The top teams almost all have a spot open for a new arrival, but to get that spot, your kid has to basically be a starter-level player (i.e. the top 11). They won't put you in roster #18 when there are kids on the second team who probably deserve a shot.

I do agree with your strategy of making friends and finding a mutual club. I would add to that commuting time as teams can practice ALL OVER the area, even teams that are technically in a specific place ('Bethesda', Arlington, etc). Drive times can be horrible at rush hour so you'll need to factor that into you decision process.

Moving to the area for the second time. Coming from Europe, where my U11 plays in a club. Family won't arrive until mid-summer, so already missing tryouts. I'm thinking to wait until after he starts school so that he can meet some friends, find out where they play, and then go to that club/team.

Anyone else ever try doing this? If so, did you run into any particular issues?
We'll probably miss games for most of the autumn in any case--might take a while to get the player registration back to the US.