Thoughts on Rose Hill area of Alexandria (Arlington, Woodbridge: apartments, to rent)

[brownnugen]

I am in the military and will be moving to Northern VA this summer and will be working in Anacostia, DC for the next 4 years. Some of my criteria for purchasing a house is: 1) Good schools (doesn't have to be the "best" but will still be desireable when I move and have to sell/rent the house. 2) Safe neighborhood 3) Within 15 miles to DC (so I can commute by bike).

When I went to the DC area for the holiday, I checked out some houses in Alexandria, Arlington, and was very underwhelmed by what I could get for my money. But I did find a really nice house near Rose Hill Elementary School.

As I was researching schools on the greatschools website, I saw it was only rated 4 out of 10. I have school age kids and anticipate anyone that would want to rent or buy this house when I get transferred out of the area will also take into consideration the schools. There is also Clermont Elementary school very close by that gets a 9 out of 10, but the houses in that area are significantly more expensive. I am not sure how much of a premium it is worth paying to be in the Clermont versus Rose Hill school zone. I also noticed that once out of elementary school, all of those kids will go to the same middle and high school (Twain and Edison).

So, what are your thoughts on Rose Hill (area and schools)?

Thanks.

[slduvall]

The Rose Hill area is a little on the older side, with some nice older homes along side some not so nice places. But many do have large yards and you aren't right on top of neighbors, like the newer areas right near there. I haven't been to all the parts of Rose Hill, mainly the neighborhoods just North of Franconia. That said, I have friends who lived there and didn't want to send their kids to Rose Hill, so got a waiver to be at a school near their day care. They didn't receive the waiver one year..so actually moved into the other school district. But my current next door neighbor actually sends her kids to Rose Hill, for the Spanish immersion program. She likes Rose Hill, it has some active groups her kids participate in. But she will go to the Middle school zoned for our neighborhood.

On the plus side, Rose Hill will give you great access to I 95 for your commute. Though the intersection of Van Dorn and Franconia is a pain.

Wait...just caught the commute by bike comment..you can't take I-95 by bike, though there is a great new bike path under the bridge, I'm not sure how you would get there from Rose Hill by Bike. Over to Telegraph? Rt 1?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by slduvall

Wait...just caught the commute by bike comment..you can't take I-95 by bike, though there is a great new bike path under the bridge, I'm not sure how you would get there from Rose Hill by Bike. Over to Telegraph? Rt 1?

That sounds like it would be an insane ride.

[HokieFan]

Originally Posted by slduvall

Wait...just caught the commute by bike comment..you can't take I-95 by bike, though there is a great new bike path under the bridge, I'm not sure how you would get there from Rose Hill by Bike. Over to Telegraph? Rt 1?

I'm not a biker but have driven Rt. 1 and Telegraph during rush hours. Traffic is heavy and fast. Biking up Rt. 1 and Telegraph during rush hours would be insanely dangerous.

Probably the best route would be to bike over to the GW Pkwy and take the bike path up and into DC.

[robbobobbo]

re: biking - From Rose Hill you'd get on Franconia Rd, enter the Winslow neighborhood at La Vista Dr, right on Upland, take that to Clermont, left on Clermont, and the road ends at a path that winds down a hill to get to Eisenhower Ave. There is a bike path along Eisenhower and you'd take it into Old Town Alexandria, where you'd pick up the route to the GW Parkway path into DC.

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by robbobobbo

re: biking - From Rose Hill you'd get on Franconia Rd, enter the Winslow neighborhood at La Vista Dr, right on Upland, take that to Clermont, left on Clermont, and the road ends at a path that winds down a hill to get to Eisenhower Ave. There is a bike path along Eisenhower and you'd take it into Old Town Alexandria, where you'd pick up the route to the GW Parkway path into DC.

Good info for OP..I was wondering how you would get to the other side of 95. I've seen the Hill at the Eisenhower connector..don't think I would want to go up it!

[scottfs]

A relative of mine lived in the area for a couple of years but moved to the Kingstowne area a couple of years ago. I don't know the school pyramid that well but she sent her kid to the elementary school and I never heard about any problems.

The area itself is pretty normal. It's not really upscale in any way but I would say it's perfectly safe. The neighborhoods along Franconia have some pretty decent older houses and larger trees. My relative moved to Kingstowne because she was in the older apartments behind the shopping center at Rose Hill and Franconia and they were pretty old. She wanted something nicer and newer.

You must be a pretty dedicated to cycling to want to bike that far one way every day. I love cycling and ride a few centuries every year but I could never seem myself biking 150 miles in rush hour traffic each week.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by robbobobbo

re: biking -

Geeze, where is Brooklynborndad when you need him?

[brownnugen]

I lived in Woodbridge before getting stationed here in Michigan, where I bike to work year round. When I was at DC and living in Woodbridge, I carpooled, slugged, picked up slugs, etc and just accepted it as a necessity if you wanted to get to work. It took me moving away from the area to realize just how much I hated traffic. Realizing that if I lived within 15 miles, I "should" be able to manage a bike commute, that is a priority for me. Even though it may take me the same amount of time bike than if I lived in Woodbridge, at least I will get my exercise.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by brownnugen

I lived in Woodbridge before getting stationed here in Michigan, where I bike to work year round. When I was at DC and living in Woodbridge, I carpooled, slugged, picked up slugs, etc and just accepted it as a necessity if you wanted to get to work. It took me moving away from the area to realize just how much I hated traffic. Realizing that if I lived within 15 miles, I "should" be able to manage a bike commute, that is a priority for me. Even though it may take me the same amount of time bike than if I lived in Woodbridge, at least I will get my exercise.

You should probably try to find something close to one of the bike trails. I live near the Mount Vernon Trail and ride into Old Town regularly. I can't imagine commuting around here on regular busy streets.