Huh, my daughter goes between Chantilly and Fairfax Academy a couple times per week. What exactly is wrong with Fairfax HS? It seems fine to me

We also live in Fairfax City and have concerns with the the elementary and middle schools, so will not send our kids to FFX High School. (Luckily our kids qualified for the AAP Center and left for Mosaic, which is worlds better than any City elementary school, but the middle school AAP is a joke). Chantilly is in the same FCPS region (region 5) as Fairfax High school, and has the same Asst. Sup't leadership. I would therefore not consider Chantilly if you are unhappy with Fairfax City. Chantilly may be great, but ...Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Please don't bother posting if you can't stick to the truth. There is that Safeway, a Giant in McLean, a Harris Teeter near Tysons, and a Lidl coming to McLean.

Isn't the GFV Safeway is the only grocery store within Langley's boundaries? Other stores are in areas zoned to other schools.

Does FCPS monitor to make sure that you only go to a grocery store in your boundary?

(We shop at the Great Falls Safeway. It is more than adequate. And extremely convenient for those of us who live in GF. If we ever need a bigger or more unique store, there are plenty that are only a short drive away on Leesburg Pike or in Reston.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Please don't bother posting if you can't stick to the truth. There is that Safeway, a Giant in McLean, a Harris Teeter near Tysons, and a Lidl coming to McLean.

Isn't the GFV Safeway is the only grocery store within Langley's boundaries? Other stores are in areas zoned to other schools.

I guess that's technically true if you're going by store location, but the homes zoned for Langley within 22101 are still within easy distance of the downtown McLean or Tysons stores. The high school itself is closer to downtown McLean than it is to Great Falls.

OP, both schools are fine (they each have the pros and cons), so since commute isn't a factor, I would go with wherever you find the house you want. You will probably get more house for you money in the Chantilly district.

Anonymous wrote:

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

Pretty sure the OP is yet another troll, trying to stir up animosity among the Langley haters. It's beyond old.

I do think "TIA" at the end of a post like the OP here can sometimes be read as "have fun while I go get my popcorn" but in this case OP seemed legit. You never really know, so maybe err on the side of not insulting someone by calling them a troll.

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?

The OP would not be "poor" at Langley. We live in a house valued at about 1.1 million and don't feel poor. So absurd.

Wait until your kid starts driving and doesn’t understand why he can’t have one of the brand new cars like the others in the student lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Please don't bother posting if you can't stick to the truth. There is that Safeway, a Giant in McLean, a Harris Teeter near Tysons, and a Lidl coming to McLean.

Isn't the GFV Safeway is the only grocery store within Langley's boundaries? Other stores are in areas zoned to other schools.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Please don't bother posting if you can't stick to the truth. There is that Safeway, a Giant in McLean, a Harris Teeter near Tysons, and a Lidl coming to McLean.

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

Pretty sure the OP is yet another troll, trying to stir up animosity among the Langley haters. It's beyond old.

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?

The OP would not be "poor" at Langley. We live in a house valued at about 1.1 million and don't feel poor. So absurd.

Anonymous wrote: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.

I'd look at homes in Oak Hill, which includes homes off Bennett Road, parts of West Ox Road, and neighborhoods such as Camberley West, Chantilly Highlands, Bradley Farms, Emerald Chase, Franklin Farm, Oakton Ridge, and Oakton Manor.

These homes feed into Navy, Oak Hill, or Crossfield Elementary; Franklin or Carson Middle; and Chantilly, Westfield, or Oakton High.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Do you know which neighborhoods in McLean pyramid around 1.3?
My kids are in 1st and 3rd grade and looking for better school district.

*** wouldn’t spend much more than $800k-$825k, or triple a $275k salary

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1. We lived in a 600k townhouse zoned for Oakton— a decade ago, before prices jumped. Your zoning or house alone doesn’t buy you cachet. It the know people since your kids were in K and having on the nicest mansions in the nicest neighborhood, and having the staff, and driving the luxury car— and buying them for your kids, and taking the luxury vacations and placing a high premium of materialism— newest iproduct for the kid, in Oakton, mom to working and available for yoga and lunch. Buying the house is not enough to move your kids up a social stata. They need to buy the cars and clothes and vacations and SAHM their peers have.

I wouldn’t do it on our income(about 350k). We are paying and saving a lot for college and my kids can share the used Toyota. And we are saving a lot for retirement.

I would also say with what you should pay for a house— 2-3x your income— You are going to have to be fast and lucky to get a house in Franklin Fram, Oak Hill, Armfield Farm. Nice SF houses are going for more than 800k because Chantilly has become a “hot”pyramid. You won’t be rich. You will be comfortable. Although I certainly know 250-300k couple taking out loans and stressing about college because they over extended.

I wouldn’t spend more than 80k, staring down the barrel of college tuition.