Talk me into/out of moving to McLean/Langley cluster from NW (Hardy feeder)

[Anonymous]

We are currently at a Hardy feeder in DCPS and we LOVE our ES. DS is in 3rd grade so we have time. DH works in Falls Church, I WAH so no commute for me. I am wondering why we don't just move to McLean but know nothing about the schools beyond what I can see online/gather from DCUM. If I did my research correctly, we would probably look at Churchill Road/Cooper/Langley or Spring Hill/Cooper/Langley. My thoughts/issues are:

FFX ES goes through 6th grade, so leaving our JKLM after 4th or even 5th would mean starting in ES and moving to MS with a cohort from their ES (plus I have a DS in 1s grade so he would have a few years in the FFX ES). Here in DC we aren't sure yet about Hardy, can't afford a private but could afford parochial - risk there is if we don't get in, where do we go?

Easier commute for DH; no impact on my job

Knowing what we can get for our house, and looking on Redfin/Zillow, housing costs would be about the same - slighly higher property taxes, but no risk of needing to pay for private

SO why not just do it?? We love our current house, school, neighborhood. Love being "in the city" although an argument could be made we are not exactly downtown so McLean isn't all that different... or is it??

Talk me into/out of it.

[Anonymous]

I am no DC basher, but I have a hard time arguing against a short commute.

May I ask if you have considered the City of Falls Church? A bit more "urban/walkable" than McLean, if that is important to you. Though I gather some folks decide if they aren't going to be "in the city" then distinctions like that among suburbs don't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am no DC basher, but I have a hard time arguing against a short commute.

May I ask if you have considered the City of Falls Church? A bit more "urban/walkable" than McLean, if that is important to you. Though I gather some folks decide if they aren't going to be "in the city" then distinctions like that among suburbs don't matter.

OP here... tell me more! How are the schools? that would be our primary reason for leaving DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am no DC basher, but I have a hard time arguing against a short commute.

May I ask if you have considered the City of Falls Church? A bit more "urban/walkable" than McLean, if that is important to you. Though I gather some folks decide if they aren't going to be "in the city" then distinctions like that among suburbs don't matter.

OP here... tell me more! How are the schools? that would be our primary reason for leaving DC.

[Anonymous]

We are in the middle of moving to the NOVA area. From my research City of Falls Church schools seems to be good
They are ranked 2nd out of all VA districts on School digger. but when i called and questioned their Gifted Program information it seems to be lacking
compared to FFX. The Langley Pyramid is my ideal pyramid but the housing seems to be competitive.

[Anonymous]

We are in a similar situation. Older DC will be in Hardy in a year or so and younger one will be in JKLMMS.
I want to shorten DH's commute to FFC, but he said that his commute was ok since it was against traffic.
We love living in the city and love the elementary schools (kids in 2 different ones). However, we cannot afford a bigger home in the city and need to move out at some point.
So we are moving for bigger home, better commute and for high schools. Staying here for elementary and older one's middle school.
I'd also suggest city of Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are currently at a Hardy feeder in DCPS and we LOVE our ES. DS is in 3rd grade so we have time. DH works in Falls Church, I WAH so no commute for me. I am wondering why we don't just move to McLean but know nothing about the schools beyond what I can see online/gather from DCUM. If I did my research correctly, we would probably look at Churchill Road/Cooper/Langley or Spring Hill/Cooper/Langley. My thoughts/issues are:

FFX ES goes through 6th grade, so leaving our JKLM after 4th or even 5th would mean starting in ES and moving to MS with a cohort from their ES (plus I have a DS in 1s grade so he would have a few years in the FFX ES). Here in DC we aren't sure yet about Hardy, can't afford a private but could afford parochial - risk there is if we don't get in, where do we go?

Easier commute for DH; no impact on my job

Knowing what we can get for our house, and looking on Redfin/Zillow, housing costs would be about the same - slighly higher property taxes, but no risk of needing to pay for private

SO why not just do it?? We love our current house, school, neighborhood. Love being "in the city" although an argument could be made we are not exactly downtown so McLean isn't all that different... or is it??

Talk me into/out of it.

Why not do Chesterbrook and McLean? Closer in and better investment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am no DC basher, but I have a hard time arguing against a short commute.

May I ask if you have considered the City of Falls Church? A bit more "urban/walkable" than McLean, if that is important to you. Though I gather some folks decide if they aren't going to be "in the city" then distinctions like that among suburbs don't matter.

+1

Falls Church is an excellent small school system. A downside would be more travel for sports (the smaller schools it competes with are farther away). Also, given its larger size, Fairfax County schools are probably better if you have a child with special needs.

Langley has a lot of ultra-wealthy families. Falls Church city is more uniformly upper middle class. We've found the area to be very friendly and down to earth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are currently at a Hardy feeder in DCPS and we LOVE our ES. DS is in 3rd grade so we have time. DH works in Falls Church, I WAH so no commute for me. I am wondering why we don't just move to McLean but know nothing about the schools beyond what I can see online/gather from DCUM. If I did my research correctly, we would probably look at Churchill Road/Cooper/Langley or Spring Hill/Cooper/Langley. My thoughts/issues are:

FFX ES goes through 6th grade, so leaving our JKLM after 4th or even 5th would mean starting in ES and moving to MS with a cohort from their ES (plus I have a DS in 1s grade so he would have a few years in the FFX ES). Here in DC we aren't sure yet about Hardy, can't afford a private but could afford parochial - risk there is if we don't get in, where do we go?

Easier commute for DH; no impact on my job

Knowing what we can get for our house, and looking on Redfin/Zillow, housing costs would be about the same - slighly higher property taxes, but no risk of needing to pay for private

SO why not just do it?? We love our current house, school, neighborhood. Love being "in the city" although an argument could be made we are not exactly downtown so McLean isn't all that different... or is it??

Talk me into/out of it.

Why not do Chesterbrook and McLean? Closer in and better investment.

+1

[Anonymous]

Mclean HS is a better school than Langley, socially and academically. Longfellow is better than Cooper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mclean HS is a better school than Langley, socially and academically. Longfellow is better than Cooper.

Based on...?

[Anonymous]

I'd ignore PP. Both Langley and McLean are excellent. McLean might be a softer landing for someone moving from DC (most of its neighborhoods are closer to DC, and it has more diversity). But both schools and its feeders are top-notch.

[Anonymous]

Falls Church City is really nice community. The schools are wonderful.

[Anonymous]

To the extent that you care, Falls Church city is considerably more left-leaning than McLean and Great Falls.

[Anonymous]

Both wildly overrated FCPS schools. Stay in NW and go private. DC area public's are being sunk the staggering cost and social burden of ESOL students - some legal, some not. Even in schools like McLean and Langley, which from demographics appear to not be as impacted as schools such as Herndon and SL, the budget impact reduced resources significantly.