Moving to Virginia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I heard Fairfax County is the best. So, what are the surrounding areas that would land me in a Fairfax County school? Would I have to live right in Fairfax?

Fairfax is too freaking far for the Stafford spouse. That's nuts. And no not all of Fairfax is great. It's a huge county.

What does your husband think of having a 90 minute commute?

Parts near Springfield suck beyond belief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will likely be moving to VA in the next year, or so. I have a rising 4th grader, & one going into Kindergarten. I know NOTHING about VA. Right now, I'm thinking the Arlington/Alexandria area. I work in DC, & my partner works in Stafford, so I figured this is a halfway point for both of us. What counties should I be looking in for schools, & what are the best schools in these areas? I heard Fairfax was the best county for schools. What areas in Fairfax Co. are worth exploring? Thanks.

OP: Fairfax County Schools has 139 elementary schools and 25 Middle & High Schools (Some are combined and called Secondary schools) a assorted other alternative schools. It is not consisitant across the board. It is the 10th (or 9th) largest school district in the nation and the only one that is not a big city.

It would be helpful if you can identify where in DC you will be working (eg DuPont Circle, Capitol Hill, Navy Yard) and where in Stafford (that county is also fairly large) your partner will be working. How old are your children? What kind of commute are you both used to today? Then we will be able to more easily recommend specific areas. Will you require before and anger school care (some school have very long waitlists)? Are you looking to buy or rent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is your budget? Stafford and DC are very far apart. Like 1.5-2 hours in traffic.

Yeah, this commuting situation is going to be brutally nasty for you guys, I'm afraid.

My suggestion is to look in some place right on the Virginia Railways Express, which you'd take to DC (assuming you have fixed hours to catch the late trains home), while your partner drives to Stafford. Maybe in the Woodbridge area.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washington-has-one-of-the-highest-levels-of-extreme-commutes-in-the-nation/2013/03/04/aee03892-850f-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394_story.html

http://www.washingtonian.com/2015/04/01/the-fastest-growing-suburbs-of-washington-are-in-counties-youve-never-heard-of/

http://www.vre.org/service/map/

I agree. I would live very very close to the VRE. know where the stops are, then check greatschools.org, maybe map view, to get an idea what the schools are like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I heard Fairfax County is the best. So, what are the surrounding areas that would land me in a Fairfax County school? Would I have to live right in Fairfax?

Op, forget it. Isn't Stafford like 60 miles away? I think you should like close to there and take the VRE to DC. Or DH find a new job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I heard Fairfax County is the best. So, what are the surrounding areas that would land me in a Fairfax County school? Would I have to live right in Fairfax?

Op, forget it. Isn't Stafford like 60 miles away? I think you should like close to there and take the VRE to DC. Or DH find a new job.

Op, it's taken me 2 hours to get to Triangle on Saturday from the beltway/495. Bumper to bumper. Driving to/from DC from South of 495 is utter hell. So, your best option is VRE I'm afraid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depending on your budget, I'd look for something in Arlington or Alexandria (either city of or Alexandria, FFX) as close to 395 as you can get. Something near Clarendon would work, as you are close to DC and the other spouse would have a reverse commute to Stafford.

You could also consider something in Springfield for less money than Arlington (and better schools than most of Alexandria) - metro should be a straight shot to most parts of DC, and it's even closer to Stafford.

Forget Arlington. Just forget it. That's like a double commute. Seriously, forget it.

Alexandria I think has a VRE stop on King street. This could work for the reverse commuter, but you'd want to do private school most likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depending on your budget, I'd look for something in Arlington or Alexandria (either city of or Alexandria, FFX) as close to 395 as you can get. Something near Clarendon would work, as you are close to DC and the other spouse would have a reverse commute to Stafford.

You could also consider something in Springfield for less money than Arlington (and better schools than most of Alexandria) - metro should be a straight shot to most parts of DC, and it's even closer to Stafford.

Forget Arlington. Just forget it. That's like a double commute. Seriously, forget it.

Alexandria I think has a VRE stop on King street. This could work for the reverse commuter, but you'd want to do private school most likely.

Oh wait, did somebody say there is no reverse commute VRE? If that's the case cross Alexandria off the list. If you are he'll bent on living in Fairfax county, hell bent, I'd look at Burke or West Springfield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you say 5-6k do you mean that's your budget for monthly rent or that your budget to buy is 500-600k?

Arlington is good. Alexandria can be a very mixed bag. It's probably my last choice of school districts in the NoVa area.

Stafford to DC is going to be brutal. That's not an exaggeration. Absolutely brutal. 95 S locks up between DC and Fredericksburg during commuting hours. A Friday commute could easily take 2, 2.5 hours. Alexandria/Arlington are not at all halfway for the Stafford person. Not even close. That gives them a (on a good day) 90 minute commute whereas you're inside the beltway. Perhaps try looking at Woodbridge which is a bit more reasonable for the Stafford spouse. Both of you will have a commute, but it won't be torturous for one and negligible for the other.

[b]

Same question (bolded).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you say 5-6k do you mean that's your budget for monthly rent or that your budget to buy is 500-600k?

Arlington is good. Alexandria can be a very mixed bag. It's probably my last choice of school districts in the NoVa area.

Stafford to DC is going to be brutal. That's not an exaggeration. Absolutely brutal. 95 S locks up between DC and Fredericksburg during commuting hours. A Friday commute could easily take 2, 2.5 hours. Alexandria/Arlington are not at all halfway for the Stafford person. Not even close. That gives them a (on a good day) 90 minute commute whereas you're inside the beltway. Perhaps try looking at Woodbridge which is a bit more reasonable for the Stafford spouse. Both of you will have a commute, but it won't be torturous for one and negligible for the other.

Same question (bolded).

[Anonymous]

I live in Springfield, just inside the beltway. Currently, it's 58 minutes from stafford to my house, with the "usual" traffic per Google.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP. I think that if you live in kings park east or west your commute for both will be fine. I don't live in that area, but I used to, and I have coworkers who do and the commute is 15 minutes to Vienna metro and then 34 minutes on the train to metro center. Total time is about 1 hour. Not too bad for this area. The schools in the aforementioned communities are pretty good. For the Stafford commuter I recommend 123 Sourh to Occoquan where 95 can be picked up.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Springfield, just inside the beltway. Currently, it's 58 minutes from stafford to my house, with the "usual" traffic per Google.

So an hour minimum. Outside of rush hour, rain, snow, car accident or road work. At which point you're looking at 90 minutes+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP. I think that if you live in kings park east or west your commute for both will be fine. I don't live in that area, but I used to, and I have coworkers who do and the commute is 15 minutes to Vienna metro and then 34 minutes on the train to metro center. Total time is about 1 hour. Not too bad for this area. The schools in the aforementioned communities are pretty good. For the Stafford commuter I recommend 123 Sourh to Occoquan where 95 can be picked up.

Good luck!

Vienna to Stafford every day? Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alexandria schools are awful. Unless you want to pay for private, that's a no-go.

Arlington has amazing schools, and it's got a dead-easy commute for the DC spouse, but it's expensive and the Stafford commute would suck.

Agree with the Lorton/Springfield PPs.

OP, the above comment is the subject of a great deal of e-ink on this board. Some of us simply love the Alexandria city publics. We've found that many of the people that don't are perhaps less than optimally sophisticated and realistic. Best of luck whatever you select, and please do be very, very careful about assuming that a long commute in this region can be managed easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP. I think that if you live in kings park east or west your commute for both will be fine. I don't live in that area, but I used to, and I have coworkers who do and the commute is 15 minutes to Vienna metro and then 34 minutes on the train to metro center. Total time is about 1 hour. Not too bad for this area. The schools in the aforementioned communities are pretty good. For the Stafford commuter I recommend 123 Sourh to Occoquan where 95 can be picked up.

Good luck!

Vienna to Stafford every day? Ugh.

Uh, no. Fairfax to Stafford and Fairfax to Vienna metro to DC.