Reply to Moving from Arlington to Bethesda(ish) for job--best school clusters?

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Reply to "Moving from Arlington to Bethesda(ish) for job--best school clusters?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

That's true, but people (especially on this board) sometimes have a distorted view of the degree of wealth, even at a place like Whitman.

There are lots of small, old, very modest homes throughout the Whitman cluster, for example in Bannockburn or Wood Acres.  Now, because of the location, these homes that most on this board would call sh!t shacks still sell in the 8-900K range.  Most families who buy there are very much stretching to get into the neighborhood and work normal-ish jobs with salaries that are hardly crazy for this area.

Of course such a family isn't poor.  They still make more than most, even in this area.  But they aren't remotely living a luxurious lifestyle jetting off on fancy vacations or even doing regular fancy meals out.  In large part because they are stretching for the house, a lot of other aspects of their life really are more middle class with old Camrys, a week at the shore as vacation, etc.
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The above is true.  However.  In a system such as MCPS, which offers multiple pathways towards a great education (as you rightfully pointed out, OP), and because we're now in 2021, we need to ask what stretching to get into Whitman, or any W school, is really about.  You're not paying for differences in curriculum, or school buildings, or class sizes, you're paying for differences in people.  Specifically, those who value "academics" above most other things.  One could point out that's a valid choice, and it would be except that MCPS offers myriad options for people who value "academics."  So, it's not really about that.  And, IME, the ones who stretch the most to get into those districts were protesting the loudest about any possible boundary adjustment, i.e., keep that in mind about which people they've been working hard to avoid.

To go back to your point, OP, the concentrated wealth lies in neighborhoods zoned for Whitman, Churchill, BCC, WJ, Wootton, in roughly that order.  That may or may not matter to you.  But, your assessment that kids can live pretty much anywhere in MoCo and get an excellent education is accurate.  So: decide what location is most convenient for your commutes, consider any variables that matter to you (walkability, neighborhood pool, diversity, huge lots, etc.), and go from there.[/quote]

Some of the reason that these areas are more expensive is that they are[b] located closer-in to DC [/b]and are considered desirable for reasons other than schools, although of course that is a factor.[/quote]

That's certainly true for neighborhoods zoned for B-CC and parts of WJ.  But Wootton?  Churchill?  Nah.  The DCC schools are much closer to DC than those.

As for desirable for reasons other than schools, that would be true of the parts of Potomac with colossal lots, if you want horses or something.  Why Wootton would be preferable to, say, Quince Orchard or Sherwood for reasons other than schools is beyond me.[/quote]

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