Most Stay-at-home Dad friendly neighborhood/elementary school in Fairfax County?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely West Springfield or Burke. Lots of SAH parents here, both dads and moms. Friendly communities, pools, kid activities, great schools. At our community pool (West Springfield), there are a bunch of SAHDs taking their kids to swim practice.

Hi, and thanks so much for the useful tip. Rolling Forest Rec Association has houses nearby zoned for West Springfield Elementary. Is this the pool with SAHDs you are recommending? Or do you participate in one of the other WSHS bound community pools (Hunt Valley, Orange Hunt, Rolling Hills, Walden Glen, etc.)? Thanks in advance for any further specifics you feel comfortable sharing on this anonymous public forum!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Burke would be a great fit. I live right on the border west Springfield/Burke, and there are always lots of dads at the bus stop in the afternoon. Maybe they all flex, but there are definitely involved father's around. Our pool is welcoming and accepting new members, kids ride their bikes around the streets (no through traffic in our neighborhood, it's a closed loop), and a nice mix of families and retirees.

Houses are in the $5-600s though, so you may be underwhelmed.

OP here. Thank you (and many others) for your helpful contributions of information. My wife and I do like some of the $5-600K Split levels and other 70s era home models. We are especially attracted to smaller homes that are built with quality materials (brick, copper pipes, hardwood, etc.) in neighborhoods such as Kings Park. Part of our challenge in selecting a modest home/neighborhood significantly below our budget is that my wife went to straight ivy leagues through Medical School and Residency, and she doesn't want to be too embarassed when we invite her wealthier friends over for a visit. At the same time, she is a West Springfield Elementary graduate and I went to JMU. Is your pool Fox Hunt or Orange Hunt?

Adding the names of specific elementary schools and swim clubs to these posts is more useful than recommending all of Burke and West Springfield. From Great Schools' reviews, Bonnie Brae appears to be having conflicts between two different demographic groups, whereas Sangster might be too "competing with the Jones" and materialistic for our tastes. Being around a high percentage of other Moms and Dads, regardless of employment status, who commit lots of time towards thoughtfully raising their children is what's most important to us in selecting our final home.

How about something like this?

http://franklymls.com/FX8392858

That's great. My wife and I actually have that house on our list of houses that we would like to see in person, if they're still available when we next travel to the area. I love the location with the elementary school behind the backyard, and the swim club right across the street. The inside looks nicely updated with quality materials, and the outside has a brick foundation, at least. I think the reason, I didn't say that our full range of price possibilities is $400,000 to $1.1 million is because two days ago, we were considering narrowing our search to the Frost/Woodson pyramid and the houses near swim clubs we liked in that area tended to run $700K to $800K. Now, Burke and West Springfield are starting to sound more attractive again. Please keep the knowledge and experiences coming! Thanks.

I know of a similar house a few streets back that is going in the market later this month.

OP here. My wife and I are daily checking the new real estate listings that feed into West Springfield (and Robinson, Woodson, and Lake Braddock), so I'm pretty sure we won't miss it. We also are attracted to going the for sale by owner route via Zillow, if your friend wanted to post for a week or two to try save on the 6% real estate commission prior to signing on with an agent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Burke would be a great fit. I live right on the border west Springfield/Burke, and there are always lots of dads at the bus stop in the afternoon. Maybe they all flex, but there are definitely involved father's around. Our pool is welcoming and accepting new members, kids ride their bikes around the streets (no through traffic in our neighborhood, it's a closed loop), and a nice mix of families and retirees.

Houses are in the $5-600s though, so you may be underwhelmed.

OP here. Thank you (and many others) for your helpful contributions of information. My wife and I do like some of the $5-600K Split levels and other 70s era home models. We are especially attracted to smaller homes that are built with quality materials (brick, copper pipes, hardwood, etc.) in neighborhoods such as Kings Park. Part of our challenge in selecting a modest home/neighborhood significantly below our budget is that my wife went to straight ivy leagues through Medical School and Residency, and she doesn't want to be too embarassed when we invite her wealthier friends over for a visit. At the same time, she is a West Springfield Elementary graduate and I went to JMU. Is your pool Fox Hunt or Orange Hunt?

Adding the names of specific elementary schools and swim clubs to these posts is more useful than recommending all of Burke and West Springfield. From Great Schools' reviews, Bonnie Brae appears to be having conflicts between two different demographic groups, whereas Sangster might be too "competing with the Jones" and materialistic for our tastes. Being around a high percentage of other Moms and Dads, regardless of employment status, who commit lots of time towards thoughtfully raising their children is what's most important to us in selecting our final home.

Why are you down on either of these? If her friends would become judgmental about your home than I don't see how they wouldn't be judgmental about her husband staying home while she works. Seems like something that judgmental people could really be snotty about.

OP here. I was re-reading this thread today to see what insights I may have missed, and realized that I misunderstood this remark when I responded earlier. I think JMU is a great school, period. I also would be proud to have my children attend West Springfield. My intent in disclosing these names was to illustrate how my wife and I are normal middle class folks. We did not come from old money, and don't feel a need to accommodate our "friends" who did. What is important to us is that we don't spend over half a million dollars for an out-of-date house that could be purchased for $150K in most other parts of the country. We want to be proud of our decision to buy a significantly smaller house than we can afford; not embarrassed by our pink and green bathrooms that are in too functional of shape for us to feel good about sending them to a landfill!

As an update to other posters as well, we are excited by the communities we can join in the $500K to $700K range in West Springfield/Burke and are now considering a house in close range of a swim club going to WSHS as just as good as a similar house bound for Woodson (if not better due to the lower price, and more stay-at-home friendly neighbors!). I look forward to hearing some more thoughts regarding where is the most stay-at-home parent friendly areas to settle down. Any votes for an Elementary school in a Woodson pyramid? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Burke would be a great fit. I live right on the border west Springfield/Burke, and there are always lots of dads at the bus stop in the afternoon. Maybe they all flex, but there are definitely involved father's around. Our pool is welcoming and accepting new members, kids ride their bikes around the streets (no through traffic in our neighborhood, it's a closed loop), and a nice mix of families and retirees.

Houses are in the $5-600s though, so you may be underwhelmed.

OP here. Thank you (and many others) for your helpful contributions of information. My wife and I do like some of the $5-600K Split levels and other 70s era home models. We are especially attracted to smaller homes that are built with quality materials (brick, copper pipes, hardwood, etc.) in neighborhoods such as Kings Park. Part of our challenge in selecting a modest home/neighborhood significantly below our budget is that my wife went to straight ivy leagues through Medical School and Residency, and she doesn't want to be too embarassed when we invite her wealthier friends over for a visit. At the same time, she is a West Springfield Elementary graduate and I went to JMU. Is your pool Fox Hunt or Orange Hunt?

Adding the names of specific elementary schools and swim clubs to these posts is more useful than recommending all of Burke and West Springfield. From Great Schools' reviews, Bonnie Brae appears to be having conflicts between two different demographic groups, whereas Sangster might be too "competing with the Jones" and materialistic for our tastes. Being around a high percentage of other Moms and Dads, regardless of employment status, who commit lots of time towards thoughtfully raising their children is what's most important to us in selecting our final home.

Why are you down on either of these? If her friends would become judgmental about your home than I don't see how they wouldn't be judgmental about her husband staying home while she works. Seems like something that judgmental people could really be snotty about.

OP here. I was re-reading this thread today to see what insights I may have missed, and realized that I misunderstood this remark when I responded earlier. I think JMU is a great school, period. I also would be proud to have my children attend West Springfield. My intent in disclosing these names was to illustrate how my wife and I are normal middle class folks. We did not come from old money, and don't feel a need to accommodate our "friends" who did. What is important to us is that we don't spend over half a million dollars for an out-of-date house that could be purchased for $150K in most other parts of the country. We want to be proud of our decision to buy a significantly smaller house than we can afford; not embarrassed by our pink and green bathrooms that are in too functional of shape for us to feel good about sending them to a landfill!

As an update to other posters as well, we are excited by the communities we can join in the $500K to $700K range in West Springfield/Burke and are now considering a house in close range of a swim club going to WSHS as just as good as a similar house bound for Woodson (if not better due to the lower price, and more stay-at-home friendly neighbors!). I look forward to hearing some more thoughts regarding where is the most stay-at-home parent friendly areas to settle down. Any votes for an Elementary school in a Woodson pyramid? Thanks.

Your wife went to West Springfield Elementary? Have you looked at the homes that are zoned to that school?

[Anonymous]

In the Woodson pyramid, I know a lot of people who like Wakefield Forest and Canterbury Woods. We are at Olde Creek and love it. I always see Dads at school events during the day, no idea if they are SAHDs, work at home, or just have flexible schedules. I believe Mantua is very popular as well, I just happen to be more familiar with the neighborhoods off Braddock Rd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Burke would be a great fit. I live right on the border west Springfield/Burke, and there are always lots of dads at the bus stop in the afternoon. Maybe they all flex, but there are definitely involved father's around. Our pool is welcoming and accepting new members, kids ride their bikes around the streets (no through traffic in our neighborhood, it's a closed loop), and a nice mix of families and retirees.

Houses are in the $5-600s though, so you may be underwhelmed.

OP here. Thank you (and many others) for your helpful contributions of information. My wife and I do like some of the $5-600K Split levels and other 70s era home models. We are especially attracted to smaller homes that are built with quality materials (brick, copper pipes, hardwood, etc.) in neighborhoods such as Kings Park. Part of our challenge in selecting a modest home/neighborhood significantly below our budget is that my wife went to straight ivy leagues through Medical School and Residency, and she doesn't want to be too embarassed when we invite her wealthier friends over for a visit. At the same time, she is a West Springfield Elementary graduate and I went to JMU. Is your pool Fox Hunt or Orange Hunt?

Adding the names of specific elementary schools and swim clubs to these posts is more useful than recommending all of Burke and West Springfield. From Great Schools' reviews, Bonnie Brae appears to be having conflicts between two different demographic groups, whereas Sangster might be too "competing with the Jones" and materialistic for our tastes. Being around a high percentage of other Moms and Dads, regardless of employment status, who commit lots of time towards thoughtfully raising their children is what's most important to us in selecting our final home.

How about something like this?

http://franklymls.com/FX8392858

That's great. My wife and I actually have that house on our list of houses that we would like to see in person, if they're still available when we next travel to the area. I love the location with the elementary school behind the backyard, and the swim club right across the street. The inside looks nicely updated with quality materials, and the outside has a brick foundation, at least. I think the reason, I didn't say that our full range of price possibilities is $400,000 to $1.1 million is because two days ago, we were considering narrowing our search to the Frost/Woodson pyramid and the houses near swim clubs we liked in that area tended to run $700K to $800K. Now, Burke and West Springfield are starting to sound more attractive again. Please keep the knowledge and experiences coming! Thanks.

I know of a similar house a few streets back that is going in the market later this month.

OP here. My wife and I are daily checking the new real estate listings that feed into West Springfield (and Robinson, Woodson, and Lake Braddock), so I'm pretty sure we won't miss it. We also are attracted to going the for sale by owner route via Zillow, if your friend wanted to post for a week or two to try save on the 6% real estate commission prior to signing on with an agent.

I wish there was a way to contact you directly. I know of two houses and they are both near Rolling Valley Swim and Tennis Club between Hunt Valley and Orange Hunt Swim Clubs ( if that helps).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Burke would be a great fit. I live right on the border west Springfield/Burke, and there are always lots of dads at the bus stop in the afternoon. Maybe they all flex, but there are definitely involved father's around. Our pool is welcoming and accepting new members, kids ride their bikes around the streets (no through traffic in our neighborhood, it's a closed loop), and a nice mix of families and retirees.

Houses are in the $5-600s though, so you may be underwhelmed.

OP here. Thank you (and many others) for your helpful contributions of information. My wife and I do like some of the $5-600K Split levels and other 70s era home models. We are especially attracted to smaller homes that are built with quality materials (brick, copper pipes, hardwood, etc.) in neighborhoods such as Kings Park. Part of our challenge in selecting a modest home/neighborhood significantly below our budget is that my wife went to straight ivy leagues through Medical School and Residency, and she doesn't want to be too embarassed when we invite her wealthier friends over for a visit. At the same time, she is a West Springfield Elementary graduate and I went to JMU. Is your pool Fox Hunt or Orange Hunt?

Adding the names of specific elementary schools and swim clubs to these posts is more useful than recommending all of Burke and West Springfield. From Great Schools' reviews, Bonnie Brae appears to be having conflicts between two different demographic groups, whereas Sangster might be too "competing with the Jones" and materialistic for our tastes. Being around a high percentage of other Moms and Dads, regardless of employment status, who commit lots of time towards thoughtfully raising their children is what's most important to us in selecting our final home.

Why are you down on either of these? If her friends would become judgmental about your home than I don't see how they wouldn't be judgmental about her husband staying home while she works. Seems like something that judgmental people could really be snotty about.

OP here. I was re-reading this thread today to see what insights I may have missed, and realized that I misunderstood this remark when I responded earlier. I think JMU is a great school, period. I also would be proud to have my children attend West Springfield. My intent in disclosing these names was to illustrate how my wife and I are normal middle class folks. We did not come from old money, and don't feel a need to accommodate our "friends" who did. What is important to us is that we don't spend over half a million dollars for an out-of-date house that could be purchased for $150K in most other parts of the country. We want to be proud of our decision to buy a significantly smaller house than we can afford; not embarrassed by our pink and green bathrooms that are in too functional of shape for us to feel good about sending them to a landfill!

As an update to other posters as well, we are excited by the communities we can join in the $500K to $700K range in West Springfield/Burke and are now considering a house in close range of a swim club going to WSHS as just as good as a similar house bound for Woodson (if not better due to the lower price, and more stay-at-home friendly neighbors!). I look forward to hearing some more thoughts regarding where is the most stay-at-home parent friendly areas to settle down. Any votes for an Elementary school in a Woodson pyramid? Thanks.

Your wife went to West Springfield Elementary? Have you looked at the homes that are zoned to that school?

OP here: Yes. There is currently one for-sale-by owner near the Forest Hills swim club that is being rented out, so it's hard to see, and the few other homes for sale bound for WSE are too far from a park, swim club, or elementary school to fit our criteria.

[Anonymous]

I wish there was a way to contact you directly. I know of two houses and they are both near Rolling Valley Swim and Tennis Club between Hunt Valley and Orange Hunt Swim Clubs ( if that helps).

If anyone wants to contact me (OP) directly, I can be reached at [e-mail] for the next month or two. (Is this a DCUM faux pas?) After that, you'll need to join DC Metro Dads if you want to find me!

[Anonymous]

You are way too pretentious and will not enjoy Burke and west Springfield.

I grew up there. Lived there after college. I didn't enjoy it.

Small houses? Those are townhouses. The norm is large homes. It's true suburbia there. You aren't t walking to anything except your own neighborhood and likely a park of some sort as anothe PP pointed out. You are driving everywhere. Your weekends in summer are swim meets, followed by shipping at high box stores, some landscaping thrown in, and then maybe seeing a couple neighbors but even in those areas families are "busy" on the weekends. Fall, winter, spring - replace swim team with soccer or tall/baseball. Sunday is church followed by breakfast/lunch and the more shopping!

SAHD? You will be an anomaly and your neighbors are going to think its odd. ( personally I don't) realize that over that past 15 years families moved into those areas because it offered single family homes under the $500k range giving lower income dual households the chance to have a house (lower income meaning those making less than $150k not true low income) lots of military families in the area too.

Do yourself a favor. Rent in the desired location for a couple years before committing to a neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely West Springfield or Burke. Lots of SAH parents here, both dads and moms. Friendly communities, pools, kid activities, great schools. At our community pool (West Springfield), there are a bunch of SAHDs taking their kids to swim practice.

Hi, and thanks so much for the useful tip. Rolling Forest Rec Association has houses nearby zoned for West Springfield Elementary. Is this the pool with SAHDs you are recommending? Or do you participate in one of the other WSHS bound community pools (Hunt Valley, Orange Hunt, Rolling Hills, Walden Glen, etc.)? Thanks in advance for any further specifics you feel comfortable sharing on this anonymous public forum!

PP here:

Oops, didn't see the one where you were requesting info about pools. It one of the WSHS bound community pools: Hunt Valley. I see dads taking their kids to during the day swim practice, and it's a pretty warm community. In addition to SAHDs, there are also lots of dads that are government employees and work from home employees in the community, so no one bats an eye when a kid is picked up by dad or dropped of by dad, or dad volunteers at school. I know that Orange Hunt has a similar community. I'm not sure about the others.

[Anonymous]

I'm at a 22152 pool now. :0)

A dad

[Anonymous]

Some links to local swim/dive league websites for most of the pools you're looking at.

http://www.mynvsl.com/
http://dive.mynvsl.com/
http://reachforthewall.com/

[Anonymous]

Key words..."lived there after college"

No one, and I mean no one, from tue Burke West Springfield area would recommend that place for someone just out of college.

It is an area for families that like talking to their neighbors, having impromptu bbqs and movie night, pick up basketball games in the street, that sort of thing.

NOT a place where a barely 21 year old right out of college would want to live.

Anonymous wrote:You are way too pretentious and will not enjoy Burke and west Springfield.

I grew up there. Lived there after college. I didn't enjoy it.

Small houses? Those are townhouses. The norm is large homes. It's true suburbia there. You aren't t walking to anything except your own neighborhood and likely a park of some sort as anothe PP pointed out. You are driving everywhere. Your weekends in summer are swim meets, followed by shipping at high box stores, some landscaping thrown in, and then maybe seeing a couple neighbors but even in those areas families are "busy" on the weekends. Fall, winter, spring - replace swim team with soccer or tall/baseball. Sunday is church followed by breakfast/lunch and the more shopping!

SAHD? You will be an anomaly and your neighbors are going to think its odd. ( personally I don't) realize that over that past 15 years families moved into those areas because it offered single family homes under the $500k range giving lower income dual households the chance to have a house (lower income meaning those making less than $150k not true low income) lots of military families in the area too.

Do yourself a favor. Rent in the desired location for a couple years before committing to a neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

PS. You don't sound like you know the area well at all.

Anonymous wrote:You are way too pretentious and will not enjoy Burke and west Springfield.

I grew up there. Lived there after college. I didn't enjoy it.

Small houses? Those are townhouses. The norm is large homes. It's true suburbia there. You aren't t walking to anything except your own neighborhood and likely a park of some sort as anothe PP pointed out. You are driving everywhere. Your weekends in summer are swim meets, followed by shipping at high box stores, some landscaping thrown in, and then maybe seeing a couple neighbors but even in those areas families are "busy" on the weekends. Fall, winter, spring - replace swim team with soccer or tall/baseball. Sunday is church followed by breakfast/lunch and the more shopping!

SAHD? You will be an anomaly and your neighbors are going to think its odd. ( personally I don't) realize that over that past 15 years families moved into those areas because it offered single family homes under the $500k range giving lower income dual households the chance to have a house (lower income meaning those making less than $150k not true low income) lots of military families in the area too.

Do yourself a favor. Rent in the desired location for a couple years before committing to a neighborhood.