Help a first time parent pick a neighborhood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I love the roasting - I’ve been smiling while reading. To clarify, I know I’m being ridiculous for not considering Arlington. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing any options.

Re: staying on the Hill. We can’t stay in our current place on principle because our landlord is raising our rent $500/month and it isn’t a good setup for a baby (old/breaking appliances, super steep stairs, etc.). But after reading this, I’m tempted to consider Hill properties. I’m very worried about PPD, and I think a strong parent community would help significantly.

Re: emotional revulsion to Arlington.
Me - I work near Crystal City and it’s very soulless. Also, there actually are a lot more conservatives probably related to proximity to Pentagon.
My partner - I may not be describing this perfectly, but they went to college with a lot of kids from Arlington. Those kids were condescending/cookie cutter (but this was in the early 2000s).

As you have probably realized, I don’t know much beyond Crystal City. From the comments on here, it sounds like Westover is somewhere I should consider. I checked out Aurora Hills and it was way too close to Crystal City for us.

Crystal City is soulless, but hopefully getting better. Although that may take another couple decades. According to planning documents Route 1 is supposed to evolve from a freeway surrounded by office canyons into a vibrant tree lined boulevard with cafes lining the road.

Check out Westover and the adjacent neighborhoods of Bluemont and Tara. The oldest part of nearby Dominion Hills is also attractive. What’s nice about these neighborhoods is that they are all walking distance to the shops, cafes, library, ES and MS in Westover Village.

You may also like Maywood, which is an attractive historic district, so alterations to your home must go through the county approvals process. Nearby Cherrydale is also nice. The Ballston Metro is within walking distance.

Lyon Park has lots of old attractive homes and a community house with park. It probably has the quickest commute to Crystal City either via Metro rail or car.

Waverly Hills, Waycroft Woodlawn, Old Dominion and Donaldson Run are other attractive older neighborhoods.

I went to high school around the time your partner was in college, and they are probably referring to the attitude of certain Yorktown HS graduates. I know precisely what they are referring to. That has since changed as Arlington is a more diverse and welcoming county. It is also more liberal than back then when Republicans were still elected to countywide office. It’s unfathomable that would ever happen again in this day and age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you work in Arlington, and you want a SFH with a yard, it makes sense to live there. Your emotional revulsion is dumb.

Yeah but $1.1 isn’t going to afford OP a SFH in many/most parts of Arlington. My N. Arlington neighborhood is walkable/bikeable, near metro, has great schools, and houses with yards. But it apparently “repulses” her and is above her budget anyway.

1.1 can get you in for sure, you have to sacrifice on newness and size if you want to stay close in but if OP wants a new super large house than she'll have go wayy more suburban so I think that's a sacrifice they'll have to be willing to make.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1407-N-Illinois-St-22205/home/11237281

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1823-N-Lexington-St-22205/home/11238364

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/6008-19th-St-N-22205/home/11238295

Westover housing stock isn't the prettiest, but the community is worth it. Plenty of other neighborhoods, just highlighting westover since it has been brought up.

[Anonymous]

South Arlington is much more diverse and living off of Columbia Pike in Penrose, Douglas Park, Alcova Heights will still be walkable to restaurants, grocery stores, the library, etc. You could take the bus to work in no time, though it sounds like you are probably not the bus kind... Arlington has amazing playgrounds for your future kiddo and lot of dog parks as well. Lots of opportunities to meet other young families.

And South Arlington is not going to have those "cookie cutter" bros. Get out of Crystal City and see the rest of Arlington!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington is much more diverse and living off of Columbia Pike in Penrose, Douglas Park, Alcova Heights will still be walkable to restaurants, grocery stores, the library, etc. You could take the bus to work in no time, though it sounds like you are probably not the bus kind... Arlington has amazing playgrounds for your future kiddo and lot of dog parks as well. Lots of opportunities to meet other young families.

And South Arlington is not going to have those "cookie cutter" bros. Get out of Crystal City and see the rest of Arlington!

+1 I meant to recommend looking at these neighborhoods when I mentioned westover lyon park etc., we bid on a house in Penrose though didn't get it and it would have been a great spot as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly if I was in your situation (dogs, kid on the way, job in Arlington) I would probably buy in Arlington. Old Town and Del Ray are cute, but you are setting yourself up for a school problem.

Someone making $500k, and will be making more by the time their kid hits K, can afford private.

[Anonymous]

We made the same move to old town and love it. That said you won’t get a single family home so would need Rosemont for that. Also, the elementary school in old town (lyles crouch) is excellent but after that you’d want private.
Another option is the Alexandria portion of Fairfax county to get the yard but again private after elementary

[Anonymous]

Del Ray is super convenient to Crystal City, but is a completely different vibe. I’m a former city snob and have been really happy in Del Ray. We recently made our peace with paying for private schools, though.

The $1.1 budget could be tough there for a SFH, depending on how big you’re looking for, but I’d say it’s worth a look! It’s a fabulous place to live with babies and young kids.

[Anonymous]

I live in the Takoma area (technically Manor Park, but walk to downtown Takoma a lot) and it is great for new parents. There are so so so many babies and young kids, including my own. I occasionally have to commute to FSI in Arlington and it is miserable by public transit but very fast driving via Beach Road and Rock Creek Parkway so I would not move to this area if you aren't planning to drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington is much more diverse and living off of Columbia Pike in Penrose, Douglas Park, Alcova Heights will still be walkable to restaurants, grocery stores, the library, etc. You could take the bus to work in no time, though it sounds like you are probably not the bus kind... Arlington has amazing playgrounds for your future kiddo and lot of dog parks as well. Lots of opportunities to meet other young families.

And South Arlington is not going to have those "cookie cutter" bros. Get out of Crystal City and see the rest of Arlington!

+1.

Saying you hate Arlington because you've only seen Crystal City is like writing off DC because you've seen K Street and aren't impressed.

And I don't really care where you live, but good lord do you research first!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Takoma area (technically Manor Park, but walk to downtown Takoma a lot) and it is great for new parents. There are so so so many babies and young kids, including my own. I occasionally have to commute to FSI in Arlington and it is miserable by public transit but very fast driving via Beach Road and Rock Creek Parkway so I would not move to this area if you aren't planning to drive.

This. I really wanted to recommend it to OP but I don't commute to Arlington so I can't speak to that. I do go over there to visit friends every so often and it's a very easy drive, but that's not the same as a regular weekday commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington is much more diverse and living off of Columbia Pike in Penrose, Douglas Park, Alcova Heights will still be walkable to restaurants, grocery stores, the library, etc. You could take the bus to work in no time, though it sounds like you are probably not the bus kind... Arlington has amazing playgrounds for your future kiddo and lot of dog parks as well. Lots of opportunities to meet other young families.

And South Arlington is not going to have those "cookie cutter" bros. Get out of Crystal City and see the rest of Arlington!

+1

[Anonymous]

Gonna be honest, you should just move to Arlington. I say this as a person who lives in the city and hates going to the suburbs. your work is there and you need a good commute with a kid. And the DC area that would make the commute work (Palisades) is literally identical to Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gonna be honest, you should just move to Arlington. I say this as a person who lives in the city and hates going to the suburbs. your work is there and you need a good commute with a kid. And the DC area that would make the commute work (Palisades) is literally identical to Arlington

Agree. Our choice was Palisades or Arlington. We chose Arlington because I couldn’t get over the airplane noise of the Palisades (you have to watch this in Arlington too but it’s fine away from the river).

[Anonymous]

Oh dear, OP. You want North Arlington and/or Falls Church City but with only $1.1 Million, you cannot afford them. You can afford Lake Barcroft/Sleepy Hollow in Falls Church or maaaaybe outside the Beltway Annandale - like Truro/Mantua if you want good schools. Mantua is extremely Jewish - are you Jewish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the update OP. I can't really express how different Crystal City is from the vast majority of Arlington, holy cow. Definitely do not box yourself in based on that! I live in Arlington and grew up here, and also chuckled at your partner's college experience - was he at UVA? Depending on what college he was at will greatly impact what Arlington kids he was exposed to but yeah, there is certainly a portion of preppy, cookie cutter kids though you will find those in every suburb (and really any city too!).

Anyway - I think your smartest options are to rent on the Hill longer or consider Arlington. If you want to look into Arlington I would personally do the following:

Come to Westover on a nice weather Sunday morning and go to the Farmer's market. Go to the playground at the end of the farmers market and see how it all feels. Check out the little shop area right there, see how the vibe feels for you. The farmers market is a great time to get a sense of the community. Many of us head up there many Sundays, it is wonderful for impromptu hang outs with friends, the kids play and it makes you feel like you're really a part of a community because you're always running into friends. It's also hard to tell when you drive into the neighborhood, but there is a trailhead right near westover and you have access to basically all area bike trails. It is pretty amazing. I bike my kids many places we go.

I would also check out other neighborhoods in arlington that have different vibes - Cherrydale, Donaldson Run. Those are going to be closer to woods if that's important to you. Donaldson run is particularly less walkable, it's more if you want a slower vibe.

You could also check out Lyon park as another poster mentioned.

I think the hill is a great place to have a baby, certainly worth considering. But if you're really wanting to buy, Arlington is also a seriously great place to be a young mom so I wouldn't worry there. It is also hard to imagine prior to having your baby how much you will value having a family friendly neighborhood that makes your life easy. But the Hill can meet that criteria too, just likely requires a move later but there are some pros to that since you'll be farther along in parenthood and know what you want.

I mean maybe OP will like Westover, but it's so pretentious and trying too hard to be Stars Hollow (and failing miserably).