Arlington, Virginia

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Crystal City Arlington, VA

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Arlington, Virginia

Located directly across the Potomac River from Washington DC, Arlington is 26 square miles urban county, known for its deep roots of American culture and history, there’s so much more. Home to both booming business districts with towering skyscrapers and quaint residential neighborhoods with a small-town feel, teeming with shopping centers and lively nightlife, Arlington has a little bit of everything for  everyone. Couple this urban diversity with planned development centered around one of the best public transportation systems in the country, and you have a community where one can live, work, and play...no car.

Arlington is an urban departure from crowded streets and gridlocked traffic; a breath of fresh air and calming green spaces. Its an alternative to the far-flung suburbs, where cars  are mandatory, cavernous office parks abound and workers sit for hours on highways as they commute to and from the office. Arlington's central location in the Washington DC metropolitan area, its ease of access by car and public transportation, and its highly skilled labor force have attracted an increasingly varied residential and commercial mix. Arlington has focused high-density commercial and residential development around Metrorail  stations in the Rosslyn-Ballston and Jefferson Davis Metro Corridors, while maintaining lower density residential neighborhoods in the rest of the County.

Since 2000, Arlington’s population has increased 7%, which is welcomed. Arlington has long been incorporating the latest thinking in how the physical space of our community  is created – mixed-use development, transit-oriented development, smart growth and green buildings. Now, Arlington’s alternative energy – its creative, diverse, innovative and intelligent people that live and work here completes that picture.

The county’s racially, ethnically and culturally diverse residents reflect the American ‘melting pot.’ In 2005, about 35% of Arlington’s residents were Hispanic/Latino, African- American, Asian or multi-racial and almost one-quarter of  residents were born outside the US. Arlington County public school children speak 105 languages and hail from 127 countries. Arlington residents are among the most highly educated in the nation. In 2005, slightly over 66% of adults age 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher and about 36% had a graduate or professional degree.

Economy
Arlington had an estimated 200,300 jobs as of January 1, 2007. The federal government is the largest single employer in the County. Arlington’s top 5 private employers are Virginia Hospital Center, Verizon, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Marriott International, and SAIC. In December 2006, Arlington’s unemployment rate was 1.9%. Arlington has more private office space than downtown Boston, Dallas, Denver, or Los Angeles. At the close of 2006, 1,354,323 square feet of office space was completed and approximately 1.4 million square feet of office space was under construction. The office vacancy rate in 4th quarter 2006 was 10%, but the vacancy rates in some office markets, including Ballston, Rosslyn, and Pentagon City, were lower.

Education
Arlington's focus on schooling is apparent; the county spends about half of its revenue on education, and is second in the nation, behind New York City. The Arlington Public Schools system is known for its top-tier high schools: Yorktown High School, Washington-Lee High School and Wakefield High School, as well as the H-B Woodlawn Program. The only private high school in Arlington is the Catholic college preparatory school, Bishop O'Connell.

Since 1999, Fairfax County Public Schools have permitted 26 Arlington students to be enrolled at the acclaimed Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax. For schools with more than 800 students in grades 10-12, TJHSST was cited as having the highest-performing AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP French Language, AP Government and Politics: U.S., and AP U.S. History courses among all schools worldwide.

Colleges and Universities
The only university located within Arlington is Marymount University, while George Mason University operates an Arlington campus in the Virginia Square area between Clarendon and Ballston. The campus is home to the School of Law, School of Public Policy and other programs.

Satellite campuses in Arlington include: Northern Virginia Community College, Strayer University and DeVry University. And located across the Rosslyn Metro Station in the Ames center is The Art Institute of Washington.

Around Arlington
All these contribute to the most striking characteristic of Arlington - the diversity in its landscape. Within the space of a few miles, we can find the business centers of Crystal City, Rosslyn or Ballston, the quirky  liveliness of Clarendon, nationally-recognized monuments, and neighborhoods dominated by single-family homes and tree-lined streets. All these different areas co-exist within Arlington County, and public transportation makes it all accessible to everyone.

Arlington boasts high quality residential neighborhoods. Residents are actively involved in the community, with 62 registered civic and citizen associations, dozens of commissions, and over 100 community service organizations. There are almost 200 public parks and playgrounds, 86 miles of biking/jogging trails, 14 community centers, 8 live stage theaters and 8 libraries in Arlington for residents and visitors to enjoy.

There are a number of unincorporated neighborhoods within Arlington; the county characterizes these neighborhoods as ‘urban villages,’ particularly those located at Metrorail stations and other major transportation corridors. They include: Ballston, Cherrydale, Clarendon, Columbia Pike, Courthouse, Crystal City, Lyon Village, Palisades, Pentagon City, Rosslyn, Shirlington, Virginia Square, Westover, and Williamsburg Circle

Source: arlingtonvirginiausa.com, arlingtonva.us, wikipedia.org
Photo Source: ballstonvasquare.org, wikipedia.org, cherrydale.net, arlingtonva.us, arlingtonvirginiausa.com, Jeff Costlow, and Aaron Kuhn

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