Would you move to Arlington or Mclean for SFH living?

[Anonymous]

North Arlington is known as THE “Upper Caucasia” of the DC region. Very little racial or economic diversity, especially north of Lee Highway. The Asian population increases substantially when you cross from North Arlington into McLean and Falls Church.

South Arlington is a different story, but the North/South divide is very real, as evidenced on any number of DCUM threads where South Arlington posters complain about the concentration of affordable housing south of Route 50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:North Arlington is known as THE “Upper Caucasia” of the DC region. Very little racial or economic diversity, especially north of Lee Highway. The Asian population increases substantially when you cross from North Arlington into McLean and Falls Church.

South Arlington is a different story, but the North/South divide is very real, as evidenced on any number of DCUM threads where South Arlington posters complain about the concentration of affordable housing south of Route 50.

+1

This is the truth. Absolutely nailed it. I’ve even seen some people in N Arlington call S Arlington “the ghetto” and “where the poors live”. Not good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The three neighborhood high schools that McLean students attend (Langley, McLean, and Marshall) are ranked ## 2, 3, and 6 in the state by US News. None of the Arlington high schools cracks the top 10. There are also far more students from the Langley, McLean, and Marshall areas at TJHSST - the state's top high school - than there are from Arlington.

Isn't APS ranked #1 school district in VA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is too far and too white, which is what some people want.

I’ve lived in both. Most recently in the Westover area of Arlington. It’s the best of the best.

What makes it so for you? Tell me more.

Better Italian Store

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The three neighborhood high schools that McLean students attend (Langley, McLean, and Marshall) are ranked ## 2, 3, and 6 in the state by US News. None of the Arlington high schools cracks the top 10. There are also far more students from the Langley, McLean, and Marshall areas at TJHSST - the state's top high school - than there are from Arlington.

Isn't APS ranked #1 school district in VA?

I think it’s either Fairfax or Loudoun but I could be wrong. It’s always those 3 interchangeably every year.

[Anonymous]

McLean if you can afford it. You can't beat the schools. And for what it's worth, my next door neighbor is black and the rest of our neighborhood is very diverse. Try renting in the area if uncertain. Also King's Manor might work.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone had the experience in McLean of one child in AAP and one not? Were you equally happy with the education? I hear plenty of people say it was great, and by the way all my kids were in AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone had the experience in McLean of one child in AAP and one not? Were you equally happy with the education? I hear plenty of people say it was great, and by the way all my kids were in AAP.

Aren’t all white (and Asian) UMC kids in AAP? Isn’t that the point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:North Arlington is known as THE “Upper Caucasia” of the DC region. Very little racial or economic diversity, especially north of Lee Highway. The Asian population increases substantially when you cross from North Arlington into McLean and Falls Church.

South Arlington is a different story, but the North/South divide is very real, as evidenced on any number of DCUM threads where South Arlington posters complain about the concentration of affordable housing south of Route 50.

+2. Completely agree.

I live in Mclean, in the area that borders North Arlington. My neighborhood is much more diverse than people realize. North Arlington, on the other hand, is a different story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McLean is too far and too white, which is what some people want.

I’ve lived in both. Most recently in the Westover area of Arlington. It’s the best of the best.

McLean is whiter than Arlington overall, but North Arlington is the Whitest of the White.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone had the experience in McLean of one child in AAP and one not? Were you equally happy with the education? I hear plenty of people say it was great, and by the way all my kids were in AAP.

Aren’t all white (and Asian) UMC kids in AAP? Isn’t that the point?

We are Hispanic, live in Mclean and have DC in AAP. No, not all white/Asian UMC kids are in AAP.

[Anonymous]

My family moved from living in the city of San Francisco to Mclean and then the Cherrydale neighborhood of Arlington and much prefer Arlington. Our neighborhood in Mclean had larger lots and to get anywhere you had to get in your car. We hardly ever saw our neighbors and there was absolutely no community feel or cohesiveness. It's not that people weren't nice or friendly and we lived in a neighborhood with plenty of families - we just hardly ever saw them and it just felt sterile and way too suburban. Cherrydale has a spaghetti dinner, neighborhood parade, 4th of July party, ice cream social, neighborhood yard sale every year, as well as other events, and we can walk to both the central and neighborhood libraries, some good restaurants, a fabulous hardware store, grocery stores, ice cream, etc. and it's a little less than a mile walk to the metro, an easy commute into DC or other parts of northern Virginia.

We have been very happy with the public schools and think W-L is a great high school despite what some people say on this board. One of the things we like about it is that it is so diverse in every way possible that everyone finds "their group" and no one type of clique dominates the culture of the school. A couple of my kids have been multiple sport varsity athletes and I have spent a lot of time around the other HSs mentioned on this thread; I'd pick W-L 10x over before any of the others. I think our SB is doing a good job keeping up with a daunting capacity crunch but i agree with the other posters that HS seats in the coming years are a real concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McLean if you can afford it. You can't beat the schools. And for what it's worth, my next door neighbor is black and the rest of our neighborhood is very diverse. Try renting in the area if uncertain. Also King's Manor might work.

Agree. My Mclean neighbors are from all over the world (lots of UMC immigrants). We have neighbors from different African countries (Ghana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, etc.), Latin America, Asia, etc. Those who say Mclean is “too white” have not hung out in my neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Mclean, no question. Also Mclean has a solid Democratic base now. They just voted out Republican Barbara Comstock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mclean, no question. Also Mclean has a solid Democratic base now. They just voted out Republican Barbara Comstock.

As if Arlington is Republican! The Democrats have been running the show in Arlington for decades.