Reply to Where to live in America or the world that's cheap with excellent schools?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]op - would like to hear more about northern va and philly burbs. where there has really good schools? am not super familiar with the areas. [/quote]

In Philly burbs, look along the Main Line to the west of the city. The closer in suburbs like Bryn Mawr are still quite pricy, but they do get more affordable the further out you go. There are also lots of universities along that line (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Villanova) which results in lots of academics living in these neighborhoods, which contributes to strong schools.

The main obstacle in these neighborhoods will be taxes. Housing is also pricier than it used to be, but not anywhere near as bad as NYC and the public schools are good, so it would still be an improvement for you. Also, if you stayed at your current job, the commute from Main Line burbs into Philly and then up to NYC is really not that bad and you could likely still do it once or twice a week if your spouse can handle the kids on those days.

In NoVa, you're looking at a more suburban lifestyle, definitely more car centric, as the parts of NoVa with strong schools do not tend to be the parts with the best public transit. [b]For example, Alexandria, Clarendon, and Rosslyn are all fairly walkable and have convenient metro stops, but that's not where I'd want to send my kids to school (especially MS and HS).[/b]

Instead, I'd look at Falls Church City (would be my top choice because of the combo of metro accessibility, a walkable little downtown, and good schools). After FCC, I'd look at Fairfax, Loudon, and Arlington, in that order. But you need to look at specific school pyramids, some are better than others. As with Philly, the further you get from DC the more affordable it is, and you can still find good schools. But also, in VA it gets more Trumpy the further out you go -- coming from NYC you need to be aware of that and figure out what your comfort level is.

Some more compare and contrast: Philly burbs will have older housing stock, lots more new builds in NoVa (I personally prefer older housing stock but some don't, it's just a key difference you should be aware of). Also I think NoVa burbs tend to have more and better county amenities than the Main Line suburbs, in terms of things like rec centers, public pools, etc., but that might have changed in recent years -- I think the NoVa parks, hiking, rec options, etc. are really, really good compared to other places. Property taxes definitely higher in PA but NoVa finds ways to get you, good schools and amenities are never free. But compared to NYC it will still feel like a bargain. Both have good access to major cities with good museums, dining, major league sports, and other entertainment, obviously.[/quote]

Ha. We raised three kids in Del Ray and they went K-12 in ACPS. Maury-GW-TC. For undergrad they went UVA, UNC, and Denison. Two oldest are in law school.

I love the garbage people post here.

But OP probably couldn't afford our house at 1.9M.[/quote]

So you're admitting you're one of the rich/upper class who "our kids never see any fights" at ACPS booster. Nice attempt at a flex re how expensive your house is. I live in Alexandria, people like you are part of the problem. But that's for another thread on the Virginia public school forum. [/quote]

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