Arlington for an Asian-American family

[Anonymous]

You know what, I live in one of the areas designated a "white castle" and I would love it if our school had more ethnic diversity. But the only way to achieve that is for people of color to actually move in. So please stop trying to scare people away. That will only make it worse. Come visit the school and, yes, you will find that it is largely white. But you'll also find that the kids and teachers are great people and there are a lot of really interesting things going on that apply to everyone, regardless of skin color.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many elementary schools in Fairfax and Montgomery are at least 20% Asian, but multiple North Arlington elementaries are over 80% white.

False, only 4 of 22 are around 80% white: http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/11/civilrights/Civil%20Rights%202014-15.pdf The average in Arlington is about 50% white, 10% Asian.

I'm guessing you are bad at math, PP.

There are 10 neighborhood schools in north Arlington, and four are more than 80% white, so PP could actually have said "almost HALF of north Arlington schools are over 80% white."

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We're also an Asian family and we did look at Arlington. I can tell you that the odds that your kid will be the ONLY Asian in the classroom will be much higher if you live in North Arlington than just about anywhere else in the DC region.

I'm glad that other Asians who live in Arlington are happy, but this is just a fact.

Especially in the 4 big white castles.

-Asian parent of a kid being the only Asian in the classroom

OP here. What is a big white castle?

DH and I should pass the SES test. We are both ivy league educated, have successful careers and earn healthy six figure incomes.

The four elementaries in North Arlington that are almost entirely white. Nottingham, Jamestown, Taylor and Tuckahoe.

It'll be 5 white castles come 2015.

What is the 5th castle? A new school?

Yes, Discovery Elementary.

[Anonymous]

I'm Asian-American and my husband is caucasian. Our kid goes to an elementary school in N. Arlington. At the kindergarten open house last year, I was shocked to see that my kid was the only kid "of color" in his class. The other parents and kids were all lovely, so I didn't think the racial disparity mattered at the time. Sadly, though, my kid came home from school and made comments about how he "didn't like [his] look" and why couldn't he look more like his dad. It was heartbreaking. Diversity actually does matter -- at least seen through the eyes of a minority kid.

And as to the generalizations re: Asians in Arlington? I went to Harvard and Yale for college/law school, and our household income is in the 7-figure range. The few other Arlington Asian families I've met (through my kid's school) have similar backgrounds, actually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian-American and my husband is caucasian. Our kid goes to an elementary school in N. Arlington. At the kindergarten open house last year, I was shocked to see that my kid was the only kid "of color" in his class. The other parents and kids were all lovely, so I didn't think the racial disparity mattered at the time. Sadly, though, my kid came home from school and made comments about how he "didn't like [his] look" and why couldn't he look more like his dad. It was heartbreaking. Diversity actually does matter -- at least seen through the eyes of a minority kid.

And as to the generalizations re: Asians in Arlington? I went to Harvard and Yale for college/law school, and our household income is in the 7-figure range. The few other Arlington Asian families I've met (through my kid's school) have similar backgrounds, actually.

Another Asian-American woman married to a Caucasian man. One of our kids goes to a FCPS elementary and there aren't very many Asians at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian-American and my husband is caucasian. Our kid goes to an elementary school in N. Arlington. At the kindergarten open house last year, I was shocked to see that my kid was the only kid "of color" in his class. The other parents and kids were all lovely, so I didn't think the racial disparity mattered at the time. Sadly, though, my kid came home from school and made comments about how he "didn't like [his] look" and why couldn't he look more like his dad. It was heartbreaking. Diversity actually does matter -- at least seen through the eyes of a minority kid.

And as to the generalizations re: Asians in Arlington? I went to Harvard and Yale for college/law school, and our household income is in the 7-figure range. The few other Arlington Asian families I've met (through my kid's school) have similar backgrounds, actually.

THIS. Another Asian/Caucasian mix family. We came from an area (not here) where majority were white. My kids would also make comments about how they didn't like their light brown hair (it's gorgeous, btw). They wanted yellow hair like their friends, who were all white/blondes. We moved. Now they have friends of all color, black, white, brown, yellow, and some shades in between. Love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian-American and my husband is caucasian. Our kid goes to an elementary school in N. Arlington. At the kindergarten open house last year, I was shocked to see that my kid was the only kid "of color" in his class. The other parents and kids were all lovely, so I didn't think the racial disparity mattered at the time. Sadly, though, my kid came home from school and made comments about how he "didn't like [his] look" and why couldn't he look more like his dad. It was heartbreaking. Diversity actually does matter -- at least seen through the eyes of a minority kid.

And as to the generalizations re: Asians in Arlington? I went to Harvard and Yale for college/law school, and our household income is in the 7-figure range. The few other Arlington Asian families I've met (through my kid's school) have similar backgrounds, actually.

My kids are at a North Arlington elementary and there are lots of mixed Asian/Caucasian kids there. They don't outnumber the white kids, obviously, but things are starting to change. And I'm glad. I'm mixed too (and hated being half-white when the majority was brown; hated being brown when the majority was white) and proud to be part of the diversity wave (ripple?) that I see happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian-American and my husband is caucasian. Our kid goes to an elementary school in N. Arlington. At the kindergarten open house last year, I was shocked to see that my kid was the only kid "of color" in his class. The other parents and kids were all lovely, so I didn't think the racial disparity mattered at the time. Sadly, though, my kid came home from school and made comments about how he "didn't like [his] look" and why couldn't he look more like his dad. It was heartbreaking. Diversity actually does matter -- at least seen through the eyes of a minority kid.

And as to the generalizations re: Asians in Arlington? I went to Harvard and Yale for college/law school, and our household income is in the 7-figure range. The few other Arlington Asian families I've met (through my kid's school) have similar backgrounds, actually.

THIS. Another Asian/Caucasian mix family. We came from an area (not here) where majority were white. My kids would also make comments about how they didn't like their light brown hair (it's gorgeous, btw). They wanted yellow hair like their friends, who were all white/blondes. We moved. Now they have friends of all color, black, white, brown, yellow, and some shades in between. Love it.

Where are you now? It doesn't sound like one of the "white castles" in North Arlington.

[Anonymous]

I think that Asians are more likely to choose Fairfax over North Arlington. Partly because your chances of getting into TJ are better, and Asian families around here seem to value that a lot, but it's probably also self-fulfilling. Asians didn't settle in North Arlington in large numbers, so the next generation of Asians see North Arlington as not welcoming to Asians.

Interestingly (at least to me), the only elementaries in Arlington that have any significant percentage of Asians are Science Focus and ATS. Which probably both appeal to the same demographic as TJ in Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that Asians are more likely to choose Fairfax over North Arlington. Partly because your chances of getting into TJ are better, and Asian families around here seem to value that a lot, but it's probably also self-fulfilling. Asians didn't settle in North Arlington in large numbers, so the next generation of Asians see North Arlington as not welcoming to Asians.

Interestingly (at least to me), the only elementaries in Arlington that have any significant percentage of Asians are Science Focus and ATS. Which probably both appeal to the same demographic as TJ in Fairfax.

i might be mistaken but many (~50%?) of the Asian kids at ASFS come from new immigrant families from Mongolia living in apartments in the boundary. So I'm not sure about the 'TJ appeal' applies there.

Also Oakridge has many Asian kids.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don't think being Asian-American anywhere in Arlington would be a problem, but there are parts of Arlington that are more diverse than others if that is important to you. Generally, the further north you get, the less diverse Arlington is.

People in North Arlington are more concerned about your socioeconomic status than your race. We live in a pretty white neighborhood where the original homes are being torn down and replaced with big houses. People who buy these new houses will most likely be educated and wealthy. They will be welcome with open arms no matter what color they are. It's the lower-class people in the original homes who are being looked down upon by the. If you drive a big loud pickup with a huge Don't Tread on Me flag and your lawn is filled with broken-down cars and your house is in disrepair, you're not what North Arlington wants.

OP, I don't know if you already live in the DC area, but Arlington really isn't a place where Asian families with other choices tend to live.

Most Asians in Montgomery County and Fairfax County are prosperous and their kids usually have high test scores. Asians in Arlington are lower on the SES scale than the whites, and more often from Southeast Asia and South Asia than from East Asian countries like Korea or China. When they start to do better financially, they move out of Arlington.

WTF are you talking about? I'm south asian, a very high income earner, living in a very expensive part of 22207 and guess what...there are more Asian (east and south) families that have been moving in the last 3 years. Take your ignorance and passive-aggressive racism and shove it.

FYI, she's talking about the Viet Nam war and the metro construction period. Poor Vietnamese were settling in the area right when there was a big gaping hole down the center of Arlington - rents were cheap. Over time, as generations change, they moved on. Also over time, their old neighborhood became very expensive. That's the history of this town, and the answer to WTF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian-American and my husband is caucasian. Our kid goes to an elementary school in N. Arlington. At the kindergarten open house last year, I was shocked to see that my kid was the only kid "of color" in his class. The other parents and kids were all lovely, so I didn't think the racial disparity mattered at the time. Sadly, though, my kid came home from school and made comments about how he "didn't like [his] look" and why couldn't he look more like his dad. It was heartbreaking. Diversity actually does matter -- at least seen through the eyes of a minority kid.

And as to the generalizations re: Asians in Arlington? I went to Harvard and Yale for college/law school, and our household income is in the 7-figure range. The few other Arlington Asian families I've met (through my kid's school) have similar backgrounds, actually.

THIS. Another Asian/Caucasian mix family. We came from an area (not here) where majority were white. My kids would also make comments about how they didn't like their light brown hair (it's gorgeous, btw). They wanted yellow hair like their friends, who were all white/blondes. We moved. Now they have friends of all color, black, white, brown, yellow, and some shades in between. Love it.

Where are you now? It doesn't sound like one of the "white castles" in North Arlington.

Nope.. we're in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Asian-American and my husband is caucasian. Our kid goes to an elementary school in N. Arlington. At the kindergarten open house last year, I was shocked to see that my kid was the only kid "of color" in his class. The other parents and kids were all lovely, so I didn't think the racial disparity mattered at the time. Sadly, though, my kid came home from school and made comments about how he "didn't like [his] look" and why couldn't he look more like his dad. It was heartbreaking. Diversity actually does matter -- at least seen through the eyes of a minority kid.

And as to the generalizations re: Asians in Arlington? I went to Harvard and Yale for college/law school, and our household income is in the 7-figure range. The few other Arlington Asian families I've met (through my kid's school) have similar backgrounds, actually.

THIS. Another Asian/Caucasian mix family. We came from an area (not here) where majority were white. My kids would also make comments about how they didn't like their light brown hair (it's gorgeous, btw). They wanted yellow hair like their friends, who were all white/blondes. We moved. Now they have friends of all color, black, white, brown, yellow, and some shades in between. Love it.

AFAICT there are loads of non blonde whites around here - people of Italian, Greek, Jewish origin - even quite a few WASP brunettes. I am surprised that you found an all blonde pocket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would stick w/ McLean

No more, please.

[Anonymous]

This is a very strange question, indeed -- ask your realtor and walk around the neighborhoods you're interested in.

Please don't ask your realtor where people of a certain race/color/religion/national origin live. It is illegal for him or her to tell you or otherwise choose neighborhoods for you based on those criteria.