Anonymous wrote:

Good for you. It was an opinion but I'm so glad you knew exactly what would work for you. You're the best!

Thanks for the snark. OP said she wanted to move her and park. It is not easy moving and when you have kids it is even harder. House hunting every weekend is not easy and it gives you a termporary feel.

Really???? You're just giving out all the valuable information!!

OP--make a list and prioritize it. Ours was simple:
commute
good schools--I wanted walkable
young children in the neighborhood
community pool

Yours may be very different, but there are lots of options.

Good for you. It was an opinion but I'm so glad you knew exactly what would work for you. You're the best!

Thanks for the snark. OP said she wanted to move her and park. It is not easy moving and when you have kids it is even harder. House hunting every weekend is not easy and it gives you a termporary feel.

Anonymous wrote:

Op we are from northern ca. When we moved here we had no idea what to expect and got tons of opinions about what was most like ca, commute etc. Dc is totally different from NorCal and Oregon too (especially Portland if that's where you're from!). I would recommend to rent somewhere where is a happy medium for your family commite wise. Metro out here is key. That is true. Rent for even 6 months, explore on the weekends, and figure out what works for you guys. Everyone can give you their two cents but I personally think the west coast mentality is very different from the east coast and you need to get here and see for yourself. Good luck!

From what OP said, it sounds like she would like to get settled. Your suggestion would not have worked for me. We did our homework before we moved here and it worked out beautifully. Exactly the neighborhood we were looking for.

Good for you. It was an opinion but I'm so glad you knew exactly what would work for you. You're the best!

Op we are from northern ca. When we moved here we had no idea what to expect and got tons of opinions about what was most like ca, commute etc. Dc is totally different from NorCal and Oregon too (especially Portland if that's where you're from!). I would recommend to rent somewhere where is a happy medium for your family commite wise. Metro out here is key. That is true. Rent for even 6 months, explore on the weekends, and figure out what works for you guys. Everyone can give you their two cents but I personally think the west coast mentality is very different from the east coast and you need to get here and see for yourself. Good luck!

From what OP said, it sounds like she would like to get settled. Your suggestion would not have worked for me. We did our homework before we moved here and it worked out beautifully. Exactly the neighborhood we were looking for.

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you need to live in Potomac if you're going to NIH and the other one is going to McLEan.

No, that's convenient to neither of them. Pick McLean or Bethesda assuming budget allows.

OP hasn't listed budget. In which case Potomac, Bethesda, and McLean may not be feasible.

Op we are from northern ca. When we moved here we had no idea what to expect and got tons of opinions about what was most like ca, commute etc. Dc is totally different from NorCal and Oregon too (especially Portland if that's where you're from!). I would recommend to rent somewhere where is a happy medium for your family commite wise. Metro out here is key. That is true. Rent for even 6 months, explore on the weekends, and figure out what works for you guys. Everyone can give you their two cents but I personally think the west coast mentality is very different from the east coast and you need to get here and see for yourself. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Also the schools in Reston probably aren't as good as the schools in Bethesda or McLean.

I'd really suggesting coming out and doing some driving around. You'll get a much better sense of which area appeals to you more. You'll also be able to test out the commutes. Believe me when I tell you that this is a key consideration around the DC region. Commutes can be a killer.

Agree about he commute comment. Reston has a wide variety of schools. Many are excellent.

Reston's schools are fine. What people mean is that Reston's schools have a MIX of income levels. Reston was designed to be mixed housing levels (i.e. there are $1mil houses and public housing and everything in between). Other schools aren't better just b/c they have a more homogenous SES. They just look better on paper b/c they are all high SES students b/c of the types of housing that was built.

But, OP -- you do not belong in Reston if you are going to NIH. Live in Bethesda or Potomac and call it a day. I live in VA, but your commute doesn't make sense to live in Reston.

Also the schools in Reston probably aren't as good as the schools in Bethesda or McLean.

I'd really suggesting coming out and doing some driving around. You'll get a much better sense of which area appeals to you more. You'll also be able to test out the commutes. Believe me when I tell you that this is a key consideration around the DC region. Commutes can be a killer.

Agree about he commute comment. Reston has a wide variety of schools. Many are excellent.

OP, we moved here from NJ a few years ago and ended up in Bethesda. We have family in Fairfax Cty and looked extensively in both McLean and Bethesda. Agree with the posters saying the schools are comparable in many resepcts. For us, it came down to preferring the "feel" of the area in Bethesda over the "feel" of McLean. Northern VA has a lot going for it, but there's a randomness to the communities that we didn't like, whereas the Bethesda area just seems more established and "town-like" (which was more familiar to us coming from NJ). An exception to this is Reston, VA, which is a large, older planned community. I would have chosen Reston if it had been closer to where I work downtown. Also the schools in Reston probably aren't as good as the schools in Bethesda or McLean.

I'd really suggesting coming out and doing some driving around. You'll get a much better sense of which area appeals to you more. You'll also be able to test out the commutes. Believe me when I tell you that this is a key consideration around the DC region. Commutes can be a killer.

I also recommend renting first. We moved from out of state and bought in Alexandria (Fairfax County). We live close to TJ, the supposed best magnet high school in America. We bought when we had an infant and toddler and moving from out of state. Now I have a kindergartener and a preschooler. If we could do it all over again, I would personally have looked into Mclean, Arlington and Chevy Chase for our commutes. DH hated the feel of Arlington and we got more house in FFX Alexandria. I wish I pushed harder for Arlington. Schools aside, those 10 miles during rush hour equals 30 min of time.

Personally, I would not rent. I hate the process of moving. If you do your homework, renting won't be necessary. Sounds like OP bought near the best school in the country without considering other factors.

OP, I think if you are near the beltway in Virginia-east of 66-you could have a decent commute to NIH. Reston or Vienna might be good places to look. McLean if you have the budget.


Please don't listen to this poster. Don't bother looking at Reston or Vienna. 66 is hellish even on the weekends.

Please read again. I said near the beltway east of 66. Reston has nothing to do with 66 and Vienna doesn't if you are going East to Bethesda.

I can walk to the NIH from my home. If I had to drive the 5+ blocks to or from the NIH just to get to the beltway, during rush hour, my head would explode. The Beltway traffic is sparse compared that parking lot that develops around the NIH (and they are adding 17 more buildings, 3,000 more staff and a new parking lot for their cars). Of course they do have a Metro Stop if you want to consider the metro.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think if you are near the beltway in Virginia-east of 66-you could have a decent commute to NIH. Reston or Vienna might be good places to look. McLean if you have the budget.

Please don't listen to this poster. Don't bother looking at Reston or Vienna. 66 is hellish even on the weekends.

I recommend Mclean. As another pp stated, Mclean to Bethesda is better than Bethesda to Mclean in the morning.

I also recommend renting first. We moved from out of state and bought in Alexandria (Fairfax County). We live close to TJ, the supposed best magnet high school in America. We bought when we had an infant and toddler and moving from out of state. Now I have a kindergartener and a preschooler. If we could do it all over again, I would personally have looked into Mclean, Arlington and Chevy Chase for our commutes. DH hated the feel of Arlington and we got more house in FFX Alexandria. I wish I pushed harder for Arlington. Schools aside, those 10 miles during rush hour equals 30 min of time.