I wanted to add to this thread:

(1) Are there any churches that are particularly good for young families? St. Jane de Chantal has a cry room where you can still see the mass that has proved super helpful to us and there seem to be lots of young families. But I am not sure about the others.

(2) How do the academics at HR compare to Kensington Parkwood? The neighborhood there is wonderful but lots of $$$ so not sure if we can also do private schools on top of that. Do lots of the HR school families also attend the church or is it all mixed up now with people living in one neighborhood, sending their kids to another school and going to church in a third?

Ideally we would like a place where we can go to the good parish school and attend the vibrant parish church and lots of our neighbors do the same. Is the area near HR the only place where that setup still happens anymore?

Blessed Sacrament in DC as the first choice or Holy Redeemer in Kensington as the second choice for the combination of church, school and community that you seek. The other Catholic schools mentioned in Mo. Co. (Lourdes, de Chantal and Little Flower) don't compare academically to BS. The independent Catholic schools such as Mater Dei, Stone Ridge, the Heights and Woods Academy are also excellent options. Best of luck with your choice!

There are two Blessed Sacrament parishes in this area. The one in Alexandria is also fairly conservative. Don't know that I'd call it vibrant, but St Mary's in Old Town as well.

St Jane de Chantal in Bethesda. School and church are very vibrant. Also a Blue Ribbon School.

Our Lady of Lourdes school is a national Blue Ribbon Winner.

http://www.mymcmedia.org/our-lady-of-lourdes-school-in-bethesda-named-national-blue-ribbon-award-winner/

St. Michael the Archangel in downtown Silver Spring.

Corpus Christi in South Riding, VA. It is no longer a mission. I think this is the church Elizabeth Foss ( Heart of My Home blog) attends.

Saint Bernadette in Silver Spring. Relatively conservative church, very well-liked and well-respected parish school (K-8), strong community and amazing parents/volunteer groups in the school. Also a great CYO sports program.

http://silverspringcatholic.com/
http://saintbernadetteschool.org/
https://www.facebook.com/St-Bernadette-School-159353338731/timeline/

Zip code is 20901 for any real estate searches

Lourdes or Little Flower for church.
Blessed Sacrament or Little Flower for schools.

Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda has a school and several Masses each morning. It is a conservative parish. . . .

Little Flower - but it's just over the line in Bethesda.

Scalia, Santorum et al attend St. Catherine of Siena in Great Falls.

I agree with Blessed Sacrament.
Also, Holy Redeemer in Kensington is a very vibrant, inclusive community. Many of the kids in the surrounding neighborhoods go to the school.

http://www.hrs-ken.org

This house in the the Holy Redeemer neighborhood:

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Kensington/9700-Cable-Dr-20895/home/11062428

Blessed Sacrament.

I saw the "looking for liberal parish" headline and we are in the opposite situation a bit Not that we are specifically seeking out a conservative parish, but we very much actively practice our faith and abide by the Catholic teachings. Will attend Mass weekly, and I attend once or twice a week on the weekday mornings. Kids will be in Catholic school, so we prefer a parish with a school, but have been looking at some of the independent Catholic schools, so it's not a dealbreaker if they do not have one.

We have not settled on an area in which we'd like to reside, but it will mostly likely be close-in MD.