DH and I are debating whether to buy under Chantilly HS or Langley HS. Our budget is 1.2-1.3M.
Our kids are in 3rd and 8th grade. We want to move this year so our 8th grader can go to a better high school. For that price range we are getting smaller and older houses under Langley. Part of me says to pay little more (upto 1.4) and move under Langley, but DH wants to get a better house for around 1.1-1.2 and buy under Chantilly High/Rocky Run/ Poplar Tree bracket. Any advice on which route we should take? We are kind of split on this argument. Any particular family oriented neighborhoods in GF you would recommend. TIA! |
Both schools are very good. Where are you committing to? |
^ commuting/driving for work |
Where are you moving from? Where do you feel like your 8th grader would fit in better? I have an 8th taser too and we just finished selecting high schools so I think where he or she would find a group or feel more comfortable should be a big factor. |
*grader |
OP here.
We are moving from Fairfax High for 2 reasons. We have grown out of current house and current elementary is not good. Commute is not a problem as we mostly WFH. |
My answer might be controversial.
We are in the Langley neighborhood, don’t know anything about Chantilly. Most kids at Langley are academically driven. If your child is a good student and want to take AP classes they will fit right in (doesn’t mean that need to take 8-12 AP classes). If your child struggles with school, I would look somewhere else. |
Those are two very different communities and your housing budget would place you in very different social places - you’d be rich at Chantilly and poor at Langley. What are your other priorities? |
Which elementary? It seems like a drastic move for three years of school - when it is really easy to supplement in ES. Your oldest child will be out of the house in four years, again a drastic move for space for a short amount of time. |
This |
I hear you. May be that’s the reason I want to move to GF. We are an Asian couple and part of me wants to transition to that social strata. DH is afraid to make that transition. I want kids to have that taste of a different social circle. My personal belief is that you become what group you are part of. We combined make around 275K and I am sure we would be in lower spectrum at Langley. Please enlighten or correct me if my way of thinking is wrong. Is there a different lens I should be looking through as well? |
You can stretch to get into the Langley district, and you’ll find that it’s still a public school, just with more kids with more money to spend on clothes and drugs. Langley is no better academically than Fairfax, and does not have an academy program like Fairfax and Chantilly. |
What’s the academy program? |
Arts-oriented at Fairfax and STEM-oriented at Chantilly - additional courses and electives not available at Langley. |
Langely , no questions |