When to move for "better" schools?

[Anonymous]

We currently live in an area with schools that we are likely to be uncomfortable with-- there was some miscommunication about what school we may feed when we bought. I often hear people mention moving for better schools, for us it would be Alexandria to Arlington or FCPS. At what point should one begin to do that to avoid concerns about redistricting and changes in school reputation, but also to have time to sell your house and find a new one? What steps should one take to examine the new school if your child is still pre-school aged besides word of mouth, ranking, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We currently live in an area with schools that we are likely to be uncomfortable with-- there was some miscommunication about what school we may feed when we bought. I often hear people mention moving for better schools, for us it would be Alexandria to Arlington or FCPS. At what point should one begin to do that to avoid concerns about redistricting and changes in school reputation, but also to have time to sell your house and find a new one? What steps should one take to examine the new school if your child is still pre-school aged besides word of mouth, ranking, etc?

We moved Alexandria CPS to Arlington last spring in 2nd grade/K. Most people want to be clear of ACPS before 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

We moved from Alexandria to Arlington the summer before our oldest started kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

The further north in Arlington, the less likely the prospects of redistricting.

[Anonymous]

FFX does not rank its schools. However, you can glean a lot of information by going on the FCPS website and looking at individual schools under the School and Centers tab. You can look at demographics and test scores to start getting some idea of what schools appeal to you and explore the neighborhoods, check out their PTA website, etc.

FCPS also has a public document (whose name I unfortunately can't remember but maybe another poster will) that shows capacity projections for all the schools and planned construction. By looking at the capacity projections you may be able to make educated guesses at who is in danger of being redistricted in the future and who isn't.

If you're pretty confident you'll be able to sell your house quickly, you probably don't need to do anything until the winter before kindergarten. If not...

[Anonymous]

Op, i am in the same boat as you. My DS is a year old and we already started looking at new homes, knowing we have 4 years to figure it out and clean up our house! It's really tough to move with a kid!

[Anonymous]

Just keep in mind that in Fairfax County, you need to get on the waitlist for SACC (after school care) 14 months in advance of starting K to have any kind of a shot of getting in. You don't need to have moved by then but need to know which school boundary you are moving to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FFX does not rank its schools. However, you can glean a lot of information by going on the FCPS website and looking at individual schools under the School and Centers tab. You can look at demographics and test scores to start getting some idea of what schools appeal to you and explore the neighborhoods, check out their PTA website, etc.

FCPS also has a public document (whose name I unfortunately can't remember but maybe another poster will) that shows capacity projections for all the schools and planned construction. By looking at the capacity projections you may be able to make educated guesses at who is in danger of being redistricted in the future and who isn't.

If you're pretty confident you'll be able to sell your house quickly, you probably don't need to do anything until the winter before kindergarten. If not...

MOVE ASAP so that your child can grow up and be with the same children until high school grad.

[Anonymous]

We moved this past summer when my daughter was 3. It was partly to get better schools (lower-ranked pyramid in Fairfax to a highly-ranked pyramid in North Arlington), but partly to improve my commute. And partly to guarantee before/after-school care. I researched and applied to preschools in a certain area that was convenient for my commute, got my daughter into a school and then looked at houses in a 2-3 mile radius around that area. I want her to (in theory) be able to go to school with the same kids from K to high school.

[Anonymous]

OP here. For those of you that had to sell your house first to buy the next one, how did that influence the process? Did you rent back after you sold or rent in the new area until you found something or were your more flexible on what you bought? PP poster seemed to make things go smoothly, but concerned as to what we will be able to find.

[Anonymous]

When to move for "better" schools? ASAP.

[Anonymous]

11:06 PP - we put our house on the market at the end of April and started looking. It sold 8-10 days later and the crunch was on to find something before our end-of-June closing. It took us awhile to find the right house, and we couldn't close and move in until early/mid August. So we put our stuff in storage ($$$) and moved in with my ex for 6 weeks. He and I are amicable so it wasn't a real problem, and it was cheaper than a short-term rental. (which all wanted $3000/month for 3 month commitment.)
So the whole thing wasn't seamless, but for me it was less stressful than worrying about carrying two mortgages on one not-large income.

[Anonymous]

11:06 PP - we put our house on the market at the end of April and started looking. It sold 8-10 days later and the crunch was on to find something before our end-of-June closing. It took us awhile to find the right house, and we couldn't close and move in until early/mid August. So we put our stuff in storage ($$$) and moved in with my ex for 6 weeks. He and I are amicable so it wasn't a real problem, and it was cheaper than a short-term rental. (which all wanted $3000/month for 3 month commitment.)

So the whole thing wasn't seamless, but for me it was less stressful than worrying about carrying two mortgages on one not-large income.

Things to consider: interest rates and home prices in your current 'hood and the one you're considering. If you can market your house in the hot season and buy a new place in the hot season (May-June), you'll have more buyers and more sellers to choose from. And it helps if you spend the off-season figuring out where you want to live and what you're likely to find in your price range.