HELP! Should I move to Fairfax, Arlington, or Burke (Jefferson: affordable apartments, rent)

[gandi100]

I will be moving in about 2 weeks. I am so confused as to which place to pick. Can anyone offer any advice at all. I will be moving from Stafford to the “City”. My only issue is that I want to live as close as possible to work which is off of route 50 in Arlington. I have two school age children and am trying to think two years out where they will be attending high school. I am looking for a great school and a neighborhood where we can have many choices to eat, social events, activities for the kids and the arts-however it has to be safe!

I can live in Burke-17 miles from work-and the high school is Robinson Secondary. I hear this is a great school, however Burke seems so wooded and you have to drive everywhere. Also no night life to enjoy on my one weekend a month to go socialize without kids.

I can live Fairfax off of Main Street and the kids would end up attending Fairfax High School. This area is great, and is about 11 miles from work but nearest metro is Vienna and I would have to drive in everyday because it would not make any sense to take the metro in.

I can rent a small town home off of route 50 but no storage or closet space and the kids could go to Thomas Jefferson which is a great math/science school. I can walk to work!

Last, I can live in the Whitmore in Arlington a new high rise and be less than a quarter mile from work-so I can walk! However, the school is Wakefield. I have heard bad and good about this school. This is the catch all school for the rest of Arlington.

Any advice would awesome, just want to make the right decision to have a great family life, schools, and be able to experience culture and arts

[g3org3]

You kids could go to TJ if you lived in any of the areas you mention, assuming they can get in:
TJHSST - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
So, I would pick the best walk-to-work option based on the other variables.

[irvine]

That part of Columbia Pike isn't the greatest. The apartments you mention have just been renovated. (and stuccoed over--which I personally dislike aesthetically). It's a culturally diverse area, with a few ethnic restaurants,... however nothing exceptional comes to mind. Wakefield HS has consistently made AYP and offers an impressive array of AP courses. It has a largely economically disadvantaged population, however, which you may or may not mind... this is why test scores are lower than the North Arlington high schools. It is possibly the most ethnically diverse school in Northern VA, but if your kids matriculate from the So Arlington junior highs (probably TJ) it wont be much of a culture shock. The school embraces its cultural diversity with a number of creative programs/events. In terms of student, teacher and parent satisfaction surveys, the school mostly receives A's and B's. And if your kids are in the intensified/AP classes, they should do fine. So... don't write off Wakefield, but it is a vastly different school than Robinson or Fairfax HS which are more or less typical, high achieving, suburban high schools.

Consider also W-L and Yorktown high schools in North Arlington (north of Rt. 50). Both schools score higher than the state and nat'l averages on standardized testing, i.e. SAT's and other tests, and a tradition of academic excellence has been the foundation of both schools' programs for decades. The athletic programs are generally stronger than Wakefield's because the schools are much larger. W-L and Yorktown this year will have about 1,800-1,900 students, whereas Wakefield will be around 1,300-1,400. Many details on these schools in previous posts. You will find 2-3 bedroom apartments in the renovated Ballston Park apartments in the Buckingham Village area. There are affordable to high end renovated apartment complexes there, and they all have different owners/names. The area is at the intersection of N Henderson Rd and N Glebe Rd. Assuming you're looking at junior highs as well, students here attend Swanson, which is a high performing school academically. Closer to Swanson, which is a couple miles away in Westover Village, there are a number of more or less affordable apartments as well. And there are other apartment options on Lee Highway.

On Columbia Pike in South Arlington, the eastern end near the Pentagon is much nicer than the area you are looking into. Many restaurants, diners, and cafes; an old single screen movie theater also. Plenty of apartments to choose from. Students from this part of South Arlington are bussed to W-L, which is about 4 miles northwest. The bus transit along Columbia Pike is quite good for a short commute. Another nice area in So Arlington is Shirlington Village, an area of shops, cafes, and apartments; a library and theater as well. There is a large bus transit station there, and the commute to Columbia Pike should be easy. The high school for Shirlington/Fairlington is Wakefield, which is only about a 20 minute walk.

[v2009]

Definitely choose Arlington - North of Rt 50. Try to get your kids in Washington-Lee or Yorktown HS, those are great. TJ HS is great, as you know, but it's hard to get in. I would avoid sending my kids to Wakefield HS.

[JEB77]

Is the OP referring to TJ middle school in Arlington (near Route 50) or TJHSST in Fairfax. They are not the same.

Also, the suggestion that Fairfax HS, in particular, isn't very diverse is surprising. It's probably as diverse as Wakefield, with less than 50% White students and students from many different countries attending. Almost all high schools in Fairfax County are very diverse, as is the county as a whole.

[irvine]

The OP was referring to TJHSST, I believe.
TJ in Arlington is a middle school located just south of rt 50, as Jeb77 mentioned. It has a "middle years" IB program (International Baccalaureate).

[irvine]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Also, the suggestion that Fairfax HS, in particular, isn't very diverse is surprising. It's probably as diverse as Wakefield, with less than 50% White students and students from many different countries attending. Almost all high schools in Fairfax County are very diverse, as is the county as a whole.

You are probably right about Fairfax High School. I'm more of the Arlington expert. But when I was in hs a decade ago, Fairfax HS was definitely majority white. Fairfax hs also has a fine arts/performing arts magnet program. It's called the Fairfax Academy for Communications & the Arts. I don't know much about it, but there is a website with a lot of info.