Moving off Capitol Hill, where to go for great schools and walkability?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia

+1. great schools, reasonable taxes, green areas, walkability

Show me a good school in Arlington that has walkability / close to metro. Yes, good schools means test scores.

I do not get this. If you live in north Arlington schools are not a factor. I think the train has left the station on APS and private is really the question. How long is your commute to the PRIVATE school you are sending you kids to?

No one should be moving to Arlington for the school system. It is about the location and not being in dc. APS is highly average, at best.

Naive Capitol Hill resident here. Thought the tried and true Hill strategy was to bail for a place like arlington for better schools. How have the schools in APS declined?

Arlington schools are ok but they’re not as good as Montgomery or Fairfax counties. Arlington is just really small by comparison and doesn’t have the resources of larger counties. People move to Arlington for proximity to dc and the schools are passable. But if your kids are extremely gifted, they’ll be better served in mcps or fcps.

Oh please, this forum is full of people claiming MoCo and FFX are going down the drain.

Also, I think it’s human nature for people to think education is in decline. I remember my mom moaning that I didn’t have two digit addition and multiplication memorized (like 54+28, I’m still carrying the 2), and yet I’ve managed to become a contributing member of society. I remember my friend’s mom making us memorize poetry bc schools these days don’t make you really learn the classics!!

People will always bemoan the youths and the state of education. Some of that is the pandemic, some of that is human nature. Point is, you can get a good education for your kids in VA, in MD, in private school, etc. and no matter where you go I’m sure you’ll find some I you want to supplement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Somerset is walkable to friendship heights metro and also Bethesda. Great, family friendly neighborhood.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia

+1. great schools, reasonable taxes, green areas, walkability

Show me a good school in Arlington that has walkability / close to metro. Yes, good schools means test scores.

Cardinal or Tuckahoe ES Swanson MS Yorktown. HS Walk to EFC Metro and Westover Village.

Wow. Nice pull. Westover kind of sucks for walking options; but yes, you could live there and have a 15 minute walk to a few shops and the Italian Store and metro if you live closer to FC.

Huh? Westover is great. And lots of bikers in the area with nearby trails. DP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia

+1. great schools, reasonable taxes, green areas, walkability

Show me a good school in Arlington that has walkability / close to metro. Yes, good schools means test scores.

I do not get this. If you live in north Arlington schools are not a factor. I think the train has left the station on APS and private is really the question. How long is your commute to the PRIVATE school you are sending you kids to?

No one should be moving to Arlington for the school system. It is about the location and not being in dc. APS is highly average, at best.

Naive Capitol Hill resident here. Thought the tried and true Hill strategy was to bail for a place like arlington for better schools. How have the schools in APS declined?

Arlington schools are ok but they’re not as good as Montgomery or Fairfax counties. Arlington is just really small by comparison and doesn’t have the resources of larger counties. People move to Arlington for proximity to dc and the schools are passable. But if your kids are extremely gifted, they’ll be better served in mcps or fcps.

Oh please, this forum is full of people claiming MoCo and FFX are going down the drain.

Also, I think it’s human nature for people to think education is in decline. I remember my mom moaning that I didn’t have two digit addition and multiplication memorized (like 54+28, I’m still carrying the 2), and yet I’ve managed to become a contributing member of society. I remember my friend’s mom making us memorize poetry bc schools these days don’t make you really learn the classics!!

People will always bemoan the youths and the state of education. Some of that is the pandemic, some of that is human nature. Point is, you can get a good education for your kids in VA, in MD, in private school, etc. and no matter where you go I’m sure you’ll find some I you want to supplement

+1

We ended up with a bunch of whiners after the pandemic. Just ignore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia

+1. great schools, reasonable taxes, green areas, walkability

Show me a good school in Arlington that has walkability / close to metro. Yes, good schools means test scores.

I do not get this. If you live in north Arlington schools are not a factor. I think the train has left the station on APS and private is really the question. How long is your commute to the PRIVATE school you are sending you kids to?

No one should be moving to Arlington for the school system. It is about the location and not being in dc. APS is highly average, at best.

Naive Capitol Hill resident here. Thought the tried and true Hill strategy was to bail for a place like arlington for better schools. How have the schools in APS declined?

The schools are fine to good depending on who you ask. This is just a message board with trolls.

+1

If you ask parents with kids are actually enrolled.

Most families send to public in APS, even in wealthy areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia

+1. great schools, reasonable taxes, green areas, walkability

Show me a good school in Arlington that has walkability / close to metro. Yes, good schools means test scores.

I do not get this. If you live in north Arlington schools are not a factor. I think the train has left the station on APS and private is really the question. How long is your commute to the PRIVATE school you are sending you kids to?

No one should be moving to Arlington for the school system. It is about the location and not being in dc. APS is highly average, at best.

Naive Capitol Hill resident here. Thought the tried and true Hill strategy was to bail for a place like arlington for better schools. How have the schools in APS declined?

The schools are fine to good depending on who you ask. This is just a message board with trolls.

+1

If you ask parents with kids are actually enrolled.

Most families send to public in APS, even in wealthy areas.

+2 happily sending my kids to APS as are basically all of the neighbors I know. FWIW OP, when I read your OP it felt like it described my neighborhood (Westover). There is a lot of negativity on these boards about Arlington, it doesn't seem to reflect our experience in the neighborhoods at least in 22205.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for Bethesda within a 1/2 mile of Bethesda metro (which is also near the bike trail)— could be Somerset, Edgemoor, east Bethesda, even Town of Chevy Chase.

[Anonymous]

Woodley Park or Cleveland Park if you want to stay in DC.

[Anonymous]

Definitely CCMD. Look in the Town or the Village for best walkability; Rollingwood or Martin’s Addition for best access to park/bike trails downtown.

Great community, very safe, good schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park—right off the redline (depending on where in TKPK you are), very walkable downtown, easy to bike in (though there are hills), schools are good with a great magnet program, and crime is 1000 times less than where I was previously in DC (you could get less crime if you moved to the more insulated parts of bethesda but then you also sacrifice commute and walkability)

Good luck! The good news is that with your budget you should be able to find something that fits the bill.

+1

[Anonymous]

DC to Arlington transplant here. Arlington schools are good enough for most kids. We are satisfied and glad we moved. Bottom line is that in the DC there aren't really the top-notch public schools you would get on north shore of Chicago or the NYC burbs. Of course, schools here are more diverse and less cut-throat so there are trade offs. Closest thing in DMV would be Falls Church City.

Lyon Park was mentioned above but not Ashton Heights, which is pretty much the same neighborhood. One nice thing is that it is very close to the Hill on weekends if you keep up with your DC friends. I also think more wealthy families in Arlington do public vs in Chevy Chase/Bethesda. In part this is because there are fewer good private schools in NoVa. Takoma Park is great too and there are certainly things to like about the other MD suburbs. For me, the MoCo school system was just too big and our commutes were going to be much longer so we did not really consider it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC to Arlington transplant here. Arlington schools are good enough for most kids. We are satisfied and glad we moved. Bottom line is that in the DC there aren't really the top-notch public schools you would get on north shore of Chicago or the NYC burbs. Of course, schools here are more diverse and less cut-throat so there are trade offs. Closest thing in DMV would be Falls Church City.

Lyon Park was mentioned above but not Ashton Heights, which is pretty much the same neighborhood. One nice thing is that it is very close to the Hill on weekends if you keep up with your DC friends. I also think more wealthy families in Arlington do public vs in Chevy Chase/Bethesda. In part this is because there are fewer good private schools in NoVa. Takoma Park is great too and there are certainly things to like about the other MD suburbs. For me, the MoCo school system was just too big and our commutes were going to be much longer so we did not really consider it.

I think there are more older money wealthy families in CC where private schools would have been expected for a generation or two. Arlington affluence is more recent.

[Anonymous]

Westbrook. Kids can walk to ES and MS, the metro, right off Mass Ave for commuting/biking.

[Anonymous]

Woodley park. Glover park

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Somerset is walkable to friendship heights metro and also Bethesda. Great, family friendly neighborhood.

+1

Not for $1.8m it isn’t