Anonymous
Post 09/22/2021 09:26     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:the schools are questionable, if Sandburg and West Potomac were decent, the prices would be higher


This - my understanding is that it was a more desirable area when Fort Hunt had its own high school (Fort Hunt HS) and didn't feed into a giant school that combined two high schools in the 80s. And FCPS is expanding West Potomac to 3000 seats so it will only get worse.


Long time Fort Hunt resident here. My neighbor tells me this exact story all the time. Neighbor swears Fort Hunt HS was one of the highest rated schools in FCPS. They closed it in the 1980s and converted the campus into Carl Sandburg middle school. They built West Potomac to combine Fort Hunt and a very low performing high school. The result was a huge, diverse school that has horrible rankings.


I don't think anyone "rated" schools then like they do today, but Fort Hunt HS was certainly smaller and better regarded than chaotic West Potomac HS.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2021 07:42     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The schools aren't as prestigious as the rest of FFX county, and it's a hike to any of the privates. It's also a hike into downtown, with a slowdown through Old Town, and poor transit availability. It's very quiet down there, though, and people who live there seem to love it.


Yes, the closest metro is Huntington - it's not an area for people who are daily metro riders. (We pretty much never use it.) But it's not a hike into downtown - all of 20-25 minutes up the parkway or 295.

You'll usually hear people complain about "rt 1 corridor" and "not as prestigious schools" which is their attempt to tell you without telling you there are a lot more people of color around, especially Latino.

We love it down here though and yeah, don't need it to get even more expensive.


It is definitely NOT 20-25 minutes downtown during rush hour. We sold our house in Hollis Hills b/c the commute was killing us — it was taking us 45 minutes plus (sometimes close to an hour) to get to our offices downtown.


Mmmmmkay, I just drove to a meeting in Chinatown this AM and it took 30 minutes. Reliably 25 to the hill in the morning.



That is because most are still not going into the office. I agree that it is a 45 minute commute on average and can be much longer in the evening. For the past 18 months commutes have been easy everywhere. But the congestion is ticking up and by Spring could be at prepandemic levels.


Do you really think so? I know hardly anyone going back to 5 days a week.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2021 07:34     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The schools aren't as prestigious as the rest of FFX county, and it's a hike to any of the privates. It's also a hike into downtown, with a slowdown through Old Town, and poor transit availability. It's very quiet down there, though, and people who live there seem to love it.


Yes, the closest metro is Huntington - it's not an area for people who are daily metro riders. (We pretty much never use it.) But it's not a hike into downtown - all of 20-25 minutes up the parkway or 295.

You'll usually hear people complain about "rt 1 corridor" and "not as prestigious schools" which is their attempt to tell you without telling you there are a lot more people of color around, especially Latino.

We love it down here though and yeah, don't need it to get even more expensive.


It is definitely NOT 20-25 minutes downtown during rush hour. We sold our house in Hollis Hills b/c the commute was killing us — it was taking us 45 minutes plus (sometimes close to an hour) to get to our offices downtown.


Mmmmmkay, I just drove to a meeting in Chinatown this AM and it took 30 minutes. Reliably 25 to the hill in the morning.



That is because most are still not going into the office. I agree that it is a 45 minute commute on average and can be much longer in the evening. For the past 18 months commutes have been easy everywhere. But the congestion is ticking up and by Spring could be at prepandemic levels.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 21:03     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:the schools are questionable, if Sandburg and West Potomac were decent, the prices would be higher


This - my understanding is that it was a more desirable area when Fort Hunt had its own high school (Fort Hunt HS) and didn't feed into a giant school that combined two high schools in the 80s. And FCPS is expanding West Potomac to 3000 seats so it will only get worse.


Long time Fort Hunt resident here. My neighbor tells me this exact story all the time. Neighbor swears Fort Hunt HS was one of the highest rated schools in FCPS. They closed it in the 1980s and converted the campus into Carl Sandburg middle school. They built West Potomac to combine Fort Hunt and a very low performing high school. The result was a huge, diverse school that has horrible rankings.


Yep the other school was the old Groveton High...Groveton always had lots of subsidized housing and cheap apartments, it was where a lot of poorer people moved from West Virginia when the mines and manufacturing there started to struggle and disappear.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 20:53     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:the schools are questionable, if Sandburg and West Potomac were decent, the prices would be higher


This - my understanding is that it was a more desirable area when Fort Hunt had its own high school (Fort Hunt HS) and didn't feed into a giant school that combined two high schools in the 80s. And FCPS is expanding West Potomac to 3000 seats so it will only get worse.


Long time Fort Hunt resident here. My neighbor tells me this exact story all the time. Neighbor swears Fort Hunt HS was one of the highest rated schools in FCPS. They closed it in the 1980s and converted the campus into Carl Sandburg middle school. They built West Potomac to combine Fort Hunt and a very low performing high school. The result was a huge, diverse school that has horrible rankings.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 20:20     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The schools aren't as prestigious as the rest of FFX county, and it's a hike to any of the privates. It's also a hike into downtown, with a slowdown through Old Town, and poor transit availability. It's very quiet down there, though, and people who live there seem to love it.


Yes, the closest metro is Huntington - it's not an area for people who are daily metro riders. (We pretty much never use it.) But it's not a hike into downtown - all of 20-25 minutes up the parkway or 295.

You'll usually hear people complain about "rt 1 corridor" and "not as prestigious schools" which is their attempt to tell you without telling you there are a lot more people of color around, especially Latino.

We love it down here though and yeah, don't need it to get even more expensive.


It is definitely NOT 20-25 minutes downtown during rush hour. We sold our house in Hollis Hills b/c the commute was killing us — it was taking us 45 minutes plus (sometimes close to an hour) to get to our offices downtown.


Mmmmmkay, I just drove to a meeting in Chinatown this AM and it took 30 minutes. Reliably 25 to the hill in the morning.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 16:30     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The schools aren't as prestigious as the rest of FFX county, and it's a hike to any of the privates. It's also a hike into downtown, with a slowdown through Old Town, and poor transit availability. It's very quiet down there, though, and people who live there seem to love it.


Yes, the closest metro is Huntington - it's not an area for people who are daily metro riders. (We pretty much never use it.) But it's not a hike into downtown - all of 20-25 minutes up the parkway or 295.

You'll usually hear people complain about "rt 1 corridor" and "not as prestigious schools" which is their attempt to tell you without telling you there are a lot more people of color around, especially Latino.

We love it down here though and yeah, don't need it to get even more expensive.


It is definitely NOT 20-25 minutes downtown during rush hour. We sold our house in Hollis Hills b/c the commute was killing us — it was taking us 45 minutes plus (sometimes close to an hour) to get to our offices downtown.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 16:12     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:The schools aren't as prestigious as the rest of FFX county, and it's a hike to any of the privates. It's also a hike into downtown, with a slowdown through Old Town, and poor transit availability. It's very quiet down there, though, and people who live there seem to love it.


Yes, the closest metro is Huntington - it's not an area for people who are daily metro riders. (We pretty much never use it.) But it's not a hike into downtown - all of 20-25 minutes up the parkway or 295.

You'll usually hear people complain about "rt 1 corridor" and "not as prestigious schools" which is their attempt to tell you without telling you there are a lot more people of color around, especially Latino.

We love it down here though and yeah, don't need it to get even more expensive.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 14:53     Subject: Fort Hunt?
We like it!
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 13:35     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:This question comes up about every few months. You already know the answers.

The area is relatively isolated, the schools are hit or miss or miss and miss, and the Route 1 corridor is a dump.


This. It’s gone up in price A LOT the past two years though. Maybe close to 40%?
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 13:32     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Anonymous wrote:the schools are questionable, if Sandburg and West Potomac were decent, the prices would be higher


This - my understanding is that it was a more desirable area when Fort Hunt had its own high school (Fort Hunt HS) and didn't feed into a giant school that combined two high schools in the 80s. And FCPS is expanding West Potomac to 3000 seats so it will only get worse.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 13:30     Subject: Fort Hunt?
The schools aren't as prestigious as the rest of FFX county, and it's a hike to any of the privates. It's also a hike into downtown, with a slowdown through Old Town, and poor transit availability. It's very quiet down there, though, and people who live there seem to love it.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 13:27     Subject: Fort Hunt?
This question comes up about every few months. You already know the answers.

The area is relatively isolated, the schools are hit or miss or miss and miss, and the Route 1 corridor is a dump.
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 13:26     Subject: Fort Hunt?
the schools are questionable, if Sandburg and West Potomac were decent, the prices would be higher
Anonymous
Post 09/21/2021 13:25     Subject: Fort Hunt?
Am new to the area, but after driving through, Fort Hunt seems very nice with nice homes. But the prices seem significantly less than what you'd expect in other nearby areas. What am I missing? Is it just that the schools seem questionable (based on ratings)? Or is there something else that causes Fort Hunt homes to be about 20% less than comparable homes in nearby areas?