Looking for great schools, family focused neighborhoods in MD and VA - thoughts?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
We're planning to move to either to Montgomery or Fairfax county. We'd really like to find a family focused neighborhood (we have a 4yr and a 2.5 yr old) that has a strong sense of community (ideally has a pool or community center, has family parades, anything that really brings families together!) and great schools. We need to stay in the 600k-low 700k range and have a decent commute to the Navy Yard. My mom lives in Alexandria (Fairfax Co part) and I don't want to get too far from her since she is getting older. We've been considering Churchill, Wootton, Walter Johnson, whitman, Woodson, Madison, Mason, etc. Open to ideas! |
Anonymous
| Waynewood |
Anonymous
|
Williamsburg Manor
|
Anonymous
| Takoma Park? Definitely has the community, and there's enough variety in housing stock that you could find something in that price range depending on the street. I've never done the Navy Yard commute, but I suspect a drive down North Capital is not too bad. Schools are good. Some people don't like living east of Rock Creek Park. |
Anonymous
| Kensington Parkwood neighborhood. |
Anonymous
| Burke or West Springfield alond the FC Pkwy. |
Anonymous
| I live in the Wootton cluster: Fallsmead/Lakewood ES area and the neighborhood is very family friendly. Lots of parks, community pool, etc. However, your commute would be from Rockville and I don't know if that would work for you. My DH takes the metro to Dupont and door to door it is about an hour (that includes his drive to metro, parking, etc.) |
Anonymous
| Kingstowne? |
Anonymous
| Based on your criteria, especially the mom part and the commute, I second the Waynewood recommendation. Also look at Belleview, located nearby. |
VArealtor
Member Offline
Member Offline
| In addition to the neighborhoods listed, consider Fort Belvoir. It's often overlooked and housing prices are reasonable for this area. |
Anonymous
| Really confused about the Waynewood recommendations. That feeds into West Potomac High School, which is no where near the same league as the schools the OP posted!! It's pretty bad. It's also the same school that Belleview would go to. Also confused about Kingstowne and Ft. Belvoir recommendations. Seriously, who would want to live in these areas unless they had to because they worked at Ft Belvoir!? I don't have any suggestions (sorry OP!) but I really hope the OP gets something more along the lines of what she's looking for. There have to be some more affordable areas in some of the better school districts! |
Anonymous
Fort Belvoir is a military base. Do you mean the Saratoga neighborhood? |
Anonymous
I went to an elite college and had a roommate who went to county high school in Kentucky. I think that puts things in perspective when focusing on specific high schools rather than finding a good home in a nice neighborhood... |
Anonymous
Racist much? |
VArealtor
Member Offline
Member Offline
Ft Belvoir is also a census designated location. You basically have the (huge) base, and a small community off-base but both are located in Ft Belvoir, VA. To a PP that asked why Fort Belvoir: It's actually a fairly pleasant place. People are friendly, lots of young families, fairfax county schools, affordable and nice houses. Fairly convenient for commuting to Navy Yard. Sure, most of the residents are military but that's not a bad thing. I just mention it because people don't think to look there assuming that it is not an option because the base is so large. Another suggestion that wasn't listed is Mantua but they move quickly, are a long commute to navy yard, and most of the listings are slightly out of OP's price range. Still, a highly desirable & lovely neighborhood. |