Pimmit Hills

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pimmit Hills was the wrong side of the tracks when I grew up in Vienna & went to public school there. Think Pony Boy Curtis from the Outsiders.

It was in the late 80s yes, but it continues to be not a great neighborhood in an area which is growing and on an upward trajectory.

Maybe in time it will get there, but for now, not a standout.

This is too funny. I work with a woman who grew up in Pimmit Hills in the 70s-80s and says the same thing. Her parents were recent immigrants and she says basically they were the only family in the neighborhood from another country. Her mom still lives there and now it is full immigrants. Definitely still has a working class feel, but not a bad place to live and very convenient to many places. Schools are good, too.

[Anonymous]

Pony Boy Curtis poster here -- people are right; my view is old, old, old. I am just reacting to driving past there lately and things just didn't look at all different.

I am referring to the swaths along Route 123 -- so admittedly that's not a full and informed view.

I did not mean to imply that everyone from PH is a Greaser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, Pimmit Hills has such a dinge-y vibe. I'm sure the people are nice, etc etc., but there are tons of renters and it shows (i.e. the landlords not bothering to invest in property maintenance or upgrades-not saying anything about the renters).

I would not buy into a neighborhood like that.

Agree.

And to answer another PP, yes, there are many, significantly better neighborhoods in south Falls Church/Annandale with solid elementary schools, although I personally think Falls Church is the better location for shopping, commuting, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pony Boy Curtis poster here -- people are right; my view is old, old, old. I am just reacting to driving past there lately and things just didn't look at all different.

I am referring to the swaths along Route 123 -- so admittedly that's not a full and informed view.

I did not mean to imply that everyone from PH is a Greaser.

Most of Pimmit Hills is sandwiched between Route 123 and Route 7. Not sure that you'd really know what it looks like today by driving along Route 123.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pimmit Hills was the wrong side of the tracks when I grew up in Vienna & went to public school there. Think Pony Boy Curtis from the Outsiders.

It was in the late 80s yes, but it continues to be not a great neighborhood in an area which is growing and on an upward trajectory.

Maybe in time it will get there, but for now, not a standout.

I think judging a neighborhood based on your experience 31 years ago is kind of unfair. I think you still have some prejudiced based on what you experienced in 1980. A lot has changed since then.

I'm not the "Pony Boy Curtis" poster and must be too young for that reference. But, I posted earlier to the effect that I also grew up in the DC area, in what everyone then (and now) called a good area, and in the 1990's it was thought that Pimmit Hills was a seedy area.

And now, as part of a younger couple who bought in the last few years (just a tad before the housing peak actually) I feel lucky to have any kind of close-in, decent-priced housing option around here, as modest as it is.

I don't live in Pimmit Hills, but in a somewhat similar way, we have a relatively modest, former "handyman special" in a generally ritzy area. It has been a GREAT decision in terms of quality of life (commute) and housing appreciation. We bought somewhat in the early-mid 2000s. We have "done" a lot better than contemporaries who bought new houses in Loudon, or who bought "fun" in Dc but had to move again due to the schools.

I'd be the first to tell you that this area has gotten SO much more expensive than it was when my parents bought. I think Pimmit Hills will be considered a good area in years to come. People are smart to have a good commute and mortgage that isn't presenting them from saving for the future and a rainy day. The neighbors will continue to get better.

[Anonymous]

*preventing

[Anonymous]

I'm going to say that places like Lake Barcroft are better than PH, but the nicest parts of Annandale and south Falls Church are out of OP's budget.

@12:30, the houses under $450k in Sleepy Hollow Woods zone to SH/Glasgow/Stuart, which is ok for elementary, but lower-scoring at middle/high. The houses look like they were built in the 50s and early 60s which is when Pimmit Hills was built out.

Then you come into the debate between "living in the lesser part of a good school zone" (PH) or "living in the better part of a mediocre school zone" (SHW).

I do agree -- my first few posts here were made before knowing OP and spouse worked in Rockville and DC. Live in Rockville itself -- good schools, shorter commute, and there is stuff in OP's price range that's comparable to Pimmit Hills and the other areas we've been talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to say that places like Lake Barcroft are better than PH, but the nicest parts of Annandale and south Falls Church are out of OP's budget.

@12:30, the houses under $450k in Sleepy Hollow Woods zone to SH/Glasgow/Stuart, which is ok for elementary, but lower-scoring at middle/high. The houses look like they were built in the 50s and early 60s which is when Pimmit Hills was built out.

Then you come into the debate between "living in the lesser part of a good school zone" (PH) or "living in the better part of a mediocre school zone" (SHW).

I do agree -- my first few posts here were made before knowing OP and spouse worked in Rockville and DC. Live in Rockville itself -- good schools, shorter commute, and there is stuff in OP's price range that's comparable to Pimmit Hills and the other areas we've been talking about.

Agree that I'd look in Maryland if I was in the OP's shoes.

One factoid - The Sleepy Hollow Woods neighborhood in Annandale doesn't attend Sleepy Hollow ES. It's currently assigned to Belvedere ES and will move to Lacey ES when Lacey is completed.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I should clarify. My husband does not work in an area of DC that is metro accessible. He will also likely be working closer to Tysons in the future. So living in Rockville would mean a disaster of a commute for him. Plus honestly I have no desire to live in MD. I have worked here for 9 years and there is a reason we don't live in MoCo. I did live in Bethesda for a for a bit and quickly went south. That was before I even met my husband. Even then a longer commute was worth living in Va to me. I really love NoVa so much more. Not to mention I would rather my children have the option of attending a VA state university as in-state. MD just doesn't offer as much. But that is a whole other debate.

[Anonymous]

PP here who lives in Pimmit hills now. I commute to N. Bethesda everyday by car (no metro at all near my work) and my husband metros downtown from WFC metro. It is a much easier commute to live north of Rt. 7 than to live in Sleepy Hollow or Annandale. The faster you can get off the beltway from MD, the better.

My commute is generally 1/2 an hour in the morning and anywhere from 1/2 an hour to an hour (on a bad Beltway day) at night. I can also take Chain Bridge to Old Dominion for a good solid 45 min commute if necessary. If I lived south of Rt 7, I would have another 15 minutes of commute time right there. And I didn't even consider Alexandria or S. Arlington because it would be a similarly horrible commute.

Stay north of Rt 7 for a MD Commute from VA!

[Anonymous]

Its an up and coming neighborhood but it feeds into the same schools as mclean and tyson's corner. I don't see anywhere but up for this neighborhood. It's the best investment around. The best zip codes for the area are 22043 (Pimmit / Falls Church), 22046 (tysons) 22182, (falls church mclean / falls church city), 22180 (Vienna Madison), 22181 (vienna), 22101, 22102 (both are mclean).

You would not get the same "better" schools in 22042, 22041 or 22044 (lake barcroft, sleepy hollow) etc...

[Anonymous]

PP, I know there are other "good" zip codes like oakton, woodson etc... but I am talking about in the tyson's fall church area in the beltway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its an up and coming neighborhood but it feeds into the same schools as mclean and tyson's corner. I don't see anywhere but up for this neighborhood. It's the best investment around. The best zip codes for the area are 22043 (Pimmit / Falls Church), 22046 (tysons) 22182, (falls church mclean / falls church city), 22180 (Vienna Madison), 22181 (vienna), 22101, 22102 (both are mclean).

You would not get the same "better" schools in 22042, 22041 or 22044 (lake barcroft, sleepy hollow) etc...

To clarify: Pimmit Hills feeds into the same schools as most of Tysons (Kilmer MS/Marshall HS). Most of McLean, with the exception of a handful of apartment buildings and townhouse complexes in 22102 that also are assigned to Kilmer and Marshall, goes to either Longfellow/McLean or Cooper/Langley.

PH is the least expensive neighborhood of SFHs that feed into Kilmer/Marshall. As a result of that, and the proximity to Tysons, the houses sell for more than what you'd have to pay for a similar, older house in Annandale or Woodbridge. It certainly won't get cheaper once the Silver Line is running to Tysons.

[Anonymous]

I've lived in Pimmit Hills since 1998 and moved there because each house has about quarter acre of land where I could garden. The houses were also very affordable at the time.

The bad stuff you've heard about Pimmit Hills is all in the long past--ever since the real estate market started going up, new young families have been moving in fixing up the houses. Most houses by now have been remodeled or increasingly being torn down and large brand new houses are being built on the property. That's the direction this neighborhood is moving. Housing prices can range from $400K to believe it or not, a million (a new house near me was selling for $1.25M).

It's a great, quiet, diverse community with friendly, normal people. There are beautiful large trees everywhere (we love our trees), lots of parks and it's a great place to go for a walk or jog.

The location can't be beat as it is right inside the Beltway in between Rt 7, Rt. 123 and Rt 66. You can walk to Trader Joe's, Whole Food, Jason's Deli, etc. There's the West Falls Church Metro nearby and another metro coming in. Of course, it borders the Tysons Corner area with all that entails. Fairfax County plans to make all of Tysons accessible by walking or biking which means we may even be able to walk to the Tysons Corner shopping mall someday.

Pimmit Hills has an active Citizens Association (http://pimmithills.org) with a dedicated group of young people with families on the PHCA board who are active in working with the local government to better the community. They also work closely with the McLean Citizens Association as Pimmit Hills is really more part of McLean than Falls Church.

Pimmit Hills doesn't have a homeowners association as it is proudly a 'property rights' community which means no one can tell you what color you need to paint your shutters or require huge monthly homeowner fees. Yes, that does mean some people do some unusual things with their property (all within Fairfax County regulations), but you'd really be surprised at how nice the houses are inside. I know of a house that has a gorgeous wine cellar that would rival any in Potomac, MD.

Take the recommendation of people who actually live here now, it's a jewel in a great location with nice, normal people.

[Anonymous]

We moved to Pimmit Hills in January 2011. We’ve been looking for a place in close VA suburbs with a budget of approximately 500K, and couldn’t afford North Arlington, didn’t like South Arlington, and refused to move further than West Falls Church because we both work in DC and don’t want to spend three hours in a car every day. We have a one-year old.

Once we discovered Pimmit Hills, we didn’t want to look anywhere else, and it took us six months to buy there. We bid on several renovated houses and were outbid every time, with all of them selling above list. We finally bought a 3 br, 2 bath, 2200 sf house on a 0.3 acres that needed some work for 450K. Note that I was a devoted city girl before moving. Here is my take on PH:

Pros:
Location, location, location. We can get downtown in 20 minutes by Rt 66. The Beltway and GW Parkway are right there. Once Tysons Metro is online, it will only get better. Some parts of PH can walk to West Falls Church.
Price. Housing stock in PH is modest – the original PH saltbox house is 880 sq ft. It is frankly one of the few remaining neighborhoods inside the Beltway where SFH can be had for under 400K (admittedly unrenovated).
Lots. Most PH houses are on substantial lots of 0.3 – 0.25 acres, which offers opportunities for expansion. Lots of young families have been buying into the neighborhood, tearing down or adding to their houses and still have enough land to enjoy some outside time.
Amenities. PH has lots of parks (Olney Park is fab), great trees, is wonderful for walking with strollers, close to Trader Joe, Whole Foods on Rt 7, Safeway on Anderson Rd and McLean business district in 5 minute drive or less. There are several restaurants in WFC and McLean centers, and Falls Church City is 15 minutes away if you want more.
Diversity. The neighborhood has lots of everyone. Our neighbor to the left is an Indian programmer. Our neighbor to the right is a JAG attorney. We are a Russian/Arab mix family.
Schools. Westgate ES is a block away from us, and Kilmer/Marshall have a good reputation.

Cons:
Well, diversity. PH does not have a look of uniform affluence you see in some Vienna or Dunn Loring neighborhoods we looked at. You have to have some tolerance for blue-collar element, chain link fences, and the fact that all houses look different. The upside of that is people are very down-to-earth.
Eccentric. PH does not have rules for what you can and cannot build, so some expanded/added houses look great, and some do not.
Traffic. We don’t commute that way, but if you have to go on Rt 7, it can get unpleasant. There are alternatives, though.

Overall, it has been a great move for us. PH is a family-based neighborhood, lots of young families with small children in similar stages of life. I love the trees, the greenery and space in a location so close to DC. I choose to believe that things will get only better as people run out of affordable neighborhoods close to DC and continue to move in and expand/rebuild their houses. Once Tysons East metro opens, we will be able to walk to metro. My DH and DS will be able to walk to a park to shoot hoops or play soccer as much as they want. They can also walk one block to school.