Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There can be "rich" people moving into an area like south Arlington but if the "poor" people do not move out then the school test scores will not improve. This is such the case with affordable housing.

So don't assume the neighborhood will get better.

If you look at the Marshall pyramid what happened was rich people bought the dinky houses poor people were living in and built big homes on the land. This is why Marshall is doing well.

This doesn't take into account that "rich" people in south Arlington are sending their kids to school along side poor children. You will find the kind of people you want your kids to grow up to be in an area like south Arlington. Your kids will get a solid education, because APS is good. They will also be raised with compassion, empathy, and patience. You'll like your neighbors, and you'll love your commute. We did this, and really couldn't be happier. It such a wonderful place to raise a family.

True but do you want an average experience or a better than average?

The patience part is waiting and waiting to cash out and move to n Arlington, probably.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at Pimmit Hills (some is zoned for Lemon Rd E.S. and Marshall High), or around Idylwood, or Merrifield (it straddles Vienna, Fairfax, maybe Falls Church).

Yuck.

Sorry South Arlington is a third world ghetto compared to pimmit hills

Whole Foods
Nordstrom
Ritz-Carlton
Jaleo

Sounds pretty ghetto to me

Pimmet hills is fine. Op you might want to look there, but it will likely be a longer commute than you will want. If you've been living downtown, anything more than 1 exit into Virginia is going to feel like an eternity during rush hour.
It's why we bought in south Arlington.
There are some really cute neighborhood's in south Arlington.
Share your budget and people will better steer you.
Fwiw, my neighbors sent their kids to our neighborhood school ( GS 2), and those kids grew up to graduate from Wakefield, and eventually great colleges... So what are we talking about here? Do you plan to be involved in your children's educations? Will you read to them? They will be fine at their low scoring south Arlington school. For all of the over crowding issues, APS isn't disfunctional. Your kids will be great.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at Pimmit Hills (some is zoned for Lemon Rd E.S. and Marshall High), or around Idylwood, or Merrifield (it straddles Vienna, Fairfax, maybe Falls Church).

Yuck.

Sorry South Arlington is a third world ghetto compared to pimmit hills

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at Pimmit Hills (some is zoned for Lemon Rd E.S. and Marshall High), or around Idylwood, or Merrifield (it straddles Vienna, Fairfax, maybe Falls Church).

Yuck.

Why yuck? Obviously a lot of people disagree with you. It's a very crowded area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this one has an elementary thats a 7

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2730-Pioneer-Ln-22043/home/9542531

it is kind of close to the highway though. something to check.

and try 22031

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Fairfax/3173-Colchester-Brook-Ln-22031/home/9538224

That will be a long commute.

Anonymous wrote:Look at Pimmit Hills (some is zoned for Lemon Rd E.S. and Marshall High), or around Idylwood, or Merrifield (it straddles Vienna, Fairfax, maybe Falls Church).

Yuck.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1559-12th-St-S-22204/home/11273855

What is your budget op?
I would be very comfortable with these schools, and Hoffman Boston has started a stem program. They've seen some good results.

OP- What is your budget and what are the # of bedrooms you seek?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are new parents, you should be able to buy a smaller house with better schools and only move later if you have to.

I personally would not buy in the most poorly ranked school areas in Arlington simply to get a huge house. YMMV.

If she has a time machine. I don't know OP's budget, but I would bet that she is priced out of "good" school zones in Arlington and FCC, even tiny tear downs. That's why she's looking in other areas, not because she wants a McMansion, but because she can only afford a modest home in the areas with "bad" schools. It's that or move out to Ashburn, and many of us would rather be present in our kids' lives rather than spending hours commuting just so our kids can attend homogenous schools.

Nope. OP specifically wrote that they are looking for a "big" house, and that the only big houses they can find are in bad school districts. If she has enough money to buy a big house in South Arlington, she almost certainly has enough money to buy a small house in North Arlington. Not necessarily even a "tiny tear down," but a liveable house that doesn't have huge living rooms or a bathroom off every bedroom. Kindly don't contort yourself to rewrite this question into one where the OP isn't clearly putting their desire for a big house (even though they just started their family) at the top of their wish list, despite the OP's own words.

OP said "bigger," which could mean as little as an additional bedroom, which will substantially raise the price of a SFH. I didn't take it to mean a McMansion in s Arlington vs. a rambler in n Arlington, but I guess you did. A modest SFH anywhere in Arlington is above the reach of most young families who don't have family help, so we're splitting hairs here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this one has an elementary thats a 7

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2730-Pioneer-Ln-22043/home/9542531

it is kind of close to the highway though. something to check.

and try 22031

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Fairfax/3173-Colchester-Brook-Ln-22031/home/9538224

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea that attending a school with some economic diversity might irreparably harm your child is ridiculous. I get it, you require a more palatable way to justify your fear and racism. Massive Resistance is so gauche. PP, you are unhinged. You must be the dummy who bought the tiny old house we passed on in a "good" school zone that was in a terrible location, on a busy street near environmental hazards, for full ask. Sorry you can't unload that dump to the next sucker.

sorry science show that it will harm your child

http://www.scilearn.com/blog/ten-facts-about-how-poverty-impacts-education

I'm not sure why this article has been posted here. It is discussing being raised in poverty. OP , and I would think most posters on this board, is at the very least middle class.

Anonymous wrote:The idea that attending a school with some economic diversity might irreparably harm your child is ridiculous. I get it, you require a more palatable way to justify your fear and racism. Massive Resistance is so gauche. PP, you are unhinged. You must be the dummy who bought the tiny old house we passed on in a "good" school zone that was in a terrible location, on a busy street near environmental hazards, for full ask. Sorry you can't unload that dump to the next sucker.

sorry science show that it will harm your child

http://www.scilearn.com/blog/ten-facts-about-how-poverty-impacts-education

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There can be "rich" people moving into an area like south Arlington but if the "poor" people do not move out then the school test scores will not improve. This is such the case with affordable housing.

So don't assume the neighborhood will get better.

If you look at the Marshall pyramid what happened was rich people bought the dinky houses poor people were living in and built big homes on the land. This is why Marshall is doing well.

This doesn't take into account that "rich" people in south Arlington are sending their kids to school along side poor children. You will find the kind of people you want your kids to grow up to be in an area like south Arlington. Your kids will get a solid education, because APS is good. They will also be raised with compassion, empathy, and patience. You'll like your neighbors, and you'll love your commute. We did this, and really couldn't be happier. It such a wonderful place to raise a family.

True but do you want an average experience or a better than average?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are new parents, you should be able to buy a smaller house with better schools and only move later if you have to.

I personally would not buy in the most poorly ranked school areas in Arlington simply to get a huge house. YMMV.

If she has a time machine. I don't know OP's budget, but I would bet that she is priced out of "good" school zones in Arlington and FCC, even tiny tear downs. That's why she's looking in other areas, not because she wants a McMansion, but because she can only afford a modest home in the areas with "bad" schools. It's that or move out to Ashburn, and many of us would rather be present in our kids' lives rather than spending hours commuting just so our kids can attend homogenous schools.

Nope. OP specifically wrote that they are looking for a "big" house, and that the only big houses they can find are in bad school districts. If she has enough money to buy a big house in South Arlington, she almost certainly has enough money to buy a small house in North Arlington. Not necessarily even a "tiny tear down," but a liveable house that doesn't have huge living rooms or a bathroom off every bedroom. Kindly don't contort yourself to rewrite this question into one where the OP isn't clearly putting their desire for a big house (even though they just started their family) at the top of their wish list, despite the OP's own words.