What’s the allure of Fairfax County

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs some humility. They boast too much. They take credit they don't deserve, considering the county demographics. A highly educated area and affluent.

Heaven help FCPS if they can't do a good job - with what they've been given.

DP, but all counties around the DMV are highly educated and affluent. 5 counties are at the top list of highest median incomes. But somehow FCPS is sought after. Please pray for Heaven to help Arlington and Alexandria to do better with their education systems with what they've been given.

The Niche rankings disagree with you. They have Arlington way ahead of Fairfax.

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/s/virginia/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)
2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
5. the most Presidential scholars
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

Arlington sends kids to TJ.

Every W school is as good if not better than Langley or McLean

Langley or McLean aren’t so much better than Yorktown or Washington-Liberty that they’re worth living in hell for.

Wrong, apart from the bit about APS sending a few kids to TJ, but keep talking. You know who is top dog, and so does everyone else.

Well not EVERYONE else:

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/s/virginia/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)
2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
5. the most Presidential scholars
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

Arlington sends kids to TJ.

Every W school is as good if not better than Langley or McLean

Langley or McLean aren’t so much better than Yorktown or Washington-Liberty that they’re worth living in hell for.

Wrong, apart from the bit about APS sending a few kids to TJ, but keep talking. You know who is top dog, and so does everyone else.

Well not EVERYONE else:

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/s/virginia/

Here you go.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings

[Anonymous]

North Arlington and dc are fine, OP, but they are not better than most of Fairfax. It just depends on where you work, your budget, market timing, and what’s important to you…which you know because you moved AFTER the kids moved out. You sound very immature for someone whose kids are grown.

[Anonymous]

It' funny how OP dropped in that she raised her kids (or he raised his kids, who knows) in North Arlington. I don't really see the difference between Arlington County and Fairfax County - you have the same issues with crowded neighborhoods, terrible/no sidewalks, and sitting on top of the highway/busy roads. Add to that the schools are in decline (most of my friends in Arlington have switched to private), I can't see why s/he's complaining about just Fairfax, LOL!

[Anonymous]

I am thankful that we live in FFX. we are half mile from the arlington line, so still close in, but it feels like a better value with schools that are just as good and lot sizes that are bigger.

[Anonymous]

Lots of good schools in FCPS like TJ, Langley, and McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)
2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
5. the most Presidential scholars
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

Arlington sends kids to TJ.

Every W school is as good if not better than Langley or McLean

Langley or McLean aren’t so much better than Yorktown or Washington-Liberty that they’re worth living in hell for.

Wrong, apart from the bit about APS sending a few kids to TJ, but keep talking. You know who is top dog, and so does everyone else.

Well not EVERYONE else:

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/s/virginia/

Here you go.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings

Your point? Looks like Yorktown did pretty well there too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:North Arlington and dc are fine, OP, but they are not better than most of Fairfax. It just depends on where you work, your budget, market timing, and what’s important to you…which you know because you moved AFTER the kids moved out. You sound very immature for someone whose kids are grown.

Actually, we moved there before the kids were even born and then moved after they grew up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It' funny how OP dropped in that she raised her kids (or he raised his kids, who knows) in North Arlington. I don't really see the difference between Arlington County and Fairfax County - you have the same issues with crowded neighborhoods, terrible/no sidewalks, and sitting on top of the highway/busy roads. Add to that the schools are in decline (most of my friends in Arlington have switched to private), I can't see why s/he's complaining about just Fairfax, LOL!

The schools aren’t “declining” except in the minds of crazy suburban women. And if they ARE declining, they’re declining across the board - including Fairfax. The school rankings as currently reflected in Niche, US news etc are no different now than they were 10, 20, even 30 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Raised the kids in North Arlington and moved to downtown DC as youngish empty nesters. Bought a second home in the country about 90 minutes from the city when Covid started. None of our places is particularly fancy, and we’re well off but I wouldn’t say wealthy.

Was in Fairfax County today having car work done. Spent a couple hours walking around the area (more or less the between Vienna and Merrifield) while I waited.

I found it horrifying. Strip malls followed by town houses and single family homes hugging congested highways, no real sidewalks (mostly asphalt), and all the same in every direction. Walked into what looked like a quiet leafy ‘hood to get away from it and quickly found myself walking into a sound wall for I-66.

I’m sorry, but why does anyone with any other options choose to live in an area like that? It raised my blood pressure!!

This may be a foreign concept to you but people live where they can afford to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)
2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
5. the most Presidential scholars
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

Arlington sends kids to TJ.

Every W school is as good if not better than Langley or McLean

Langley or McLean aren’t so much better than Yorktown or Washington-Liberty that they’re worth living in hell for.

Wrong, apart from the bit about APS sending a few kids to TJ, but keep talking. You know who is top dog, and so does everyone else.

Well not EVERYONE else:

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/s/virginia/

Here you go.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings

Your point? Looks like Yorktown did pretty well there too.

It’s lower performing than schools in FCPS that serve areas of similar affluence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with the silly claim that Fairfax schools are so great everywhere and are better than everywhere else? That’s quite the generalization. Like everywhere else, they vary.

I agree that, within a county, there is variation in the distribution of excellence of schools - as there is variation in any population of anything that has ever existed in human society. But we can still rank two distributions by any number of metrics that usually involve comparing the right tails, or the "best" of both distributions. Those who believe that Fairfax provides a better public education than other counties around the DMV would point to Fairfax having:

1. (One of) The highest ranked high schools in the US in TJ (regardless of the recent controversies)
2. Higher ranking high schools (Langley, Mclean...) in general
3. The Highest average SAT scores within the top 1,3, or 5 top high schools
4. the most National Merit scholars (by total and per capita)
5. the most Presidential scholars
6. the most number of HYPSM attendees

etc...

We can argue the merits of those metrics, but anyone outside the DMV might glance at those metrics and say "yeah, Fairfax schools are better, on average, than MoCo schools".

Arlington sends kids to TJ.

Every W school is as good if not better than Langley or McLean

Langley or McLean aren’t so much better than Yorktown or Washington-Liberty that they’re worth living in hell for.

Wrong, apart from the bit about APS sending a few kids to TJ, but keep talking. You know who is top dog, and so does everyone else.

Well not EVERYONE else:

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/s/virginia/

Here you go.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings

Your point? Looks like Yorktown did pretty well there too.

It’s lower performing than schools in FCPS that serve areas of similar affluence.

Similar affluence maybe, but very dissimilar demographics.

Langley and McLean both are more than 25 percent Asian. Yorktown is 6 percent. Yorktown also has more Latinos (double Langley) and more African Americans (triple Langley) than both.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think OP was fair to judge the entire county of one industrial area.

However, having lived in Fairfax Co and Arlington, I will say I like where I live in Arlington (walkable to Westover and EFC metro) a lot more than much of Fairfax. I like the mix of older and newer homes, all the parks and trails that are walkable nearby, and the emphasis on neighborhood schools (which carries over into seeing the same kids in sports and other rec activities) versus kids being split off to AAP. I also feel like we spent way more time in the car in Fairfax (we were in Centreville and things just felt much more spread out).

But I also know there are desirable parts of Fairfax and people have budgets and cannot always afford to live close-in (or have jobs farther out) so that is the draw. I think there are parts of Fairfax (near City of FFX and Vienna that seem cute enough) and nice areas in McLean. Clifton is also cute although too red politically for me.

That said, I really don’t get the appeal of the far flung parts of Fairfax. Once you hit Centreville/Chantilly you are just so far from DC, yet still paying the heightened DC area housing prices, to live in a fairly unattractive suburb that could be plopped down anywhere in the US. The drive along 50 and 29 is just ugly run down shopping center after run down shopping center with cash for gold signs in the median. At that point why not just go over the border to Loudoun County and embrace the HOA, better maintained neighborhoods where things are newer.

Western FFX just seems like the worst of all worlds. But some other parts are nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think OP was fair to judge the entire county of one industrial area.

However, having lived in Fairfax Co and Arlington, I will say I like where I live in Arlington (walkable to Westover and EFC metro) a lot more than much of Fairfax. I like the mix of older and newer homes, all the parks and trails that are walkable nearby, and the emphasis on neighborhood schools (which carries over into seeing the same kids in sports and other rec activities) versus kids being split off to AAP. I also feel like we spent way more time in the car in Fairfax (we were in Centreville and things just felt much more spread out).

But I also know there are desirable parts of Fairfax and people have budgets and cannot always afford to live close-in (or have jobs farther out) so that is the draw. I think there are parts of Fairfax (near City of FFX and Vienna that seem cute enough) and nice areas in McLean. Clifton is also cute although too red politically for me.

That said, I really don’t get the appeal of the far flung parts of Fairfax. Once you hit Centreville/Chantilly you are just so far from DC, yet still paying the heightened DC area housing prices, to live in a fairly unattractive suburb that could be plopped down anywhere in the US. The drive along 50 and 29 is just ugly run down shopping center after run down shopping center with cash for gold signs in the median. At that point why not just go over the border to Loudoun County and embrace the HOA, better maintained neighborhoods where things are newer.

Western FFX just seems like the worst of all worlds. But some other parts are nice.

Personally, we felt like North Arlington was the worst of all worlds. So much concrete, such ugly single-family houses (especially the hideous new houses oversized for the lots), mediocre public schools, no good private school options, and so many mediocre white people who are afraid to let their kids be around Black and Hispanic kids but don’t want them outperformed by Asian kids.