Millenials Choosing Older Homes Closer In? (Arlington, Alexandria: fit in, apartments, university dorms)

[FC Merrifield]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

not the whole variety of creative types of flavors though - I would say my impression is that Breeze leans a bit more toward trendy stuff than Shilla's but even so its mostly the very distinctive types of offerings (loosely inspired by French pastries I guess, but with fillings and combos I've never seen outside a Korean establishment) typical of Korean bakeries.

Certainly from my POV Breeze, with its espresso, WiFi, etc adds a tad to the Annandale hipness rating -that a good sized parking lot seperates it from the sidewalk is as much of a clue that you aren't in Logan Circle anymore, as the style of the baked goods. Matin de Paris has a slightly better lay out from the "urbanist" POV but I don't recall as hip a feel inside as Breeze.

It's a sad situation when Breeze adds to a town's hipness rating, although you could be right. It's surrounded by a Korean restaurant, a 7/11, parking lots and a traffic choke point at the intersection of Little River Turnpike and the Beltway. But if I had to rate them in terms of hipness (as stand alone bakeries and not based on location), it would be: 1. Breeze (gelato adds to its hipness), 2. Starbucks, 3. Matin de Paris, 4. Dunkin Donuts, 78. Shilla.

The Korean bakeries have great desserts, but cupcakes are not among them. You'd be better off with cupcakes from Au Bon Pain or even Whole Foods.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by FC Merrifield

You're telling me. My original posts were saying that this is the exact reason why so many people move to Fairfax and even beyond - they feel that the public schools are better here and they can't afford private schools.

Having experienced FCPS as a parent, and having had friends who experienced ACPS, I find the idea of FCPS being that much better than ACPS quite odd.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by FC Merrifield

It's a sad situation when Breeze adds to a town's hipness rating, although you could be right. It's surrounded by a Korean restaurant, a 7/11, parking lots and a traffic choke point at the intersection of Little River Turnpike and the Beltway. But if I had to rate them in terms of hipness (as stand alone bakeries and not based on location), it would be: 1. Breeze (gelato adds to its hipness), 2. Starbucks, 3. Matin de Paris, 4. Dunkin Donuts, 78. Shilla.

The Korean bakeries have great desserts, but cupcakes are not among them. You'd be better off with cupcakes from Au Bon Pain or even Whole Foods.

I would have to give the koreans bonus points for being indie/local chain vs national chain (I assume Matin is indie, and Shillas are not found outside NoVa, but I could be wrong) Its hard to imagine any good coffee place less hip than DD (although I suppose the real hipsters may like it for the same reasons they like PBR - DD is to Starbucks as PBR is to Sam Adams, maybe?)

I will add that the corner of Hummer and LRT is a signficant bus interchange point (29K/N, 29E, 402/401, 16 and 3A there or a very short walk) and you do see cyclists (of the helmet and lycra wearing, riding in the road variety) shooting up or down Hummer several times an hour at rush hour - so it should get at least a couple of urbanist/hipster points for that.

[irvine]

Originally Posted by FC Merrifield

But I generally agree that Millenials will move into the suburbs once they start having kids. I'm at the older fringe of the group and many of my friends are young married couples that bought fixer-uppers in Arlington and DC, where they can quickly commute to their jobs and walk to restaurants for dinner. The only ones that are planning to stay are those that can afford to buy large, newish homes for $1 million plus and then send their kids to private school.

Originally Posted by FC Merrifield

And regarding your earlier question regarding Arlington schools - yes, the couples I know there tend to send their kids to private schools. Keep in mind that these are the ones that could afford to stay in that area while also buying a large house for their family.

I think your friends are the exception to the current trends in Arlington. The further north you go in the county the public schools are becoming very overcrowded because of new families moving into renovated homes in older neighborhoods. The Arlington school population in virtually every N Arlington neighborhood is approaching levels not seen since the 1960s. South Arlington is also projected to grow as Columbia Pike is redeveloped. There are many Arlington parents that pay for private schools, but they are in the minority.

I'm an older millennial, and I know quite a few locals that have moved back to Arlington to send their kids to the neighborhood schools they attended. In a few years, if I still work in DC, I'll probably do the same.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by FC Merrifield

I have no idea what the zip codes are, but yeah, the houses are not large in the sense of what you find in the exurbs. They're about the same size as my townhouse, but obviously cost more. It's big enough to raise a family. And again, it's not that they feel like the public schools are something out of Dangerous Minds, they just feel like it's worth it to them to go the private school route.

We live in 22205, and the whole area is crawling with middle-aged parents of little (and older) kids. People pay a premium for the schools here. It actually makes more sense (at least financially) to pay more for the house to get good public schools than to pay less for the house and use the savings to pay for private schools, because mortgage interest is deductible, as is property tax and a lot of trasactional fees on the home purchase. (Some would argue that private schools offer a better education than do even the best public schools, but that's another topic.)

Yes, the older houses are smaller for the most part, but I'm always gobsmacked at what people consider small. To me, 1800SF above grade does sound large--or at least comfortably spacious. What you see a lot of people do here is have a massive extension built off the back of the house, so that the old house is almost a foyer for the siding-covered HardieBarn off the back. (And in contrast to what someone said above, $1 million WILL get you a very spacious house in most of Arlington.)

Re. Millennials: As a Gen Xer, I find them (generally) as baffling and frustrating as the Silent Generation found the Boomers, with their addiction to Facebook, aversion to punctuation, and preference for group everything. (Exceptions abound--including on this forum!) So I have no idea what they want. I do seem to notice that young couples tend to look for a SFH the minute they get married and/or start having kids. I suspect, however, that the Millennials' love of group interaction means they find the exurban isolation off-putting; I don't think they want the kinds of homes most of them grew up in.

[spleuchan]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Haymarket's a great place to live. You do raise a good point that the meaning of "close in" has changed quite a bit from when I moved here with the growth of the Dulles tech corridor and telework.

Someone I worked with who recently retired mentioned that they remember when Burke was considered way out there and people wondered why someone would want to commute that far. Now adays, Burke is considered one of the closer options.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by spleuchan

Someone I worked with who recently retired mentioned that they remember when Burke was considered way out there and people wondered why someone would want to commute that far. Now adays, Burke is considered one of the closer options.

Close to what? Not to DC. Close to Belvoir, sure.

[spleuchan]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Close to what? Not to DC. Close to Belvoir, sure.

Compared to all those commuting from PW, Loudoun, Stafford, and Spotsylvania, yes, close. I work in Alexandria, and if you live in Burke, you have one of the better commutes.

[hilsmom]

Originally Posted by spleuchan

Compared to all those commuting from PW, Loudoun, Stafford, and Spotsylvania, yes, close. I work in Alexandria, and if you live in Burke, you have one of the better commutes.

yes. And with the VRE right there, it can be a decent option for someone who can use that to commute. It all depends where you are commuting and at what hours.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Close to what? Not to DC. Close to Belvoir, sure.

You don't consider 18 miles close?