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Middle-class enclave as well? My impression is that Arlington is moving more and more to the very well-paid.
(I was actually responding more to that part of the post, rather than SFH being there).
Well I don't know. North Arlington? Yes. South Arlington or at least my neck of the woods in South Arlington is more mixed and a little rough around the edges.
I'd say that's one thing that Silver Spring and Arlington have in common. There are some high end areas and some middle of the road areas. But when I think of Silver Spring I'm not thinking Whole Foods I'm thinking more lower end middle of the road but there's a bit of everything. And when people think of Arlington they're thinking lots of money but there's a little bit of everything.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I like Arlington and really don't want to leave despite the fact that moving could either a: put me closer to work in Fairfax or b: put me closer to the boyfriend in the District. Arlington is a good balance between to the two major factors in my life.
Even without the two conflicting factors I really like the way they do things in Arlington. I mean the crime is really low even in a more mixed income area like south Arlington and they're usually on top of things as far as plowing and salting roads. The only reason I stayed home yesterday was becasue the landlady forgot to salt the driveway. Arlington schools even opened. So yeah you pay more in Arlington but to me you get more. I just wish my neck of the woods had a metro station. Oh well can't have everything.
To me Arlington has a lot of convenience factors of the city (close to the action, nice neighborhoods, lots of restaurants) without the inconveniences of city living (parking headaches, higher insurance costs, lack of big box stores).
i agree about the restaurants being more diverse in Arlington. I think Arlington has better restaurants than Silver Spring and I lived in both.
I live in downtown silver spring now, and I could tell you, one thing that's nice for people who make less than $30 (i think) is that they have low income program for all of the apartments (the new apartments, 1200, Veridian, bennington, etc) and is very affordable. At the same time, I'm little bitter because I have to pay about twice as much than someone who makes less money than I do for the same apartment, which doesn't make any sense to me.
One more thing. One very important thing about Silver Spring is that it's a lot more expensive than arlington. Groceries are better in Arlington, drinks are cheaper, and you get everything cheaper because the tax is cheaper than Silver Spring.
I don't think it's really worth the money to live in Silver Spring, if you ask me. You could get better food, more diversity in restaurants, and all cheaper in Arlington.
Plokivos, housing (rent/mortgage) is a big part of most people's budgets, and on average it is a lot higher in Arlington than in Silver Spring. High housing costs tend to push other prices upward to some extent too.
Here's just one of any number of calculators you can use to compare cost of living:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
"The median home cost in Silver Spring is $351,250. Home appreciation the last year has been -8.94 percent.
Compared to the rest of the country, Silver Spring's cost of living is 38.00% Higher than the U.S. average."
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
"The median home cost in Arlington is $484,110. Home appreciation the last year has been -4.23 percent.
Compared to the rest of the country, Arlington's cost of living is 55.80% Higher than the U.S. average."
i agree about the restaurants being more diverse in Arlington. I think Arlington has better restaurants than Silver Spring and I lived in both.
I live in downtown silver spring now, and I could tell you, one thing that's nice for people who make less than $30 (i think) is that they have low income program for all of the apartments (the new apartments, 1200, Veridian, bennington, etc) and is very affordable. At the same time, I'm little bitter because I have to pay about twice as much than someone who makes less money than I do for the same apartment, which doesn't make any sense to me.
One more thing. One very important thing about Silver Spring is that it's a lot more expensive than arlington. Groceries are better in Arlington, drinks are cheaper, and you get everything cheaper because the tax is cheaper than Silver Spring.
I don't think it's really worth the money to live in Silver Spring, if you ask me. You could get better food, more diversity in restaurants, and all cheaper in Arlington.
Well. What keeps you in Silver Spring? Job? Surely there's something you like. Also they have mixed income housing in Arlington. They're building new low or mixed income housing in Arlington as we type. I believe in Clarendon (despite lots of protest) and in Ballston right when you get off of 66.
Although I will say that Arlington doesn't have any true low income housing like Fairfax county and I imagine Montgomery county does.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACWhite
Plokivos, housing (rent/mortgage) is a big part of most people's budgets, and on average it is a lot higher in Arlington than in Silver Spring. High housing costs tend to push other prices upward to some extent too.
Here's just one of any number of calculators you can use to compare cost of living:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
"The median home cost in Silver Spring is $351,250. Home appreciation the last year has been -8.94 percent.
Compared to the rest of the country, Silver Spring's cost of living is 38.00% Higher than the U.S. average."
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
"The median home cost in Arlington is $484,110. Home appreciation the last year has been -4.23 percent.
Compared to the rest of the country, Arlington's cost of living is 55.80% Higher than the U.S. average."
South Arlington is way cheaper though. So its not all about the orange line but yes at the end of the day I pay a pretty penny to live in Arlington when I could live in say Manassas or Centreville for a lower price. But those places just don't fit my lifestyle.
Well. What keeps you in Silver Spring? Job? Surely there's something you like. Also they have mixed income housing in Arlington. They're building new low or mixed income housing in Arlington as we type. I believe in Clarendon (despite lots of protest) and in Ballston right when you get off of 66.
Although I will say that Arlington doesn't have any true low income housing like Fairfax county and I imagine Montgomery county does.
South Arlington is way cheaper though. So its not all about the orange line but yes at the end of the day I pay a pretty penny to live in Arlington when I could live in say Manassas or Centreville for a lower price. But those places just don't fit my lifestyle.
Than North Arlington or than Silver Spring? Parts of it are cheaper than most parts of NA; parts of it are not (e.g., Arlington Ridge/Aurora Highlands). And all of the values go into the median, just as it does for SS. So my point was that it's just not true that "One very important thing about Silver Spring is that it's a lot more expensive than arlington."
Than North Arlington or than Silver Spring? Parts of it are cheaper than most parts of NA; parts of it are not (e.g., Arlington Ridge/Aurora Highlands). And all of the values go into the median, just as it does for SS. So my point was that it's just not true that "One very important thing about Silver Spring is that it's a lot more expensive than arlington."
You have a point about Arlington Ridge and Aurora Highlands. Golf claps for you. Or I could give you a rep point one of the other I forget which.
I'd still say that overall from my observations while browsing ads on craigslist, Silver Spring was the overall cheaper place.
Thanks - But I think we're agreeing - it's Plokivos who says SS is more expensive. I agree that there are some great deals in parts of So. Arlington and I agree about the other advantages for Arl. you mentioned earlier.
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