Recommendations for schools in south arlington?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had to give up on the idea of any kind of house in N. Arlington and are now looking at condos.

I think those who are so optimistic about S. Arlington are not living there and fail to see how slowly change happens. I moved out of S. Arlington maybe 12 years ago and the same area is still run down and crappy - and its a larger area. The population is not going to stop being significantly low income poor recent immigrants families any time soon and while you may avoid them in elementary school, your kids will be with them in middle and high school.

The western part of Columbia Pike has become more run down over the past decade but with the new Arlington Mill development and the planned streetcar line, the investment along the eastern half of the pike will inevitably spread west.

But it does take patience to wait for all of the planned development and infrastructure improvements, which can be frustrating.

In terms of demographics for secondary schools in South Arlington, they will change as they reflect the higher numbers of middle and upper-middle class families in the South Arlington elementary schools. This has been the trend in the elementary level over the past few years. Cities and close-in suburbs have become very attractive to educated Gen X and Y families, which is why N Arlington schools are overcrowded and why South Arlington is becoming more appealing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had to give up on the idea of any kind of house in N. Arlington and are now looking at condos.

I think those who are so optimistic about S. Arlington are not living there and fail to see how slowly change happens. I moved out of S. Arlington maybe 12 years ago and the same area is still run down and crappy - and its a larger area. The population is not going to stop being significantly low income poor recent immigrants families any time soon and while you may avoid them in elementary school, your kids will be with them in middle and high school.

The western part of Columbia Pike has become more run down over the past decade but with the new Arlington Mill development and the planned streetcar line, the investment along the eastern half of the pike will inevitably spread west.

But it does take patience to wait for all of the planned development and infrastructure improvements, which can be frustrating.

In terms of demographics for secondary schools in South Arlington, they will change as they reflect the higher numbers of middle and upper-middle class families in the South Arlington elementary schools. This has been the trend in the elementary level over the past few years. Cities and close-in suburbs have become very attractive to educated Gen X and Y families, which is why N Arlington schools are overcrowded and why South Arlington is becoming more appealing.

See that's the key phrase and from experience it doesn't translate to much of anything. At the height of the real estate market, people still did not buy in South Arlington. If they didn't buy then, in such a tight market that lasted for years, they are really never going to. I mean yes some here and there but not enough in anyway to change the demographic. The "revitalization" of Columbia Pike is not going to happen in the way its planned. Its going to be a very tough sell to the demographic they are envisioning. The streetcar line will provide cheap transport for those who already need and use cheap transport in South Arlington and those people will be able to now come and eat and shop in better areas which is great for them but they don't live there and would not be able to afford to live there.

[Anonymous]

OP - thanks, everyone, for the input! I commute to DC and my daughter will be in preschool in Ballston, so we pretty much drew a circle with a 2-ish mile radius around Ballston, and looked at houses within the virtual circle. I looked all over North Arlington, and in Penrose, Arlington Heights, Arlington Forest, Barcroft and Alcova Heights. I decided to stay North of Columbia Pike, and hopefully not on or too close to a major road. In South Arlington, we only considered single family homes, though we did see one awesome townhome and a couple of nice duplexes. Some of the neighborhoods I saw were amazing, with really beautiful, unique homes, wide streets and nicely landscaped homes. Those are the only areas we considered. My broker preapproved me for $600K, but I decided I couldn't go higher than $550K.

After seeing everything North Arlington had to offer (after watching the market for years), I accepted that the hidden gem probably wasn't out there. We put an offer on something tonight in Barcroft's boundary. I've been reading up on Barcroft and the Arlington schools in general, and I think we'll be ok. the house is amazing, the street is wide and quiet, and we'd be less than 2 miles away from preschool. There are two parks not too far away. The thing that makes me excited to move into Arlington - well, one thing - is that there are so many parks everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had to give up on the idea of any kind of house in N. Arlington and are now looking at condos.

I think those who are so optimistic about S. Arlington are not living there and fail to see how slowly change happens. I moved out of S. Arlington maybe 12 years ago and the same area is still run down and crappy - and its a larger area. The population is not going to stop being significantly low income poor recent immigrants families any time soon and while you may avoid them in elementary school, your kids will be with them in middle and high school.

I was born and raised in S. Arlington and I have decided to raise my family here as well. Yes there are some neighborhoods that are not the best but you make it sound like all of S. Arlington is a run down shithole and it's not. I live in the Claremont neighborhood and love it. I have some amazing neighbors from all sorts of backgrounds. To the "Yale or Jail" poster that is totally untrue. First of the "Yale or jail" school is typical TC willams I have never heard that in reference to Wakefield. Most of the recent graduating class when on to great schools and those who could not afford college went to NOVA but very few (that I am aware of) went to jail. Wakefield was an amazing school when I went there. Yes the statistics do not look great but I never had a problem there and my neighbors who go there love it.

[Anonymous]

23:11, how are TC and Wakefield really all that different in demographics, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
In terms of demographics for secondary schools in South Arlington, they will change as they reflect the higher numbers of middle and upper-middle class families in the South Arlington elementary schools. This has been the trend in the elementary level over the past few years. Cities and close-in suburbs have become very attractive to educated Gen X and Y families, which is why N Arlington schools are overcrowded and why South Arlington is becoming more appealing.

There are plenty of overcrowded schools in Fairfax and Loudoun, and there are many underenrolled (and recently closed) schools in DC. The notion that Gen X and Y only live in close-in suburbs and the city, particularly when they have kids, is a myth spread by people who want everyone to emulate their own choices.

In South Arlington, you'll probably get more upper-income kids in some of the elementary and even middle schools, but they won't necessarily go to Wakefield unless there's a big change in the demographics in SE Arlington. The only way that would change any time soon is if ACPS changes the school's boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

See that's the key phrase and from experience it doesn't translate to much of anything. At the height of the real estate market, people still did not buy in South Arlington. If they didn't buy then, in such a tight market that lasted for years, they are really never going to. I mean yes some here and there but not enough in anyway to change the demographic. The "revitalization" of Columbia Pike is not going to happen in the way its planned. Its going to be a very tough sell to the demographic they are envisioning. The streetcar line will provide cheap transport for those who already need and use cheap transport in South Arlington and those people will be able to now come and eat and shop in better areas which is great for them but they don't live there and would not be able to afford to live there.

not a fan of streecars, are you? they're not just glorified buses, you know.

[Anonymous]

Congrats on finding a house. Barcroft is a great neighborhood for families, with parks and trails close by, and Barcroft has always strongly supported its neighborhood schools. Proactive Arlington residents, South or North, care immensely about quality of life issues, which has contributed to a high quality school system, a neighborhood conservation program that has maintained the beauty of the residential neighborhoods, and excellent youth sports programs.

[Anonymous]

13:42 you sound like a realtor...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Congrats on finding a house. Barcroft is a great neighborhood for families, with parks and trails close by, and Barcroft has always strongly supported its neighborhood schools. Proactive Arlington residents, South or North, care immensely about quality of life issues, which has contributed to a high quality school system, a neighborhood conservation program that has maintained the beauty of the residential neighborhoods, and excellent youth sports programs.

Talk about making a silk purse from a cow's ear. The Barcroft part of Arlington is meh, with Stalinist-style apartment buildings, run-down garden apartments and very small single-family houses.

[Anonymous]

In about 5 years, with the streetcar, rising land values, and the new development that follows Clolumbia Pike will look nothing at all like it does today. I think it will become one of the most desirable areas in Northern Va. This will not be some run down West Philadelphia trolley. This streetcar will have all the bells and whistles, and people will flock to it. Anyways, that's my prediction.

[Anonymous]

OP here - honestly, I imagine I'll continue to spend much of my time in North Arlington, not South. I've spent a lot of time in Clarendon and Ballston in the 15 years I've lived in Arlington and Fairfax. I'm not sure I'll ever feel like a cheerleader for Columbia Pike, though it's definitely gotten better over the years.

But the houses we saw in North Arlington sucked. And without a second income (i.e. husband) or amazing giant-income job that might involve never seeing my child, the good houses in North were completely out of my reach. The houses that could be expanded "someday" on decent lots go almost as quickly as the nice houses. we really didn't see anything that was even an option. I wasn't willing to live on a very, very busy street just to send my kid to a good high school someday. I wasn't willing to buy a tear-down for over half a million dollars, knowing I wouldn't have the money to tear it down and rebuild. There are some pretty seedy areas of North Arlington (hello, Bon Air?) and some pretty nice parts of South. It's not black-and-white.

Not everyone can afford North Arlington. If you can, that's great and we're all happy for you, but I'm not in your shoes and I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I figure that as housing prices continue to get higher in North Arlington, more people might make the same decision I did. My friends have been coming out of the woodwork to hook me up with people they know who live near my future neigborhood. (which is Alcova Heights, not Barcroft, though it feeds into Barcroft Elementary.) Either way, I'll have a sweet commute, and probably won't spend it wondering if I'd be happier in North.

[Anonymous]

Well OP welcome, I suggest you join the 22204 list serve.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Arlington22204/

It has some good information about the area

[Anonymous]

I bought in S. Arlington for a steal two years ago and am seriously excited about what's going on here. I love my very diverse neighborhood--truly diverse. We have black, white, Hispanic, African immigrants, lovely Korean neighbors who share recipes with me! And I feel very safe here. Check the crime statistics. Just because an area's not all-white doesn't mean it's crime-ridden.

I commute to 14th street downtown every day. I can take the 16Y bus straight from literally my door to downtown. Or to Ballston, Pentagon, Clarendon and Courthouse. I just hop on the first bus that comes and they come often, about every three minutes. I don't have to freak out about leaving the house by 7:56 exactly because I know there will be another in a few if I miss the one before it.

Not to mention, some of the best undiscovered restaurants in the area are in the 22204 zip. It's a foodie's dream.

I grew up in NYC and moved to Court House during law school. I hated how incredibly sanitized and boring it was. It was like living inside a sorority house. If I wanted to pop out for a quick bite, I could choose from three Irish pubs. Wow. (Just wow). Moving to Columbia Forest was SUCH a breath of fresh air.

I think a lot of the people who think S. Arlington is ghetto are just not well-equipped for urban living. Surprising given the name of this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think a lot of the people who think S. Arlington is ghetto are just not well-equipped for urban living. Surprising given the name of this board.

It's not a city, just a suburb with a mix of nice areas and dumpy parts that some people try to portray as diamonds in the rough. Even so, it may turn out to be a good investment as Columbia Pike gets revamped.