Is Arlington the Best Place to Live in the DC Area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here it comes, OP. 14 pages of people telling you that Arlington SUCKS and place XYZ is far superior.

FWIW, I live in the Westover part of Arlington and I really like it. I've also lived in Shirlington and Ballston. I liked those spots too. It's expensive because it's the closest place to DC. Some of the neighborhoods are ugly and people say that the schools are going downhill, but I think people just like to complain or rationalize expensive decisions they've already made.

Best of luck!

The schools have never been great and yes it's ugly and full of strip malls.

Quelle Horreur! A strip mall!

That strip mall has my District Taco in it. Watch yourself.

Fish Taco >>>> District Taco, and Bethesda has two of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda near Bethesda Row >>>> Arlington on almost every metric (other than affordability and some DC commutes).

I disagree. I live in Arlington and I love that it feels small and cozy even though we are 10 minutes from DC. Downtown Bethesda is all chain stores and restaurants whereas Arlington has plenty of spots where it still feels very mom and pop. I love that. It really is a bubble in Arlington.

I agree. Bethesda has that planned town center feel to me. Whereas Arlington is made up of more distinct neighborhoods. It’s not all shiny and new in Arlington, but we do have some great local businesses and different areas have a different feel to them.

Bethesda Row does, and it’s a much nicer planned town center than Clarendon. North of Bethesda Row and north of the Metro is a section of old Downtown Bethesda with plenty of non chain stores and restaurants. The area around Tastee Diner specifically.

[Anonymous]

Where did this meme about Md suburbs being far out from DC come from? You can get to Union Station in 20 minutes from walkable neighborhoods like Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Kensington, and Garrett Park via Metro or MARC. From Bethesda to Metro Center it is no more than 20 minutes on the Red Line either.

[Anonymous]

No. It's ugly as sin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where did this meme about Md suburbs being far out from DC come from? You can get to Union Station in 20 minutes from walkable neighborhoods like Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Kensington, and Garrett Park via Metro or MARC. From Bethesda to Metro Center it is no more than 20 minutes on the Red Line either.

Once you get on a train. And that train then experiences perfect conditions to downtown.

[Anonymous]

I'll sum this up. No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here it comes, OP. 14 pages of people telling you that Arlington SUCKS and place XYZ is far superior.

FWIW, I live in the Westover part of Arlington and I really like it. I've also lived in Shirlington and Ballston. I liked those spots too. It's expensive because it's the closest place to DC. Some of the neighborhoods are ugly and people say that the schools are going downhill, but I think people just like to complain or rationalize expensive decisions they've already made.

Best of luck!

The schools have never been great and yes it's ugly and full of strip malls.

Quelle Horreur! A strip mall!

That strip mall has my District Taco in it. Watch yourself.

I lived in that neighborhood (Tara-Leeway) for several years and I think Westover is super cute and charming (we spent a lot of time at the beer garden and Lost Dog) but the Lee-Harrison area is kind of depressing (although I did love District Taco and Taqueria Pablano, LOL). That said, we are an inter-racial couple and I couldn't help but notice I was frequently one of the, if not THE, only minorities pretty much everywhere we went (except for people working in restaurants). I grew up being one of two minority children in my grade K-12 and I didn't want my children to be subjected to that life, so we moved a little further out to Fairfax County and the difference in amount of diversity is unreal! My kids go to a highly rated ES that is minority white and it makes me really happy!! I understand that this may not be your concern if you are not a minority or married to a minority, but it was really important for us for our child to not be surrounded by one homogenous group of people, so we moved out of north arlington when we had kids. Arlington is really nice, and very convenient if you work in DC, but definitely not diverse.*

*Note that south arlington is far more diverse than the northern half of the county but it's mostly hispanic, whereas fairfax county ALSO has really large asian, south asian, african, and middle eastern communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're moving long-distance and don't know the DC area well, but have done a lot of online research.

For someone who wants the traditional 4-bedroom house, walk to school and playgrounds, but also an urban feel, not all strip malls and developments, and close enough to DC to go in and enjoy the city most weekends, Arlington seems by far the best place to live...maybe even the only place.

Bethesda is the only other one that seems to be in that range, but feels more suburban and more snobby. In Silver Spring, the nice single-family homes seem to be further out from downtown and the big downtown complex feels kind of manufactured/too commercial (Dave & Busters, burgers, pizza). I've always lived in big cities and really love the full experience of world-class museums, historical sites, parks, restaurants, at my doorstep. Arlington seems to offer easy access to that.

Am I missing something or is Arlington really the best? And is that why all the homes are like $1.3-$1.8 million dollars, because it's so wonderful and everyone wants to live there?

Are there any other suburbs I should be looking at? We looked at DC too, but prices don't seem much better there.

It's interesting, but I would have the opposite assessment - Arlington seems very suburban to me while Bethesda is urban.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, (north) Arlington is the best area in the dmv to live.
Car use is non existent if you live near the metro (where it is the most urban).
Tons of parks and things to do. I mean even people drive from around the dmv to use their skate park. It is a small area, super expensive but seems to something for everyone.

Also tons of jobs in Arlington and out to tysons.
Be forewarned- getting into Arlington can be hell at any given time, so just do not leave the Arlington bubble too often and you will be fine.

Hilarious. If you want urban, DC is better. If you want suburban, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Great Falls, McLean, and Potomac are better.

Arlington is neither fish nor fowl. You get all the concrete of the city without the culture or history and all the insularity of the suburbs without the space or privacy. And the schools aren't great, either - there isn't a single high school in Arlington in the top 10 in Virginia.

If you have to commute into dc from any of the places you list as suburbs there’s a substantial difference. Also if you have a kid with an iep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where did this meme about Md suburbs being far out from DC come from? You can get to Union Station in 20 minutes from walkable neighborhoods like Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Kensington, and Garrett Park via Metro or MARC. From Bethesda to Metro Center it is no more than 20 minutes on the Red Line either.

Once you get on a train. And that train then experiences perfect conditions to downtown.

+100


The red line is the worst and least reliable line of the whole bunch.

[Anonymous]

Falls Church City

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I lived in that neighborhood (Tara-Leeway) for several years and I think Westover is super cute and charming (we spent a lot of time at the beer garden and Lost Dog) but the Lee-Harrison area is kind of depressing (although I did love District Taco and Taqueria Pablano, LOL). That said, we are an inter-racial couple and I couldn't help but notice I was frequently one of the, if not THE, only minorities pretty much everywhere we went (except for people working in restaurants). I grew up being one of two minority children in my grade K-12 and I didn't want my children to be subjected to that life, so we moved a little further out to Fairfax County and the difference in amount of diversity is unreal! My kids go to a highly rated ES that is minority white and it makes me really happy!! I understand that this may not be your concern if you are not a minority or married to a minority, but it was really important for us for our child to not be surrounded by one homogenous group of people, so we moved out of north arlington when we had kids. Arlington is really nice, and very convenient if you work in DC, but definitely not diverse.*

*Note that south arlington is far more diverse than the northern half of the county but it's mostly hispanic, whereas fairfax county ALSO has really large asian, south asian, african, and middle eastern communities.

Fairfax is also a much larger county.

Arlington North of 66 is definitely not diverse but the middle of the county provides a good balance of diversity+good performing schools. There's a reason parents fight to not be zoned away from W-L. My kids have attended Long Branch, TJ, W-L , all schools where White students are <50%. DD is now looking at colleges and prefers a LAC but is finding it really bizarre how White they all are. When DS was younger we were watching some HS-based movie and he asked why they made all the kids white? Diversity is their normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Falls Church City

Not if OP wants to avoid snobs. It's also not that close to DC.

OP, if you want to drive into the city (rather than relying on trains) then, yes, Arlington is closer than the Maryland suburbs. That said, I grew up in Bethesda and we drove down to the museums nearly every weekend. It's not that bad a drive then, and Canal Road is really pretty.

Generally, Bethesda is going to be snobbier than places like close-in Silver Spring and Takoma Park. You could get a great home for $1.5 in either TP or places like Woodside/Woodside Park, and with much more character than most of Bethesda (again, I grew up there, I know it well).

[Anonymous]

We live in Arlington and honestly it's a crapshoot on what neighborhood you fall into. Some neighborhoods in 22205 are better than 2207 and vice versa. Same with different parts of south arlington. Some days I love our neighborhood, other days I dislike and feel like it's a rat race. The benefits: kids walk to school, can walk to pre-teen/teen hang out places, once my kids get their license, we won't have to worry AS MUCH about them driving on major high ways, back roads, etc. I DO NOT love our schools especially after what Arlington County pulled during the pandemic. My son has ADHD and my other son has dyslexia and I am ALWAYS fighting and advocating for them. We are seriously considering private school next year for them because they have lost a year and the county seems to be doing nothing to meet them where they're at. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably choose Vienna or certain pockets of Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Arlington and honestly it's a crapshoot on what neighborhood you fall into. Some neighborhoods in 22205 are better than 2207 and vice versa. Same with different parts of south arlington. Some days I love our neighborhood, other days I dislike and feel like it's a rat race. The benefits: kids walk to school, can walk to pre-teen/teen hang out places, once my kids get their license, we won't have to worry AS MUCH about them driving on major high ways, back roads, etc. I DO NOT love our schools especially after what Arlington County pulled during the pandemic. My son has ADHD and my other son has dyslexia and I am ALWAYS fighting and advocating for them. We are seriously considering private school next year for them because they have lost a year and the county seems to be doing nothing to meet them where they're at. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably choose Vienna or certain pockets of Falls Church.

OP here. We are hoping to live in a diverse neighborhood (both socioeconomically and racially mixed). I don't want it to be like a rat race. We don't want the top-rated schools, because those are too white and wealthy (and I get that your calculus is different because you have to think about accommodations for learning differences - our kids are neurotypical so it's less of a concern for us). What neighborhoods would you recommend?