Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By "good" you mean, "predominately white," correct?

Doubtful, she probably means a less transient neighborhood with good test scores.

all the neighborhoods in DMV are relatively transient. it's the nature of the area,

Anonymous wrote:OP Here - We'd have to be VERY lucky to find a house in Falls Church city for $500k. The cheapest I see right now is $569k. I've heard not such good things about Reston schools, so I think we're looking at Burke, Oakton, Mantua and Springfield.

Thanks!

Look at West Springfield. The neighborhoods that feed into Hunt Valley and Orange Hunt have recently had several three bedrooms single family homes go on the market in the 500 range. Those neighborhoods have excellent schools all the way through and a short, no traffic drive to the Burke VRE. There is also easy access to slug lots, Springfield metro and HOV lanes.

Reston has some less nice areas, but honestly, the only school people worry about is dogwood due to the county run housing/section 8 in that zone.

I lived in a TH community in north point for 8 years. Off lake Newport drive. Great little neighborhood. There is a single family home community across fairfax county parkway with a Herndon address that tracks to the neighborhood elementary school, Armstrong-that neighborhood is called Stuart ridge. You might still be able to get a detached home under $500k there.

The perceptions of south lakes and Herndon HS are at least 10 years old. Don't believe the rumors. Really.

Anonymous wrote:By "good" you mean, "predominately white," correct?

Doubtful, she probably means a less transient neighborhood with good test scores.

By "good" you mean, "predominately white," correct?

OP Here - We'd have to be VERY lucky to find a house in Falls Church city for $500k. The cheapest I see right now is $569k. I've heard not such good things about Reston schools, so I think we're looking at Burke, Oakton, Mantua and Springfield.

Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Is there a VRE stop near the White House?

Orange line from l'enfant to whichever orange line station is closest to his office.

Calvert County-spec. Dunkirk could work. Country suburbs, ok commute, good schools.

Based on that, I'd say Vienna -- in that price range you are likely looking at townhouses -- but you will be able to get the space you want in terms of bedrooms. You might also get lucky and find an older SFH in that range, but it will need work. Bonus - you are already nearby and will know the area well enough to not have everything be entirely new. Might also look at Falls Church -- in your price range you might be able to find a SFH, probably on the older side. Advantage of both is continued proximity to the metro on the orange line. Also, Oakton (same as Vienna in terms of what you'll find for the price) or Reston or, as others have suggested, Burke. I'm sure there are other places. An agent might be able to show you similarly priced properties in and around those areas so that you can get a good sense of how far your dollar goes. Good luck!

Currently in Fairfax (near Vienna) and would probably want to stay in VA. We would want a suburban life, 1500sq ft (plus basement) should be fine, 3 bedrooms min (all family out of state so we have frequent visitors).

And yes, because schools around here are far better than a lot in the country we go through binges of figuring whatever we pick will be fine. The other half, which we're experiencing now, is "which district would be best for her there are too many options". It would be easier if there were one or two good pyramids, but I guess it's good there's more.

Thanks for the article, I'll give it a read!

-- OP

Do you prefer MD or VA? Suburban cul-de-sac living, urban/walkable living, some combination? Need lots of space in the home or happy with smaller spaces? Prefer mom-and-pops or chain stores? What kind of lifestyle do you have/want? IMO, those and others are the primary things to think about when looking. It's hard to give suggestions without that kind of information. Yes, schools are important. By and large the schools in this area are better than most schools in the country and your kid will do just fine in any one of them regardless of whether it is ranked by whatever means at the top or the bottom of the area's schools. If you find a community that has the right combination of things for your family, chances are that the school will be a decent match. If you find several that might work, that's when you compare schools and think about the trade offs. Your lives will be about more than just school -- being happy in your home and community matters.

FWIW, I agree with this article when it comes to choosing schools: http://www.designmom.com/2015/07/why-we-dont-stress-out-about-choosing-a-school/#more-40460

Is there a VRE stop near the White House?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We thought it would be good that we were renting for a while and purchase right before DD starts K. Made sense at the time, except now I feel so overwhelmed with the options it's ridiculous! Of course reading about construction, 10am lunch times, overcrowded classrooms doesn't help, lol.

Someone please decide for me... $500k budget, DH commutes to DC (near White House) currently metro's but doesn't mind having to drive. Would prefer a house but a townhouse isn't off the list (especially if it has a garage, near a park, etc). The snowflake is currently in a pre-school, will absolutely be bored in any public K and requires a top notch gifted program... Kidding for those who take things too literally

Burke has some great schools.

+1

DH could take the VRE.

Anonymous wrote:We thought it would be good that we were renting for a while and purchase right before DD starts K. Made sense at the time, except now I feel so overwhelmed with the options it's ridiculous! Of course reading about construction, 10am lunch times, overcrowded classrooms doesn't help, lol.

Someone please decide for me... $500k budget, DH commutes to DC (near White House) currently metro's but doesn't mind having to drive. Would prefer a house but a townhouse isn't off the list (especially if it has a garage, near a park, etc). The snowflake is currently in a pre-school, will absolutely be bored in any public K and requires a top notch gifted program... Kidding for those who take things too literally

Burke has some great schools.

We thought it would be good that we were renting for a while and purchase right before DD starts K. Made sense at the time, except now I feel so overwhelmed with the options it's ridiculous! Of course reading about construction, 10am lunch times, overcrowded classrooms doesn't help, lol.

Someone please decide for me... $500k budget, DH commutes to DC (near White House) currently metro's but doesn't mind having to drive. Would prefer a house but a townhouse isn't off the list (especially if it has a garage, near a park, etc). The snowflake is currently in a pre-school, will absolutely be bored in any public K and requires a top notch gifted program... Kidding for those who take things too literally