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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We moved to north Arlington about 2 years ago and we love it. Super neighborhood's with friendly people, block parties, and an active community. People are always outside and wave hello, etc. neighborhood's have sidewalks which is important to me. Our walkscore is 80 and we can walk to grocery, a variety of food options, schools, and are a short drive from D.C., airport, and Tysons. We seriously considered McLean also, but in our price range (800-950) the houses were not as nice, no sidewalks or neighborhood feel, and from what we saw less pride in ownership in terms of keeping up landscaping and exteriors.  The main draw for us for McLean was that FCPS has 6th in elementary and we moved here with a rising 5th grader which we felt would make a better transition at the time. I still think that would have been better but we found a house we loved in Arlington and the school's have been good and my children's adjustment has gone well. Arlington also has great county parks, rec center class offerings, libraries, summer camp offerings are good, etc. 
I feel like there is a really negative attitude towards north Arlington on this forum and it is a total stereotype that people are snobby, rich, etc. in my experience the people here are very friendly, down to earth, and I haven't encountered any snobbiness or "keeping up with the joneses" attitude that seems to be perpetuated on DCUM. On the contrary, most families have dual working parents and it's because of a high cost of living, not because they love their jobs or are both CEOs. I moved here as a SAHM and there were really not many with elementary aged kids who still stay home. I've since returned to work part-time. Everyone makes compromises when buyin a house and for people near me, the compromise is close-in with good schools but a smaller lot/house. You might make a different choice and that's okay. 
Regarding the school overcrowding, I and the majority of parents I've met[b] feel confident a 4th high school will be built.[/b] I've been super happy with the small class sizes in elementary and middle so far. I'm also a teacher and I am not afraid of the high school situation. I grew up with portable classrooms and it didn't affect the quality of my education- good teachers are what makes the difference there, and APS attracts the best because they pay more than FCPS. I see many teachers come over to APS because of the pay issue and preference for a smaller system.[/quote]

I don't dispute anything in your statement, but you have no basis for this belief. If you want it, you'd better look to recruit new people to run for school board who are going to find a way to make this happen. Because the current board is moving ahead in another direction. [/quote]

This is exactly right.  Because of the shortage of good sites, building another high school in Arlington requires a great deal of careful planning and sustained advocacy regarding land use, and there is no one in APS or on the School Board right now who cares enough to make it happen.  The wishful thinking of parents doesn't count for much when you have School Board members saying 1000 kids will want to go to Arlington Tech, schools can always have two shifts, and kids can take more classes online.[/quote]

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