Commuting from Great Falls for school, work

[Anonymous]

We're moving to the DC area. Problem is that we decided on a school before we decided on a house -- in Great Falls. DC will attend a good school in Bethesda. Does anyone else make that commute? DH will have to drive to K Street every day.

Are we crazy to try this? Should we give up the house that we've fallen in love with and live in town or Bethesda?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Anonymous]

I am probably not the best person to respond to this question, since I have not personnally experienced this commute. However, I think almost anyone would tell you that you are signing up for real heartache. Or maybe heartburn would be a better description. There is really only one main road that will take you out of Great Falls -- that alone is a time-consuming proposition. The traffic crossing the 495 bridge into Maryland is nearly always packed as is a real logjam. Going throught the city would be even worse. Think about how early your child would have to be up and into the car, and how many hours you and child will have to spend in the car every single day. Then there are evening school events, sports, playdates, fundraisers, and on and on. So not to be overly negative, but consider this decision very carefully. Great Falls is a beautiful place to live, but you may never be there to enjoy it!

[Anonymous]

pp again. Sorry for so many typos!

[Anonymous]

OP here: I appreciate your candor. I don't want to go into this with unrealistic expectations.

The other possibility is that we withdraw our child from the great Bethesda school to shorten the commute (at least to school if not to my husband's work). He'll be Pre-K, so we couldn't put him into the Potomac School. But what would be the feeder program for that school?

[Anonymous]

I'm not aware of there being feeder schools for the Potomac School. Any good preschool, along with plenty of good home enrichment and socialization, should be fine. That's not to imply that Potomac School is not good or competitive. It is certainly a very good school and somewhat difficult to get in. But I believe the "feeder program" issue is more relavant for the elite DC schools.

[Anonymous]

To the 9:52 PP, thanks from the OP.

I'd love to hear from anyone who commutes from Great Falls/Mclean to an independent school in DC or Montgomery County -- and who thinks the school is worth the commute.

[Anonymous]

I just started doing the commute from Mclean to a private school in DC (upper NW) for summer camp (my son will be starting Pre-K in the fall). I'm already ready to pull my hair out. Traffic has been consistently inconsistent and it's summer time! There are fantastic schools in Great Falls depending on where you live so I would just put your child in a school close to home, where your child is also more likely to form friendships. We had debated sending our son to the school in NW but decided against it b/c I didn't want to spend all my time driving "across the bridge". I'm glad we made that decision b/c I've spent a summer meeting his school friends at local playgrounds and have spent little time in the car (at least until we started camp and now it's 2+ hours a day).

[Anonymous]

ACCCKKK! This is not what I want to hear, 12:15!! Our family was planning to move or rent in McLean in a few years so that our DC could attend one of those NW schools for high school. In fact, I am poster 9:15 telling the OP "don't do it" but assumed Great Falls to Maryland was a different story than McLean to NW. Argh. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

[Anonymous]

12:15 here -- keep in mind I have a low low patience threshold for traffic (I've been a SAHM for 2 years and have forgotten about the stop and go). I will say that when all is clear it takes about 20 min from mid-Mclean to AU (going over Chain Bridge). My husband works that way as well and it takes him on average about 30 minutes each way. Not bad compared to some people's commutes so take what I say with a grain of salt. Just know that some days will be worse than others and if you are prepared for that then I say move -- we love Mclean and part of the draw is b/c it is so easy to zip into the city over Chain Bridge.

[Anonymous]

Great Falls to Maryland or to NW would scare me much more than McLean to NW. DH picks up DC in NW (coming from McLean) some days, and he finds the traffic manageable. Not ideal, but quite manageable. 12:15's point is taken, though - you need to evaluate your tolerance for traffic.

I don't want to give another discouraging opinion to the OP re: the Great Falls - Bethesda commute, but I think it could be quite bad. It also depends on how far out in Great Falls you live; if you lived in very close-in Great Falls, then it may not be so bad.

[Anonymous]

OP here. To the 6/25 12:15 poster who said that she spends 2+ hours in the car taking her DC from Mclean to Upper NW, could you give me a little more information?

Is it 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back twice a day (for drop-off and pick-up)? Or is it an hour there, then you're in DC for work or whatever, and an hour back?

I am beginning to be mildly freaked out. When we decided to do this, I shouldn't have been influenced by my friends in the New York area who scoffed at the ida of this kind of commute. They thought it was nothing compared to their nightmare.

[Anonymous]

12:15 again .. I should have been more clear. It's 30 min (give or take) into upper NW and then I go home with my younger one before going back again. If your hubby is taking your child to school then the time would obviously be cut in half. BUT...Bethesda is further away than AU and I don't know where in Great Falls you are so the 30 min average would be on the low end for you.

[Anonymous]

FYI. Madeira School is on Georgetown Pike in the area of Mclean that blends into close in Great Falls. About 5 minutes from the American Legion Bridge. 20 from Chain Bridge. It is a gorgeous environment with open areas as well as woods overlooking the Potomac River. It has the well established Camp Greenway and the most beautiful campus of any school in the DC metropolitan area.

The camp begins with rising kindergarteners.

http://www.madeira.org/today_at_madeira/campgreenway.aspx

[Anonymous]

fyi - madeira is an all girls school.

[Anonymous]

From the OP -- thanks, everyone, for the advice and information!