Reply to Moving from NYC Burbs to MD/DC/NOVA

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would consider Del Ray or Rosemont in the City of Alexandria.

Don't listen to those who would suggest Arlington.  North Arlington is the whitest part of NoVa and very segregated; [b]South Arlington is seriously unattractive[/b].  Coming from a cute town like Maplewood, you would wake up every morning and think you'd moved to a bad neighborhood in Union or Rahway. [/quote]

Parts of south Arlington are unattractive, as are parts of north Arlington. It helps to compare apples to apples. Arlington Ridge in south Arlington is just as nice as Country Club Hills in north Arlington. And closer to Metro, too. Aurora Highlands is very similar in housing stock to Ashton Heights/Lyon Park. Alcova Heights/Arlington Heights are equivalent to Madison Manor. And a large part of Barcroft is nicer than most of Arlington Forest (which spans both N and S). In general, Arlington's housing stock is seriously lackluster, especially compared to a place like Maplewood, NJ. But there are some neighborhoods that have lovely, older architecturally interesting homes alongside newer builds (which are nice, but maybe not what OP is looking for). It's not all ugly brick ranchers, though there are plenty of those.

OP, as others have noted, if you are looking for racial/ethnic diversity, you will be hard-pressed to find it in most north Arlington neighborhoods and schools. South Arlington is more racially/ethnically/economically diverse, as are the schools. If you want to be close to transit, you could do that in either part of Arlington. And there are neighborhoods that are walkable to shopping, libraries, community centers, etc. in many parts of Arlington. But nothing that looks like the downtown of Maplewood. And the urban parts of Arlington do not resemble Brooklyn at all. But we've been very pleased with the public schools here in south Arlington.

I think if you lived in DC, a commute to Arlington would be doable, but not from MD. That would be brutal. There are many neighborhoods in DC that better resemble both Brooklyn and Maplewood. And I think DCPS in most neighborhoods PP's have mentioned are fine, and the free Pre-K is a pretty big incentive. We chose Arlington for slightly lower taxes and a more favorable commute (at the time I was commuting within Arlington and my husband was splitting time between Fairfax and DC, near McPherson Sq). We started out renting and then bought once we'd settled on a neighborhood we loved (and still love). But I think we would have been happy in DC, too.

Good luck with your move!

Great post. What neighborhood are you in?
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