husband at GMU LAW school, school kids in arlington? (Tuckahoe: appointed, townhouse)

[planc]

We are a family of 4 from Santa Monica, CA. Husband will teach law at GMU, wife architect (no job yet but soon), son #1, 14, high school (mean jazz pianist as well), son #2 is actually 2 and we are looking for a Montessori school. Can anybody help me figure out where to go to put all these people together?

Wife likes Charles Goodman-type homes but arlington does not have them. High school is priority (washington-lee vs Yorktown?) Any opinions on Lyon Park? I like the idea of buying a fixer and remodeling/adding. Budget: around $700k.

help please!!!!!

[claremarie]

Not sure what Charles-Goodman type homes are, but your budget of $700K will put real limits on your ability to find a suitable home in North Arlington. Check out zip codes 22207 and 22213 on realtor.com or another website and you'll see what is available. The homes are pretty small and the lots are miniscule, but coming from Santa Monica perhaps that is nothing new! Yorktown generally has a better rep than Washington-Lee, primarily because it serves Arlington's most affluent neighborhoods, but Washington-Lee just opened a stunning new building.
You will get more for your money by looking further out. Vienna, for example, is on Metro's Orange Line for an easy commute to GMU/Arlington, and has excellent Fairfax County schools.

[planc]

thanks clairemarie - how about townhomes? I live in a 3bdr one now here in crazy Santa Monica but would prefer to have a home (for the 2 yr old) I saw some SFH (on the internet only though) in that price range that are 3-4 bdrms on a +/- 7,000 sf lot. They might be fixers. I do not mind if they are not new or completely remodeled.

Charles Goodman designed-built some mid-century homes in the hollin hills community south of alexandria...they are beautiful in a woodsy setting but schools are a factor though.

[claremarie]

Your husband would also have a longer commute coming from Hollin Hills.
As you've probably figured out, contemporary homes are somewhat scare in northern Virginia.
If you are willing to take an older, smaller home and remodel it, you will have many more choices in Arlington, which is full of ramblers, bungalows, and small colonials built between 1920-1955. We lived in such a small colonial near the East Falls Church metro and Tuckahoe Elementary School (Yorktown HS) for 10 years. Every other house on the street was EXACTLY like ours, which was kind of a drag, but not all Arlington neighborhoods are quite so uniform, particularly when so many homes are being renovated. If you are able to visit this area before you move, you can drive through Arlington neighborhoods and see how many homes are undergoing remodeling, though more than a few buyers are simply razing the little box houses and building $1 million+ McMansions.
I'm not that familiar with the townhouse market -- most in North Arlington are newer than the SFH options, and tend to be on the expensive side, appealing to families with teenagers or empty nesters.
If you want the Santa Monica semi-urban atmosphere (unfortunately, sans beach and perfect weather), you're more likely to find it in the neighborhoods near Ballston and Clarendon than in Vienna or other further-out locales.
As for Montessori schools, I now live in McLean, not far from the Arlington border, and there are two Montessori schools within 2 miles of my home. It is a popular preschool/elementary school option, but if you want your 2 year old enrolled this fall, you need to apply now. Here are some websites: Welcome to Montessori School of McLean
Brooksfield School • Experience the Adventure

[NovaTen]

As a former teacher in the Arlington schools they are fantastic! You really can't go wrong with any of the Arlington Schools. W&L is a great school- more diverse than Yorktown- but Yorktown is great as well! I taught at the elem level and they do have Montessori programs for 3's and up at a few of the schools and I believe one is a Montessori program in the other grades as well. check out the APS website and see the websites for the individual schools. I teach now in North Carolina and am very disappointed- no where near the funding Arlington puts into education.
Good luck with your move- I miss the NOVA area! You'll love it!

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by planc

We are a family of 4 from Santa Monica, CA. Husband will teach law at GMU, wife architect (no job yet but soon), son #1, 14, high school (mean jazz pianist as well), son #2 is actually 2 and we are looking for a Montessori school. Can anybody help me figure out where to go to put all these people together?

Wife likes Charles Goodman-type homes but arlington does not have them. High school is priority (washington-lee vs Yorktown?) Any opinions on Lyon Park? I like the idea of buying a fixer and remodeling/adding. Budget: around $700k.

help please!!!!!

Which location of GMU?

[planc]

this is very useful information. Thank you all so much. The Law school campus is in arlington (right next to Washington-lee high school).

I found some interesting looking properties in the suggested zip codes but I think I might wind up in short term housing and then do a full hands-on research during the summer. In the meantime, I will sign up my 2 yr old for Montessori. I did look up the schools and they seem very impressive. Especially IB programs (I am from Italy so I appreciate the effort to stay international). Does anyone know anything about Duke Ellington High School for the Arts?

And yes, my heart weeps at the idea that I won't be able to go to the beach in December after skiing two hours away in Big Bear (we did it for my husband's birthday once in February - amazing!)...but I guess I will be doing other things...like free museums, Capitol Steps and river activities? Parks? I hear I need to sign up for a pool now?

I guess I am looking for a not-so-conservative area...and the ability to find a "hip" job in an architectural firm in the district ....pretty much what i was able to find here.

Please keep the information going - it's great to know all of this now.

[claremarie]

There is an extensive network of private community swim (and often tennis) clubs in northern Virginia, but many pools have limited capacity and there may be waiting lists at the more popular clubs. Most of the pools are in Fairfax, but Arlington has a few -- Dominion Hills, Overlee, Donaldson Run (must live within specified boundaries to join that one), Arlington Forest. Membership procedures vary, but most begin filling slots in February and March. The Northern Virginia Swimming League runs a competitive swim and dive program, and their website, which is still under construction, should eventually give you the names and locations of all the member clubs. Most people join the pool closest to their house, so it might be better to wait until you know where you will be living before deciding on a club.
If you can't join a club right away, there is a nice public outdoor pool at Upton Hill Park in Arlington.
I've been told that Washington-Lee is planning to build a 50 meter indoor pool as part of the renovation. Their current pool is pretty dumpy (actually, very dumpy), but perfectly adequate for lessons for a 2 year old, and open swim times are available to residents.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by planc

this is very useful information. Thank you all so much. The Law school campus is in arlington (right next to Washington-lee high school).

I found some interesting looking properties in the suggested zip codes but I think I might wind up in short term housing and then do a full hands-on research during the summer. ...

I guess I am looking for a not-so-conservative area...and the ability to find a "hip" job in an architectural firm in the district ....pretty much what i was able to find here.

Please keep the information going - it's great to know all of this now.

Hi, Planc, with your architectural skills, I like your idea of temporary housing. I would suggest that you look for a tear down in Arlington then build what you want (as someone else said it is really difficult to find contemporaries/mid century modern, etc. in the metro region) but you'll need to allocate more than $700K unless the market completely tanks, because the lots in Arlington (except for the riskier areas) are going to cost you at least $450000 for a small lot alone. I spoke with 2 architects about adding onto my house, but despite the slow down in the market, the builders are still charging $300 per square foot and up.

Arlington is a good choice for you for schools and work. It's a great place to live. However, that GMU location is very accessible to metro, so you could go farther out in Fairfax County on the metro line, where it would be slightly less expensive for the land, and your husband wouldn't have a bad commute. Hollin Hills is really inconvenient to the GMU campus in Arlington, even though it looks close, because there are a lot of stoplights and traffic.

One "hot" firm in DC is Kube Architecture.

I wish you the best and hope you will be happy here.

[planc]

$300/SF is pretty standard (almost low end) here in "fancy" LA. It really bothers me that prices are so high. it scares a lot of clients away. Does anyone know what the permit process is like in Arlington? Santa Monica is hell so I am hoping to get a break in NoVA.
Are your neighbors likely to raise hell if you want to do a contemporary addition? I am not a crazy designer but I do like a fairly modern industrial-chic look. It depends on the lot - I am site-sensitive and try to be green.

I do like the idea of walking to things when possible...Santa Monica is a little different from the rest of car-loving LA. People bike, walk and use transit. You also see those funny golf-cart looking things in the area. makes me feel like I live in Florida or Palm Springs sometimes....anyway, you meet all sorts of people in this area (lots of homeless folks as well). it'll be interesting to see how Arlington differs.