House budget of $450k. Looking for good schools. Where to buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was the 21:00 poster about Pimitt Hills. Yes there are areas that aren't as nice as others in this large neighborhood but we looked 5 years ago and it looks much different now. Lots of people tearing down and building new. Younger families moving in because its still relatively affordable. It won't be in 3 years. With the silver line starting and the new developments they are planning off of Magarity pricing will sky rocket. Very close to Tysons, 66, 495 and Rt 7. Whole Foods , Trader Joe's, Safeway, restaurants, coffee and fro yo. Plus whatever else the new developments bring.

It's an ugly area and will be so for decades to come. Dilapidated older homes and cheap new McMansions do not make for a desirable neighborhood. The housing stock is just dreadfully bad.

If you have the money to make a different choice, good for you. But why the need to make others feel bad for doing the best they can with the income/resources they have? You sound like a rotten person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was the 21:00 poster about Pimitt Hills. Yes there are areas that aren't as nice as others in this large neighborhood but we looked 5 years ago and it looks much different now. Lots of people tearing down and building new. Younger families moving in because its still relatively affordable. It won't be in 3 years. With the silver line starting and the new developments they are planning off of Magarity pricing will sky rocket. Very close to Tysons, 66, 495 and Rt 7. Whole Foods , Trader Joe's, Safeway, restaurants, coffee and fro yo. Plus whatever else the new developments bring.

It's an ugly area and will be so for decades to come. Dilapidated older homes and cheap new McMansions do not make for a desirable neighborhood. The housing stock is just dreadfully bad.

It's actually much more desirable because more new homes are being put up in place of the old ones in comparison to other areas. The schools are also quite good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was the 21:00 poster about Pimitt Hills. Yes there are areas that aren't as nice as others in this large neighborhood but we looked 5 years ago and it looks much different now. Lots of people tearing down and building new. Younger families moving in because its still relatively affordable. It won't be in 3 years. With the silver line starting and the new developments they are planning off of Magarity pricing will sky rocket. Very close to Tysons, 66, 495 and Rt 7. Whole Foods , Trader Joe's, Safeway, restaurants, coffee and fro yo. Plus whatever else the new developments bring.

It's an ugly area and will be so for decades to come. Dilapidated older homes and cheap new McMansions do not make for a desirable neighborhood. The housing stock is just dreadfully bad.

It's actually much more desirable because more new homes are being put up in place of the old ones in comparison to other areas. The schools are also quite good.

Actually I am scanning the recent sales and only teardowns go for under 450. So I think the hills may now be out of reach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't dismiss Alexandria (Ffx Cnty). Our ES is about 11% FARMS. I don't know about ESOL rates, but this is not a poor area. Yes, our HS has a mix of kids (high and low) and therefore the overall test scores are slightly above the state average.... which on DCUM makes people run in fear. But, we are satisfied enough with it to send our kids (who are 99th %ile on ability tests) to it. People in this area are less intense, and generally less competitive. If our 2nd grader is admitted to AAP, we are probably not going to send him b/c we are satisfied with our local ES. I know of others who have made the same decision over the years. We also have less congestion and density. We also have Wegmans and a new mall coming in the next 8-10 mos. (housing prices will probably go up).

http://www.ziprealty.com/property/6605-HUNTER-CREEK-LN-ALEXANDRIA-VA-22315/72599003/detail

http://www.ziprealty.com/property/6639-PATENT-PARISH-LN-ALEXANDRIA-VA-22315/72598971/detail

Clermont, Lane, Hayfield ES are also good.

Don't get sucked into the madness that says "Vienna is the only viable option..."

Agreed. Vienna is becoming more unlivable by the moment and it's schools more overcrowded as they handle more and more kids from Tysons expansion (when some new Tysons schools should actually be doing that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was the 21:00 poster about Pimitt Hills. Yes there are areas that aren't as nice as others in this large neighborhood but we looked 5 years ago and it looks much different now. Lots of people tearing down and building new. Younger families moving in because its still relatively affordable. It won't be in 3 years. With the silver line starting and the new developments they are planning off of Magarity pricing will sky rocket. Very close to Tysons, 66, 495 and Rt 7. Whole Foods , Trader Joe's, Safeway, restaurants, coffee and fro yo. Plus whatever else the new developments bring.

It's an ugly area and will be so for decades to come. Dilapidated older homes and cheap new McMansions do not make for a desirable neighborhood. The housing stock is just dreadfully bad.

It's actually much more desirable because more new homes are being put up in place of the old ones in comparison to other areas. The schools are also quite good.

+1 Agree with PP. Anyone who can't see what it's going to turn into doesn't have any vision and doesn't deserve to get in when prices are still relatively affordable.

That said, the good schools are rapidly becoming crowded schools because they have to absorb a lot of the Tysons development. Somehow those rosy developer projections always seem to underestimate how many families will live in apartments and condos to be in a good school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Burke/west Springfield

Great area, great schools, and great families

Agree. And not as full of themselves as many of those in McLean, Vienna, fortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone! We're aware we're not going to get a McMansion in that price range -- in fact, more looking for a small (1500 square foot) place that maybe needs some updating.

How are the schools in Annandale and Falls Church (Fairfax)? And are the schools in southern Alexandria as bad as they seem?

No offense, but a 600K house in Vienna is only 1200 sqft, unrenovated for 30 years.

This area is ridiculous.

... and also not for sale. A builder buys it.

Yes. And promptly squeezes at McMansion on it for $1.3 million +

[Anonymous]

All of these single homes are available in and around the city of Fairfax for $450,000 and under

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3617-Fishers-Hill-Ct-Fairfax-VA-22033/51764366_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3882-Scibilia-Rd-Fairfax-VA-22033/51763628_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/(undisclosed-Address)-Fairfax-VA-22030/2109149520_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4443-Majestic-Ln-Fairfax-VA-22033/51792154_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3871-Scibilia-Rd-Fairfax-VA-22033/51763621_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3404-Brookwood-Dr-Fairfax-VA-22030/12260661_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3404-Brookwood-Dr-Fairfax-VA-22030/12260661_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/13309-Pennypacker-Ln-Fairfax-VA-22033/51792164_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3903-Tedrich-Blvd-Fairfax-VA-22031/12259344_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4003-Middle-Ridge-Dr-Fairfax-VA-22033/51790509_zpid/

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10411-Fyfe-Ct-Fairfax-VA-22032/51892395_zpid/

[Anonymous]

Not sure about all the schools in Vienna, but the classes themselves are overcrowded in this part of Fairfax because the FARMS and ESL rates are lower so there are less teachers. This has nothing to do with the size of the schools. Most of the elementary schools do not have many trailers. They do at the middle and high school level, but renovations are planned for those schools in the near future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure about all the schools in Vienna, but the classes themselves are overcrowded in this part of Fairfax because the FARMS and ESL rates are lower so there are less teachers.

Fewer teachers. You could do with some schooling, yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure about all the schools in Vienna, but the classes themselves are overcrowded in this part of Fairfax because the FARMS and ESL rates are lower so there are less teachers.

Fewer teachers. You could do with some schooling, yourself.

Hey sound this out, STFU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm gping to get a lot of hater responses, but pimmit hills is in your budget and the schools are great, they were 9/10's until this past year when the SOL testing was computerized and the scores sank because some FARMS kids arent computer literate enough.

we had the same budget a year ago and PH made the most sense for us. we were also looking in burke, but we wouldve had a TH rather than a SFH, and the commute wouldve been longer. on the plus side, their schools are fantastic and the TH wouldve had more sq ft.

Ugly neighborhood full of chain-link fences and little shacks that have gotten expensive because they aren't far from better areas.

And a place where someone with OP's budget would be extremely lucky to buy anything at all. Your logic isn't applicable to people with only $450K to spend. They aren't exactly looking at better options at that price. Sadly, PH is all but unattainable at this price any more. A teardown went under contract at 413K last week, another old-but-livable house at 432K was snatched up in two days or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was the 21:00 poster about Pimitt Hills. Yes there are areas that aren't as nice as others in this large neighborhood but we looked 5 years ago and it looks much different now. Lots of people tearing down and building new. Younger families moving in because its still relatively affordable. It won't be in 3 years. With the silver line starting and the new developments they are planning off of Magarity pricing will sky rocket. Very close to Tysons, 66, 495 and Rt 7. Whole Foods , Trader Joe's, Safeway, restaurants, coffee and fro yo. Plus whatever else the new developments bring.

It's an ugly area and will be so for decades to come. Dilapidated older homes and cheap new McMansions do not make for a desirable neighborhood. The housing stock is just dreadfully bad.

It's extremely, profoundly desirable to families with only 450K to spend. Sadly, it's moving out of their reach.

[Anonymous]

17:09, I'm not 17:17. Sorry for the grammatical error. It's been a long day. There are fewer teachers in Vienna only because the teacher student staffing ratio for non-esl-farm students is currently about 27 students per classroom teacher. When special ed children are added in, the staffing ratio increases even higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure about all the schools in Vienna, but the classes themselves are overcrowded in this part of Fairfax because the FARMS and ESL rates are lower so there are less teachers.

Fewer teachers. You could do with some schooling, yourself.

Hey sound this out, STFU

Sure, ignorance is a great reason to lash out. Now you sound even more intelligent!