Depends on 100 things, your age, housing style preference, kids interest, kids academic importance, community to work/car situation, PRICE, where you like to shop, age/other demographics of the people you want to be around every day.

Overall I think price is really important and I find Arlington to be less expensive than Bethesda or CC. I also think as kids grow Bethesda/CC has more to offer for kids, can easily walk from many many neighborhoods to bus on conn. ave, metro, bethesda row, woodmont triangle, movie theaters, swim teams etc etc.

Anonymous wrote:I’m in DC and I love it way more than Arlington. There are neighborhoods with houses and yards, the nicest being Cleveland Park, if you can afford it. Brookland, Capitol Hill, Brightwood if you can’t. DC has so much more character than Arlington and way fewer strip malls and concrete. Plus a reverse commute from DC into Virginia is far easier than driving within Virginia.

My DH commuted from DC to Arlington. It was horrible. On the weekends it took. 20 min. At rush hour it was 45 min minimum. If there was an accident on rock creek it could be much longer. Now he has a 12 min drive with no traffic on local roads. So much better!!!! Cleveland Park is great but it wasn't worth it.

We are moving from NW DC to Chevy Chase MD. Many reasons for the move, more space, better schools, safer community, etc etc but ultimately it's strange bc our area of CC MD is actually feels denser and more walkable than our current area of DC. I will say Arlington feels, to me, further away from DC than Bethesda and CC if you're communting in for work. For example, where we are in CC we can cross western ave on foot and boom we're in DC.

I also think chevy chase/bethesda row area is safer, better planned and just overall prettier than arlington and we looked at both significantly. I think for me the biggest thing i noticed was that when i was in arlington it was mostly young 20 somethings or people with very small children, bethesda/cc i actually saw tons of teens walking around, getting coffee etc and there were activities for them. I also think if you can afford it the housing stock in CC is much more beautiful than arlington. Arlington is great but feels a bit disjointed for me.

Yes, Arlington. I've lived in DC (great when I was single), PG county, and Alexandria. County services work almost perfectly in Arlington, there are the fewest rats and crime, sports offered for my kids are great (except volleyball strangely). It's like living in a bubble that is great for raising kids.

Anonymous wrote:If you don’t care about schools (or want to go private) I vote for Alexandria over Arlington. I’ve lived in both. Alexandria is much better and all of it is very close to DC.

I agree with this, though I am a DC diehard who moved to Old Town. Alexandria has more "charm" than Arlington does to me. The schools is what does them in and I still don't totally get why they are as poor as they seem to be. But if private is in your budget? I'd do that. As you can see, the Arlington residents are increasingly complaining about their districts which used to be a main draw.

Ppl live there bc they have to commute to DC.
It has many really ugly homes that have zero architectural interest.

Anonymous wrote:OP everyone is going to bash Arlington and promote their area/neighborhood.
Arlington is one of the most expensive areas to live in the DMV and many resent those that favor it. If you can afford to live there it is a great area, the most expensive in the state of Virginia.

There are other places in Virginia where the average home costs more than in Arlington. The land is expensive, but the properties themselves aren’t the nicest or most expensive.

Anonymous wrote:McLean. Best location. Period.

it certainly is if walkability is not an issue.

OP everyone is going to bash Arlington and promote their area/neighborhood.
Arlington is one of the most expensive areas to live in the DMV and many resent those that favor it. If you can afford to live there it is a great area, the most expensive in the state of Virginia.

The novelty of riding the subway into DC will wear off. Then you will be left with your little area. I'd never pick Arlington, but I've been over walkability since my early 30s. If you must have walkability, do Arlington, or do Vienna near Maple Ave. Vienna is a longer commute into DC, but there's so much right there, everything is convenient to do, it's right next to Tysons Corner, plus better schools. Falls Church City is like blink and you missed it it's so small. What you might consider too is Glen Echo MD area - it's so close to DC, driving wise, but quaint.

I’m in DC and I love it way more than Arlington. There are neighborhoods with houses and yards, the nicest being Cleveland Park, if you can afford it. Brookland, Capitol Hill, Brightwood if you can’t. DC has so much more character than Arlington and way fewer strip malls and concrete. Plus a reverse commute from DC into Virginia is far easier than driving within Virginia.

McLean. Best location. Period.

OP you can read all the diverse opinions and glints of insight.

Or you can look at the price per square foot of property in (mostly) north Arlington.

Posts on a web site are subjective and nice, but the math is objective. Lots of people pay a lot of money to live in Arlington, and the homes and land are not the biggest or most trendy in the area. Just the most expensive.

In 5-10 years FCC will have all of the same overcrowding issues that Arlington has because they are doing a lot of development.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Arlington so I am biased against it.

I very specifically chose to raise my children in Falls Church City after having lived in Arlington and Fairfax and dealing with their public schools with my oldest, kindergarten and first grade. Falls Church City schools were light years better and we stayed there until the kids were out of school.

There are a lot of reasons FCC is a great place to live but once our kids were out of the schools we moved to get more housing for our money.

Problem now is there is very little inventory in FCC.

If I had the money I’d pick FCC over Arlington. But I can’t afford either, so we’re way out in Fairfax . I like it here though.

+1. I too would pick FCC but there are like 5 houses on the market at a time and the recent prices have made FCC out of reach for most. Arlington has more housing stock and price ranges while FCC is almost all in the 1.5 to 2+ range for a pretty small (3000 sq ft) house.