Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marshall has been doing better over the past few years and has an IB program.

Given that, most people around here still prefer McLean, Langley, or Madison.

However, the difference in schools is not enough to justify the difference in what you can get for 700k.

Schools aren't the only consideration. Shorter commutes matter, too.

Anonymous wrote:Marshall has been doing better over the past few years and has an IB program.

Given that, most people around here still prefer McLean, Langley, or Madison.

However, the difference in schools is not enough to justify the difference in what you can get for 700k.

Marshall has been doing better over the past few years and has an IB program.

Given that, most people around here still prefer McLean, Langley, or Madison.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't be afraid to look across rt7 at the Shrevewood/Kilmer/Marshall pyramid. The schools are equally as great and the families are friendly and very down-to-earth.

My reservation about Haycock would be the renovation they are about to begin. The school is already very crowded, and with the renovation, many more classrooms than usual will be in trailers for the next couple years until the renovation is complete.

From a facilities perspective, Shrevewood and Kilmer are expected to be more overcrowded in the future than Haycock and Longfellow, and McLean is projected to be more overcrowded than Marshall. If I were concerned about the possibility of trailers at Haycock, I would definitely avoid Shrevewood and Kilmer.

Haycock is much more crowded than Shrevewood, Longfellow and Kilmer are similar at the moment, and Marshall just completed a renovation that increased capacity...and they weren't overcrowded to begin with.

Yes, Haycock is more crowded than Shrevewood this year. But the funding is in place for Haycock's renovation and expansion. Shrevewood is projected to be at 125% of capacity in a few years vs. 92% at Haycock, and FCPS has not indicated how it might deal with the projected overcrowding at Shrevewood other than with "temporary facilities" (which means trailers or modulars) or "future capacity enhancements" that have not yet been funded.

Longfellow and Kilmer are not "similar" at the moment. Longfellow was just renovated and it is slightly under-capacity right now. Kilmer is already 150 students over-capacity this year, as is projected to be at 133% of capacity in a few years compared to 115% at Longfellow.

Marshall's enrollment has been low, but is increasing quickly now with the growth near Tysons. The renovation is very nice, but I thought the OP had younger kids, which is why I'd be concerned about Shrevewood and Kilmer from a facilities perspective. But the OP hasn't suggested she's looking at Shrevewood/Kilmer/Marshall, so perhaps the focus should stay on Haycock and Kent Gardens.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't be afraid to look across rt7 at the Shrevewood/Kilmer/Marshall pyramid. The schools are equally as great and the families are friendly and very down-to-earth.

My reservation about Haycock would be the renovation they are about to begin. The school is already very crowded, and with the renovation, many more classrooms than usual will be in trailers for the next couple years until the renovation is complete.

From a facilities perspective, Shrevewood and Kilmer are expected to be more overcrowded in the future than Haycock and Longfellow, and McLean is projected to be more overcrowded than Marshall. If I were concerned about the possibility of trailers at Haycock, I would definitely avoid Shrevewood and Kilmer.

Haycock is much more crowded than Shrevewood, Longfellow and Kilmer are similar at the moment, and Marshall just completed a renovation that increased capacity...and they weren't overcrowded to begin with.

Anonymous wrote:No, the culture shcok is the disdain that many in that area have for those from the midwest, and the areas they consider flyover country.

Nah, this area is a very transient area with many people from many states and countries.

No, the culture shcok is the disdain that many in that area have for those from the midwest, and the areas they consider flyover country.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow Missourian with family in Lees Summit and Lenexa.

You are looking in the wrong part of the county. You are going to experience culture shock over there. The house poor aspect will not help either.

Unless that area is ideal for your commute, consider looking towards Burke. Top notch schools and very warm communities. You will feel much more at home.

I am not sure why there would be culture shock when there are so many transplants in NoVa and there are neighborhoods in these areas of McLean in the OP's price range. If she was priced out, she'd be looking somewhere else.

If she'll have culture shock, it will probably be that the shopping areas in NoVa aren't as nice as in the Kansas City suburbs like Shawnee Mission, nor are the neighborhoods necessarily as manicured. That will be the case whether she looks in McLean, Falls Church or Burke.

Another culture shock is probably a lack of big box retailers close by.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow Missourian with family in Lees Summit and Lenexa.

You are looking in the wrong part of the county. You are going to experience culture shock over there. The house poor aspect will not help either.

Unless that area is ideal for your commute, consider looking towards Burke. Top notch schools and very warm communities. You will feel much more at home.

This is my fear as well. A family in McLean without a high end SUV and without dressing their kids in uggs and north face jackets is going to feel a little out of place. It will only get harder when the kids hit high school.

This is more of an issue for other schools in McLean not named Kent Gardens or Haycock.

Spring Hill ES comes to mind (Langley pyramid vice McLean pyramid) which is west of the beltway.

There are many McLean homes inside the beltway that hover around 700K and these homes feed into KG, Chesterbrook, Sherman, Churchill Road, and Haycock.

Most of the uber wealthy in McLean send their kids to private anyway.

I wasn't talking about the uber wealthy, I was speaking about our experience at Haycock. It is not only the uber wealthy that drive luxury SUVs and dress their kids in designer clothes around here. It's the upper-middle class.

So why is there hype about being upper-middle class? Northern Virginia (Loudon and FFX) are consistently listed as the wealthiest counties in the US. There is nothing to brag about being upper middle class when you live in NoVa.

The area that feeds into Haycock (Falls Church), parts of Chesterbrook, and KG is barely upper middle class.

There's nothing special about dressing kids with North Face or Uggs.

Those that want to show off talk about vacations, beach homes, country homes, private school, etc. and they live in $2+ homes.

Let's not derail what was otherwise a very helpful thread for the OP.
The point was just to point out that the outward appearances of a comfortable family in this area may be very different than they would be in another area, not to argue what income level constitutes upper middle class.

Yeah, I'm sure people in KC don't wear North Face or Uggs.

They wear Patagonia and Burberry instead.

Anonymous wrote:Don't be afraid to look across rt7 at the Shrevewood/Kilmer/Marshall pyramid. The schools are equally as great and the families are friendly and very down-to-earth.

My reservation about Haycock would be the renovation they are about to begin. The school is already very crowded, and with the renovation, many more classrooms than usual will be in trailers for the next couple years until the renovation is complete.

From a facilities perspective, Shrevewood and Kilmer are expected to be more overcrowded in the future than Haycock and Longfellow, and McLean is projected to be more overcrowded than Marshall. If I were concerned about the possibility of trailers at Haycock, I would definitely avoid Shrevewood and Kilmer.

Anonymous wrote:Fellow Missourian with family in Lees Summit and Lenexa.

You are looking in the wrong part of the county. You are going to experience culture shock over there. The house poor aspect will not help either.

Unless that area is ideal for your commute, consider looking towards Burke. Top notch schools and very warm communities. You will feel much more at home.

I am not sure why there would be culture shock when there are so many transplants in NoVa and there are neighborhoods in these areas of McLean in the OP's price range. If she was priced out, she'd be looking somewhere else.

If she'll have culture shock, it will probably be that the shopping areas in NoVa aren't as nice as in the Kansas City suburbs like Shawnee Mission, nor are the neighborhoods necessarily as manicured. That will be the case whether she looks in McLean, Falls Church or Burke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow Missourian with family in Lees Summit and Lenexa.

You are looking in the wrong part of the county. You are going to experience culture shock over there. The house poor aspect will not help either.

Unless that area is ideal for your commute, consider looking towards Burke. Top notch schools and very warm communities. You will feel much more at home.

This is my fear as well. A family in McLean without a high end SUV and without dressing their kids in uggs and north face jackets is going to feel a little out of place. It will only get harder when the kids hit high school.

We are a non SUV family whose children do not wear uggs or north face jackets and who attend McLean HS. They do not feel out of place. You are talking about a minority of students, just a larger minority than usual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow Missourian with family in Lees Summit and Lenexa.

You are looking in the wrong part of the county. You are going to experience culture shock over there. The house poor aspect will not help either.

Unless that area is ideal for your commute, consider looking towards Burke. Top notch schools and very warm communities. You will feel much more at home.

This is my fear as well. A family in McLean without a high end SUV and without dressing their kids in uggs and north face jackets is going to feel a little out of place. It will only get harder when the kids hit high school.

This is more of an issue for other schools in McLean not named Kent Gardens or Haycock.

Spring Hill ES comes to mind (Langley pyramid vice McLean pyramid) which is west of the beltway.

There are many McLean homes inside the beltway that hover around 700K and these homes feed into KG, Chesterbrook, Sherman, Churchill Road, and Haycock.

Most of the uber wealthy in McLean send their kids to private anyway.

I wasn't talking about the uber wealthy, I was speaking about our experience at Haycock. It is not only the uber wealthy that drive luxury SUVs and dress their kids in designer clothes around here. It's the upper-middle class.

So why is there hype about being upper-middle class? Northern Virginia (Loudon and FFX) are consistently listed as the wealthiest counties in the US. There is nothing to brag about being upper middle class when you live in NoVa.

The area that feeds into Haycock (Falls Church), parts of Chesterbrook, and KG is barely upper middle class.

There's nothing special about dressing kids with North Face or Uggs.

Those that want to show off talk about vacations, beach homes, country homes, private school, etc. and they live in $2+ homes.

Let's not derail what was otherwise a very helpful thread for the OP.
The point was just to point out that the outward appearances of a comfortable family in this area may be very different than they would be in another area, not to argue what income level constitutes upper middle class.

OP, also consider that any of the top ten-twelve high school pyramids in Fairfax County and their feeder schools are going to be equal to or better than the top schools in the Kansas City area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fellow Missourian with family in Lees Summit and Lenexa.

You are looking in the wrong part of the county. You are going to experience culture shock over there. The house poor aspect will not help either.

Unless that area is ideal for your commute, consider looking towards Burke. Top notch schools and very warm communities. You will feel much more at home.

This is my fear as well. A family in McLean without a high end SUV and without dressing their kids in uggs and north face jackets is going to feel a little out of place. It will only get harder when the kids hit high school.

This is more of an issue for other schools in McLean not named Kent Gardens or Haycock.

Spring Hill ES comes to mind (Langley pyramid vice McLean pyramid) which is west of the beltway.

There are many McLean homes inside the beltway that hover around 700K and these homes feed into KG, Chesterbrook, Sherman, Churchill Road, and Haycock.

Most of the uber wealthy in McLean send their kids to private anyway.

I wasn't talking about the uber wealthy, I was speaking about our experience at Haycock. It is not only the uber wealthy that drive luxury SUVs and dress their kids in designer clothes around here. It's the upper-middle class.

So why is there hype about being upper-middle class? Northern Virginia (Loudon and FFX) are consistently listed as the wealthiest counties in the US. There is nothing to brag about being upper middle class when you live in NoVa.

The area that feeds into Haycock (Falls Church), parts of Chesterbrook, and KG is barely upper middle class.

There's nothing special about dressing kids with North Face or Uggs.

Those that want to show off talk about vacations, beach homes, country homes, private school, etc. and they live in $2+ homes.