The issue is that the closer in and more city like the area, there are higher concentrations of poverty. So the more affluent places will demand an even greater premium than a few miles farther out.

Another issue is that Arlington public services deeply supports illegal immigration and supports poverty both to illegals and legals. DC is an even more extreme example where the people who should not be living there are being propped up and subsidized by those that can afford to live in the city. Point being is that it is hard to lift up an area to be more affluent and gentrify when the city has put in opposing forces to the natural shift of gentrification.

Anonymous wrote:I am having a tough time understanding why you would spend over a million dollars on a home to live in Arlington? And if you are spending that much on a home I would hope that your kids are in private schools. Because that is a waste of resources IMO.

If you have that kind of money I would pick an affluent neighborhood (DC, Potomac, Great Falls, McLean, etc) when really N. Arlington is just a "whiter" neighborhood.

I grew up in Arlington and the biggest change I have seen is that all of Arlington used to have lots of character. Nice families, good demographics, and great restaurants, shops, etc. Now that is all being pushed out by more high rises (Ballston, Courthouse, Clarendon) not forgetting Cheesecake factory and yogurt shops. It has turned into a yuppy wasteland.

North Arlington is try to create a white/middle eastern enclave similar to that of Ashburn and its manufactured community. It has lost its soul.

You're having a "tough time" understanding why someone would spend over $1 million to live in a close-in suburbs with good schools, safe neighborhoods, and excellent public amenities? Seriously? Then you must have a tough time in a lot of other simple areas of life as well.

And yes, it's a shame that Arlington has lost some of the character. Still pockets here & there, but it does feel overly commercialized.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think so. The North Arlington homes are far more likely to have SAHM parents who are heavily involved with the schools and their children's education. South Arlington tends to have more two-earner households that rely on schools as a form of daycare.

Where are all these SAHMs with a HHI that can afford a $1M home? I mean, between Bethesda/Potomac, McLean/Great Falls, and NW DC, they're getting stretched thin...

Guess you haven't been in N Arlington on a long time. SAHMs are a dime a dozen and it's tough to finds home under $1M these days. And it's not like these people are super rich/affluent. Just regular upper middle class.

I am having a tough time understanding why you would spend over a million dollars on a home to live in Arlington? And if you are spending that much on a home I would hope that your kids are in private schools. Because that is a waste of resources IMO.

If you have that kind of money I would pick an affluent neighborhood (DC, Potomac, Great Falls, McLean, etc) when really N. Arlington is just a "whiter" neighborhood.

I grew up in Arlington and the biggest change I have seen is that all of Arlington used to have lots of character. Nice families, good demographics, and great restaurants, shops, etc. Now that is all being pushed out by more high rises (Ballston, Courthouse, Clarendon) not forgetting Cheesecake factory and yogurt shops. It has turned into a yuppy wasteland.

North Arlington is try to create a white/middle eastern enclave similar to that of Ashburn and its manufactured community. It has lost its soul.

Anonymous wrote:21:24 the murderer was from DC and it was not gang related. If you read the weekly Arlington police reports there are plots of thefts in N Arlington.

Because S. Arlington is actually CLOSER to DC than N. Arlington...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is so racist pp how do you look at yourself in the mirror?

at least there is some honesty about why they consider s. arlington inferior....

i always kind of assume that anyone who makes a n arl/s arl distinction in conversation is a little racist...not fair, i know, but not totally unfair either

+1. There's more racism than most would care to admit.

It is not racism, it is classism. S. Arlington is filled with recent immigrants, many Hispanic, and the rates of teenage preganancy in 1st and 2nd generation Hispanics are the highest in the country. Crime rates are higher in these communities as is poverty.

I think it's kind of silly to try to lump everyone in North Arlington and everyone in South Arlington into this category or that. There are plenty of cool, down-to-earth parents in North Arlington - I know quite a few of them. My circle is split - a bunch of folks who live up North, a bunch of folks who live on the South side, and we do stuff all over the place. My daughter's dad lives in Alexandria, so we end up doing most of our county rec classes in South Arlington and I've met some nice folks there.

In our price range, we ended up having to decide between a more renovated home in South Arlington (Barcroft ES) and a less renovated (similarly sized/aged) home in North Arlington zoned to Nottingham for only $10K more and decided that we could live with the less renovated home because we liked the neighborhood and knew we were definitely ok with the schools. I wasn't too excited about the year-round thing at Barcroft anyway, so that was a factor as well.

With inventory so low, I think a lot can depend on what's on the market when you're actually looking. I think if we could have found something feeding into Patrick Henry it might have gone the other way, because Penrose is closer-in to DC than where we ended up. I did see some really great houses in South Arlington. (nearly everything in our range in North was either on a busy street, had an almost unusable sloping lot or was a tear-down candidate. or was just super tiny.) I wasn't committed to buying in any particular school boundary, but there were a few I ruled out.

If North Arlington weren't considered more desirable and "better" than South Arlington (either because of safer, nicer neighborhoods, schools, more socio-economic wealth, etc.), the housing stock in both areas would be comparably priced. I'm not sure why this debate really needs to rage on when one only need look at the comps for the various neighborhoods. If houses are costing 50 percent plus more in one area, you can bet that it has to do with the desirability of an area. To those arguing that this is crap and that South Arlington is so wonderful what with its fab schools and all that, what do you make of the significantly different home prices?

Anonymous wrote:My suggestion

Many people have answered the OP's question. We have learned the following:

1. The faux parents who want the schools to do everything for them and rely only on stats will live in North Arlington

2. The parents who actually want to participate in their child's education and find value in living in a culture more reflective of today and the future will live in South Arlington

Let's move on

Umm that is completely backwards

on #1 the reason the students do so well is that the parents are better off and can help and support their kids during the times they are away from school and keep them out of trouble (homework, tutors, sports etc...)

#2 is really stupid because South arlington has high FARMS meaning that the schools are having to do the job of feeding and caring for the children that the parents couldn't do because they are not as well off.

So the argument could be made that south Arlington is where the parents want the schools to do everything for them

Anonymous wrote:I don't think so. The North Arlington homes are far more likely to have SAHM parents who are heavily involved with the schools and their children's education. South Arlington tends to have more two-earner households that rely on schools as a form of daycare.

Where are all these SAHMs with a HHI that can afford a $1M home? I mean, between Bethesda/Potomac, McLean/Great Falls, and NW DC, they're getting stretched thin...

Anonymous wrote:My suggestion

Many people have answered the OP's question. We have learned the following:

1. The faux parents who want the schools to do everything for them and rely only on stats will live in North Arlington

2. The parents who actually want to participate in their child's education and find value in living in a culture more reflective of today and the future will live in South Arlington

Let's move on

I don't think so. The North Arlington homes are far more likely to have SAHM parents who are heavily involved with the schools and their children's education. South Arlington tends to have more two-earner households that rely on schools as a form of daycare.

S Arlington is ghetto, N Arlington is snobs.

Glad some of the folks in S Arlington are doing better than my own experience (albeit 5 years ago and way too close to the old Arna Valley apartments.)

Anonymous wrote:My suggestion

Many people have answered the OP's question. We have learned the following:

1. The faux parents who want the schools to do everything for them and rely only on stats will live in North Arlington

2. The parents who actually want to participate in their child's education and find value in living in a culture more reflective of today and the future will live in South Arlington

Let's move on

So true..particularly if you are describing the "culture" of our neighbors to the south.

http://news.yahoo.com/correction-honduras-death-squads-story-190314133.html

My suggestion

Many people have answered the OP's question. We have learned the following:

1. The faux parents who want the schools to do everything for them and rely only on stats will live in North Arlington

2. The parents who actually want to participate in their child's education and find value in living in a culture more reflective of today and the future will live in South Arlington

Let's move on