SFH in Arlington with good schools for 600K - does it exist?
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Anonymous
| 21:25 If you are moving to the Va Square Metro area in Arlington you are likely in the Long Branch Elementary school district. It is a great, under-appreciated school. It is near Ft Myer so there are military children there, and their different perspective on the wider world many of them have experienced adds to what they bring to the classroom. |
Anonymous
| That is good to hear if things don't work out at Campbell. Haven't heard much about Long Branch yet. |
Anonymous
| Different poster and we are looking for a modest home in va sq. how did you come upon it? |
Anonymous
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We were looking for a long time and happened upon a short sale. Still keeping fingers crossed that it works out!
We are renting so we have some flexibility with timing - didn't need to sell anything first. |
Anonymous
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Yes - it exists. We bought such a modest home a couple years ago - not quite the top of the bubble. It is tough to find but I LOVE it. Now most of the issues with the non-renovated kitchen, etc are resolved due to some improvements through the years. But, you barely notice those things on a day-to-day basis anyways I find. The commute, and all the amenities-- I am thankful for every day.
All of the schools in North Arlington are good. Simply go to the real estate websites, simplyMLS, zillow, etc--- and do a search for single-family homes in the price range, then be very, very open-minded. You will need to compromise on one or more of the items on this list: -Proximity to Metro -Proximity to a direct bus line to Metro (Metrobus/Art) that runs very frequently. A bus to Metro that runs every 10 minutes, is almost as good as close to Metro. -Proximity to good shops and restaurants -Size of home -Condition of home/recently renovated -# of BR and bathrooms (in Arlington, this is key. There is relatively less "competition" for 1BA. 3BR/1BA is one option, and there can be great deals on 2BR/1BA if you have a very small family. Maybe you can add a bathroom to a post-war brick house that just has one.) -Style of home (in lower brackets, you may be looking at rambler or split-level, not the perfect Craftsman or Colonial that are high demand in this area.) -Level lot (somehow Arlington has lots of non-level lots) -Size of the lot (many homes in Arlington have no yard, but there are plenty of parks for kids and yard work is a ton of work so sometimes I kind of long for less yard) -Busy street -Appearance of the street/neighborhood |
Anonymous
Campbell mom here. We have lots of friends with children at Long Branch and they are very happy with the school. I agree with the above poster about the military children bringing a different perspective, as well. |
Anonymous
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This one just sold for $605, looks nice!
http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/2408-N-Rockingham-St-22207/home/11226099 |
Anonymous
Hard to get enthusiastic about that one. |
Anonymous
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Campbell mom - I don't want to bother you too much, but we are still trying to figure out our options and you seem to have some great info! Do you know anything about ATS? Is it the very opposite of Campbell? I do know that parents are very involved, but can't figure out the classroom. Is it anti-Reggio?
Thank you!!! |
Anonymous
I think that one is the illustration of the need to set priorities. Great location, enough room. If you want charming old Arlington, you're out of luck. If you want all-updateod or new construction, you're out of luck. But I can see having a very nice life in that house. 8:07, there are tons of threads about ATS on the school threads (general and VA). The bullet: full of true believers, but very structured and not the right fit for every kid (or family). |
Anonymous
| Thank you, 9:15. I did read a bunch of old ATS posts, but I'm still not exactly clear on what "structured" looks like in the classroom. Just a teacher lecturing the whole time? Sorry - I must be dense because I'm not quite getting it yet. But the school sure does have some strong supporters! |
Anonymous
Arlington magazine profiled the school; I don't know if you could find a copy of the magazine still. Dress code: shirts must be tucked in! All children in 4th and 5th grade must study an instrument. All children must be reading by the end of kindergarten. Most Arlington schools welcome 5 year olds to kindergarten. If your 5YO shows up and the teachers decide s/he isn't going to be hitting academic milestones by the end of the year, you will be encouraged to pull your child out and wait a year. Children who aren't reading at the end of kindy repeat the year. Students in later grades get a lot of drilling so they will pass the SOLs. |
Anonymous
Yikes. That house is ugly from the outside and unappealing from the inside. You could have a nice life in that house if you tore it down and built new, spent several hundred thousand in renovations, or learned to close your eyes when inside. If that house was in Rockville or Springfield, you'd have nothing good to say about it. What is it with all the lipstick put on these Arlington pigs? |
Anonymous
Hi- From what I understand, it's completely 180 degrees different from Campbell philosophy-wise. I have two really good friends from my book club whose children go there and they like it a lot. Because it's a county-wide school, it's pretty diverse which I think is great. Just like it's name, though, the approach is very "traditional." I have also heard that students are expected to have shirt tails tucked in at all times and that when they walk through the halls there is no talking, lines are straight, etc. I have not toured, so I have no idea if that is really true. |
Anonymous
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^^ I didn't read the post from above about the Arlington Magazine profile before posting, but maybe the shirt thing really is true!
I haven't heard that about Kindergartners, though. I will ask my friends whose children go there. |