Anonymous
02/16/2024 11:53
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:A better alternative to MM would be for the county to offer downpayment assistance or low interest loans to county employees making under a certain HHI. This would enable schoolteachers, law enforcement officers, etc. to actually live in Arlington. MM seems more like a boon to developers rather than a targeted path to homeownership for truly middle class folks.
A low interest loan still isn't going to allow a schoolteacher to afford a 1.5 million house. Get some perspective.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 11:52
Subject: Arlington losing families
A better alternative to MM would be for the county to offer downpayment assistance or low interest loans to county employees making under a certain HHI. This would enable schoolteachers, law enforcement officers, etc. to actually live in Arlington. MM seems more like a boon to developers rather than a targeted path to homeownership for truly middle class folks.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 10:58
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:LOL you think people move because they're concerned about rigor in schools?
What a clown you are.
This is NOT a way normal people think.
Agree. What a stupid, stupid, STUPID post.
It’s very obvious to anyone but this idiot why young families are moving out of Arlington. It’s the housing no prices.
Sorry, people don’t move for better schools? I have a $60k private school bill per year per child calling your bluff
Arlington public schools are fantastic. If you live in-boundary and spend $60K on private schools all I can say is I hope your investment creates smarter kids than their parents...
When people say the schools are "fantastic," they're usually referring to about 20% of the Arlington schools, pretty much all of which serve 22207. (For example, they're certainly not referring to anything within the Wakefield pyramid, nor most of what's in the Liberty pyramid.) And even for those 20%, the idea that they're "fantastic" is debatable.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 10:10
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:LOL you think people move because they're concerned about rigor in schools?
What a clown you are.
This is NOT a way normal people think.
Agree. What a stupid, stupid, STUPID post.
It’s very obvious to anyone but this idiot why young families are moving out of Arlington. It’s the housing no prices.
Sorry, people don’t move for better schools? I have a $60k private school bill per year per child calling your bluff
Arlington public schools are fantastic. If you live in-boundary and spend $60K on private schools all I can say is I hope your investment creates smarter kids than their parents...
Needed a good laugh this morning.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 10:03
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:LOL you think people move because they're concerned about rigor in schools?
What a clown you are.
This is NOT a way normal people think.
Agree. What a stupid, stupid, STUPID post.
It’s very obvious to anyone but this idiot why young families are moving out of Arlington. It’s the housing no prices.
Sorry, people don’t move for better schools? I have a $60k private school bill per year per child calling your bluff
Arlington public schools are fantastic. If you live in-boundary and spend $60K on private schools all I can say is I hope your investment creates smarter kids than their parents...
You clearly don’t have older kids. Good luck with college admissions
Anonymous
02/16/2024 09:58
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:LOL you think people move because they're concerned about rigor in schools?
What a clown you are.
This is NOT a way normal people think.
Agree. What a stupid, stupid, STUPID post.
It’s very obvious to anyone but this idiot why young families are moving out of Arlington. It’s the housing no prices.
Sorry, people don’t move for better schools? I have a $60k private school bill per year per child calling your bluff
Arlington public schools are fantastic. If you live in-boundary and spend $60K on private schools all I can say is I hope your investment creates smarter kids than their parents...
Anonymous
02/16/2024 09:22
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And availability of telework.Anonymous wrote:We live in what's lovingly referred to by others as an Arlington sh*tshack. That was 6 years ago. Now we'd be priced out of the Arlington sfh market. It's about housing prices.
DP. DH and I both telework nearly full time (like twice a year I go into an office in DC and he sporadically goes out to Reston). We chose a SFH in Arlington because we wanted to be walkable to metro, parks, restaurants, etc. and have good neighborhood public schools so our kids would have friends nearby (I don’t like the idea of schlepping to play dates and sports all over town b/c their private school friends live 30 min away or they’re all divided up into the AP centers). It’s a very idyllic childhood with kids biking around, walking to school, etc.
But we bought in 2018 and would be totally unable to afford our neighborhood now. We plan to hang onto this property for a long time so we can hand it down to our kids and they can hopefully rent it out or use it for down payment money if they want to stay in Arlington.
Bottom line is that even many people teleworking want to live near amenities. I like popping out for coffee or to the gym on foot during lunch.
Same for us - I rarely move my car, and when I do it is to take kids to an activity outside of the neighborhood. My rarely visited office is walking distance, as is a mall, groceries, 2 metro stations, library, gyms, just about every service you need. My middle/HS kids have friends in the neighborhood that they've known since pre-school. The kids have had a good bit of freedom from an early age - to go to the park, library, get a candy bar or slurpee - because the neighborhood is fairly safe and kids travel in packs. Our neighborhood still has a good number of young families, although fewer are moving in due to both low inventory and increased prices of the teardowns/new builds. That being said, the people buying the $2M+ new builds have tended to be families with elementary-aged kids.
Same. We love being close to everything, especially now that our kids are older. I think it’s great if more people can enjoy this lifestyle via MM. My bigger concern with new construction applies to SFHs too - lot coverage & tree canopy.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 08:57
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And availability of telework.Anonymous wrote:We live in what's lovingly referred to by others as an Arlington sh*tshack. That was 6 years ago. Now we'd be priced out of the Arlington sfh market. It's about housing prices.
DP. DH and I both telework nearly full time (like twice a year I go into an office in DC and he sporadically goes out to Reston). We chose a SFH in Arlington because we wanted to be walkable to metro, parks, restaurants, etc. and have good neighborhood public schools so our kids would have friends nearby (I don’t like the idea of schlepping to play dates and sports all over town b/c their private school friends live 30 min away or they’re all divided up into the AP centers). It’s a very idyllic childhood with kids biking around, walking to school, etc.
But we bought in 2018 and would be totally unable to afford our neighborhood now. We plan to hang onto this property for a long time so we can hand it down to our kids and they can hopefully rent it out or use it for down payment money if they want to stay in Arlington.
Bottom line is that even many people teleworking want to live near amenities. I like popping out for coffee or to the gym on foot during lunch.
Same for us - I rarely move my car, and when I do it is to take kids to an activity outside of the neighborhood. My rarely visited office is walking distance, as is a mall, groceries, 2 metro stations, library, gyms, just about every service you need. My middle/HS kids have friends in the neighborhood that they've known since pre-school. The kids have had a good bit of freedom from an early age - to go to the park, library, get a candy bar or slurpee - because the neighborhood is fairly safe and kids travel in packs. Our neighborhood still has a good number of young families, although fewer are moving in due to both low inventory and increased prices of the teardowns/new builds. That being said, the people buying the $2M+ new builds have tended to be families with elementary-aged kids.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 08:34
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Arlington has become more expensive, but it’s still a desirable place to buy a home. I get that it’s increasingly hard to break in to the real estate market, but the schools remain crowded and competitive, and most neighborhoods that have traditionally been full of kids are still full of kids. FWIW, we bought a decade ago and it felt prohibitively expensive then. It’s not a new problem in Arlington.
That's how North Arlington has always been. It's full of families, but the young couples who live in apartments and condos are priced out when it is time to buy. There are more than enough young families with money, that those being priced out doesn't affect the neighborhood feel. I think every desirable inner suburb it this way
Absolutely! We had to make the same choice.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 08:14
Subject: Re:Arlington losing families
If families move, that reduces the strain on the public schools and there are more dinks.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 07:48
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Arlington has become more expensive, but it’s still a desirable place to buy a home. I get that it’s increasingly hard to break in to the real estate market, but the schools remain crowded and competitive, and most neighborhoods that have traditionally been full of kids are still full of kids. FWIW, we bought a decade ago and it felt prohibitively expensive then. It’s not a new problem in Arlington.
That's how North Arlington has always been. It's full of families, but the young couples who live in apartments and condos are priced out when it is time to buy. There are more than enough young families with money, that those being priced out doesn't affect the neighborhood feel. I think every desirable inner suburb it this way
Anonymous
02/16/2024 07:47
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:LOL you think people move because they're concerned about rigor in schools?
What a clown you are.
This is NOT a way normal people think.
Agree. What a stupid, stupid, STUPID post.
It’s very obvious to anyone but this idiot why young families are moving out of Arlington. It’s the housing no prices.
Sorry, people don’t move for better schools? I have a $60k private school bill per year per child calling your bluff
Yet, you haven’t moved. So you’re contradicting yourself.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 07:42
Subject: Arlington losing families
MM could have been different. It didn't have to allow for 4-6 plexes on relatively small lots. It could have encouraged 3-4 bedroom townhouses and required parking and small yards, the sort of thing young families would choose, but instead we're getting small apartment buildings with insufficient parking. Or focus on houses to have rentable accessory dwellings or basements to allow young families to offset their mortgage, as is often done in Capitol Hill.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The whole article is about young families leaving Arlington, likely when they want a SFH with a yard and more space. MM doesn't fill that gap. If anything those less expensive homes are being purchased by developers to be turned into 4 and 6 plexes.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You're lumping together 3-plexes with duplexes. I have serious doubts that young families are going to want to live in what MM is calling a 3 unit townhouse. The lots for these are tiny with no yards and aren't what people think of as a typical townhouse in Arlington. Families will choose Fairfax over these.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The largest category of housing being built under MM is a 6 unit multi family building. That's the single most popular option.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If we limit housing options that aren’t $2M+ new builds, people cry that the county is losing families with young kids. But if we support new housing, including multi-family dwellings, people cry that the schools will be overcrowded. Which is it? There are ways to make it easier for families with young kids to live in Arlington county, but residents fight it any chance they get.
Let’s say the quiet part out loud. What many residents want are families that can afford $2M+ houses and young adults living in condos or apartments who pay taxes but don’t have kids. I suppose families with young kids crowded into apartments in South Arlington are ok as long as people north of Langston Blvd. don’t have to think about them.
The young families are leaving for single family homes with yards. Neither the $2M new builds or the missing middle six family units will change that
Totally agree. Missing middle isn't going to help keep young families in Arlington. They don't want to live in a 6-plex 2 bedroom condo with no yard and not enough parking for $1.5m. They'll go to Fairfax for a SFH.
Most MM won’t be 6-plex. MANY families live in THs/duplexes.
Move this thread to political. Or delete it. Too much misinformation.
Only 15% of approved MM permits are for duplexes, while about 50% of permits are for 4-6 unit buildings with the most of those being 6 units.
Overall, the greatest number of MM permits are for 6 unit buildings (about 37%).
Most of the approved (and pending) projects are duplex/THs/semi-detached.
https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Programs/Building/Permits/EHO/Tracker
There are a limited number of large lots so as time goes on the average # units/building will go down.
WRONG. The percentages I posted are taken from the approved permits on the county site that you linked. Only 15% of approved permits are for duplexes. About 50% of permits are for 4-6 plexes.
I'm right. Look at the link.
There are 14 duplex/TH/semi-detached approved projects. And 13 MF (10 6-plex). 14 > 13
10 D/T/S are proposed and 8 MF. 10 > 8
I'll be waiting patiently for your apology.
I'm not wrong. Five out of 27 approved permits are for duplexes. Thirteen out of 27 approved projects are for 4-6 plexes.
OK. And there are also townhouses and semi-detached homes...
First, I said "Most MM won’t be 6-plex. MANY families live in THs/duplexes."
Then, I said: "Most of the approved (and pending) projects are duplex/THs/semi-detached."
Both are 100% accurate according to the tracker.
14 > 13 approved
10 > 8 under review
Patiently waiting here...
A plurality isn’t a majority.
Again:
>Many families live in THs/duplexes.
>Most MM won’t be 6-plex.
>Most of the approved (and pending) projects are duplex/THs/semi-detached.
Be as pedantic as you want, but the vast majority of MM housing isnt anything a family would choose.
You’re mad because you misread what I wrote. I very clearly said THs/duplexes from the start.
Families all over the world, and even right here in Arlington, live in smaller THs/duplexes.
Families live in townhouses with an infant and then move. We lived in a townhouse complex with kids — they ALL left us behind.
All over the world doesn’t matter, and in Arlington being the “townhouse” family is nightmare for playdates — no one wants to deal with the parking and kids are bored with zero yard space. Now a townhouse community with nice playground and pool, maybe nice but none of those here with MM.
Sounds like THs can be great first homes for young families. Great way to start building equity for a future home purchase. Just like you and your neighbors all did.
And if it wasn’t that then it would be a giant $2m home. Arlington is going to have fewer and fewer of these less expensive older homes as time goes on no matter what.
I'm sure that one poster is going to jump in and say that MM is mostly TH and duplexes, but those are all going to be super small with insufficient parking and no yards. They aren't for families and, as usual, builders always build the absolute biggest thing they are allowed to built to eek out every dollar.
Anonymous
02/16/2024 00:54
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:LOL you think people move because they're concerned about rigor in schools?
What a clown you are.
This is NOT a way normal people think.
Agree. What a stupid, stupid, STUPID post.
It’s very obvious to anyone but this idiot why young families are moving out of Arlington. It’s the housing no prices.
Sorry, people don’t move for better schools? I have a $60k private school bill per year per child calling your bluff
Anonymous
02/16/2024 00:52
Subject: Arlington losing families
Anonymous wrote:They can't afford a house here. At least 10 of my friends with early elementary students have left. All would have preferred to stay in Arlington, but couldn't afford a single family house on their salaries. They moved to Fairfax because they could get a house. Schools weren't a factor, at least in my experience
But they would have stayed if they could have bought or rented in a 2, 3, 4, 6 plex in an urban infill?