SFH in Arlington with good schools for 600K - does it exist?
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Anonymous
Apart from the renovated kitchen and bath, that house looks like a dump. Anyone who's willing to pay anything close to $600,000 for such a property should just hand over their money to the needy. |
Anonymous
| 14:30 - i've noticed a lot of houses in Arlington are not necessarily centered, sometimes because of the driveway placement, and probably sometimes because of what might be underneath the lot (water mains?) or maybe the property lines were moved at some point. There are a few houses near us that are set to one side of the lot and the fenced-in backyard is actually to the side of the house. it's kind of weird. (also, some deep, narrow lots have houses placed perpendicular to the street. I'm not fond of that - makes a normal ranch house look like a trailer.) |
Anonymous
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16:30, people who want a SFH in Arlington for 600k in a desirable school district have no right to be fussy about things like yard placement.
14:58, it's on a fifth of an acre. I'm sure you could tear it down and put up the Mickey Simpson house of your dreams. That counter-snark aside, what would you recommend someone with $600k buy? If your DH works in Tysons (or can even get a 6-3 shift in Arlington), I'd be looking at Vienna, Falls Church, Herndon, or even Leesburg. |
Anonymous
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This one is really cute -- MLS#: AR7663870. Renovated by Mickey Simpson a few years ago.
Good schools. But it's right on Wilson. A relatively quiet part of Wilson, but it still is a main road. |
Anonymous
Nice renovation, but seriously who wants a single-family home on Wilson? Also Kenmore MS. |
Anonymous
Agreed about being on Wilson. But I thought Kenmore was supposed to be great. Especially after the reno? |
Anonymous
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OP here, thanks for all the input, especially 13:59 and 14:30 - very useful information!
I know we could afford more elsewhere, especially considering neither of us commute to DC. However, we are fine with a small house, are not very picky and are not in a hurry. We want to be in Arlington so we have options (job changes, etc...). Also, we both WOTH and consider Arlington to be better suited for working parents than Fairfax. I hear co-workers complaining of hour long drives to soccer games, etc... in Fairfax. I also understand Arlington's afterschool program/summer camps are well run and pretty easy to get a spot. Also, we currently live in Arlington, so this is where our church and daycare is. We rent in an area many wouldn't find all that desirable, but we have been happy here. We just need a bit more space at this point. I just must live in my little bubble because I am not very familiar with the different neighborhoods here. |
Anonymous
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We live in Arlington Heights which is just south of Route 50. We moved here almost 7 years ago and absolutely love the neighborhood. There are tons of children and the neighbors are great.
Houses range from 550K-1 million plus. There's a new build for 1.1 in the Penrose neighborhood right next to ours. That said, you should also look at homes in Penrose. There is a house on South Jackson St. (300 or so S. Jackson) that has a sign that says "coming soon." I bet it will be in your range. We recently made the decision to add a significant addition onto our house rather than move (we were looking at some new builds over in 22201 and 22205) because we like it here so much. The neighbors are down to earth, people genuinely care about others, and the location is hard to beat. All the new restaurants and shops on Columbia Pike are also great!! Many people are scared of South Arlington because they think the schools are "bad." Not true. I am a teacher (now in "retirement"). Neighbors rave about Henry Elementary and TJ Middle School. Our children go to Campbell Elementary (the county's Expeditionary Learning school) but I would choose that school no matter where I lived in the county because it's philosophies align most closely with our philosophies regarding education. Campbell is a county-wide school, so we would have that option. It's an amazing place. I may be a little off with my numbers, but something like 25 families transferred to TJ from Williamsburg this year and there is a definite buzz about the wonderful teachers, etc. at TJ. Seven years ago, the buzz was not as positive. I don't know much about the high school, but I do know that the new building is slated to open in 2014. There are rumors that there will be an additional IB program (there is one at W-L as well) when the new high school opens. Anyhow, I definitely recommend taking a look at our neighborhood, Penrose, and Alcova Heights for that matter. They are all great neighborhoods. Good luck to you!! |
Anonymous
Where in Fairfax are there hour-long drives to soccer games? |
Anonymous
| We live in S. Arlington too. Right on the border of Penrose and Columbia Heights in a SFH. As 9:30 stated, there are good school options and the neighborhood and people are amazing. To each his own, just know that there are a lot of options and a lot of great neighborhoods and schools in both N and S Arlington. |
Anonymous
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The traffic can get pretty bad all over the DC area - I can see there being an hour-long drive from close-in Fairfax (like the Falls church part) to farther-out Fairfax (which includes Centreville and maybe Herndon?), especially during rush hour. 66 can move pretty slowly, and the other major roads have lots of lights. That is a downside of living in a very big, populous, sprawling county of 1M+ people. Hell, there were times that my 3-mile drive from Dunn Loring metro to our daycare took 35 minutes or more, without any accidents. I can run faster than that.
For me, a big draw of Arlington was the guaranteed before and after-care if both parents worked. I was nervous about relying on Fairfax SACC that is wait-listed at many schools. But yeah, it is expensive. You don't get as much house for your money as you do farther out. You generally get less land, and usually no garage. There's a price for being closer-in. Sounds like OP totally gets that. Then again, when I was looking in the same price range out in the Woodson boundary and in Falls Church, I wasn't seeing all that much I liked either. I decided that a $560K house in Arlington made more sense for my lifestyle (single mom, active social life, job in DC) than a similarly-priced house in Fairfax. |
Anonymous
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I think you'd only encounter an hour-plus drive to a soccer match in Fairfax if your kid is playing travel soccer during rush hour. But, everyone's needs are different. Personally, we ruled out Arlington when we saw how small the lots were and kept hearing about the tension between residents who didn't want any changes in their neighborhoods and the newcomers with their new BCN, Tradition Homes and Mickey Simpson homes. It's not such a big deal in Fairfax, where there is more space and people have more of a "live and let live" attitude. And perhaps it's not really such a big deal in Arlington, but there definitely seemed to be an undercurrent of tension there that we found offputting.
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Anonymous
Can you please share more about Campbell? What philosophies? Are parents involved? |
Anonymous
Sure! If you visit the school's website you'll find a wealth of info, but I can tell you why we chose it for our children. * Expeditionary Learning (I included some info. below from the school's website which describes EL) * There are mixed K/1 classes (our son is in K so he'll have his teacher for two years). 2nd graders loop with their teachers to 3rd grade and the same holds true for 4th graders. * Work sampling report cards and no grades (see the website for more info.) * 2 recesses * Responsive Classroom * Children eat lunch in their classrooms. This is going to change for 2-5th graders. They will begin eating in the multipurpose room in the near future (to offer more variety, etc.) but the principal and along with some parents (including me) are working on a model which is more "cafe" like to keep within the principles of EL. I think it's going to be really neat. * Diversity. The school is diverse racially, religiously, economically, ability-wise, etc. * Strong sense of community * The playground. New equipment is slated to be installed over spring break which is great, but there is also a huge field and there's a "track" where children can ride tricycles, bikes, scooters, etc. * They go outside in snow. Other APS schools keep the children inside. * Watershed habitat: We are raising funds right now to build a watershed habitat in the rear of the playground. It's going to be really, really neat and will allow for a great deal of fieldwork (part of EL) right at school. Work should begin this winter. It's going to be the first habitat of it's type in APS. * Strong leadership and top-notch teachers. I hope this helps! Below is info. about the EL model from the school's website. What is Expeditionary Learning? Expeditionary Learning (EL) is a program for continual school improvement that builds on ideas of Kurt Huhn, the founder of Outward Bound. While Outward Bound targets personal growth and renewal, EL focuses on developing good schools and “breathing life” into curriculum and instruction. High achievement is the goal of an EL school. This is achieved through active learning, character growth and teamwork! EL Binoculars How are Outward Bound and EL similar? The act of discovery and experience are considered the best teachers in both programs. They are both based on the premise that to be successful in academics and in life, a person has to learn and practice teamwork, curiosity, and resilience. What are core practice benchmarks? The core benchmarks describe EL in practice. They describe the roles of teachers, students, school leaders, and other partners in a fully established EL model. These practices cover learning expeditions, school culture and character, leadership and school improvement, structures, and active teaching and learning across the disciplines. High achievement can only be achieved with all the people involved in an EL school working together! What is a "learning expedition"? A learning expedition is the primary way of organizing curriculum. It is an in-depth investigation designed around a compelling topic. Guiding questions link these in-depth investigations. These investigations require students to engage in a long term study of some aspect of the compelling topic. Expeditions take state standards and incorporate them into these studies to make the curriculum accessible to all students as well as engaging. The students become experts on the topic. By doing so, students are able to construct deep understandings and skills and create products for real audiences. These products are often presented in the form of an exhibition or performance. What is fieldwork? Fieldwork is an important part of a learning expedition. It is not like a traditional field trip. It has a clear purpose and is used to build curiosity and background knowledge. It might require visiting the same place over an extended period of time several times. It might require the collection of data through tools such as interviewing, sketching, mapping, using observation skills, etc. Data collected from fieldwork is usually published or presented to real audiences. Responsive Classroom The Responsive Classroom plays an integral part in an EL program. It promotes positive discipline and effective classroom management strategies. It creates a common language for teachers and children to share and use everyday. It builds a community of learners who are responsible, caring, can apply self-control, and understand their role as learners. |
Anonymous
| The reason most Arlington elementary schools are at 125% of enrollment is that the schools are a magnet for working parents with all day kindergarten and guaranteed placement in before and after schools programs. Arlington has always had good schools and has done some smart moves to keep families in the county. If you can afford any house in Arlington, you cannot go too wrong with the schools. Parental influence on children is as important as what they learn in the schools. Good luck with your search. Remember that new houses will be coming on the market after the new year, so your choices will improve. Be persistent and you will find something. |