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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There's plenty of section 8 housing in Arlington - and food stamps, pedophiles, drugs, low lifes etc. etc.  Even so, it is a nice place to live in pockets - as is Alexandria.  You can get away from the section 8 and still live in Alexandria......problem is, you may not be able to afford it - which may be the reason to move, and in that case, I do not blame you.  There is not one school in Arlington that doesn't have some of the elements you are trying to get away from.  And, when it comes down to it - there are probably more single parent, less educated middle and lower middle class kids for your kids to pal around with.    Just sayin.....be careful what you wish for.[/quote]

Actually there is no public housing in Arlington.  There is a rent assistance program with units all over from Rosslyn along the whole metro line, and along Columbia Pike BUT the wait list for this was 5 years long!  And it's now closed.

Alexandria  I believe does have public housing in addition to rent assistance.

As far as the schools, there are actually schools in Arlington with less than a dozen 'economically disadvantaged' kids.   I don't know what you mean by 'be careful what you wish for' in that regard, I think the PPs are complaining that even the most expensive neighborhoods' schools in Alexandria are not great- and that is frustrating.[/quote]

Fact check.  Arlington County does not have a housing authority that owns public housing (the typical model in urban areas).  Alexandria does.  Arlington works with nonprofit partners to provide affordable housing.  Essentially, the County gives these nonprofit partners money and they buy buildings and rehab them under the requirement that rents need to be low, etc.  Arlington does have a very healthy Section 8 program ($15 million annually) and the County further funds rental assistance for low-income residents with County funds to the tune of $7 million annually.  Alexandria's model of public housing is also just really out of date.  It's no longer considered good policy to dump a whole bunch of poor people in one area and hope for the best (Cabrini Green anyone?).  Alexandria is actually in the process of tearing down much of the public housing in the Braddock Road Metro area and turning it into mixed-income housing.  But the process takes a long time.

I think Alexandria and Arlington face a lot of the same challenges (ESL, low-income students).  But Arlington's government has historically done a much better job of planning and structuring their community...way back to the 1970s when they decided to put the metro underground, the decision NOT to have a housing authority and to work with non-profit partners instead to meet affordable housing needs, etc.

It's too bad because I think Alexandria neighborhoods have a lot more charm than anything in Arlington.  But Arlington is just a better run government that's made better decisions over many decades.  And the schools are a reflection of that.

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