High View Park Arlington neighborhood (Fairfax, Falls Church: apartment, new house, buy)

[cantthinkofone]

Does anyone have an opinion of the High View Park/Hall's Hill neighborhood for a young family? Do you think housing prices will remain stable? The houses tend to list a bit cheaper, and while some of the area is a little run down looking, there seems to be an effort for revitalization (at least from a housing perspective), there are good schools, and it's a decent location.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by cantthinkofone

Does anyone have an opinion of the High View Park/Hall's Hill neighborhood for a young family? Do you think housing prices will remain stable? The houses tend to list a bit cheaper, and while some of the area is a little run down looking, there seems to be an effort for revitalization (at least from a housing perspective), there are good schools, and it's a decent location.

We used to live fairly nearby. Highview Park is kind of an oddity in North Arlington--a traditionally black, low-income neighborhood (that in fact dates back to segregation) in what is the wealthiest Arlington zip code, 22207. However--it seems to be gentrifying fast, with a lot of new houses replacing the tiny prewar frame houses. This is no surprise, as HP is in one of the very top school pyramids and is quick bus ride to Ballston or East Falls Church, yet far enough to be out of range of wandering drunk frat-bros who want to urinate in someone's yard. (The latter is now a huge problem in Lyon Village, the tony neighborhood just north of Clarendon.) It's also a quick shot to I-66 and Route 50.

If you buy there, you'll still have a bit more crime, loitering, and litter than in nearby areas, but if you can stick it out, you will definitely see your property values increase over time.

[Megadell]

I live in Lyon Village. I'd say we're more north of court house but either way, yea, it can get pretty rowdy. We've only been here for 2 months, but for the most part, as least our apartment building, it's very quiet and tame. At least our floor.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by cantthinkofone

Does anyone have an opinion of the High View Park/Hall's Hill neighborhood for a young family? Do you think housing prices will remain stable? The houses tend to list a bit cheaper, and while some of the area is a little run down looking, there seems to be an effort for revitalization (at least from a housing perspective), there are good schools, and it's a decent location.

It's very close to Arlington Hospital - guess that could have both positives and negatives.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by JEB77

It's very close to Arlington Hospital - guess that could have both positives and negatives.

Positives I would say are only if you work there. We've been there as patients and family of patients and are very much unimpressed. We would choose Fairfax Inova unless it's an emergency--and even then, if we could possibly hold out to get to Inova, we would.

BTW, Alex Ovechkin used to live on N. 16th St, on the south border of the hospital. (Highview Park is on the north side.)

[cantthinkofone]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

We used to live fairly nearby. Highview Park is kind of an oddity in North Arlington--a traditionally black, low-income neighborhood (that in fact dates back to segregation) in what is the wealthiest Arlington zip code, 22207. However--it seems to be gentrifying fast, with a lot of new houses replacing the tiny prewar frame houses. This is no surprise, as HP is in one of the very top school pyramids and is quick bus ride to Ballston or East Falls Church, yet far enough to be out of range of wandering drunk frat-bros who want to urinate in someone's yard. (The latter is now a huge problem in Lyon Village, the tony neighborhood just north of Clarendon.) It's also a quick shot to I-66 and Route 50.

If you buy there, you'll still have a bit more crime, loitering, and litter than in nearby areas, but if you can stick it out, you will definitely see your property values increase over time.

I read about the history and found it very interesting. Thank you for your input. And I had a good laugh at the "wandering drunk frat-bros who want to urinate in someone's yard" - couldn't agree more!

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by cantthinkofone

I read about the history and found it very interesting. Thank you for your input. And I had a good laugh at the "wandering drunk frat-bros who want to urinate in someone's yard" - couldn't agree more!

Glad to help. I think if you find a house there you really like, the area is a bargain and a great investment. You can always get an alarm system (a good idea anywhere, in my view) and maybe a large dog. Plus a lot of the low-income folks are decent people, many of them older.

Maybe you saw this, but WaPo profiled the area a couple of years ago:
Neighborhood Profile: High View Park - The Washington Post

And here's more history:
When Arlington Did the Right Thing - Arlington Public Library : Arlington Public Library

Good luck!

[ACWhite]

The emergency vehicle sirens could be a problem.

With all due respect to Carl., FWIW, Arlington Hospital gets very good ratings. Eg
http://health.usnews.com/best-hospit...center-6340040

Anecdotally, I had a procedure done there and couldn't have been more pleased with the competence and pleasantness of the staff. I also see several affiliated doctors with offices in the complex and all are very good.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

The emergency vehicle sirens could be a problem.

With all due respect to Carl., FWIW, Arlington Hospital gets very good ratings. Eg
Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA - US News Best Hospitals

Anecdotally, I had a procedure done there and couldn't have been more pleased with the competence and pleasantness of the staff. I also see several affiliated doctors with offices in the complex and all are very good.

Members of my family have always had good experiences at Arlington Hospital. It's certainly more navigable than Fairfax Inova, which is gigantic and best visited with bread crumbs to retrace one's steps.

I was just referring (as potential negatives) to the noise from emergency vehicles as well as the traffic that cuts through the neighborhood from Glebe to get to the hospital and nearby hospice.

[Carlingtonian]

Re. VHC Arlington: One of us was recently there in the emergency department; they accidentally gave us some other patient's drug information, and in the one available restroom, the seat on the one available toilet had a big chunk broken off. Then we got a bill that misspelled the name of our street (which is a common, easy name) by a comical degree. Amazing it actually reached us. To top it off, they called a collection agency over a $10 balance for which the relative never received a bill. So our experiences there have been lacking.