Try Fairfax City or parts of Annandale (anything outside the Beltway in the Woodson pyramid, or select inside the beltway neighborhoods like Sleepy Hollow).

If you are willing to go out farther to western Fairfax, you can get a nicer house for 400k in excellent school districts, but you have to go pretty far west and then your commutes would suck.

Our house isn't on the market, but I'd consider selling it. We've been renting to a nice family for a couple of years, so I wouldn't want to lose them unless someone was seriously interested. I think it's about 1700 s.f. with an open floor plan including family, dining, living, and kitchen, partial finished basement, front porch, back deck, 3 bed 2 bath in Pimmit Hills in the Lemon Road/Kilmer/Marshall school district. You can email at dunfarall@aol.com if interested and I can send photos. It was described 'charming' and 'cheery' when we bought it.

OP, while I do not have a child at LJ, I have several friends who do-and they love it. Being a former FCPS middle school teacher myself, I also know many teachers who have taught at LJ, both before and after the AAP center opened. They loved teaching there. Not one of them ever said that they dealt with serious discipline issues or were concerned for their safety, or anything else that would occur at a truly "rough" school. I do not know why LJ gets such a bad rap...perhaps because among other schools in the area (Kilmer, Thoreau, Longfellow, etc), it has a much higher percentage of AA and Hispanic kids, and so people just assume? I have not heard of any gang activity in recent years, nor any serious drug issues, which are the two main things that would classify it as "rough" to my mind. And, just to remind people that before the AAP center (or GT, as it was called in those days) moved to Kilmer, it was considered a rough, difficult school back in the 90's.

One thing-I will say that Falls Church HS has a much less savory rep than any of the other area HS's, but hopefully by the time your kids are HS age, you won't be facing the same housing situation!

GL!

Thanks PP, OP here. I never said I wanted a "top" school. I want a school that is safe. I understand that with our income we will never be in a "top" school pyramid. I appreciate all the suggestions/ideas people have offered. Anyone have kids at Luther Jackson or Falls Church High who could tell me a little bit more about them? Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:A SFH in a "top" school AND close AND under $400k? Does your husband a unicorn tie-up behind the house? Pick any two and sacrifice one. I assume the under $400k cannot be sacrificed.

If top school: decide which of Stuart, Falls Church, or Annandale you like.

If close in: Fairfax City has some options, as does Springfield.

If you read the thread, I don't think the OP said she had to be in a "top" district. It just sounded like she might not be comfortable with Jackson MS and Falls Church HS.

You could argue those schools are fine, or you could give her some alternatives, but there's no value to berating her for insisting on something she never asked for. I think other posters were the ones who started referring to "top schools."

I just did a search on SFH's under $450K in Fairfax HS boundary (I am a huge franklymls.com fan), and there were a few that looked reasonable. I think that would be closer to your jobs than Springfield or Burke areas, which is probably where you would go next - Robinson and West Springfield HS are on par with Fairfax, Chantilly and Herndon based on the 1600-1700 average SAT score metric.

It might be useful to meet with a mortgage person and see what kind of options you have for loans. You might be able to afford a little more than you think just because rates are so low right now.

Don't get discouraged - I'm the PP in the Chantilly HS area. I know it is sad that even on a decent income, you can't get a lot for your money here. But we stuck to our guns on what we wanted out of a neighborhood, and we got what we wanted. Walking distance to all 3 schools, the local library and a decent shopping center, as well as parks and playgrounds.

Good luck!

A SFH in a "top" school AND close AND under $400k? Does your husband a unicorn tie-up behind the house? Pick any two and sacrifice one. I assume the under $400k cannot be sacrificed.

If top school: decide which of Stuart, Falls Church, or Annandale you like.

If close in: Fairfax City has some options, as does Springfield.

Anonymous wrote:I do no know of any of the better schools with signal family houses for under 400K. Sure, you can find houses in that range, but not in a location feeding into the top schools.

as we have gone over time and time again on these boards, the definition of top schools always comes back to the socioeconomic status of the areas that feed into that school. If being in a "top" school (as defined by this board as the highest SAT scores, which again is a debatable metric) is important to you, then you really are going to have to think smaller (condo or TH) or up your budget a bit.

Now, there are plenty of HS's in Fairfax County with more diverse student bodies further out that perform above the state and national averages on those same test metrics. We have small single family homes in our neighborhood right by Chantilly HS in your price range, and I have seen some in Herndon HS boundaries as well. If you're willing to look out our way, I can recommend some good neighborhoods in your price range.

To stay as close as you can to where you are currently, your best best is Marshall, Madison or Woodson cluster, and probably a TH.

Good luck!