Relocating from Brooklyn to DC area

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you would be happiest in South Arlington, which is quite diverse and (generally) more chill when it comes to schools than North Arlington, which also happens to be one of the least diverse parts of the DC region. The classroom sizes will be in the middle of the range you described.

OP, if schools are important to you, don't consider South Arlington. It's more diverse than North Arlington, but the schools are not that great.

OP, take this with a grain of salt. School quality, as measured by test scores, is mostly indistinguishable from the family income of the student body. SA has always been more diverse, racially and economically, than south Arlington. Most of north Arlington actually had neighborhood covenants and the effects are still being felt today even if todays residents themselves are oblivious to the history. There are parts of both you’d likely be interested in and not, so blanket statements like the PP might not be very helpful to you. As in all places, actually integrated schools are not common; housing segregation drives school segregation but there are a few actually integrated schools in both NA and SA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I would recommend that you look at Maryland rather than VA. Maryland has larger black and Jewish populations in its close-in suburbs, and is more traditionally friendly to both groups. You don't say where you work in DC, but many parts of Maryland are on the subway line. MoCo has excellent schools, and more private schools than NOVA, if that's the route you prefer.


This tired advice is about 50 years old, OP.

-NY Jew living in NoVa

This "tired advice" is coming from someone who has lived in both MoCo and NOVA. I wasn't even alive 50 years ago.

Why hang around a VA public schools forum? Troll

[Anonymous]

Rule #1 don’t expect anything like NY here. Once you have realistic expectations, you can enjoy being here. The DC area is a nice place live in, but don’t expect NY.

Rule #2 don’t live in DC proper unless you’re comfortable with an inner city school environment. Because you’re paying for private in NY, I suspect you may feel that private is better than DCPS.

Rule #3 don’t trust people here who seem hell bent on promoting their own neighborhoods and ignoring your commute from those neighborhoods. Contrary to what posters from MD and VA may believe, the differences between the suburban communities in those states is marginal at best. It’s kind of like people from northern Jersey fighting with people from L.I. over which suburb is better.

[Anonymous]

bainbridge1 wrote:Hi, we are considering relocating to the DC area from Brooklyn and I am pretty overwhelmed that I have to figure out neighborhoods and schools in short order. We need to be in DC or just outside of DC and I thought Arlington may work. We are a biracial family (I am Black and my husband is White/Jewish). We currently live in Bed Stuy which is very diverse and I treasure that. Schools are very important as we have a 3 and 8 year olds. My oldest goes to private school now and their student/teacher ratio is 11:1. I am completely ignorant as to school sizes in Arlington, but at the very least I hope it is better than 30:1 found in many public schools in NYC. Private school is not an option for us. We would initially rent and would like to keep the monthly costs below $5k. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I feel compelled to respond, since I am part-Jewish, my husband is Black, and we live in Arlington. There aren't many biracial families that I see around the neighborhood (we are near the Rosslyn-Clarendon corridor). Overall, if you want to stay close to DC and also have an easy-ish non-car commute to Alexandria, you may want to consider Rosslyn, or the area nearby. You could take the blue line from there (once it's repaired after this summer). The Science focus elementary that's mapped to the area is highly rated, though class size is higher - around 22-25/class. In terms of daycares, it's a bit tough in Arlington, good places have long waitlists, so it might be an issue for the 3-year old, but that's everywhere in the DC area. You have to be very, very careful with DC schools, and the charters are quite wide spread there, so I would not move to DC proper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rule #1 don’t expect anything like NY here. Once you have realistic expectations, you can enjoy being here. The DC area is a nice place live in, but don’t expect NY.

Rule #2 don’t live in DC proper unless you’re comfortable with an inner city school environment. Because you’re paying for private in NY, I suspect you may feel that private is better than DCPS.

Rule #3 don’t trust people here who seem hell bent on promoting their own neighborhoods and ignoring your commute from those neighborhoods. Contrary to what posters from MD and VA may believe, the differences between the suburban communities in those states is marginal at best. It’s kind of like people from northern Jersey fighting with people from L.I. over which suburb is better.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

bainbridge1 wrote:Hi, we are considering relocating to the DC area from Brooklyn and I am pretty overwhelmed that I have to figure out neighborhoods and schools in short order. We need to be in DC or just outside of DC and I thought Arlington may work. We are a biracial family (I am Black and my husband is White/Jewish). We currently live in Bed Stuy which is very diverse and I treasure that. Schools are very important as we have a 3 and 8 year olds. My oldest goes to private school now and their student/teacher ratio is 11:1. I am completely ignorant as to school sizes in Arlington, but at the very least I hope it is better than 30:1 found in many public schools in NYC. Private school is not an option for us. We would initially rent and would like to keep the monthly costs below $5k. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I feel compelled to respond, since I am part-Jewish, my husband is Black, and we live in Arlington. There aren't many biracial families that I see around the neighborhood (we are near the Rosslyn-Clarendon corridor). Overall, if you want to stay close to DC and also have an easy-ish non-car commute to Alexandria, you may want to consider Rosslyn, or the area nearby. You could take the blue line from there (once it's repaired after this summer). The Science focus elementary that's mapped to the area is highly rated, though class size is higher - around 22-25/class. In terms of daycares, it's a bit tough in Arlington, good places have long waitlists, so it might be an issue for the 3-year old, but that's everywhere in the DC area. You have to be very, very careful with DC schools, and the charters are quite wide spread there, so I would not move to DC proper.

I would say the above advice is somewhat dated. In general, the elementary schools that feed to Wilson High School (most but not all west of Rock Creek Park) tend to be the strongest in the city, and kids attending those schools tend to do very well. Of course, it's all down to demographics, given the cost of homes in these neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on how you define diverse. There are not a lot a black folks in NOVA in general. When folks say diverse, they mean POC, but South Arlington is mostly Latino, with some Asian. Few blacks.

Jefferson Middle school, where my son went, is 16% black, so not sure that means "not a lot".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

In response to your last question: I would definitely be open to living in Alexandria. I chose Arlington as a starting point because my brother will be moving there.

And thank you for the Shepherd Park recommendation.

Shepherd Park is certainly nice, but I don't see any reason to take on that commute for jobs in NOVA. It is far. My son used to have soccer practice in SP and it was a schlepp from Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

In response to your last question: I would definitely be open to living in Alexandria. I chose Arlington as a starting point because my brother will be moving there.

And thank you for the Shepherd Park recommendation.

Shepherd Park is certainly nice, but I don't see any reason to take on that commute for jobs in NOVA. It is far. My son used to have soccer practice in SP and it was a schlepp from Arlington.

black folks like being around other black folks and high income black folks being around other high income black folks. Shepherd Park is one of the only places that is black, high income, and walkable in the entire DMV.

and p.s this goes for all races/incomes. People like being around other people like them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you choose to live in Arlington if you were working in Alexandria? Why not just live in Alexandria?

What is up with you people? OP clearly said schools are important and I don't know anyone from Arlington who would send their kids to Alexandria Public Schools.

Then you need to get out more. I know plenty of people who have kids in ACPS who live lives a lot like mine.

OP - Alexandria is fine, but it is a complicated city and it will feel further from home than Arlington. It definitely feels like a Southern town. We really like it there, but in the end picked Arlington for mostly irrelevant-to-you reasons (I'm from Cobble Hill, BTW).

As for synagogues: Maybe they've mellowed, but Agudas is the most traditional of the synagogues around and doesn't have a history of being welcoming to the interfaith. I'd definitely look at Etz Hayim if you want conservative or Beth El if you want reform.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

In response to your last question: I would definitely be open to living in Alexandria. I chose Arlington as a starting point because my brother will be moving there.

And thank you for the Shepherd Park recommendation.

Shepherd Park is certainly nice, but I don't see any reason to take on that commute for jobs in NOVA. It is far. My son used to have soccer practice in SP and it was a schlepp from Arlington.

black folks like being around other black folks and high income black folks being around other high income black folks. Shepherd Park is one of the only places that is black, high income, and walkable in the entire DMV.

and p.s this goes for all races/incomes. People like being around other people like them

I think there's some truth to that, although SP is not only black these days (although it is still home to many prominent AAs, such as the newly appointed Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution).

My very rough guess is 50% AA (with probably half of these being elderly), 15% Jewish, 15% interracial, and 20% everyone else. The latter three categories seem to be increasing the fastest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP, if your job is in Alexandria, I would suggest looking at schools in Fairfax County part of Alexandria. We live in 22310 and it's relatively diverse. It doesn't make sense to me to spend extra to live in Arlington (even south Arlington) if your job is closer to Alexandria. Our Fairfax County Public School pyramid isn't as good as some other parts of the county (see: McLean or Fairfax), but it's getting better. I'm expecting it to get much better in a few years after the new Amazon crowd arrives and either settles here or settles in Arlington and pushes more folks down our way.

There are communities in the City of Alexandria like Rosemont or Del Ray which are lovely (but not as diverse). But the schools aren't great, as others have noted. (Again, with Amazon arriving maybe that will change?)

Anyway. Good luck, I'm sure you'll find something great and welcome to the area!

Which schools are in your pyramid?

We're in the Edison pyramid. Edison is pretty terrible (and Hayfield isn't better), but my kid is only in first grade so we have time for it to improve or get into AAS or something. The elementary schools aren't bad, tho. I can't remember if the OP said the grade her kid(s) is/are in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you choose to live in Arlington if you were working in Alexandria? Why not just live in Alexandria?

What is up with you people? OP clearly said schools are important and I don't know anyone from Arlington who would send their kids to Alexandria Public Schools.

Then you need to get out more. I know plenty of people who have kids in ACPS who live lives a lot like mine.

OP - Alexandria is fine, but it is a complicated city and it will feel further from home than Arlington. It definitely feels like a Southern town. We really like it there, but in the end picked Arlington for mostly irrelevant-to-you reasons (I'm from Cobble Hill, BTW).

As for synagogues: Maybe they've mellowed, but Agudas is the most traditional of the synagogues around and doesn't have a history of being welcoming to the interfaith. I'd definitely look at Etz Hayim if you want conservative or Beth El if you want reform.

OP, read this thread about ACPS https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/801319.page#14962327

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you choose to live in Arlington if you were working in Alexandria? Why not just live in Alexandria?

What is up with you people? OP clearly said schools are important and I don't know anyone from Arlington who would send their kids to Alexandria Public Schools.

Then you need to get out more. I know plenty of people who have kids in ACPS who live lives a lot like mine.

OP - Alexandria is fine, but it is a complicated city and it will feel further from home than Arlington. It definitely feels like a Southern town. We really like it there, but in the end picked Arlington for mostly irrelevant-to-you reasons (I'm from Cobble Hill, BTW).

As for synagogues: Maybe they've mellowed, but Agudas is the most traditional of the synagogues around and doesn't have a history of being welcoming to the interfaith. I'd definitely look at Etz Hayim if you want conservative or Beth El if you want reform.

OP, read this thread about ACPS https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/801319.page#14962327

ACPS is Alexandria and APS is Arlington.

[Anonymous]

OP - None of us remembered to say "welcome". So welcome, whichever side of the river you choose.

I'm a transplanted Brooklynite. DC doesn't feel anything like NY. We care about different things, and we are both prickly and not prickly about a different set of things. Among other things, you will be surprised to find that our best ethnic restaurants are in strip malls - you get used to the lack of charm. You can grow to like it or even love it here. In fact, as much as I enjoy visiting Brooklyn, I don't want to go back.

I don't miss the smell of the city on a Sunday morning. I don't miss thinking about my damned car all the time (gotta put it somewhere when we visit). I don't miss how hard simple things can be - like repairing a vacuum, or coping when you have a bit too much to carry. I love having a dog with easy access to nature.

You can make a good life here.