Waynewood questions

[Anonymous]

We have been house hunting in the fort hunt, stratford landing, belle view area and haven't found a house we like enough to put in an offer (in a budget, sigh). We were driving through open houses and found a place that looks great but it's in the waynewood district. We are worried about the school because my DH is African-American and our kids are biracial. I was actually drawn to the West Potomac pyramid because of it's diversity and the one house we've found that fits our budget and might work space/yard wise is in the elementary school with the least diversity. I've read about the school and am looking for more recent experiences, opinions, etc. Waynewood parents -- are your kids friends with a diverse range of kids outside of school (like in sports or scouts)? Are we crazy for considering putting an offer on the house? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Not a Waynewood parent, but we are a caucasian family living in that area, and avoided Waynewood for both the lack of diversity and the clickish-ness there. I did notice while house hunting that some white families self-selected that neighborhood for exactly the opposite reason - lack of diversity. It isn't true for the entire neighborhood, but not the vibe for me. We live in the Ft. Hunt school district and much prefer it. What is your budget - there are a few new house on the market.

[Anonymous]

We are in that 650K budget. If we could push up to 700K, there are few places in Belle View that I've fallen in love with. There was a fort hunt house that went off the market that we liked. We've just been pokey and slow in terms of trying to find a place.

I had that concern about the area. We are renting in an area that is decidedly unfriendly (a lot of older home owners and people who are NIMBYs or do not have small kids in Alexandria City). I loved the community feel down the GW parkway and want a childhood where my kids feel safe to play outside and the neighbors are actually nice (ours are sort of gruff and annoyed by our existence it seems sometimes).

[Anonymous]

PP here. You will find the right house! It is a great vibe for an old-school childhood where kids bike around the neighborhoods and spend all day at the pool. And the drive is gorgeous along the pkwy. I have coworkers who live in Waynewood and swear by it, but the other thing is that the houses cost more there than they would in other neighborhoods, and they are older most times. The Waynewood premium is real, and not worth it in my book. My favorite neighborhood for aesthetics is Riverside Gardens - no power lines, beautiful homes and low key people. We are in Stratford on the Potomac, which I also really like.

[Anonymous]

I've heard all positives about Waynewood from families who attend it, but they are all white. Your child will definitely be the "odd man out" in terms of race. However, that will definitely change at the MS and HS. I guess you'll just have to think about whether it is important to you to have a racially diverse school for elementary. If it is, Waynewood is definitely not for you!

[Anonymous]

The Fort Hunt area is a wonderful place to raise a family! Waynewood ES is the least diverse of the ES that feed into the diverse middle (Sandburg) and diverse high school (West Potomac). It is a nice school with engaged parents -- but the more diverse Stratford Landing, Belle View and Fort Hunt ES are all good schools as well. Some of the neighborhoods that feed into Waynewood ES are more diverse than the Waynewood neighborhood itself -- Hollin Hall, Wellington to name a few. Your children will find friends anywhere!

[Anonymous]

OP -- not sure if you are totally committed to that area, but for your budget, you might want to consider Kingstowne/Island Creek/Landsdowne. Your racial concerns would be non-existent here. Very racially mixed, but pretty economically homogenous.

[Anonymous]

Try Stratford Landing and areas feeding into Ft Hunt Elementary and Hollin Hills over Waynewood. We live in WW and aren't biracial but our kids went to the more diverse other schools nearby. There is some diversity at WW but not much and the other schools in the area have much more.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the Kingstowne recommendation. I would jump all over it but I commute to Columbia Heights, so I need easy access to the GW Parkway and/or yellow line.

The houses in the Island Creek area are great, though. What a value.

[Anonymous]

They don't call it Whitewood for nothing.

[Anonymous]

It's real. The kids in the Waynewood neighborhood will end up on sports teams with kids from the neighborhood. Scouts are school based and even more divided. There are some very nice people who live in the neighborhood, but there are also some real jerks. I love Hollin Hall out of all of the neighborhoods. We will stay in our very small house for our neighbors and being able to walk to the grocery store.

[Anonymous]

The school is VERY white...in both student population and the staff. However, in the four years my children have been at this school I've noticed a bit more diversity. As for sports teams and scouts, that depends where you do these things. You can join a troop/pack that meets at the school and that will be the same kids as school or you can join through one of the many churches in the greater area for more diversity. Same goes for sports teams...if you request a team with kids from their school then that is what you'll get. As for houses, as others have stated you can get more house or newer house by not living in the Waynewood subdivision. Collingwood, Collingwood on the Potomac, Wellington, Hollin Hall...all feed to WWES but have a different vibe than Waynewood proper.

[Anonymous]

We called it Whitewood growing up. Love the area but I would stick to Stratford or Fort Hunt. Also the housing stock for the price is not as desirable in Waynewood (at least to us). I think you get more space and yard for the price in a Fort Hunt colonial.

[Anonymous]

Unless you get one that is torn down and rebuilt a lot of those houses in Waynewood proper are not that great either. There is some amazing new construction but the majority of the houses are just over-priced split-levels so people can say they live in "Waynewood" or those crappy models w the kitchen in the basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a Waynewood parent, but we are a caucasian family living in that area, and avoided Waynewood for both the lack of diversity and the clickish-ness there. I did notice while house hunting that some white families self-selected that neighborhood for exactly the opposite reason - lack of diversity. It isn't true for the entire neighborhood, but not the vibe for me. We live in the Ft. Hunt school district and much prefer it. What is your budget - there are a few new house on the market.

I have heard that about this neighborhood ("cliquey") but what does that mean exactly? I am new to the hood but don't have kids in school yet.