Are Arlington Schools worth the huge mortgage I'm going to need?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL not according to the recent scores Arlington Schools got OWNED by FCPS

This is false. W-L, Yorktown, and Wakefield performed neck and neck with the Fairfax County schools with similar demographics. Nothing shocking to see. Look at the actual scores.

[Anonymous]

Love Arlington. Picked it over Chevy chase-bethesda bc i have a 15 min commute from Clarendon not a 45 min one from Bethesda. That's an hour every day i save. But whether i'd move for schools depends on which ones in each place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love Arlington. Picked it over Chevy chase-bethesda bc i have a 15 min commute from Clarendon not a 45 min one from Bethesda. That's an hour every day i save. But whether i'd move for schools depends on which ones in each place.

Weird. Chevy Chase is 1000X nicer than Arlington. Clarendon is a cheesy faux city with nothing to redeem it other than a transit stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our mortgage will be at least $1600 more than it is now if we relocate to attend north Arlington schools. And our house will be small and not as nice as our current house. Everyone raves about North Arlington, but are they better than close-in Montgomery County schools? Does anyone have experience with both school districts and can offer perspective or comparison?

Believe me stay in Montgomery County. Don't believe the hype because Arlington is not all that people make it out to be. It's an overpriced barrio. The schools in Chevy Chase and in Bethesda are just better IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love Arlington. Picked it over Chevy chase-bethesda bc i have a 15 min commute from Clarendon not a 45 min one from Bethesda. That's an hour every day i save. But whether i'd move for schools depends on which ones in each place.

Weird. Chevy Chase is 1000X nicer than Arlington. Clarendon is a cheesy faux city with nothing to redeem it other than a transit stop.

Weird.

We visited my mother frequently in Chevy Chase @ her apt. and never had any thought of moving over there from Arlington. CC has horrible traffic and nothing in particular that we were looking for that we couldn't find easily in or around Arlington (including DC). They're both fine in their own ways. YMMV. But thanks for the snark, that was entertaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love Arlington. Picked it over Chevy chase-bethesda bc i have a 15 min commute from Clarendon not a 45 min one from Bethesda. That's an hour every day i save. But whether i'd move for schools depends on which ones in each place.

Weird. Chevy Chase is 1000X nicer than Arlington. Clarendon is a cheesy faux city with nothing to redeem it other than a transit stop.

And friendship heights/Bethesda is a real city. Oy. Someone is delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love Arlington. Picked it over Chevy chase-bethesda bc i have a 15 min commute from Clarendon not a 45 min one from Bethesda. That's an hour every day i save. But whether i'd move for schools depends on which ones in each place.

Weird. Chevy Chase is 1000X nicer than Arlington. Clarendon is a cheesy faux city with nothing to redeem it other than a transit stop.

And friendship heights/Bethesda is a real city. Oy. Someone is delusional.

If you spent time in Bethesda, you'd know it's both more urban and more urbane than Clarendon. I would not move out of Bethesda or Chevy Chase for Arlington. It is a step down that OP would come to regret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, your question really depends on what you have to give up for that $1600 and we can't answer it.

If you ask me, the real difference with Arlington is that the county is small. There are only a few school. We don't have a thousand magnet programs from high school to choose from. HB excepted, you buy a house and go to that high school. Fairfax County and MoCo are enormous. It is a different feel. In some ways, you have access to more facilities within county, but both counties feel big. Which is best? It is a matter of personal taste.

You spend less time on very large roads when you live in Arlington than if you live in MoCo. Commute to down town is shorter. My Arlington Forest house in BCC is out of my budget. My same house in Silver Spring would leave me enough money left over for a great addition.

Is Arlington forest even in north Arlington? I am pretty sure the comparo was B C C and north arl

BCC is mostly Kensington silver spring...lower income than most n arl precincts ...and the parts of b and cc that feed are not more expensive than n arl...quite the contrary.

Most of Arlington Forest is in North Arlington, and a small part is in South Arlington. It straddles Rt 50.

and yes, my house is in N Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this a trick question? I have NEVER heard of anyone moving to Arlington of all places for the schools. People move to Fairfax County or Montgomery County. Definitely not Arlington. I am guessing a few schools there are ok, but nobody is going to look to buy your house for the schools. Trust me. They will buy it for the walkability or proximity to DC.

You must not get out much. This is quite common. Maybe you should develop some friendships? Actually interact with some people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love Arlington. Picked it over Chevy chase-bethesda bc i have a 15 min commute from Clarendon not a 45 min one from Bethesda. That's an hour every day i save. But whether i'd move for schools depends on which ones in each place.

Weird. Chevy Chase is 1000X nicer than Arlington. Clarendon is a cheesy faux city with nothing to redeem it other than a transit stop.

And friendship heights/Bethesda is a real city. Oy. Someone is delusional.

If you spent time in Bethesda, you'd know it's both more urban and more urbane than Clarendon. I would not move out of Bethesda or Chevy Chase for Arlington. It is a step down that OP would come to regret.

Urbane says it all. Chevy Chase is where people with wealth can show at Jimmy Choo and send their staff to whole foods; Arlington is where the middle class or upper middle class congregate for short commutes, good schools, and a few pockets of walk-able neighborhoods.

OP just needs to figure out where they fall on that divide. Both neighborhoods are very nice and have good schools, so if you can afford either, you are blessed either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love Arlington. Picked it over Chevy chase-bethesda bc i have a 15 min commute from Clarendon not a 45 min one from Bethesda. That's an hour every day i save. But whether i'd move for schools depends on which ones in each place.

Weird. Chevy Chase is 1000X nicer than Arlington. Clarendon is a cheesy faux city with nothing to redeem it other than a transit stop.

And friendship heights/Bethesda is a real city. Oy. Someone is delusional.

If you spent time in Bethesda, you'd know it's both more urban and more urbane than Clarendon. I would not move out of Bethesda or Chevy Chase for Arlington. It is a step down that OP would come to regret.

Urbane says it all. Chevy Chase is where people with wealth can show at Jimmy Choo and send their staff to whole foods; Arlington is where the middle class or upper middle class congregate for short commutes, good schools, and a few pockets of walk-able neighborhoods.

OP just needs to figure out where they fall on that divide. Both neighborhoods are very nice and have good schools, so if you can afford either, you are blessed either way.

*shop not *show Clearly I am *not* one of those folks with wealth nor spelling ability...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love Arlington. Picked it over Chevy chase-bethesda bc i have a 15 min commute from Clarendon not a 45 min one from Bethesda. That's an hour every day i save. But whether i'd move for schools depends on which ones in each place.

Weird. Chevy Chase is 1000X nicer than Arlington. Clarendon is a cheesy faux city with nothing to redeem it other than a transit stop.

While I agree that Chevy Chase is nicer than Clarendon, you can't beat the commute from Clarendon to downtown.

[Anonymous]

Maybe also check into class sizes? I know you did not mention FFX, but check out the threads where people are up in arms over the large class sizes. That is nother dats point you can use to make a determination over what is best for your family.

[Anonymous]

Also keep in mind Arlington schools are low performing for the area AND there will be massive redistricting. So the schools today won't necessarily be the schools in a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm thinking the B-C-C cluster of Montgomery County as a point of comparison. Our income can absorb the difference, but it's still a non-trivial hit on our finances.

Everybody raves? Not the rankings. BCC is superior, first time I've heard this. BUT you get VA universities which by and large are superior -- if your kid can get in. UMD CP better for STEM.