Relocating from Brooklyn to DC area

[bainbridge1]

Hi, we are considering relocating to the DC area from Brooklyn and I am pretty overwhelmed that I have to figure out neighborhoods and schools in short order. We need to be in DC or just outside of DC and I thought Arlington may work. We are a biracial family (I am Black and my husband is White/Jewish). We currently live in Bed Stuy which is very diverse and I treasure that. Schools are very important as we have a 3 and 8 year olds. My oldest goes to private school now and their student/teacher ratio is 11:1. I am completely ignorant as to school sizes in Arlington, but at the very least I hope it is better than 30:1 found in many public schools in NYC. Private school is not an option for us. We would initially rent and would like to keep the monthly costs below $5k. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you would be happiest in South Arlington, which is quite diverse and (generally) more chill when it comes to schools than North Arlington, which also happens to be one of the least diverse parts of the DC region. The classroom sizes will be in the middle of the range you described.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how you define diverse. There are not a lot a black folks in NOVA in general. When folks say diverse, they mean POC, but South Arlington is mostly Latino, with some Asian. Few blacks.

[Anonymous]

bainbridge1 wrote:Hi, we are considering relocating to the DC area from Brooklyn and I am pretty overwhelmed that I have to figure out neighborhoods and schools in short order. We need to be in DC or just outside of DC and I thought Arlington may work. We are a biracial family (I am Black and my husband is White/Jewish). We currently live in Bed Stuy which is very diverse and I treasure that. Schools are very important as we have a 3 and 8 year olds. My oldest goes to private school now and their student/teacher ratio is 11:1. I am completely ignorant as to school sizes in Arlington, but at the very least I hope it is better than 30:1 found in many public schools in NYC. Private school is not an option for us. We would initially rent and would like to keep the monthly costs below $5k. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Yes, the ratio is better than 30:1. Probably 22-24:1, depending on the class. I've never heard an Arlington parent say they didn't like their children's schools; in fact there's lots of debate about which school is best. So you really can't go wrong there.
We live in the Tara-Leeway area, which is fantastic and relatively affordable/diverse compared to surrounding neighborhoods (though, honestly that's still not saying much I'd say it's still at least 80% white). But it's a very welcoming community and there are plenty of "mixed" families (mixed by race, religion). Check zip 22205.

[Anonymous]

Where in DC will your jobs be? Based on just what you said, I also agree with a South Arlington recommendation but commute is an important factor.

[bainbridge1]

Thanks so much for your responses so far. I would likely be working in Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on how you define diverse. There are not a lot a black folks in NOVA in general. When folks say diverse, they mean POC, but South Arlington is mostly Latino, with some Asian. Few blacks.

There are 10 elementary schools in Arlington (out of 23) that are at least 10% black/AA. Most are in South Arlington. More blacks live in Maryland than Virginia; more Asians live in Virginia than Maryland; and both states have sizable Hispanic populations.

[Anonymous]

I would look into the following elementary schools - Glebe, Ashlawn, and ASFS. My own kids went to Glebe and it was a wonderful school and fairly diverse (at least for N. Arlington). I would agree with class sizes being 22-24 in each grade.

It also depends what type of area you want. ASFS pulls from Clarendon/Lyon Village which is more congested and has a more urban feel with bars, restaurants, and stores (although probably pretty different from Brooklyn!). It also attracts a lot of young people going out which you may or may not like. Glebe and Ashlawn are more suburban, although not far from Clarendon at all. And DC is just a short drive over the bridges. Lyon Park (Long Branch ES) is also another option.

Here are the diversity statistics for this year by school:

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Civil-Rights-Table-1-2019-3-14-web.pdf

[Anonymous]

Check out the area of Arlington zoned for Oakridge Elementary. Good commute to Alexandria from there. You're going to compete with all the HQ2 speculators, though.

[Anonymous]

We live in 22205 and moved from Brooklyn.

I like our kids' school; the class sizes have all been well below 30:1. For the younger grades our experience has been between 19-23 kids. I think it will go up a bit for each grade. You actually can look on the Arlington Public Schools website, though, and see the average class size for each grade at each school in the county. It's here- https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Class-Size-Report-2018-19-1.pdf

As for diversity- I love our neighborhood and agree that it would be welcoming, but I wouldn't say it is in any way reminiscent of Bed Stuy (we didn't live exactly there, but our friends do/did). The proportion of Jewish people is nowhere near what it is in NY, but there are some. But there also are statistics on demographics within all of the schools here. https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Civil-Rights-Table-1-2019-3-14-web.pdf

South Arlington would be an easy commute to Alexandria (one of us works there as well).

[Anonymous]

bainbridge1 wrote:Hi, we are considering relocating to the DC area from Brooklyn and I am pretty overwhelmed that I have to figure out neighborhoods and schools in short order. We need to be in DC or just outside of DC and I thought Arlington may work. We are a biracial family (I am Black and my husband is White/Jewish). We currently live in Bed Stuy which is very diverse and I treasure that. Schools are very important as we have a 3 and 8 year olds. My oldest goes to private school now and their student/teacher ratio is 11:1. I am completely ignorant as to school sizes in Arlington, but at the very least I hope it is better than 30:1 found in many public schools in NYC. Private school is not an option for us. We would initially rent and would like to keep the monthly costs below $5k. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If you'd consider living in DC, a neighborhood like Shepherd Park might be a good option. There are lots of black and Jewish families here, including many interracial families.

Not many rentals, and the commute to Alexandria could be challenging unless you leave early--but it's a very friendly and welcoming neighborhood, and zoned for good schools.*

*The test scores and reputation of DC schools tend to be less impressive than in many suburban districts--however, this is due to a higher proportion of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds in DC relative to MD and VA. The kids of educated families tend to do well. We are an AA multiracial family with a young elementary kid, and love that there are plenty of high-achieving kids of color in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the update OP. Arlington is probably a good fit then. DC is going to be more diverse, but if your commute is to alexandria, Arlington is a good fit for your needs (you would probably commute by car, just a heads up).

22205 that the other pp mentioned is a great neighborhood, definitely worth considering but I live there so am bias and I think you should also consider south arlington neighborhoods like: Arlington heights, Penrose, Fairlington, Alcova heights, nauck. You'll find better diversity here and a tad closer to Alexandria. Alcova heights and nauck are two neighborhoods that have a higher density of minority families and therefore you will see some discrepancy in test scores and a lot of debate on these boards (arlington is in the middle of some boundary changes that brings a lot of debate on these boards. What you will see on this board is much different than the feeling/vibe you will experience actually living here in my opinion. Which is to say, a much kinder more inclusive place). Generally, my opinion is that despite these debates on here most Arlington schools are good like the pp said. I commute to alexandria from 22205 and it's easy.

Alexandria also has some great areas. The schools get a bad rap because of the higher minority density and I can't speak from personal experience but I think there are actually a lot of happy family's there so I wouldn't completely count it out as it's a bit more diverse than Arlington. South Arlington may be a good happy medium though. Since you will be working there, if I were you I would look, Del Ray is a great community from everything I've heard and a really nice place to raise kids. The school issue is a debate that you won't find agreement on unfortunately. So it's tough to parse out.

[Anonymous]

Why would you choose to live in Arlington if you were working in Alexandria? Why not just live in Alexandria?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you choose to live in Arlington if you were working in Alexandria? Why not just live in Alexandria?

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you would be happiest in South Arlington, which is quite diverse and (generally) more chill when it comes to schools than North Arlington, which also happens to be one of the least diverse parts of the DC region. The classroom sizes will be in the middle of the range you described.

I would guess that coming from NY, OP wouldn't want to spend all her time in the car, which is the kind of life you'd lead in south arlington.