With a limited housing budget, which is better - Fairfax or MoCo schools?

[Anonymous]

Moco is pepco

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the thoughts. No - DH will not tolerate a condo - he's aggravated at our 3 BR townhouse as it is (too small) and would happily (he says) trade off a longer commute for more space. I would not - that's where our difficulty lies.

To those that suggested "SS" - SS is huge. Where I live is part of SS - any other recommendations on where in SS? I noted the Blair and Northwood plugs - I hadn't heard Northwood was OK; is Blair really fine if you don't make it into the magnet?

[Anonymous]

OP, you keep upping the ante. You want great schools all the way through HS, short commutes to two very disparate locations, very low budget (for this area, not for much of the rest of the country) AND you want something bigger than a 3BR townhouse??

Seriously, what are you willing to compromise on? You're going to have to figure out what is truly non-negotiable - schools/price/location/size - and what would be nice but not essential. Or maybe consider checking out rental possibilities in whatever spot has great schools and a short commute to both VA and MD?

[Anonymous]

OP, we live in Annandale and I commute to College Park. I manage it by working 6:30-3/3:30. I do know people who commute to Baltimore from Fairfax County, but it's a pretty wretched life. And I don't know that you could find a SFH for that price range in an area with schools any better than what you have now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can get a nice small house in a friendly Silver Spring neighborhood for that. We love Silver Spring. If you pick your ES carefully you should be fine.

Which elementary schools in Silver Spring are considered good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You can get a nice small house in a friendly Silver Spring neighborhood for that. We love Silver Spring. If you pick your ES carefully you should be fine.


this was my thought

I respectfully disagree. If you pick a $350/400K home in silver spring ... what is the high school for that home? OP is looking at high schools and I'm guessing she would not embrace Einstein if she's leaving Kennedy, where she's now assigned.

I live in the Woodmore/Northwood Park area of Silver Spring. This is one of the best areas in Silver Spring. The houses go from about $350K to $500K so you can definitely get into this neighborhood (although the $350K end will likely need a kitchen remodel, etc.). The high school is either Northwood or Blair which are both great schools. The area is part of the down county consortium as well so highschool students can choose different magnets depending on their interests and attend any number of programs in the local highschools. I think most are by lottery except for the Blair Magnet.

Um, no. No, it is not "one of the best areas" of Silver Spring. The houses are elf-size and the neighborhood is insular (socially and geographically; you cannot bike to anywhere from there). It's not close to Metro, and Four Corners is a nightmare to navigate, especially in the mornings when it can take 15 minutes just to get through there.

For the same budget, I would look at the Forest Glen neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You can get a nice small house in a friendly Silver Spring neighborhood for that. We love Silver Spring. If you pick your ES carefully you should be fine.


this was my thought

I respectfully disagree. If you pick a $350/400K home in silver spring ... what is the high school for that home? OP is looking at high schools and I'm guessing she would not embrace Einstein if she's leaving Kennedy, where she's now assigned.

I live in the Woodmore/Northwood Park area of Silver Spring. This is one of the best areas in Silver Spring. The houses go from about $350K to $500K so you can definitely get into this neighborhood (although the $350K end will likely need a kitchen remodel, etc.). The high school is either Northwood or Blair which are both great schools. The area is part of the down county consortium as well so highschool students can choose different magnets depending on their interests and attend any number of programs in the local highschools. I think most are by lottery except for the Blair Magnet.

Um, no. No, it is not "one of the best areas" of Silver Spring. The houses are elf-size and the neighborhood is insular (socially and geographically; you cannot bike to anywhere from there). It's not close to Metro, and Four Corners is a nightmare to navigate, especially in the mornings when it can take 15 minutes just to get through there.

For the same budget, I would look at the Forest Glen neighborhood.

PP here, and Woodmoor is spelled Woodmoor, not Woodmore.

[Anonymous]

Now what is wrong with a 3 bedroom 2 bath brick house feeding to bethesda chevy Chase? East west highway?

http://www.weichert.com/32529654/

But look at this great house in BCC area that is under contract:
http://www.mcenearney.com/realestate/listing/key/96068142628


There are options out there on OP's budget but start with looking at available real estate and check the CURRENT school assigned.

[Anonymous]

Just my opinion....We've lived in both Montgomery County and in Fairfax. You couldn't pay me to live in Montgomery County again. We were very disappointed in the schools. We felt like crime was much higher. And we didn't like the people.

We love Fairfax! The schools are outstanding! People are so much more friendly. And crime seems non-existent in our area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just my opinion....We've lived in both Montgomery County and in Fairfax. You couldn't pay me to live in Montgomery County again. We were very disappointed in the schools. We felt like crime was much higher. And we didn't like the people.We love Fairfax! The schools are outstanding! People are so much more friendly. And crime seems non-existent in our area.

This statement is just ... weird. There are about a million residents in MoCo. You "didn't like the people"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You can get a nice small house in a friendly Silver Spring neighborhood for that. We love Silver Spring. If you pick your ES carefully you should be fine.


this was my thought

I respectfully disagree. If you pick a $350/400K home in silver spring ... what is the high school for that home? OP is looking at high schools and I'm guessing she would not embrace Einstein if she's leaving Kennedy, where she's now assigned.

I live in the Woodmore/Northwood Park area of Silver Spring. This is one of the best areas in Silver Spring. The houses go from about $350K to $500K so you can definitely get into this neighborhood (although the $350K end will likely need a kitchen remodel, etc.). The high school is either Northwood or Blair which are both great schools. The area is part of the down county consortium as well so highschool students can choose different magnets depending on their interests and attend any number of programs in the local highschools. I think most are by lottery except for the Blair Magnet.

Um, no. No, it is not "one of the best areas" of Silver Spring. The houses are elf-size and the neighborhood is insular (socially and geographically; you cannot bike to anywhere from there). It's not close to Metro, and Four Corners is a nightmare to navigate, especially in the mornings when it can take 15 minutes just to get through there.

For the same budget, I would look at the Forest Glen neighborhood.

I'm not the pp, but the houses in Woodmoor are not elf-sized - there are some small ones, but a lot of ones that have been added on to and are actually quite comfortable. But I agree about the accessibility of the neighborhood. However, with the Forest Glen neighborhood, you're zoned for Einstein. Is Einstein that much better than Kennedy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the thoughts. No - DH will not tolerate a condo - he's aggravated at our 3 BR townhouse as it is (too small) and would happily (he says) trade off a longer commute for more space. I would not - that's where our difficulty lies.

To those that suggested "SS" - SS is huge. Where I live is part of SS - any other recommendations on where in SS? I noted the Blair and Northwood plugs - I hadn't heard Northwood was OK; is Blair really fine if you don't make it into the magnet?

If you're not OK with Northwood or Blair, then you're probably not going to find anywhere in MoCo suitable at your price point. You may be able to find something in the part of Silver Spring that feeds into BCC, but again, your price range is a little low for that.

[Anonymous]

I would seriously look at recent Washington Post articles about the way rules/discipline is being applied to kids in Fairfax schools. It scared the crap out of me that a school system could compromise children's future for something as silly as forgetting they brought acne medicine to school - suspending them, not apologetic at all, could-care-less attitude about the trauma the kid has suffered. Also case of kid who committed suicide after being suspended for silly reason. I'd never take that risk with my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now what is wrong with a 3 bedroom 2 bath brick house feeding to bethesda chevy Chase? East west highway?

http://www.weichert.com/32529654/

But look at this great house in BCC area that is under contract:
http://www.mcenearney.com/realestate/listing/key/96068142628


There are options out there on OP's budget but start with looking at available real estate and check the CURRENT school assigned.

Sundale is a dump of a street, and there is no way I'd live right on E-W Highway.

I'd rather be in a lower-rated school district than live in either of those houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You can get a nice small house in a friendly Silver Spring neighborhood for that. We love Silver Spring. If you pick your ES carefully you should be fine.


this was my thought

I respectfully disagree. If you pick a $350/400K home in silver spring ... what is the high school for that home? OP is looking at high schools and I'm guessing she would not embrace Einstein if she's leaving Kennedy, where she's now assigned.

I live in the Woodmore/Northwood Park area of Silver Spring. This is one of the best areas in Silver Spring. The houses go from about $350K to $500K so you can definitely get into this neighborhood (although the $350K end will likely need a kitchen remodel, etc.). The high school is either Northwood or Blair which are both great schools. The area is part of the down county consortium as well so highschool students can choose different magnets depending on their interests and attend any number of programs in the local highschools. I think most are by lottery except for the Blair Magnet.

Um, no. No, it is not "one of the best areas" of Silver Spring. The houses are elf-size and the neighborhood is insular (socially and geographically; you cannot bike to anywhere from there). It's not close to Metro, and Four Corners is a nightmare to navigate, especially in the mornings when it can take 15 minutes just to get through there.

For the same budget, I would look at the Forest Glen neighborhood.

I'm not the pp, but the houses in Woodmoor are not elf-sized - there are some small ones, but a lot of ones that have been added on to and are actually quite comfortable. But I agree about the accessibility of the neighborhood. However, with the Forest Glen neighborhood, you're zoned for Einstein. Is Einstein that much better than Kennedy?

The ones that have been added onto are out of OP's budget, but regardless, the location is awful relative to other options. Not to mention, that whole Saint B's cliqueishness thing. ~shudder~ We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

My sister's DD graduated from Einstein, where she had a great experience, then went on to an Ivy, where she did very well. She is in grad school now. I would not be afraid to send my kids there.