House/FCPS location complex situation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are the high schools i’d consider (my kids are at McLean)
McLean, Marshall, Madison, Oakton, West Springfield

Forget about AAP, it’s not important for middle and goes away in high school.

We love McLean and live near to the “downtown” part. My kids can walk everywhere and it has a bit of a small town feel (for better or worse- we always run into people we know everywhere we go). Having said that, I also love Vienna for similar reasons.

I think you are out of luck for this school year unless you buy something asap. You aren’t going to be able to pupil place. There are some Montessori’s around as well- maybe that’s an option until you find where you want to settle?

You can’t say Madison and Marshall in the same line as Mclean and Oakton as choices. People who consider one set don’t consider the other. They are not at all interchangeable. Plus, OP like most here and in Fairfax county (no judgement either way) does not want IB.

Also I would put West Springfield lower than say Woodson or Chantilly high. As would most.

Madison is very much in the same general ballpark as McLean and Oakton. A bit whiter and less Asian, and somewhat more economically homogeneous (the most expensive homes aren’t as expensive and the lowest-income units are more expensive), but otherwise quite similar. All three are AP schools.

Marshall is as well, for the most part, although it’s got a larger low-income population and some people don’t want IB. But some of the most expensive parts of Vienna/22182 feed to Marshall, and many of the Marshall neighborhood in Falls Church/22043 are pricy.

If you looked at the 24 high school pyramids in FCPS, in terms of the median cost of single-family homes, the top five in order would be Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton, and Marshall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are the high schools i’d consider (my kids are at McLean)
McLean, Marshall, Madison, Oakton, West Springfield

Forget about AAP, it’s not important for middle and goes away in high school.

We love McLean and live near to the “downtown” part. My kids can walk everywhere and it has a bit of a small town feel (for better or worse- we always run into people we know everywhere we go). Having said that, I also love Vienna for similar reasons.

I think you are out of luck for this school year unless you buy something asap. You aren’t going to be able to pupil place. There are some Montessori’s around as well- maybe that’s an option until you find where you want to settle?

You can’t say Madison and Marshall in the same line as Mclean and Oakton as choices. People who consider one set don’t consider the other. They are not at all interchangeable. Plus, OP like most here and in Fairfax county (no judgement either way) does not want IB.

Also I would put West Springfield lower than say Woodson or Chantilly high. As would most.

I mean, I can put them in the same line because I did, lol. Those are literally the schools we considered when we purchased our house, so…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are the high schools i’d consider (my kids are at McLean)
McLean, Marshall, Madison, Oakton, West Springfield

Forget about AAP, it’s not important for middle and goes away in high school.

We love McLean and live near to the “downtown” part. My kids can walk everywhere and it has a bit of a small town feel (for better or worse- we always run into people we know everywhere we go). Having said that, I also love Vienna for similar reasons.

I think you are out of luck for this school year unless you buy something asap. You aren’t going to be able to pupil place. There are some Montessori’s around as well- maybe that’s an option until you find where you want to settle?

You can’t say Madison and Marshall in the same line as Mclean and Oakton as choices. People who consider one set don’t consider the other. They are not at all interchangeable. Plus, OP like most here and in Fairfax county (no judgement either way) does not want IB.

Also I would put West Springfield lower than say Woodson or Chantilly high. As would most.

Based off enrollment, most people would put WSHS over Woodson.

That’s not really how people evaluate schools. By your logic people prefer Westfield to Langley.

[Anonymous]

Your kid will be off to college in 6 years then you will be stuck with a house built in the 70s or 60s or older in the McLean, Langley, Oakton area are built. Unless your budget is $2M+

What do you think will be better from an investment perspective? That or say a house at least built in this century? We purchased a house for $300k less that’s only 15 years old, twice as large my cousin’s house in Mclean. Our school is almost as good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are the high schools i’d consider (my kids are at McLean)
McLean, Marshall, Madison, Oakton, West Springfield

Forget about AAP, it’s not important for middle and goes away in high school.

We love McLean and live near to the “downtown” part. My kids can walk everywhere and it has a bit of a small town feel (for better or worse- we always run into people we know everywhere we go). Having said that, I also love Vienna for similar reasons.

I think you are out of luck for this school year unless you buy something asap. You aren’t going to be able to pupil place. There are some Montessori’s around as well- maybe that’s an option until you find where you want to settle?

You can’t say Madison and Marshall in the same line as Mclean and Oakton as choices. People who consider one set don’t consider the other. They are not at all interchangeable. Plus, OP like most here and in Fairfax county (no judgement either way) does not want IB.

Also I would put West Springfield lower than say Woodson or Chantilly high. As would most.

I mean, I can put them in the same line because I did, lol. Those are literally the schools we considered when we purchased our house, so…

I was thinking Meridian. Hard to find a house near Madison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid will be off to college in 6 years then you will be stuck with a house built in the 70s or 60s or older in the McLean, Langley, Oakton area are built. Unless your budget is $2M+

What do you think will be better from an investment perspective? That or say a house at least built in this century? We purchased a house for $300k less that’s only 15 years old, twice as large my cousin’s house in Mclean. Our school is almost as good.

You must not know how some of these older properties have appreciated. Between the locations, the schools, and the value in the land, they are great investments.

A newer house isn’t necessarily a great investment if the location isn’t as good, the schools are not great, or the quality of the construction is shoddy.

[Anonymous]

You are in a tough position because it looks like your kid will have to go private for one grade, then public for a year and entering middle in 8th in public school for the first time will be brutal. Only to change again.

I understand that sometimes circumstances are bad but you should consider either private for 2 years or homeschool for a couple of months and hope to buy something soon. I would personally go with the latter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid will be off to college in 6 years then you will be stuck with a house built in the 70s or 60s or older in the McLean, Langley, Oakton area are built. Unless your budget is $2M+

What do you think will be better from an investment perspective? That or say a house at least built in this century? We purchased a house for $300k less that’s only 15 years old, twice as large my cousin’s house in Mclean. Our school is almost as good.

NP. This actually made me laugh. The newer homes are cheaply built and it shows. We live in the a house built in 1976 that is solid as a rock. We've updated and remodeled and plan to live here the rest of our lives. And our schools are excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP should just find a private, though probably difficult at this late date. She and her kid sound too high maintenance for FCPS.

I didn’t get that at all about OP.

OP, the problem with the big leagues as a PP referred is yes the houses will be a bit older. I can’t imagine buying a house that’s more than say 25 yrs old, so I disagree with your DH.

I bet most of the people here who send their kids to say Langley, McLean, Oakton don’t have much older houses. No one (here) would make that much of a sacrifice for those schools.

So if you can afford to buy a newish house, go for it. If not, pick Lake Braddock, Chantilly high etc. Simple.

And no way can you pupil place or do anything whatsoever (other than boundary fraud which it seems some people are doing gleefully) because your zoned school is IB or poorly rated.

Good grief, ASSume much? My kids attend one of those schools and I'm the person who said we live in a 1970s home. It wasn't the "sacrifice" you want to make it out to be. We have a huge yard and a great neighborhood - as opposed to the newer neighborhoods with shoddily built houses on tiny lots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP should just find a private, though probably difficult at this late date. She and her kid sound too high maintenance for FCPS.

I didn’t get that at all about OP.

OP, the problem with the big leagues as a PP referred is yes the houses will be a bit older. I can’t imagine buying a house that’s more than say 25 yrs old, so I disagree with your DH.

I bet most of the people here who send their kids to say Langley, McLean, Oakton don’t have much older houses. No one (here) would make that much of a sacrifice for those schools.

So if you can afford to buy a newish house, go for it. If not, pick Lake Braddock, Chantilly high etc. Simple.

And no way can you pupil place or do anything whatsoever (other than boundary fraud which it seems some people are doing gleefully) because your zoned school is IB or poorly rated.

Lots of people at Langley, McLean, Oakton, etc., live in homes built in the 1990s or earlier. And, yes, many opt for such a house when it would cost as much as a new house, typically further out, zoned for a different school.

That’s not to say OP has to find a house zoned for Langley, McLean, Oakton, etc - just that the line that you’re drawing is artificial and doesn’t align with the decisions that a lot of folks make. Some of the most traditional neighborhoods zoned for Langley, for example, are subdivisions like Langley Oaks, Shouse Village, McLean Hunt, and McLean Hamlet built in the 1960s-1980s.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid will be off to college in 6 years then you will be stuck with a house built in the 70s or 60s or older in the McLean, Langley, Oakton area are built. Unless your budget is $2M+

What do you think will be better from an investment perspective? That or say a house at least built in this century? We purchased a house for $300k less that’s only 15 years old, twice as large my cousin’s house in Mclean. Our school is almost as good.

NP. This actually made me laugh. The newer homes are cheaply built and it shows. We live in the a house built in 1976 that is solid as a rock. We've updated and remodeled and plan to live here the rest of our lives. And our schools are excellent.

Not all the newer homes are cheaply built and not all the older homes (if we're talking about anything built before 2000) are solid as a rock. A lot of the stuff built in the 1980s is fairly cheap and many newer houses, especially in high-end neighborhoods, are extremely well built.

[Anonymous]

OP. Thanks for taking the time to comment. If you have any more thoughts please don’t hold back - am not a troll. Usually make sound decisions but it’s been a crazy few months with family passing, pressing/ongoing older child health situation, move etc so a bit frazzled and out of my element wrt this situation.

Most people here have had time and lots of input from family/friends to make such a big decision. I feel that if had time to research here more, maybe the answer would come to me but that’s also crazy I know.

Also first time DH and I are not in agreement about something imp. DH’s short list is Langley/Mclean/Oakton.
I don’t have a shortlist yet but don’t feel that’s quite right for us (preppy, intense, drugs). Maybe leaning towards Chantilly but don’t know if West Springfield or Lake Braddock are better. Also, are the number of houses being listed typical for the area in summer? I expected more.

Appreciate the clarification that there is no possibility of transferring to a better school other than with a move. That’s not going to happen in a week and a half. So we will need to decide asap what to do for the immediate future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thanks for taking the time to comment. If you have any more thoughts please don’t hold back - am not a troll. Usually make sound decisions but it’s been a crazy few months with family passing, pressing/ongoing older child health situation, move etc so a bit frazzled and out of my element wrt this situation.

Most people here have had time and lots of input from family/friends to make such a big decision. I feel that if had time to research here more, maybe the answer would come to me but that’s also crazy I know.

Also first time DH and I are not in agreement about something imp. DH’s short list is Langley/Mclean/Oakton.
I don’t have a shortlist yet but don’t feel that’s quite right for us (preppy, intense, drugs). Maybe leaning towards Chantilly but don’t know if West Springfield or Lake Braddock are better. Also, are the number of houses being listed typical for the area in summer? I expected more.

Appreciate the clarification that there is no possibility of transferring to a better school other than with a move. That’s not going to happen in a week and a half. So we will need to decide asap what to do for the immediate future.

You just keep repeating the same crap even when people make a sincere effort to disabuse you of the incorrect stereotypes. Please stay away from Langley, Mclean, and Oakton - they are doing fine and quite honestly you're exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thanks for taking the time to comment. If you have any more thoughts please don’t hold back - am not a troll. Usually make sound decisions but it’s been a crazy few months with family passing, pressing/ongoing older child health situation, move etc so a bit frazzled and out of my element wrt this situation.

Most people here have had time and lots of input from family/friends to make such a big decision. I feel that if had time to research here more, maybe the answer would come to me but that’s also crazy I know.

Also first time DH and I are not in agreement about something imp. DH’s short list is Langley/Mclean/Oakton.
I don’t have a shortlist yet but don’t feel that’s quite right for us (preppy, intense, drugs). Maybe leaning towards Chantilly but don’t know if West Springfield or Lake Braddock are better. Also, are the number of houses being listed typical for the area in summer? I expected more.

Appreciate the clarification that there is no possibility of transferring to a better school other than with a move. That’s not going to happen in a week and a half. So we will need to decide asap what to do for the immediate future.

You just keep repeating the same crap even when people make a sincere effort to disabuse you of the incorrect stereotypes. Please stay away from Langley, Mclean, and Oakton - they are doing fine and quite honestly you're exhausting.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. Thanks for taking the time to comment. If you have any more thoughts please don’t hold back - am not a troll. Usually make sound decisions but it’s been a crazy few months with family passing, pressing/ongoing older child health situation, move etc so a bit frazzled and out of my element wrt this situation.

Most people here have had time and lots of input from family/friends to make such a big decision. I feel that if had time to research here more, maybe the answer would come to me but that’s also crazy I know.

Also first time DH and I are not in agreement about something imp. DH’s short list is Langley/Mclean/Oakton.
I don’t have a shortlist yet but don’t feel that’s quite right for us (preppy, intense, drugs). Maybe leaning towards Chantilly but don’t know if West Springfield or Lake Braddock are better. Also, are the number of houses being listed typical for the area in summer? I expected more.

Appreciate the clarification that there is no possibility of transferring to a better school other than with a move. That’s not going to happen in a week and a half. So we will need to decide asap what to do for the immediate future.

You just keep repeating the same crap even when people make a sincere effort to disabuse you of the incorrect stereotypes. Please stay away from Langley, Mclean, and Oakton - they are doing fine and quite honestly you're exhausting.

+100
Absurd stereotyping.