Where to buy next home in NOVA based on good schools?

[Anonymous]

Anything in Vienna that uses Louise Archer as a GT Center....Feeds into madison

[Anonymous]

And that will be $600,000 for a fixer-upper with just a carport, thank you. Lawyers North, Eudora et al. are all like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything in Vienna that uses Louise Archer as a GT Center....Feeds into madison

Students whose base school is Archer are assigned to Madison. Students could be assigned to AAP Center at Archer and go to Marshall (some of Cunningham Park, Freedom Hill, Vienna, Westbriar and Wolftrap ES attendance areas and all of Stenwood). They are both good.

[Anonymous]

Hey! My house is not worth 600K, and I feed into Louise Archer, and do not even have a carport! (I could not buy here today though )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And that will be $600,000 for a fixer-upper with just a carport, thank you. Lawyers North, Eudora et al. are all like that.

Houses in Eudora tend to go for between $525,000 and $700,000 and most have garages. The ones with carports typically sell for less than $600,000.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the poster that said there is a lot to a good school beyond test scores and that some school clusters are excellent because of a combination of things- strong academics and strong demographics - this can mean that school funds go to enrichment instead of remediation. Social opportunities for kids and sports, activities, etc. that are plentiful and available (not a waiting list or a situation where parents have to camp out LOL) and overall convenience.

I just moved to Fairfax County - off the parkway near Mt. Vernon estate - and my neighborhood has ALL OF THIS AND MORE. My family spent one day at the neighborhood park meeting families and getting the "vibe" of the neighborhood. I work in DC a few days a week and I can get there in less than 30 minutes most days. There are 10 preschools within 2 miles of my house - with many different schedule options and affordable tuitions. The housing stock is also very good - incredible nice houses for under 1 million.

[Anonymous]

We just moved from Burke. We were very happy with Lake Braddock High School. We've lived in the DC area three different times. Once in Montgomery County. Once in the District. And once in NoVA.

We're moving back (again) in a few months, and we'll go right back to Burke. By far our favorite.

[Anonymous]

I think it's insane to think about schools in a vacuum -- what will your house choice do to your commute and your spouse's? Your time is going to be even more limited when you have that second kid, and I assume that you're going to want to be able to participate in school events, have time at home in the evening, and so on. My husband and I both work downtown and live in North Arlington. We can zip over for school events, conferences, etc and zip back to work in no time. That wouldn't work if we lived in Loudon.

OTOH, if we worked in Reston, the aforementioned zipping wouldn't work if our kids were in school in Arlington. Cherish the zip!

[Anonymous]

I think yr husband working location is as important as the school region. Yr husband and you deserve a quality life too. I definitely suggest to choose a home with both good location for your husband work access and has good school network.

I agree with those who asked you to reconsider arlington. It's a very good location and have good schools. If you insist of moving, how about mclean area, my husband works in DC, and it's so convenient to go to DC from mclean, if no traffic, he just used 10 mins to reach his DC office! Schools are absolutely great here!

[Anonymous]

Look into in Oakton that feed into Oakton high school.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax City also is an independent entity within FFX and our elementary school is excellent. Right next door to Vienna, slightly less expensive because it's not "Vienna". On Metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's insane to think about schools in a vacuum -- what will your house choice do to your commute and your spouse's? Your time is going to be even more limited when you have that second kid, and I assume that you're going to want to be able to participate in school events, have time at home in the evening, and so on. My husband and I both work downtown and live in North Arlington. We can zip over for school events, conferences, etc and zip back to work in no time. That wouldn't work if we lived in Loudon.

OTOH, if we worked in Reston, the aforementioned zipping wouldn't work if our kids were in school in Arlington. Cherish the zip!

It's Loudoun, not Loudon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax City also is an independent entity within FFX and our elementary school is excellent. Right next door to Vienna, slightly less expensive because it's not "Vienna". On Metro.

I love Fairfax City and the Fair Lakes/Fairfax Corner area. That's where we live. Lots of offerings in terms of restaurants, stores, things to do and you're not very far from many other areas (DC/Alexandria). Just a quick drive or metro. The schools are excellent! The only downside is the commute but its not horrific. Just merely annoying.

Also, this is a plus for us, you can still find the old neighborhoods on larger, wooded lots or tree lined streets. These neighborhoods tend not to have HOAs and the houses don't all look the same. We like that type of neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

I think if you like Arlington, you should stay in Arlington. Yorktown is ranked higher, but houses that feed into Washington & Lee tend to be a bit closer in/closer to metro. (though some yorktown homes are pretty close to e falls church.) There's a lot in the $700K and up range; I've been helping a coworker go through the listings and I've seen quite a few I wouldn't mind buying. (I personally have a much lower price range to work with, sadly.) I wouldn't move farther out and lengthen my commute unless I had to, personally. You just won't be able to buy a big, fully-renovated house in one of the hottest neighborhoods; there'll be compromises but you can still find something great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think if you like Arlington, you should stay in Arlington. Yorktown is ranked higher, but houses that feed into Washington & Lee tend to be a bit closer in/closer to metro. (though some yorktown homes are pretty close to e falls church.) There's a lot in the $700K and up range; I've been helping a coworker go through the listings and I've seen quite a few I wouldn't mind buying. (I personally have a much lower price range to work with, sadly.) I wouldn't move farther out and lengthen my commute unless I had to, personally. You just won't be able to buy a big, fully-renovated house in one of the hottest neighborhoods; there'll be compromises but you can still find something great.

Common scenario these days for people to stay in Arlington (condo/TH to SFH), and W&L is fine, but it's not against the law either to move outside of Arlington. If commute was the only consideration everyone working downtown would live in DC. Just because one person decides Arlington is good trade-off doesn't mean plenty of others don't decide Mclean, FC or Vienna works better for them.