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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP. Thanks for the quick reply. Just to clarify, we will not be in the workforce--this is an early at least semi-retirement. If you can call raising two daughters any kind of retirement ... Do you find the DC area stressful apart from work?[/quote]

Did you get super wealthy after an ipo or something?[/quote]

Ran a very profitable small business for 15 years and was fortunate in the stock market. Wife had a very successful medical practice. We certainly aren't billionaires but we could probably live more or less wherever fits us. I am grateful for that. I loved my job but it took the birth of my second child to realize the stress was slowly killing me (very nasty insomnia). I am healthy now but realize I only have so much time here to raise a family and enjoy the fruit of our hard work (and luck!) Giving our daughters a really good education to give them the options to choose what they love seems like a high priority. The schools in Fairy County certainly rank exceptionally well, but that can also mean exceptional pressure. We want what is best for them and the family.

Thanks![/quote]

If I could live literally anywhere in the US, I would NOT choose Fairfax County. Two of the top public school districts in the country are not far from San Francisco - Los Gatos and Palo Alto. Mountain View and Carmel aren't far behind them. If you want to be done with Northern California, move down south to San Marino. Or, even better, move to the beach and live in Carlsbad or Encinitas. Another awesome choice would be Rancho Palos Verdes.

Even if you really want to get out of CA, you would have SO many better choices than Fairfax County![/quote]

OP. Good points. Palo Alto is the school district that scares me. I'm still trying to figure how how to identify a school district that is rigorous but not crushing. I understand that perhaps the suicide issue in PA was somewhat anomalous, but I love these girls so much I can't help but feel concerned. RPV is spectacularly beautiful. That area north of San Diego deserves more attention. Thank you very much.[/quote]

OP, I'm the PP and I grew up in California but lived in Fairfax County for 15 years. I also have two daughters so I completely understand where you are coming from.

This is just my two cents, but I went to a rigorous private school in CA and my girls are in a rigorous private school here and I think the biggest thing that kept me anchored and has kept them anchored (so far anyway, they aren't through high school) has been my parents and my husband's and my perspectives on school. Yes, many schools, public or private, are rigorous. Yes, it can be very easy for kids to get swept up in that kind of thinking. However, if you and your wife make sure that you don't create a crushing lifestyle for your kids with eight different extracurriculars and nonstop resume padding activities and you clearly define the place that school should occupy in your lives (i.e. it's not the most important thing you'll ever do and it's about the journey and not the destination) then I think that will help create a more pleasant environment for your girls wherever you land. I say this as someone who got into all of the 8 top 25 colleges I applied for (and I have zero hooks), went on to complete two graduate programs, also at the top schools of my choosing, and now have a job that is very satisfying, pays me very well, and gives me a ton of flexibility to also be a wife, mother, and friend. I think luck has been heavily on my side, but I tell you all of that to say that I will never be the type of person who makes my kids think that it's Harvard or bust from the crib on and my parents weren't either and I think that was what helped me and what I hope will help my daughters survive what can be a crushing academic experience.

Finally, I will say that I am a huge believer that no one school is magic, and that your kids can have a wonderful experience, get a great education, and end up following the path of their dreams from pretty much anywhere in the US. I would give about 5% consideration to the school pyramid you are buying into and 95% consideration to all the other factors.[/quote]

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