Chantilly has a very high percentage of Asian students, both South Asian and East Asian. It offers lots of STEM-based electives (in both the regular campus and the academy). It is very crowded, but that doesn't bother us or our kids. We have been very pleased with the quality of instruction at Rocky Run and Chantilly and the preparation for admittance and success in T20 universities.

We live in the Greenbriar neighborhood.

Anonymous wrote:The smart kids leave Chantilly for TJ

are you saying kids don't go to TJ from Langley?

There is a certain subset that seeks out TJ specifically. Chantilly area is actually quite full of them. There was a huge AAP fight a few years back because GBW was crazy overcrowded due to the center being so highly sought after. Those were the TJ-angling parents, for certain.

There are still plenty of smart kids who DON'T go to TJ at Chantilly. The parent boards are completely full of parents asking about AP classes.

My husband, who barely graduated HS and joined the military after graduation (not for lack of brains, but motivation/discipline), was in electrical engineering classes at Mason with some kids from TJ. He found these kids to be incredibly full of themselves and unable to hold any conversation that didn't involve bringing up their attendance at TJ. Guess what - no one cares once you are in college and beyond!

The smart kids leave Chantilly for TJ

Langley has about 25% Asian population - of course that includes Chinese, Korean, Indian etc.

I would say it's a mix of decent demographics for an Asian to settle in.

If your kids like STEM, please compare the course offerings between Langley and Chantilly/CHS as a family before making the decision. One of my kids is taking advantage of classes offered at CHS that are geared towards taking industry certificate exams. Also, it is possible that Langley might be more competitive wrt college acceptance; meaning if you have a bright kid, they could have a better potential to rank higher in their class at CHS. All districts have good and bad neighborhoods. With your budget, you can buy in a real nice neighborhood in the CHS boundary.

But I get what you are saying regarding the vibe. I grew up UMC in Oakton and I do notice the difference living UMC in Chantilly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was going to say Chantilly until your post about your social status. Please stay away.

Exactly - on middle class people actually worry about their social status being signaled through their neighborhood choice or public school - actually Chantilly has way strong STEM and a better cohort of physics-oriented students - so why would you go to Langley?

The truly rich people who can afford any house would stay where they feel the most comfortable and among people they enjoy.

There are way more convenient asian grocery stores near Chantilly than there are near Langley - why would an asian american who was secure enough in their wealth want to stay in Langley?

There's only one grocery store in the Langley area, a Safeway at Great Falls Village. You have to drive miles for anything.

Anonymous wrote:I was going to say Chantilly until your post about your social status. Please stay away.

Exactly - on middle class people actually worry about their social status being signaled through their neighborhood choice or public school - actually Chantilly has way strong STEM and a better cohort of physics-oriented students - so why would you go to Langley?

The truly rich people who can afford any house would stay where they feel the most comfortable and among people they enjoy.

There are way more convenient asian grocery stores near Chantilly than there are near Langley - why would an asian american who was secure enough in their wealth want to stay in Langley?

Anonymous wrote:I was going to say Chantilly until your post about your social status. Please stay away.

I agree

-another Chantilly parent

I think you personally should stick to Langley, Madison or Oakton, then.

Anonymous wrote:I was going to say Chantilly until your post about your social status. Please stay away.

I am not the OP.

I am not sure why you say that. This is the same reason people go to Harvard or any other high ranked business school.
To be part of that network.

I was going to say Chantilly until your post about your social status. Please stay away.

I guess I’m not sure how you narrowed down to those two schools. 1.3 for Langley will be a little tricky. We are in the Mclean area and a few nice houses have sold in that price range recently but it’s a bit of a needle in a haystack.

On the other hand I wouldn’t really want to live in Chantilly, I just don’t live the vibe there leaving aside the school. I feel like for 1.3 you’d have pretty good options in the Woodson, Madison or Oakton districts. I prefer those areas and I think there’s be plenty of smart kids and education oriented families.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those are two very different communities and your housing budget would place you in very different social places - you’d be rich at Chantilly and poor at Langley. What are your other priorities?

I hear you. May be that’s the reason I want to move to GF.
We are an Asian couple and part of me wants to transition to that social strata.

DH is afraid to make that transition. I want kids to have that taste of a different social circle. My personal belief is that you become what group you are part of. We combined make around 275K and I am sure we would be in lower spectrum at Langley.

Please enlighten or correct me if my way of thinking is wrong.
Is there a different lens I should be looking through as well?

We make what you do and I would not want to spend that much money on a mortgage. We prefer to be saving for retirement, college, and other activities. Intentionally moving into a rich school knowing that you are likely to be at the top end of your budget means knowing that your kids are not going to have what their peers have. They are not likely to travel to the places their peers travel to or have the same clothes or shoes or cars. They are going to have different opportunities for colleges.

Do you really think that it is important enough to be surrounded by a different social strata that you are willing to deal with the downsides of hearing your kids talk about the trips they can't take and things they can't do that their peers are doing?

Personally, and it is 100% based on your own priorities, I would buy a house that I can more easily afford and where my kids don't feel deprived based on their classmates experiences. But that is me. I also don't care about social circles or buy into pressuring kids so they can go to schools with the elite for the networks. Different mind sets.

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
We are moving from Fairfax High for 2 reasons.
We have grown out of current house and current elementary is not good.

Commute is not a problem as we mostly WFH.

Check the FCPS building capacity numbers. Langley=0 trailers. Chantilly could be a trailer park even when your youngest is there=23 outdoor classrooms. For whatever reason people haven't been as vocal as at Mclean High School= 16 outdoor classrooms. There was a nice house for sale zoned for Kent Gardens [11 trailers] in the Mclean Pyramid. That would consign you to in boundary trailer parks for your 3rd grader because of French Immersion and your high school age child.

Also consider Madison [3 trailers and getting an addition] and closer in Oakton pyramid elementary schools. In this real estate market you have a hot price point so don't limit yourself on location.

Anonymous wrote:Langely , no questions

Typical arrogance so hard pass. I’d go with Chantilly.