If you could live anywhere in NoVa....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So not true in my home. My boys always seek out the one or two kids of different ethnic race or nationality. However, they have always been in schools and environments with diversity. We are in N.Arlinglin and my kids do hang out with less fortunate kids and gain perspective. There are all types of living situations---ritzy to bare-bones apartments. I grew up in a very wealthy area of Ffx co. and wanted a more diverse atmosphere while still having great schools. I also didn't want my kids around some of the attitudes and excess that were so very common in my HS.

Sounds like your kids would have had a similar experience in Fairfax. Just about any part of Fairfax County, with its more sizable Asian population, will be more diverse than the North Arlington neighborhoods that feed into Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor or Tuckahoe. These areas of North Arlington are really the Upper Caucasia of 2012.

You can add McKinley to that list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I never thought of GF as being exclusively rich. We have friends who live in GF and they moved there because they could not afford Mclean, from their own blatantly honest words. This is not the first time I heard this either, i know another recently married couple who would live in Mclean if they could afford a certain type of house they want, but are considering GF instead because they can get more for their money.

Kind of depends on the type of house someone wants. There are certain types of houses that are less expensive in Great Falls than in North Arlington and McLean, but pretty much anyone who can afford to live in Great Falls could afford some areas of McLean or North Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Great Falls and love it here. Terrible commute to DC but we work in Reston and only have to go to DC once or twice a month. It is quiet, bucolic and we see more deer and foxes than neighbors. There are no sidewalks and nothing is within walking distance and that's just fine. The schools are great and the community is tight knit because we have to work at staying in touch and connected, via play dates, activities etc. If you value privacy then you will love it here. And no, we don't hang out on DCUM where we get insulted occasionally... .

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Great Falls and love it here. Terrible commute to DC but we work in Reston and only have to go to DC once or twice a month. It is quiet, bucolic and we see more deer and foxes than neighbors. There are no sidewalks and nothing is within walking distance and that's just fine. The schools are great and the community is tight knit because we have to work at staying in touch and connected, via play dates, activities etc. If you value privacy then you will love it here. And no, we don't hang out on DCUM where we get insulted occasionally... .

Finally something nice about Great Falls!!
DH would be commuting to Arlington, is it still horrible? if we stay on the southern end thats' closest to McLean?

It would depend on which part of Arlington. DH could go the back way through McLean and miss the toll road traffic. It would be more scenic but if you are moving from out of the area, rest assured that commuting here is unlike almost anywhere else in the country, bar LA or NY.

[Anonymous]

I love driving and walking through Lyon Park. I think it's a beautiful neighborhood. But not sure what the neighborhood culture's like. If I could live anywhere, I'd still live somewhere with neighbors who I could join for a beer outside while our kids play, rather than the most attractive neighborhood or with the highest ranked schools. I always loved Old Towne too, I think the proximity to the water is really special.

[Anonymous]

McLean - Franklin Park, Salona Village or Langley Forest. Beautiful houses, lots small enough that people walk and socialize, best schools in NoVa, close to everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Great Falls and love it here. Terrible commute to DC but we work in Reston and only have to go to DC once or twice a month. It is quiet, bucolic and we see more deer and foxes than neighbors. There are no sidewalks and nothing is within walking distance and that's just fine. The schools are great and the community is tight knit because we have to work at staying in touch and connected, via play dates, activities etc. If you value privacy then you will love it here. And no, we don't hang out on DCUM where we get insulted occasionally... .

Finally something nice about Great Falls!!
DH would be commuting to Arlington, is it still horrible? if we stay on the southern end thats' closest to McLean?

It would depend on which part of Arlington. DH could go the back way through McLean and miss the toll road traffic. It would be more scenic but if you are moving from out of the area, rest assured that commuting here is unlike almost anywhere else in the country, bar LA or NY.

OP here - I was born and raised in MoCo, so know it well - very well. we are actually moving back from LA - so traffic in DC does not scare me in the least. its a joke in comparison to DC traffic. That said, I want my DH for once to have a nice short commute to work - aka - between 30-45 mins max. DH will be working in the crystal city area.

thanks again.

[Anonymous]

It would depend on which part of Arlington. DH could go the back way through McLean and miss the toll road traffic. It would be more scenic but if you are moving from out of the area, rest assured that commuting here is unlike almost anywhere else in the country, bar LA or NY.


OP here - I was born and raised in MoCo, so know it well - very well. we are actually moving back from LA - so traffic in DC does not scare me in the least. its a joke in comparison to DC traffic. That said, I want my DH for once to have a nice short commute to work - aka - between 30-45 mins max. DH will be working in the crystal city area.

thanks again.

Edge of GF or McLean area would work for you if you want more bucolic life. If you favor walkable, city environs, Old Towne Alexandria or North Arlington are great. I currently live in GF with 2 kids but have lived in both other places as well. Cons for Old Towne and NA are high price for smaller yards but communities are great. Cons for GF is that you have to work a little harder to get to know neighbors. All good folks as well, here. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love driving and walking through Lyon Park. I think it's a beautiful neighborhood. But not sure what the neighborhood culture's like. If I could live anywhere, I'd still live somewhere with neighbors who I could join for a beer outside while our kids play, rather than the most attractive neighborhood or with the highest ranked schools. I always loved Old Towne too, I think the proximity to the water is really special.

I've always found Lyon Park much nicer than Lyon Village. I wouldn't consider Old Town for a family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? I'd buy a historic home in Old Town Alexandria or Leesburg and not give a crap about the school district. Since it's hypothetical, I also have lots o'mollah, so I can just find the kiddie a damn private school if I decide the public schools aren't good enough for my little snowflake.

Op was asking about NoVa, not the LaLaLand.

What the hell makes you think that Leesburg and Old town Alexandria are located in LaLaLand?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would also like to knw what the lalaland poster is trying to say. And what's wrong with old town for a family?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about the perfect place to live, but why is everyone complacent about class size? Can't we get this on the FCPS budget for next year to at least reduce it to the levels we were at before the recession? Everything else has been restored that I can see. Even if a teacher can teach to all those students (and I don't believe they can), the classrooms are overcrowded and stuffy. They weren't built to house this many students in each of them. Please ask the school board to reconsider this if you think class size is important.

less people can afford private these days. It is what it is. No one really loves the class sizes, but we have to pick our battles. I'm sure this is one of the next things teachers and administrators would like to tackle, but public schools cannot turn kids away, either. Would you prefer to stand in line like our friends in Loudoun just hoping to get into your neighborhood school, knowing if you don't get that spot your kid could be bussed halfway across the county for a school that isn't busting at the seams?

Loudoun resident here with 2 kids in school. I've never heard of what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know about the perfect place to live, but why is everyone complacent about class size? Can't we get this on the FCPS budget for next year to at least reduce it to the levels we were at before the recession? Everything else has been restored that I can see. Even if a teacher can teach to all those students (and I don't believe they can), the classrooms are overcrowded and stuffy. They weren't built to house this many students in each of them. Please ask the school board to reconsider this if you think class size is important.

less people can afford private these days. It is what it is. No one really loves the class sizes, but we have to pick our battles. I'm sure this is one of the next things teachers and administrators would like to tackle, but public schools cannot turn kids away, either. Would you prefer to stand in line like our friends in Loudoun just hoping to get into your neighborhood school, knowing if you don't get that spot your kid could be bussed halfway across the county for a school that isn't busting at the seams?

Loudoun resident here with 2 kids in school. I've never heard of what you are talking about.

Same here (another Loudoun resident), what is this posting referring to? (Sounds like a rumor.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Same here (another Loudoun resident), what is this posting referring to? (Sounds like a rumor.)

nope - brambleton has this happening every year. I have at least 3 friends who have gone through this. You have to make sure you show up at the crack of dawn on the day registration starts, as it has been first come, first served to get the spots at the neighborhood schools. My latest friend to go through this, though, it sounds like it became more like a lottery, as she wasn't going to find out whether her daughter would go to the school behind her brand new house or somewhere else until sometime during the summer.

Kids get bussed to schools that aren't in overflow situations. They are building a new school, I hear, but they didn't build schools as fast as houses.

here, I found the website for the school - http://www.lcps.org/creightonscorner