Please recommend your family friendly neighborhood with playground, metro and good schools

[Anonymous]

I lived in Lyon Village with small children for many years before moving away for DH's job. There were a lot of things to love and I had a great time while we were there but I wouldn't move back to that neighborhood. If I were moving back to the area, I would move to Upper Georgetown or Palisades or Capitol Hill and just contend with the busses where need be. Lyon Village is a little "young" (too many drunk 20-somethings milling about), and there is a very disconnected vibe among North Arlington parents. Westover/East Falls Church is a very long commute and the houses are generally unattractive IMO. If pubic transit was of no concern, I would definitely live in Glen Echo and Bannockburn (am I thinking of the right neighborhood).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lived in Lyon Village with small children for many years before moving away for DH's job. There were a lot of things to love and I had a great time while we were there but I wouldn't move back to that neighborhood. If I were moving back to the area, I would move to Upper Georgetown or Palisades or Capitol Hill and just contend with the busses where need be. Lyon Village is a little "young" (too many drunk 20-somethings milling about), and there is a very disconnected vibe among North Arlington parents. Westover/East Falls Church is a very long commute and the houses are generally unattractive IMO. If pubic transit was of no concern, I would definitely live in Glen Echo and Bannockburn (am I thinking of the right neighborhood).

How long ago did you move away? The area is so different in just the last year. You wouldn't even recognize it if it has been over 1 year. The neighborhood is filled with families 30-50 year old parents and young kids...the sidewalks and parks are filled with them. The 20somthings are only out in the wee hours at night and they don't come in the neighborhood since the parking has been changed to 24-hour resident only parking. Also- the new restaurants cater to an older crowd---expensive, more upscale than the whitlows, cheesecake-types.

[Anonymous]

Agree City of Falls Church or the Falls Church parts of Fairfax County that are just north/west of there (i.e., parts of 22046 and 22043, such as the houses off Great Falls or West), which feed into McLean schools (some neighborhoods off Shreve also seem nice, and I think they feed into Marshall HS). We're in that part of Fairfax and it's walkable (we can walk to WFC metro and a couple of nice parks plus other things like an ice cream shop, a few restaurants, and the W&OD bike trail). People are friendly, and there are LOTS of kids. Commute isn't great but certainly not terrible, and we got a lot more for our money than we would have in Arlington (and we don't spend much time in the car on the weekend because we're close to everything and can walk or bike almost anywhere we need).

[Anonymous]

Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Kind of tough without price restrictions.... If there were no limit, we would live in a rowhouse on Capitol Hill and send the kids to private school....

As it is, we just moved to downtown Silver Spring, about 1/2 mile from the Metro. Great downtown area with shops, restaurants, weekly activities and concerts and Whole Foods, good schools all the way through high school, beautiful older homes on tree-lined streets. Walk to metro, Sligo Creek Park Trail, three big grocery stores, downtown SS restaurants and shops and theater (AFI and an IMAX). Short drive to IKEA, outlets and easy on to 95/270. My commute to Rosslyn is 45'minutes. Would be a great commute if you're near Farragut North on the red line. Tons and tons of playgrounds and parks and kids everywhere.

[Anonymous]

I'm the SS poster - our 4 bed 2 bath renovated home on a great quiet street on a lot with a nice little yard was under $600k. So it's a bargain for the area too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol i only call it ghetto b/c I grew up in Fairfax going to Woodson High School. Some of the houses in my neighborhood are run down. We have a man on house arrest and a sex offender living next to us. We are in the Falls Church High School pyramid where more than 1/2 the kids are on free lunches. I guess I am in the south side of Falls Church.

I also lived in the ghetto of south arlington and while I liked it as a young adult, I would not want to raise kids there. Why did South Arlington almost ruin your marriage???

Yeah, we briefly considered those parts of Falls Church but when we saw the explosion of symbols on the Fairfax County 911 tracking database we decided that was a no-go. I'd rate Stuart above Falls Church myself, I know Stuart brings in some of the students from Lake Barcroft. Those areas are fine if you're ok with a "Yale or jail" MS/HS, which is about as bad as you'll get in Northern Virginia (well, maybe Freedom-Woodbridge is the exception.)

We lived near some of the most stereotypical neighbors possible, as if they all stepped out of a Frederick County redneck's imagination. Welfare leeches who were trying to bum money from us when their Uncle Sam money ran out, drug dealers, hostile immigrants who refused to interact with us (except to demand we move our car legally parked on the street). FWIW, the folks who bought from us ended up selling less than a year later, taking a bath despite his making $10,000s of improvements on the place (combining kitchen/dining room, making the attic a bedroom, etc.)

Throw in no walkability and you've got all the suckiness of urban living with none of the positives. My wife realized this was fail about 2-3 years into our sojourn, and I refused to move until we had been there six years.

Needless to say we didn't live in the nice neighborhoods along Arlington Ridge Rd/23rd Street South, or even some of the improving/walkable areas along Columbia Pike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money is truly no object, then I'd choose the area around Somerset Elementary. Schools are fantastic (Somerset, Westland, BCC), Norwood Park is great, and the houses are lovely.

If money is somewhat of an object, I'd look around Rosemary Hills Primary School, also a nice neighborhood but with more modest homes.

Um, where are these places?

They are in Bethesda, Rosemary HIlls might be in Chevy Chase

[Anonymous]

Where is this charming downtown city of Falls Church? Is it that little strip where Lost Dog is?

[Anonymous]

I live in Falls Church near FX Hospital -- It's slightly ghetto. It's all the pain of urban living without the walkability. There is massive traffic on Gallows Road, Rt 50, and I am close to 495. Sometimes it's a plus when I want to go somewhere, I am not far from major roads. I am 3 miles from Dunn Loring metro, but it's too far to walk and takes forever to drive there with traffic on Gallows. I am close to Tysons, but I am not sure that is a positive. The only saving grace is Eakin Park which has the cross county trail that is close to my house. And I live on a court -- and it's quiet most of the time.

But, I wanted to live near my mom and this is what we could afford. My mom comes over 4 times a week to help with my kid that maybe that makes it all worth it. It's nice to have gramma close by.

[Anonymous]

I feel like a lot of people are telling OP about THEIR neighborhood without actually thinking about whether it's what OP is looking for. OP is looking for 1) great schools, 2) close to DC, 3) a long-term home, 4) close to metro, and 5) walkable to a playground. Budget appears to be open-ended, which I would guess means at least $1.5M. Some of these suggestions are absurd. For example:

--Capitol Hill does NOT have great public schools. They may be acceptable at the elementary level but nowhere near on par with many of the other places mentioned, and after elementary who knows.

--Ditto Del Ray and Rosemont. These are nice places but NOT where you live if you can spend whatever you want.

--Mantua is NOT close to DC or a metro. It's way the hell out in Fairfax--total suburbia. Also largely not walkable to a playground. THe houses are very 70s and affordable, not great at all.

--The area of Falls Church that is technically Fairfax County is VERY hit or miss. All of the schools are Fairfax County so will be fine, but some of them have almost 50% non-English-proficient students, which obviously changes the educational environment. Haycock is nice but it's very average for the area--again, not where you live when you're spending $1.5 million or more.

Agree with the suggestions for Falls Church City and anywhere in Arlington along the orange line. Lyon Village is lovely but not so lovely as to justify the ridiculous hype and inflated prices, IMHO. Many other great small neighborhoods fit all of OP's criteria and don't require a 2-year wait and a bidding war.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depending on where you work in DC, either the Falls Church/Lyon Village areas in VA (orange line), or the close-in Bethesda suburbs (red line). We are in East Bethesda (tucked away behind the BCC high school). Great playground a 5 minute walk from the house; 10 minute walk to metro; BCC cluster. Though if we could afford it, we've move to Chevy Chase - the part bounded by Wisconsin and Bradley, behind the Trader Joe's. Gorgeous houses, much bigger than ours, and bigger lots too. Not quite as convenient for walking to groceries and such, but equally good for metro, schools, and playground.

do you know what the zip codes are for these two neighborhoods - lyon village and the part of CC you mentioned?

Town of Chevy Chase - in 20815

[Anonymous]

I hope OP has a lot of money!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was shocked that City of Falls Church was just recognized as the wealthiest area in the entire nation -- with a median income of $113K. I live in Falls Church (part of FX, not the city part) and I have always thought Falls Church was ghetto. I am near Falls Church High School, which is totally ghetto. Can someone tell me what area is nice, metro-accessible and has good schools?? I have never heard this.

Lol i only call it ghetto b/c I grew up in Fairfax going to Woodson High School. Some of the houses in my neighborhood are run down. We have a man on house arrest and a sex offender living next to us. We are in the Falls Church High School pyramid where more than 1/2 the kids are on free lunches. I guess I am in the south side of Falls Church.

You are hilarious. I grew up in Tysons, graduated from McLean, and currently coach at Falls Church and do not think it is "ghetto." Are many students on reduced or free lunch? Yes. Are most of the students white? No. I am guessing those are the criteria you are using to label it as such. Sad. I would be happy to show you around sometime and introduce you to a lot of hardworking students. Also, the idea of "Yale or Jail" is just silly because there is no reason it has to be one or another...I have coached kids that have gone on to UVA, William and Mary, Virginia Tech, University of Maryland, JMU, University of Richmond, and the list goes on.

[Anonymous]

Lol i only call it ghetto b/c I grew up in Fairfax going to Woodson High School. Some of the houses in my neighborhood are run down. We have a man on house arrest and a sex offender living next to us. We are in the Falls Church High School pyramid where more than 1/2 the kids are on free lunches. I guess I am in the south side of Falls Church.


You are hilarious. I grew up in Tysons, graduated from McLean, and currently coach at Falls Church and do not think it is "ghetto." Are many students on reduced or free lunch? Yes. Are most of the students white? No. I am guessing those are the criteria you are using to label it as such. Sad. I would be happy to show you around sometime and introduce you to a lot of hardworking students. Also, the idea of "Yale or Jail" is just silly because there is no reason it has to be one or another...I have coached kids that have gone on to UVA, William and Mary, Virginia Tech, University of Maryland, JMU, University of Richmond, and the list goes on.

I am glad to hear you do not think Falls Church HS is ghetto, b/c my DD will have to go there. I am just used to schools like Woodson, McLean, Langley, etc. We had very few if any "free lunchers". I am glad to hear kids from FCHS go to decent colleges. I just don't want me DD to hang with hoodlums or date one.