How is McLean for a bright but not super gifted child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I doubt you'll find that demographic mix in NoVa. You might find it in some parts of Montgomery County. Usually in Fairfax, if a school has around 10% AA students, it will typically have either at least 25% Asian students, 25% Hispanic students, or both. But change the 10% Asian to 15% and the 10% AA to 5%, and that's fairly close to what you'll get in the McLean HS pyramid. There are quite a few $2M houses - typically tear-downs in neighborhoods where the houses go from $750K to $2.5M. $3M, on the other hand, sounds more like the Langley Forest area of McLean or some parts of Great Falls, both of which are in the Langley HS pyramid, and some properties in Old Town Alexandria (City of Alexandria schools).

On the Maryland side, the schools in the B-CC cluster come closest to this, except that they are more like 15% AA and 5% Asian, rather than 15% Asian and 5% AA as in McLean.

[Anonymous]

Every time I think ive seen the most trollish post substituting as a not so veiled brag, I continue to be corrected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every time I think ive seen the most trollish post substituting as a not so veiled brag, I continue to be corrected.

This is exactly why I feel like we don't fit in here at all. When we lived in NYC, if someone told a story about eating clubs at Princeton or a beer pong fest at Binghamton, it was just a story. Everyone earned the same and it was not really part of the discussion. We talked about high end restaurants as well as our favorite hole in the walls downtown. We'd hang out at the zoo or local playground. Nothing was pretentious.

Our same friends in NYC are also struggling to find their next homes with higher budgets. The budget would be considered minimal in NYC. I guess it sounds high here. We would be happy to live in a cheaper home.

We met people constantly in NYC and made new friends. Everyone was different but we all got along.

[Anonymous]

Its not the money, honey. Its you acting like the fact that you're preschooler is smart and but "not gifted" is something to worry about. And that you are trying to create an environment for him that excludes, or limits certain populations undesirable to you. In your latest post you say "Everyone was different but we all got along" - in a previous post you said that all your friends made similar incomes and had similar educational backgrounds - the only differences were jobs and schools - that is what you consider diversity? You would not have much trouble fitting in here at all if you broaden your world a little. You seem, however, to have quite a list of qualifiers for who you want around you or your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what kind of demographics do you want your kid to friends with? I am from NYC too. You will find bright but not necessarily gifted. Gifted in McLean is 2-3 kids per classroom. I wouldn't worry about academics as they are similar in the good schools in FCPS.

I hope this comes out politically correct. If I could put my preferences into a magic ball. I would prefer the school to be 60% Caucasian, 10% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 10% African-American and 10% other/mixed. I would prefer less than 20% ESL and FARMS. I do not need everyone to live in million dollar homes. It would be nice to have a mix of economic diversity but not poverty.

DH and I do ok financially. Within the next few years, we should earn close to or more than $1 million per year combined. I would not want our kids to be the wealthiest kids at school. In NYC, all our friends earned similar incomes and were well educated. It didn't really matter where you worked or went to school. We just had a good time together.

I would like to be within 15 miles of DC. We also have room in our housing budget. We could probably go up to $3 million.

"I hope this comes out politically correct." This is what people commonly say right before they say something that reveals them for the raving idiot that they are. Too many brown and poor kids make you uncomfortable, huh? You reinforce all the worst stereotypes of the affluent suburbs.

Would your energies be better spent lobbying the federal government and local school districts not to compile and publish the demographic data for others to peruse?

The compilation and availability of data is not the problem though.....so, no.

[Anonymous]

Let me be clear... Your 3 million budget is high but considering 50 out of 320 listings are 3 mil+, that would put you in the upper middle class of mclean. You are not in thWoe 1% 2% you come across as. With 94 homes at 2 mil+ you are middle class mclean. Anyway this was supposed to be about your kid right. Considering aap is 80% asian/indian/other non white your kid wont be left behind with the other white kids in mclean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me be clear... Your 3 million budget is high but considering 50 out of 320 listings are 3 mil+, that would put you in the upper middle class of mclean. You are not in thWoe 1% 2% you come across as. With 94 homes at 2 mil+ you are middle class mclean. Anyway this was supposed to be about your kid right. Considering aap is 80% asian/indian/other non white your kid wont be left behind with the other white kids in mclean.

Despite your snarkiness, I find your post helpful. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Nothing was pretentious in NYC because just living in NYC and doing the things you mentioned is a sign of pretentiousness. Just like living in McLean is a sign of pretentiousness. As an outsider without money to spare it is all the same to us. If anything NYC is more pretentious in that it's expected that you'll pay a lot for everything. Here people are actually frugal. Imagine that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing was pretentious in NYC because just living in NYC and doing the things you mentioned is a sign of pretentiousness. Just like living in McLean is a sign of pretentiousness. As an outsider without money to spare it is all the same to us. If anything NYC is more pretentious in that it's expected that you'll pay a lot for everything. Here people are actually frugal. Imagine that.

A load of crap from a resentful baby who wants brownie points for his/her apparent lack of success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me be clear... Your 3 million budget is high but considering 50 out of 320 listings are 3 mil+, that would put you in the upper middle class of mclean. You are not in thWoe 1% 2% you come across as. With 94 homes at 2 mil+ you are middle class mclean. Anyway this was supposed to be about your kid right. Considering aap is 80% asian/indian/other non white your kid wont be left behind with the other white kids in mclean.

Despite your snarkiness, I find your post helpful. Thanks.

Awwww, glad you got what needed OP. Someone just needed to tell you to get over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what kind of demographics do you want your kid to friends with? I am from NYC too. You will find bright but not necessarily gifted. Gifted in McLean is 2-3 kids per classroom. I wouldn't worry about academics as they are similar in the good schools in FCPS.

I hope this comes out politically correct. If I could put my preferences into a magic ball. I would prefer the school to be 60% Caucasian, 10% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 10% African-American and 10% other/mixed. I would prefer less than 20% ESL and FARMS. I do not need everyone to live in million dollar homes. It would be nice to have a mix of economic diversity but not poverty.

DH and I do ok financially. Within the next few years, we should earn close to or more than $1 million per year combined. I would not want our kids to be the wealthiest kids at school. In NYC, all our friends earned similar incomes and were well educated. It didn't really matter where you worked or went to school. We just had a good time together.

I would like to be within 15 miles of DC. We also have room in our housing budget. We could probably go up to $3 million.

That's McLean. Or NW DC with private schools. Or stay in McLean and go to the Potomac School. Except for the demographics part. The AA mix is lower here, Asian is higher. Plenty of international diversity (my kids' soccer teammates speak 5 languages, including ours). Most homes here are $1m homes, and go up to $10m+. You won't be the most affluent, and many are well educated. That won't be the case in many outer suburbs. People on the board like to slam McLean, but it is a very convenient place to liive--easy access to everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time I think ive seen the most trollish post substituting as a not so veiled brag, I continue to be corrected.

This is exactly why I feel like we don't fit in here at all. When we lived in NYC, if someone told a story about eating clubs at Princeton or a beer pong fest at Binghamton, it was just a story. Everyone earned the same and it was not really part of the discussion. We talked about high end restaurants as well as our favorite hole in the walls downtown. We'd hang out at the zoo or local playground. Nothing was pretentious.

Our same friends in NYC are also struggling to find their next homes with higher budgets. The budget would be considered minimal in NYC. I guess it sounds high here. We would be happy to live in a cheaper home.

We met people constantly in NYC and made new friends. Everyone was different but we all got along.

Oh, please. Everyone in NYC does not earn the same. Your friends may have, and your friends here probably will too. Birds of a feather and all that. None of our friends are rolling their eyes when we discuss Christmas in Kitzbuhel or Easter in St. Barth's, but many would. Emphasis is on "we", not me. And really, this many years after graduation--who really cares who went to Brown and who only made it into Vandy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Oh, please. Everyone in NYC does not earn the same. Your friends may have, and your friends here probably will too. Birds of a feather and all that. None of our friends are rolling their eyes when we discuss Christmas in Kitzbuhel or Easter in St. Barth's, but many would. Emphasis is on "we", not me. And really, this many years after graduation--who really cares who went to Brown and who only made it into Vandy?

OP will be fine so long as she can avoid people as toxically snarky as you. Her point wasn't got into Brown and who didn't. It was that she could talk about a college experience casually with friends without having to self censure out of fear that someone would take it the wrong way.

[Anonymous]

OP, why not private school?

[Anonymous]

Exactly!!!the Langley school would be perfect. No snark honestly