Is Arlington the Best Place to Live in the DC Area?

[Anonymous]

It definitely depends on your commute. If you will be working more on the Maryland side of the city I'd say Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Bethesda would be better options.

Yes, there are city neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and upper NW that tick those boxes but you have to navigate the DC school system which has its challenges. All our friends who loved DC when they had little kids ended up moving to Arlington, Bethesda, or Silver Spring when they didn't get schools they wanted.

That said, I live in Arlington (and have previously lived in DC and MD) and like it for all the reasons you listed. We're in Ashton Heights in the center of the county, easy walk to two metro stations, central library, movie theater, gym, lots of restaurants, parks, art center, and my kids walk to middle and high school. With teens I really appreciate that it means less driving for me and they can easily find PT jobs close to home. Easy to metro into DC but it's also a really quick drive. Whenever we go to the Kennedy Center it makes me really happy to be reminded that we are a 10 minute drive away.

Yes, the schools have their challenges and are somewhat a victim of their success (overcrowding) but the issues seem to be the same issues in all the districts. One main difference of Arlington vs Fairfax schools is how they handle gifted services. APS really doesn't offer a lot, they are very anti-tracking so, in theory, gifted students are supposed to be getting more challenging work from their classroom teachers in ES and differentiation within the classroom in MS and then finally in HS they can take Intensified (aka honors)/ AP/IB classes. As you might expect, relying on individual teachers differentiating is pretty hit-and-miss. Still, my kids were both ID'd as gifted and seemed challenged and have done well in rigorous HS classes. But, if you are looking for a pull-out gifted program, you'd want Fairfax where they have the AAP program starting in 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

The homes are expensive because of the proximity to DC (short commutes) not because it's a great place to live. If you want to live in a boring community that lacks diversity and is full of snobby lawyer's wives, then by all means go for it. We moved to Fairfax County for the diversity and love it.

[Anonymous]

OP - some words of advice. You can't come onto DCUMs and say that you heard that Arlington is the best. Of course you are going to get these responses. The DMV is huge and every city/state has a different personality. You can't judge whether it's great until people know what exactly you are looking for and where you work.

[Anonymous]

We live in a SFH near Virginia Square / Clarendon. Great schools in our pyramid (Now ASFS, Dorthy Hamm and W&L), but we have definitely supplemented with tutors to push our kids. Kids mostly walk to school, can walk to Clarendon, Rosslyn, Ballston to meet friends and have lunch / shop. Great location since close to I-66 and equi-distant to sport practices all over Arlington. Kids like being dropped off at Smithsonian Museums in DC, so a pretty quick drive and they metro back.

[Anonymous]

As a former Arlington resident, I'd say Arlington is the best place to live in the DC area if you want what Arlington offers:

- ready access to DC, but in the suburbs rather than the city
- neighborhoods that generally have sidewalks and some walkability
- residential density
- good schools

It is not the best place to live if you want a real city environment, more privacy, or the best public schools in the DC area, or if you dislike housing that tends to either be old/small or newer/oversized for the lot sizes. If some of these other things matter a lot to you, there are better places to live in DC, Fairfax County, or Montgomery County.

[Anonymous]

When it comes to walkability, not all parts of Arlington are the same. Best for that aspect is generally neighborhoods along the orange line and, to a lesser degree, Westover. But, inventory in those areas is really tough right now.

[Anonymous]

You may want to consider Bethesda if you like Arlington. As someone who doesn't live in either so no bias, I think they are pretty comparable. Both are suburban and snobby (like you say about Bethesda) but both provide a lot of positives like walkability, good schools, neighborhood feel. But depending on your commute, one might be more favorable than the other.

As someone else mentioned NW DC might be something to consider too, if you are going private. And Capitol Hill.

[Anonymous]

Bethesda near Bethesda Row >>>> Arlington on almost every metric (other than affordability and some DC commutes).

[Anonymous]

We just moved from a desirable neighborhood in Bethesda (near Friendship Heights) to Arlington (Courthouse). Arlington is GREAT. I like everything about Arlington so far. The big one is my commute. Traffic getting out of the city into Bethesda broke me. Traffic getting to and from work is so much better for me now. And in my experience people are less snobby and nicer in Arlington and Northern VA in general. Yes, we elected that ass Glen Youngkin, but in my experience the people in our neighborhood in Bethesdas were secret republicans - at least in VA people are who they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda near Bethesda Row >>>> Arlington on almost every metric (other than affordability and some DC commutes).

There is a lot of job growth in nova. A lot of couples I know in Arlington have one person who works in Arlington or Tyson's. In that case, Arlington is better than Bethesda commute-wise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're moving long-distance and don't know the DC area well, but have done a lot of online research.

For someone who wants the traditional 4-bedroom house, walk to school and playgrounds, but also an urban feel, not all strip malls and developments, and close enough to DC to go in and enjoy the city most weekends, Arlington seems by far the best place to live...maybe even the only place.

Bethesda is the only other one that seems to be in that range, but feels more suburban and more snobby. In Silver Spring, the nice single-family homes seem to be further out from downtown and the big downtown complex feels kind of manufactured/too commercial (Dave & Busters, burgers, pizza). I've always lived in big cities and really love the full experience of world-class museums, historical sites, parks, restaurants, at my doorstep. Arlington seems to offer easy access to that.

Am I missing something or is Arlington really the best? And is that why all the homes are like $1.3-$1.8 million dollars, because it's so wonderful and everyone wants to live there?

Are there any other suburbs I should be looking at? We looked at DC too, but prices don't seem much better there.

LOL
NO. No one, I mean no one ever claims Arlington is the best

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Arlington so I am biased against it.

I very specifically chose to raise my children in Falls Church City after having lived in Arlington and Fairfax and dealing with their public schools with my oldest, kindergarten and first grade. Falls Church City schools were light years better and we stayed there until the kids were out of school.

There are a lot of reasons FCC is a great place to live but once our kids were out of the schools we moved to get more housing for our money.

Problem now is there is very little inventory in FCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL. Enjoy the concrete, ugly housing, and mediocre schools.

Right. LOL have at it OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Arlington so I am biased against it.

I very specifically chose to raise my children in Falls Church City after having lived in Arlington and Fairfax and dealing with their public schools with my oldest, kindergarten and first grade. Falls Church City schools were light years better and we stayed there until the kids were out of school.

There are a lot of reasons FCC is a great place to live but once our kids were out of the schools we moved to get more housing for our money.

Problem now is there is very little inventory in FCC.

If I had the money I’d pick FCC over Arlington. But I can’t afford either, so we’re way out in Fairfax . I like it here though.

[Anonymous]

If you don’t care about schools (or want to go private) I vote for Alexandria over Arlington. I’ve lived in both. Alexandria is much better and all of it is very close to DC.