat chance in hell of it happening. That is part of arlingtons problem. It is just a piggy bank for the rest of Va. and it doesn’t have the authority to change that. One of the reasons it has such a high sales tax because VA gets its cut and they have to do additional. People say Arlington taxes are low unless you count the weird car personal property taxes, the high sales taxes, the low percentage but high assessment property taxes

[Anonymous]

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All of VA gets to vote if Arlington incorporates, not just Arlington and there fat chance in hell of it happening. That is part of arlingtons problem. It is just a piggy bank for the rest of Va. and it doesn’t have the authority to change that. One of the reasons it has such a high sales tax because VA gets its cut and they have to do additional. People say Arlington taxes are low unless you count the weird car personal property taxes, the high sales taxes, the low percentage but high assessment property taxes

IIUC independent cities in Virginia do not get relief from any state taxes. I don't think Alexandria or Falls Church, both independent Cities do. The differences, IIUC, are that Cities get a bit more autonomy on some local ordinances than Counties do, and they automatically control their own roads other than highways (but Arlington, like Henrico, already controls most of their own streets) I guess the Cities get a bit larger share of the tax revenue to cover the added street maintenance costs - IIRC there was a debate about this for Fairfax a few years back and they decided to remain a County, not a City, because they thought building a big enough transport dept to build and maintain local streets was a bigger challenge than the BOS wanted to handle.

[Anonymous]

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All of VA gets to vote if Arlington incorporates, not just Arlington and there fat chance in hell of it happening. That is part of arlingtons problem. It is just a piggy bank for the rest of Va. and it doesn’t have the authority to change that. One of the reasons it has such a high sales tax because VA gets its cut and they have to do additional. People say Arlington taxes are low unless you count the weird car personal property taxes, the high sales taxes, the low percentage but high assessment property taxes

IIUC independent cities in Virginia do not get relief from any state taxes. I don't think Alexandria or Falls Church, both independent Cities do. The differences, IIUC, are that Cities get a bit more autonomy on some local ordinances than Counties do, and they automatically control their own roads other than highways (but Arlington, like Henrico, already controls most of their own streets) I guess the Cities get a bit larger share of the tax revenue to cover the added street maintenance costs - IIRC there was a debate about this for Fairfax a few years back and they decided to remain a County, not a City, because they thought building a big enough transport dept to build and maintain local streets was a bigger challenge than the BOS wanted to handle.

Perhaps PP is getting "incorporate as a City" confused with "secede from Virginia"?

[Anonymous]

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Arlington literally has the nation's defense HQ there with the Pentagon... It's still a suburb of DC, whether or not you want to admit it. Amazon isn't going to give it magic "city" powers suddenly...

What are city powers? Density, walkability, a concentration of amenities.

Much of Arlington has that already, and HQ2 will mean more of that.


City/county boundaries matter to local politics, to your tax bill, to schools (some people need to be on the DC side of Takoma, say, to keep access to a charter)

But for most things it does not matter.

You can walk to Georgetown from Rosslyn. Try doing that from Deanwood or Shepard Park.

Most of Arlington is literally the suburbs. The only walkable areas are from Ballston to Rosslyn. The other 85% of Arlington is all suburban streets.


I know some of you folks love your Arlington and all, but stop being delusional. Basically all of South Arlington, you either need a car or bus to get around.

[Anonymous]

BTW, this is PP and I live in Arlington