Anonymous wrote:Lots of petty crime.

Statistics to back this up?

Lots of petty crime.

This is the PP that rented in Pimmit for a year about 6 years ago. OP, would you be willing/able to rent there for a year? I think that would be your best bet to get a good feel for the area. I mean, it's not a BAD neighborhood, but it's just not that great. Pros and cons depending on what is important to you... And incidentally, let me just say, as a prior owner in the Cleveland area and a now-renter, there is a huge up-side to just renting for a while (if not forever!) Just another perspective.

We were searching in a similar price range when we bought two years and ended up finding a foreclosure in a neighborhood we love for the high $300's. The house needed lots of updating but in the long run, I think it was a good decision for us. We're in the Falls Church part of Fairfax County, just south of Lee Highway. Because the area feeds into Falls Church HS, the housing prices are lower but the elementary school here gets great ratings and DD is still an infant, so we aren't too concerned about HS anyway. Our neighborhood is mostly middle-class professionals with young children.

For what it's worth, we looked pretty closely at Pimmit Hills as well, but in the end we just didn't care for the overall feel and we really didn't want a tiny rambler with no basement. I personally prefer the Falls Church area to Annandale because the Metro is so much closer and we're much more convenient to Tysons.

Good luck!

I mean this kindly: if you and DH work in DC and Rockville, how did you come up with the idea of ... Tysons?

In that price range, and equidistant to DC, there is Kensington, Silver Spring, Wheaton.

You can get into the BCC cluster in the low 400s (Rosemary Hills). This may get you the same kind of "bikes on the lawn" setting as Pimmit Hills (I don't know bc I don't spend time in Pimmitt Hills), but I am sure your two commutes would be more fair for you AND your DH. Plus it would not be a longer commute for DH than Pimmitt Hills.

I live near Pimmit Hills (but not there). I have heard it's a solid neighborhood. The stuff PP refers to (rough neighborhood, bas school, etc.) is all way in the past. It is becoming a tear down neighborhood, so I guess at some point it could be a wealthy area. It's a great location. I would seriously consider it for a starter home. It's walking distance to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and close to metro. What more can you ask?

I was wondering about Pimmit Hills. I grew up in the DC area, and I always heard Pimmit Hills was a bad area, with bad schools. I knew a teacher who taught at one of the schools there for a short time, but left since it was so bad. This was a REALLY long time ago, however.

Now- with all the increases in home prices, we've done the same compromising you are doing, and made the tradeoffs. You can either be (a) truly rich; (b) up to your eyeballs in mortgage debt and possibly compromising on careers/kids in return for keeping up with Joneses; or (c) make tradeoffs/compromises with housing. We did (c).

I don't think Pimmit Hills sounds all that bad, frankly- it is a good general location, good schools, and Metro coming in.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. LOVE the SS idea. PH has not improved so much in the last 15 years, it is considered FC, probably not the best side of FC. To say that NA is better is questionable, as NA has gone downhill pretty quick. OP, would you consider SS? It seems to be on the upramp, from what little I know!

Pimmit Hills has improved in the last 15 years, if that means attracting more professionals. If "NA" is North Arlington, it surely hasn't gone downhill, either.

SS may be better for the OP, but probably not for the reasons you mention.

NP here. LOVE the SS idea. PH has not improved so much in the last 15 years, it is considered FC, probably not the best side of FC. To say that NA is better is questionable, as NA has gone downhill pretty quick. OP, would you consider SS? It seems to be on the upramp, from what little I know!

21:36 PP - just saw your last note, OP. Definitely look in Silver Spring. Schools aren't as highly-ranked as Bethesda, etc. but they're still MoCo and you could find something decent that isn't a bad commute for you or your husband.

I'd definitely look at townhouses around the Vienna metro. I just sold one for $325K; it unfortunately fed into Falls Church HS (which is lower-ranked for Fairfax) but there were a few comparably-priced townhouses that fed into Woodson or Oakton HS.

Where are your jobs? You can still find places in South Arlington, and the commute into DC is a lot better. The high school isn't as highly-ranked (test score-wise) as Pimmit's high school but there are some decent elementaries and some really cute neighborhoods.

Anonymous wrote:OP here
We have outgrown our condo in s Arlington. Would love to stay and live the neighborhood but we need more space. We are a little flexible on when we buy/move so we have time to look and wait.

So much to think about. I really don't know many area othe than arlington. Our commutes are also a huge issue as I work in Rockville and my husband is in DC. Living is MD would make my commute easy but be he'll for my husband.

Guess I was assuming either you or your spouse worked around Tysons.

If your commutes are to DC and Rockville, and you're looking to buy a house in the low $400s, I'd be looking in Silver Spring. Yeah, the schools won't get the same types of ratings on Greatschools as the schools that Pimmit Hills students attend, but you'd get MoCo schools, more house for the money, and a split-the-difference commute for you and your husband.

Anonymous wrote:On GreatSchools, looks like Lemon Road gets an "8," and Westgate, Kilmer and Marshall all get "9s." I don't think you'll see that in the schools in either Annandale or South Arlington.

Op here...That is what is appealing to us. Less expensive neighborhood but the schools get good ratings. At the same I don't want a house in a bad neighborhood.

OP here
We have outgrown our condo in s Arlington. Would love to stay and live the neighborhood but we need more space. We are a little flexible on when we buy/move so we have time to look and wait.

So much to think about. I really don't know many area othe than arlington. Our commutes are also a huge issue as I work in Rockville and my husband is in DC. Living is MD would make my commute easy but be he'll for my husband.

On GreatSchools, looks like Lemon Road gets an "8," and Westgate, Kilmer and Marshall all get "9s." I don't think you'll see that in the schools in either Annandale or South Arlington.