What's the Story with South Arlington? (Alexandria, Fairfax: apartment complex, how much, houses)

[JD984]

South Arlington includes some or all of 22202. It's not just 22204.

There are some really nice neighborhoods in South Arlington like Aurora Hills and Arlington Ridge. In general, the SFHs aren't as nice as in North Arlington: either the houses are a bit smaller, or the quality of the construction isn't as high (for example, fewer all-brick homes). As others have noted, there are a lot of both high-rise and garden apartment complexes. Some of the garden apartment complexes are run-down, but the Columbia Pike redevelopment projects might take off at some point and give the area a vibe a bit more like Silver Spring or some residential parts of Brooklyn.

One factoid - over the past 10 years, the South Arlington elementary and middle schools (with some exceptions like Carlin Springs ES over near Baileys Crossroads) generally have become less Hispanic and more White, with the percentage of Asian and Black students relatively stable. This seems to suggest that younger, more affluent families are moving to South Arlington and making a commitment to the public schools. Time will tell if this trend continues.

[terrence81]

I live in south Arlington but am about to move next month. I like south Arlington. You'd definitely want a car but as mentioned there are enough buses that you'd still be able to get around without one. As far as the schools, well...I understand every parent wants their child to get the best education possible. But the schools in the DC suburbs are some of the best in the country. The lowest ranking school in Northern Virginia is still going to be far better than the average American school.

I like south Arlington there's a huge mix. Douglas Park is really nice with lots of single family homes. Nauck, my neighborhood, is the only historically black neighborhood I know of in Arlington. My block is really quiet with mixed demographics as more families and home owners of all colors move in after being priced out of North Arlington. I will admit that the lawns in Douglas Park are a touch more manicured versus my own neighborhood despite being right across from each other. But the houses in Douglas Park costs more too.

Shirlington is really nice too. There's like a dozen restaurants there, a theatre for plays, an art house type movie theater, a grocery store, and a library all in like 2 blocks.

I don't know about Columbia Pike gettiong too gentrified as mentioned before and in other threads. I mean its certainly possible but I honestly think the mix of old and new makes Columbia Pike interesting. There's been a lot of talk of the streetcar but no actual construction. An underground metro line would be along Columbia Pike. It should at least go out to Burke but maybe that's just me. Arlington is overwhelmingly safe even the worst parts are way safer than most places in the District.

[eastli84]

I currently live in 22204 as well (since April) and love it. My apartment building has a nice mix of white, black, Asian, and Middle Eastern tenants. There are a lot of families as well. The neighborhood is certainly less polished and yuppified than North Arlington, but I like being able to live in a spacious 1-BR for less than $1400/month. Another thing I enjoy is not being surrounded by Starbucks, chain restaurants, and cookie-cutter condos.

For transportation, the Pike Ride (metrobus) runs every 5 minutes during rush hour (although the sign post says every 3-4 minutes). Some mornings you have to wait about 8 minutes and the bus could be standing-room only by the time it gets to Courthouse Rd. The Art 42 bus runs less frequently, but offers a nice alternative to Metrobus if you're able to catch it. Having a car is great on the weekends since the buses run every 15-20 minutes (longer intervals at night).

Right on Columbia Pike there's Bob & Edith's diner, Lost Dog, a new tavern, and the Draft House, to name a few of the popular dining/entertainment spots.

Overall, I think this area is safe, fairly priced, and offers easy access to the metro. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to be near DC without going broke!

[pseudo]

Yeah, South Arlington is the worst place ever! I would never consider buying here...

That being said, I spent a wonderful week amongst my South Arlington comrades (yes, I had two days of "this place is so cool"). A wonderful Four Mile Run bike path to ride into DC with, a diverse mix of people who seem to be 'cool' to be in the mix, a convenient Shirlington Village, a shuttle to the Metro station, a quiet neighborhood (its oh so quiet), a dog park to watch those special animals at play, an active community, men playing soccer (sorry it is always the men who are playing soccer, and also the men teaching the boys how to play) and families picnicking at Barcroft Park, and most of all, Four Mile Run, the waterway which provides a beautiful sense of being amongst nature in the middle of a city. I've just experienced a 'i really like it here and cannot believe it because I should be happy in a secluded cabin in the Rocky Mountains' weekend, sorry for the sappiness.

Yes, I wouldn't even think of moving here.

[coolio69]

I live in the 22204 in a SFH. It is really great. Been here about 3 years. My neighborhood is Alcova Heights. I take the bike to the VA square stop, which is about 2 miles. I don't ride the metro all the time, but the bike makes it very accessible. My neighborhood is kinda like a grid so you can avoid Glebe, Col pike and big thouroughfares when on the bike (a definite +!)

In addition to the aforementioned restaurants/night stops you can also bike to grocery stores. They are building a mixed used low rise, which used to house a Giant grocery store on Col. Pike. That Giant was the closest grocery store to us but I think they will open it back up. Other close stores are the Giant in VA square area and the Harris teeter on Glebe.

My immediate neighbors are mainly white but there is an asian family and a latino family. No crime (thus far) not even car break ins. I guess I know my neighbors so i guess we all look out for each other.

While the area is quiet, I sense that it will take off with some of the high /low rises and development that are springing up around the pike and in Shirlington or close 7 corners.

[BabyChickie]

I'm an Arlington native and grew up in South Arlington, although I switched high schools mid-way in 1995 to attend Yorktown in North Arlington so I have intimate knowledge of both sides of Route 50. In my experience, North Arlington locals tend to be a little snobby re: the "South Side" out of ignorance because, quite frankly, it was more culturally diverse if you will...but specifically, "Green Valley" (now known as Nauck Community) was considered a dangerous part of town...at least by Arlington standards. In fairness, there were crimes in and around that neighborhood that were of the car-jacking/assault level with even a rare shooting now and then. Difference is that if you knew NOT to venture into this neighborhood at night, there was never a reason to feel unsafe. And I can tell you that the South side of the 90s no longer exists.

South Arlington folks have always loved our side the best and enjoyed the diversity and culture and hard-working nature of its residents. You will find a lot of the locals and young families living here vs. the young professionals and imports that have migrated to the trendy areas in central Arlington.

The South side has always been a gem in my eyes...so much so that my husband and I recently purchased our first house here amid all the "revitalization" projects in the works. The landscape is going to become much more metropolitan in the coming years and I suspect it will be hard to distinguish between the two sides of town not all too far down the road.

[ACWhite]

Zip codes 22206, 22204 and 22202 are all south of Rte 50, but they are very different from each other in housing and demographic mix. 22202 is a lot like 22201 in proximity to DC and to the metro, restaurants, shopping, demographics, and mix and cost of rental apts./condos/SFHs. Check out the data on Moderator cut: Please post only non-sponsored MLS sites. as well as this website (city-data).

Wakefield HS experienced a large gain in SAT scores this year, while the other high schools (with higher scores) didn't change much.

Also, terrence81, the Highview Park neighborhood in 22207 (N. Arl.) is also historically black.

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

Zip codes 22206, 22204 and 22202 are all south of Rte 50, but they are very different from each other in housing and demographic mix. 22202 is a lot like 22201 in proximity to DC and to the metro, restaurants, shopping, demographics, and mix and cost of rental apts./condos/SFHs. Check out the data on Moderator cut: Please post only non-sponsored MLS sites.as well as this website (city-data).

Wakefield HS experienced a large gain in SAT scores this year, while the other high schools (with higher scores) didn't change much.

Also, terrence81, the Highview Park neighborhood in 22207 (N. Arl.) is also historically black.

Really? Neat! Never been through to that neighborhood so wouldn't know. Shucks I didn't know Arlington had a black neighborhood at all until I moved here and the funny thing I worked in Shirlington so its not like I'd never been to south Arlington but if you're just commuting you don't pay attention to every nuance of a neighborhood.

[stpickrell]

I think I had the rear end of South Arlington experiences.

2000-2002: Lived in a TH whose back porch was about 20' from Columbia Pike. The TH itself was nice, as were the neighbors (well except for the person who berated us for parking in her preferred public spot), but we got sick and tired of hearing cars go crash-boom-bang punctuated with the occasional ecnalubma.
2002-2008: Lived in a duplex that wasn't walkable (seriously, I was hemmed in by multi-lane highways with no crosswalks/signals), had horrible neighbors (*), worked a lousy shift (11-730pm which kept me from being involved in the community), when my daughter was born it became untenable.

(*) Our duplex mates kept bumming money from my wife and I, having drunken fights at all hours. There was a drug dealer across the street who eventually got busted by the 5-0. There was limited on-street parking, and some of them (all of whom were related) would make it a point to come out and berate me for taking 'their' spot, even though they could see the spots in front of my place were taken. One of them told me to call the police if the spots near my place were taken. To be fair, there were a couple of fairly cool folks, but they moved out.

So we had all the social ills of the city, coupled with the limited walkability of the suburbs. We've since visited other friends who live in Arlington, but we were just burned out after eight years of living there. We live in Vienna now and love it here. Today I had the day off from work due to a shed installation in my backyard, so my wife and I walked over to her daycare and we took the wagon all the way back.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

Zip codes 22206, 22204 and 22202 are all south of Rte 50, but they are very different from each other in housing and demographic mix. 22202 is a lot like 22201 in proximity to DC and to the metro, restaurants, shopping, demographics, and mix and cost of rental apts./condos/SFHs. Check out the data on Moderator cut: Please post only non-sponsored MLS sites.as well as this website (city-data).

Wakefield HS experienced a large gain in SAT scores this year, while the other high schools (with higher scores) didn't change much.

Also, terrence81, the Highview Park neighborhood in 22207 (N. Arl.) is also historically black.

I wish I had known this. That would have been a cool phototour.