Moving from Australia to DC ... Guidance please

[Anonymous]

In VA, the closest school districts would be Alexandria County

typo -- it's the City of Alexandria

(to OP -- there's Alexandria City and there's a part of Fairfax County that's called Alexandria, and they have difference school systems. Same with Falls Church City and the part of Ffx County that's called Falls Church)

[Anonymous]

If you're house hunting in Fairfax County, you can find out what schools the house is districted for by using the boundary locator service:

http://boundary.fcps.edu/boundary/

This link doesn't work for Falls Church City or Arlington, but may prove useful to verify the schools for a Fairfax County address.

[Anonymous]

Aside from schooling, it is worth thinking about you want to do during your year here. I live in Bethesda and it is all very pleasant but feels suburban to me compared to where we were living previously (overseas). I miss the vibe and diversity of inner city living (although clearly there are trade offs). I also envy friends who live close enough to walk to museums etc That's just me of course but you might want to think about whether such factors are important to you. I have friends who live in DC in houses with much smaller yards but who enjoy the things that those neighborhoods are able to offer.

[Anonymous]

Just as a side note, if you are in Australia, then why on earth would you even consider moving to DC?
I would not give that up
America is not friendly to immigrants, I have been here 10 years and I still get occational snarky remarks

[Anonymous]

Wow, thanks for all the assistance, I won't pretend that I'm not confused. It's all much trickier than our system.

I'm not moving too DC on a permenant basis, just a short posting. We've lived overseas before (Seychelles) and I swore no more developing countries. We really enjoyed our two trips to the US (last year and 1998). We think this will be a good opportunity to experience living in the US as we've heard there are more cultural differences than we think there are. Also, we will use the opportunity to see more of the country. I love Amtrak and expect we will be scooting around using it a bit. I find flying tiresome, too many checks etc. the train just feels so much more relaxing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just as a side note, if you are in Australia, then why on earth would you even consider moving to DC?
I would not give that up
America is not friendly to immigrants, I have been here 10 years and I still get occational snarky remarks

Yeah, America is not friendly to immigrants, but Aussies seem to be an exception (DH is Australian, and people just LOVE that). But DC is pretty unfriendly in general compared to Australia.

[Anonymous]

I think it totally depends on how "different" the immigrants are (i.e. language) and how educated they are.

The immigrants that are seen as the most similar (British, Australian, Canadian) would have an easy time adjusting and would receive a warm welcome. Those who are seen as different (middle Eastern, Mexican, etc) probably have a much harder time and do get treated as second-class.

[Anonymous]

I think the general population of Australia would be quite cold to people of a different cultural background. Particularly, blue collar workers are not accepting, in fact derogatory, Aussies have a tendency to give nicknames to different nationalities and those names can be quite harsh. Most white collared people have had more exposure to different nationalities, from university on. Australia as a whole is quite 'white' this stemmed from the 'white Australia policy' which has kept it from being as diverse as it could of been. As a whole Australia is quite concerned with 'protecting' our way of life and ensuring we don't end up with too many 'boat people'. As is commonly known we are also quite degrading to our aboriginals.

Anybody from another country that complains is quickly told to 'go home!' even if they have resided in Australia for many years. Although, despite all this we are BIG travellers, there are not many Aussies that have not left the country. We found that Americans in general do not travel as much or as far, possibly our isolation makes us more curious. This is coupled with our four week annual leave entitlement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia close in tends to have more folks with military focus as the Pentagon is there as are the many major corporations that service the military MD close in on the N and NW side tends to have more National Institutes of Health focus. Republicans tend to pick Virginia, Democrats tend to pick DC or Maryland to the N and NW. Many houses in all locations are rented out by other families who go overseas for their own postings. There is a list of houses available that is kept by the US State Department for example. If you know anyone who works there, they can get info for you. There are probably a number of other listserv type boards that are more focused on the international community. Ideas folks?

Arlington is heavily democratic/liberal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the general population of Australia would be quite cold to people of a different cultural background. Particularly, blue collar workers are not accepting, in fact derogatory, Aussies have a tendency to give nicknames to different nationalities and those names can be quite harsh. Most white collared people have had more exposure to different nationalities, from university on. Australia as a whole is quite 'white' this stemmed from the 'white Australia policy' which has kept it from being as diverse as it could of been. As a whole Australia is quite concerned with 'protecting' our way of life and ensuring we don't end up with too many 'boat people'. As is commonly known we are also quite degrading to our aboriginals.

Anybody from another country that complains is quickly told to 'go home!' even if they have resided in Australia for many years.

you sound backward.
In some ways America is like that too.
It is a totally differenct scene in Europe.
Either way, what you did to the aboriginals is terrible. America was not that much better, but still

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the general population of Australia would be quite cold to people of a different cultural background. Particularly, blue collar workers are not accepting, in fact derogatory, Aussies have a tendency to give nicknames to different nationalities and those names can be quite harsh. Most white collared people have had more exposure to different nationalities, from university on. Australia as a whole is quite 'white' this stemmed from the 'white Australia policy' which has kept it from being as diverse as it could of been. As a whole Australia is quite concerned with 'protecting' our way of life and ensuring we don't end up with too many 'boat people'. As is commonly known we are also quite degrading to our aboriginals.

Anybody from another country that complains is quickly told to 'go home!' even if they have resided in Australia for many years.

you sound backward.
In some ways America is like that too.
It is a totally differenct scene in Europe.
Either way, what you did to the aboriginals is terrible. America was not that much better, but still

A bit harsh to blame it on one person! I think you mean "what your country did ... ". In which case the PP would agree with you. The PP sounds much less xenophobic than many Australians!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, thanks for all the assistance, I won't pretend that I'm not confused. It's all much trickier than our system.

I'm not moving too DC on a permenant basis, just a short posting. We've lived overseas before (Seychelles) and I swore no more developing countries. We really enjoyed our two trips to the US (last year and 1998). We think this will be a good opportunity to experience living in the US as we've heard there are more cultural differences than we think there are. Also, we will use the opportunity to see more of the country. I love Amtrak and expect we will be scooting around using it a bit. I find flying tiresome, too many checks etc. the train just feels so much more relaxing.

Op, you MUST consider living close to u ion station on Capitol hill. We live on the south side and love it, but the north siDe close to the beautiful train station is certainly a good bet to investigate. Logan school is the public Montessori school in the area. Also close to great charter and private schools--gonzaga Boys school has a rich history and astonishing alumni support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, thanks for all the assistance, I won't pretend that I'm not confused. It's all much trickier than our system.

I'm not moving too DC on a permenant basis, just a short posting. We've lived overseas before (Seychelles) and I swore no more developing countries. We really enjoyed our two trips to the US (last year and 1998). We think this will be a good opportunity to experience living in the US as we've heard there are more cultural differences than we think there are. Also, we will use the opportunity to see more of the country. I love Amtrak and expect we will be scooting around using it a bit. I find flying tiresome, too many checks etc. the train just feels so much more relaxing.

Op, you MUST consider living close to u ion station on Capitol hill. We live on the south side and love it, but the north siDe close to the beautiful train station is certainly a good bet to investigate. Logan school is the public Montessori school in the area. Also close to great charter and private schools--gonzaga Boys school has a rich history and astonishing alumni support.

Sorry I meant union station. Am track and metro, etc. In gorgeous historic building!

[Anonymous]

I love union station, it's the nicest train station I've ever seen. In regards to the treatment of our Aboriginals, the treatment when Australia was invaded was definately a part of our history which should of not happened. Presently, our government tries quite hard to rectify the problem, however despite the large sums of money thrown at the problem it is still bad. Alcohol is the biggest problem, their genes mean a VERY low tolerance of alcohol, and a lot of problems in many areas. Most Australians will cross a road to avoid conflict with a drunk aboriginal, I work in an area rife with the problem and I don't think many people would feel comfortable in the general vacinity of drinking (or petrol sniffing) indigenous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:however despite the large sums of money thrown at the problem it is still bad. Alcohol is the biggest problem, their genes mean a VERY low tolerance of alcohol, and a lot of problems in many areas. Most Australians will cross a road to avoid conflict with a drunk aboriginal, I work in an area rife with the problem and I don't think many people would feel comfortable in the general vacinity of drinking (or petrol sniffing) indigenous.

despite large sums of money? I thought the wealth of the whites is based on the land that was taken away from them. So that hardly counts
Either way, be careful of stereotyping. This area is politically correct and any insinuations of blacks as the ones who drink are not taken that lightly.
The same stereotyping happens here, but people are more careful and instead say the people have made bad choices, welfare recipients should be forced to take drug tests etc etc