New Alexandria? (Arlington, Burke, Springfield: middle-class, crime, house)

[MrBoz]

Help! I'll be moving to NOVA (from Montana) in about three weeks (working in DC) and am checking out a home near West Potomac HS. How is the area? I am concerned about low ratings for WPHS. I have kids that will be in HS and the proximity looks good. From the map it looks like the area is Bucknell Manor off Belleview Blvd. The crime map from the Post looks promising. Until now, I've been checking out Bristow and Burke/Fairfax. Any input would be deeply appreciated.

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by MrBoz

Help! I'll be moving to NOVA (from Montana) in about three weeks (working in DC) and am checking out a home near West Potomac HS. How is the area? I am concerned about low ratings for WPHS. I have kids that will be in HS and the proximity looks good. From the map it looks like the area is Bucknell Manor off Belleview Blvd. The crime map from the Post looks promising. Until now, I've been checking out Bristow and Burke/Fairfax. Any input would be deeply appreciated.

West Potomac High School serves families of diverse incomes. The relatively lower scores may be attributed to the perception of lower-income student performances as well as non-native English speakers.

East of Route 1, where Bucknell Manor is located, is primarily upper-middle-class to upper-class neighborhoods, especially as one gets closer to George Washington Parkway. Route 1 itself is strip mall paradise, featuring many supermarkets and midscale restaurants and shopping.

Assuming you're working in the District, Alexandria City or Arlington, you'll appreciate the shorter commute compared to your other considerations as traffic here will surely be mind-blowing compared to anything you've experienced in Montana.

[dkf747]

Although Belle View Road area is nice looking, you'd probably like Burke or Fairfax much better.

[MrBoz]

Thanks for the input. I spent about six weeks in Burke and it seems to be a reasonable compromise between environment and commute. The town itself is non-descript and parts of Alexandria seem to have more character - at what cost?

[Tone509]

I have to say that I know very little about Burke but I do think that you'll likely get more house for your money there, if only because the close-in location of the Alexandria section of Fairfax County (which is different from the City of Alexandria, in case you didn't know) inspires relatively inflated pricing. That said, if you're comfortable with what you can get in Bucknell Manor or surrounding neighborhoods - I happen to like Hollin Hills - then it's worth it.

[g3org3]

Alexandria (City) does have much more going on than Burke, and I agree that Hollin Hills, just south in the Alexadria portion Fairfax Co. is nice (as is Belle Haven), and your commute would be shorter, but since you have HS-age kids, the Burke/Fairfax option may be better for you. Another post in this forum just pointed out that Newsweek rated Lake Braddock HS in the top 100 (America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com), and a Burke location may land your kids there, or at W.T. Woodson (also top 100), or Robinson or Fairfax. You can check specific addresses here: Fairfax County Public Schools Boundary Information.

[kevbros]

I wouldn't call the area around Bucknell "New Alexandria." New Alexandria is the first neighborhood south of Old Town. It is very small and very ecletic. Bucknell Manor is much more of blue-collar/immigrant area even though it is very close to New Alexandria. Belle Haven and Villamay are the upscale and pricey neighborhoods nearby.

West Potomac High School is definitely more diverse than the average Western Fairfax County school, but is still a solid school. It's test scores are above the national average, despite a large number of immigrants. A quick web scan showed that in 2003 Newsweek ranked WestPo the 102nd best school in the whole country, beating out the mythical Lake Braddock and other Fairfax schools like West Springfield. (http://www.dialdebbie.com/hshtml/Top...gh_Schools.pdf)