Anonymous wrote:Seems like you would have considered all this before picking the school in Bethesda.

If the school is good enough a lot of people will sacrifice their own comfort for the kid, isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would definitely move if you can afford it. No one from Bethesda wants to go to Germantown.

That is the truth. We have had a few hang outs here but I have always driven the kids one way. Our oldest is a young middle schooler so its been OK socially but I'd like to be more central as they get older.

However, we have an amazing neighborhoods. Kids outside playing all the time and a nice release from the private school pressure cooker. So tough.

Seems odd that you are calling the school a pressure cooker in a negative way. Why send your kids there and then raise them in a middle class lifestyle?

30 minutes in the DMV area doesn’t sound like a lot.

The sooner you move all kids to private the better. I would get them admitted before getting the new house. What if they don’t get in?

Seems like you would have considered all this before picking the school in Bethesda.

We once moved because of the horrific commute to a school. We had been in the car 2+ hours a day and reduced that to 18 minutes. It was life-changing and absolutely the right thing to do. Such a quality of life improvement. Easier for the kids to strengthen friendships and be included in social activities. Less stress on everybody. More sleep. More playtime. More family smiles. Less fast food. I can go on and on.

Move and move both kids to the private...only 1 transition.

Anonymous wrote:Since you are renting now and you are sure that this is the private school you want to stay at, I would start a house search but not move unless you find and win the house that you really want. Little kids can move schools fairly easily and the curriculum is the same everywhere in the county.

+1

It may take time and there’s no reason to rush into a house you aren’t really happy with. Start looking now.

A long commute SUCKS. As a teen I commuted from outside the Beltway in VA to a big3 NWDC school for 6 years. NIGHTMARE. Commute was a significant factor in choosing schools for our kid.

We moved to be walking distance from my kids schools (they are in different schools but all on the same block) and it has been a game changer. Kids walk to school every day.

Anonymous wrote:I would definitely move if you can afford it. No one from Bethesda wants to go to Germantown.

That is the truth. We have had a few hang outs here but I have always driven the kids one way. Our oldest is a young middle schooler so its been OK socially but I'd like to be more central as they get older.

However, we have an amazing neighborhoods. Kids outside playing all the time and a nice release from the private school pressure cooker. So tough.

Since you are renting now and you are sure that this is the private school you want to stay at, I would start a house search but not move unless you find and win the house that you really want. Little kids can move schools fairly easily and the curriculum is the same everywhere in the county.

I would definitely move if you can afford it. No one from Bethesda wants to go to Germantown.

Anonymous wrote:Is money an issue?

Yes because we are wealthy by national standards but not by DC standards. However, we can pay the additional tuition. We are renting now (we sold our old house two years ago when we moved to the area) and would intend to buy closer to the private school. The bigger issue is balancing further disruption to the younger kids vs endless headaches for the adults and older child with the commute. We are moving closer to Bethesda no matter what - its just a question of when. We had intended to let the middle child finish public elementary but we had a few 1.5 hr commutes that are making us reconsider the sanity of this plan.

Is money an issue?

Looking for general advice from those who understand how hard it is to be 30 min from school. We live in Germantown. School is in Bethesda. Only our oldest DC attends the private but we have two younger kids who will eventually also attend. Right now they are in the public elementary, which they really like and we are happy with. However, as our oldest gets older its getting harder and harder to be so far from school.

Would you uproot the whole group and move or continue to tough it out until the younger kids are also in the private? This is most cost effective. If we moved we would probably move at least the middle child into the private school b/c they only have two years left of elementary before they would then move for middle school anyway...so moving them to a new school for just two years seems tough especially b/c they have only been at their current school for two years.

Please advise!