where should we move?! around 650k, kids, work downtown dc...

[Anonymous]

S. Arlington!

The house across the street from us is being listed this week and is great- (There are some cosmetic things, but nothing paint can't handle). I think it's going to be listed right around 699K.

We are in Arlington Heights and love it here. There are TONS of kids, great neighbors, you can walk to Columbia Pike and Clarendon, and the schools are also really good. S. Arlington schools often get a bad rap, but it's all a bunch of baloney. I am a "retired" teacher and send my children to a county-wide public elementary in S. Arlington and it's been wonderful so far. You cannot go by the test scores.

The house isn't "live" on MLS yet, but once it is, I'll post a link.

My husband commutes into DC and it's super easy. We're also close to 66 and 395. You cannot beat the location. My children used to go to a DC private (for preschool) and it was a snap for us to get there.

Next week we are actually moving across Glebe Road to Alcova Heights, also a really nice neighborhood. We aren't moving because we don't like it here, we're moving because a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy a really special house came up. Even though it's just 4 blocks, we are going to miss our neighbors as I know we won't see them as much. Now that the weather is nice, my children have been playing with neighbors across the street and it makes me sad that they won't be able to just hop on over there as easily.

Other neighborhoods I like in 22204 are Penrose and Douglas Park. The Claremont neighborhood (22206, I think) is also popular.

Good luck to you!!

[Anonymous]

PP back...

This house is in my neighborhood. It's not the one I was talking about earlier, but looks ok. Needs some paint and other cosmetic stuff, but not bad for 624K. It's been sitting a while...

http://franklymls.com/AR7817208

Here's one in N. Arlington. I'm not a huge fan of split levels, but this one is spacious.

http://franklymls.com/AR7843606

Here's a cute one in Arlington Forest. I have friends' who live there and they love it. Houses go fast in this neighborhood.

http://franklymls.com/AR7839965

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:S. Arlington!

The house across the street from us is being listed this week and is great- (There are some cosmetic things, but nothing paint can't handle). I think it's going to be listed right around 699K.

We are in Arlington Heights and love it here. There are TONS of kids, great neighbors, you can walk to Columbia Pike and Clarendon, and the schools are also really good. S. Arlington schools often get a bad rap, but it's all a bunch of baloney. I am a "retired" teacher and send my children to a county-wide public elementary in S. Arlington and it's been wonderful so far. You cannot go by the test scores.

The house isn't "live" on MLS yet, but once it is, I'll post a link.

My husband commutes into DC and it's super easy. We're also close to 66 and 395. You cannot beat the location. My children used to go to a DC private (for preschool) and it was a snap for us to get there.

Next week we are actually moving across Glebe Road to Alcova Heights, also a really nice neighborhood. We aren't moving because we don't like it here, we're moving because a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy a really special house came up. Even though it's just 4 blocks, we are going to miss our neighbors as I know we won't see them as much. Now that the weather is nice, my children have been playing with neighbors across the street and it makes me sad that they won't be able to just hop on over there as easily.

Other neighborhoods I like in 22204 are Penrose and Douglas Park. The Claremont neighborhood (22206, I think) is also popular.

Good luck to you!!

Why are low test scores and high dropout rates a bunch of baloney?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:S. Arlington!

The house across the street from us is being listed this week and is great- (There are some cosmetic things, but nothing paint can't handle). I think it's going to be listed right around 699K.

We are in Arlington Heights and love it here. There are TONS of kids, great neighbors, you can walk to Columbia Pike and Clarendon, and the schools are also really good. S. Arlington schools often get a bad rap, but it's all a bunch of baloney. I am a "retired" teacher and send my children to a county-wide public elementary in S. Arlington and it's been wonderful so far. You cannot go by the test scores.

The house isn't "live" on MLS yet, but once it is, I'll post a link.

My husband commutes into DC and it's super easy. We're also close to 66 and 395. You cannot beat the location. My children used to go to a DC private (for preschool) and it was a snap for us to get there.

Next week we are actually moving across Glebe Road to Alcova Heights, also a really nice neighborhood. We aren't moving because we don't like it here, we're moving because a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy a really special house came up. Even though it's just 4 blocks, we are going to miss our neighbors as I know we won't see them as much. Now that the weather is nice, my children have been playing with neighbors across the street and it makes me sad that they won't be able to just hop on over there as easily.

Other neighborhoods I like in 22204 are Penrose and Douglas Park. The Claremont neighborhood (22206, I think) is also popular.

Good luck to you!!

Why are low test scores and high dropout rates a bunch of baloney?

Test scores are just one little snapshot of a school. The way they are reported is also misleading. For example, Patrick Henry, our neighborhood school, failed to meet No Child Left Behind. The truth of it wasn't that a lot of students failed the tests, it was two students who missed a couple of questions. They had both just moved to the US right before school had started and barely knew English. If the test had been given in their native languages, they would have passed. None of that is taken into consideration. Everyone has to take the same test.

Schools in S. Arlington typically score lower because they have more students from foreign countries whose first language is not English. Think for a second just how hard it would be to move to a new country as a third grader, have to learn a new language, and then get tested in that new language 9-10 months later.

Since you seem to be so test score driven- This is the email I received from APS just yesterday.

All Arlington High Schools Ranked in The Washington Post's List of Top U.S. High Schools
APS Ranks in the Nation's Top 1% of High Schools and the Top 50 High Schools in the Region
The Washington Post announced its annual Challenge Index rankings of the nation's top high schools on Sunday. The index ranked all four Arlington high schools in the top 1% among all 27,000 high schools in the nation, and all APS high schools are in the top 2% of The Post list which only accounts for 1,864 high schools or approximately 7% of all U.S. high schools.
http://www.apsva.us//site/Default.aspx?PageID=17879

[Anonymous]

Challenge Index is a bunch of crap. It doesn't tell you how well students perform.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I live in woodmoor and it takes me 30 minutes door to door to get to 16th and k, unless major accident. Beyond woodmoor adds 10 to 15, but woodmoor gets you in beyond the beltway backup. Great homes in the $500-600 range with 4 beds and 2.5 baths, generally.

I looked into Woodmoor but the public elementary schools seems less than ideal, to say the least. I'm Jewish, so sending to the Catholic school is not an option nor would I want to pay for private. Is Woodmoor only workable if you do private?

My DH is Jewish and was uncomfortable in Woodmoor - culturally the tone there is very Catholic. FWIW. I think that much of Woodmoor uses the Catholic school in the neighborhood, but many use public.

Woodside OTOH has a culturally Jewish tone (if it has any religious tone at all). We live here in Woodside, and have been very happy with the schools.

What does that mean? I actually live in Woodmoor, and have seen that on DCUM before, but am not sure what people mean by that. Socially conservative? (I'm not Catholic, so not offended or anything, just curious). I have heard from some of the families at St. B's (the Catholic school) that enrollment is declining because more in the neighborhood are using the public school.

It means that a large percentage of the residents are Catholic, and many are socially conservative.

We lived there for five years and had to get out because it was just the wrong social/cultural fit.

I'm Jewish and live in Woodmoor. Agree that many families are Catholic, but probably not a majority. And of those that are, most don't seem too conservative...it's a welcoming community for gay couples (a number in the neighborhood), all religions (even playing CYO sports), and various socio-economic statuses. Is it a little more republican than some other areas? Sure, but more out of a small government mentality than a cultural one. Many more neighbors, catholic and not, are sending their kids to the local publics.

I have heard the St B's parish from a catholic standpoint is more conservative than most, but that's a much different discussion than the neighborhood.

Thanks - I am the Woodmoor pp whohad asked about the "Catholic cultural tone." I have also found it to be a welcoming place, not somewhere that a Jewish person would be uncomfortable. But also am new to the neighborhood. So I was worried that maybe my perceptions were off.

::shrug::

We moved out years ago, so maybe it has changed. But when we were there it was predominantly conservative Catholic, certainly more Republican than the rest of close-in Silver Spring, heavily associated with St. B's, and very SAHM-oriented. A terrible fit for us.

I'm glad it's working for you, but also glad we moved out when we did. LOL

I live in Woodmoor and don't think it's socially conservative at all. In fact, I would say almost all my neighbors are pretty liberal. There are a higher percentage of Catholics than in some other SS neighborhoods, but I don't see the neighborhood as unwelcoming at all - in fact, everyone is very friendly. And we send our child to the local public school and have been very happy with it - more and more kids in the neighborhood are using the public schools.