We have lived in Vienna for 12 years and love it here for our family.
Our kids walk and bike all around town, as do most of their friends. Everywhere you go, you run into someone you know (which can be good or bad - but it's also good to know there are lots of eyes watching out for all those kids wandering around town.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County may be getting the new FBI headquarters. Virginia got Amazon also. Maryland has more of a health focus, with NIH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located there. Fairfax and Arlington Counties have amazing interconnected bike paths. Virginia has more college options for kids so it could be better to be in state there.

How are GT (gifted and talented) types of programs handled in Bethesda? In Vienna, through Fairfax County, there’s a program called AAP (Advanced Academic Programs) for third through eighth grade. It can be divisive and cause stress to families and discouragement to some students, while enriching others. Kids selected are separated from others and attend classes at AAP centers located at some of the schools. (There are some cases where a school will have a local AAP program with kids staying at their original school and no one else coming in.) DCUM has a separate AAP forum, reflecting the importance of and strong feelings around this program.

Aren't a huge percentage of kids accepted to AAP every year? I read parents complaining that it is hardly accelerated at all.

I believe about 20% of kids are accepted. Out of a class of 25 second-graders, about 5 may be accepted. Since several schools, such as five schools, may have kids in AAP at a center, about half of the AAP center classrooms will be AAP and about half will be GE (general education, or gen ed). So if a kid grows up in gen ed at a center school, they may have the impression that they are in the bottom half of all kids intellectually. Whereas in reality they may be at the 96th or 97th percentile (need to be at 98th or 99th percentile for AAP, which in our highly educated area is about 20% of the kids). AAP can be a great program for those who are in it. Maybe it is better to be at a non-AAP center school if not in AAP, so the disparity isn’t there within your own school. The AAP parents do a lot, though, to bring in great after-school programs to the school, for example, and everyone can benefit from those.

Another school-related consideration is that Fairfax County Public Schools has language immersion programs at some schools. You can attend at other schools (there is a lottery) but must provide your own transportation in that case. The programs begin at either kindergarten or first grade and continue through eighth grade. You can’t be in both AAP and language immersion.

Fairfax County has the well-known Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ). It is ranked #1 in the nation in the US News high school rankings. You must apply for admission through a very competitive process. There doesn’t seem to be anything at this level for Bethesda, but only a small number of kids will make it to TJ anyway.

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County may be getting the new FBI headquarters. Virginia got Amazon also. Maryland has more of a health focus, with NIH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located there. Fairfax and Arlington Counties have amazing interconnected bike paths. Virginia has more college options for kids so it could be better to be in state there.

How are GT (gifted and talented) types of programs handled in Bethesda? In Vienna, through Fairfax County, there’s a program called AAP (Advanced Academic Programs) for third through eighth grade. It can be divisive and cause stress to families and discouragement to some students, while enriching others. Kids selected are separated from others and attend classes at AAP centers located at some of the schools. (There are some cases where a school will have a local AAP program with kids staying at their original school and no one else coming in.) DCUM has a separate AAP forum, reflecting the importance of and strong feelings around this program.

Aren't a huge percentage of kids accepted to AAP every year? I read parents complaining that it is hardly accelerated at all.

Anonymous wrote:I work in Fairfax VA and live in MoCo.

VA has lots of Fireworks, gambling and rub and tug places. Other than that very small similar.

You sound trashy.

I work in Fairfax VA and live in MoCo.

VA has lots of Fireworks, gambling and rub and tug places. Other than that very small similar.

Fairfax County may be getting the new FBI headquarters. Virginia got Amazon also. Maryland has more of a health focus, with NIH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located there. Fairfax and Arlington Counties have amazing interconnected bike paths. Virginia has more college options for kids so it could be better to be in state there.

How are GT (gifted and talented) types of programs handled in Bethesda? In Vienna, through Fairfax County, there’s a program called AAP (Advanced Academic Programs) for third through eighth grade. It can be divisive and cause stress to families and discouragement to some students, while enriching others. Kids selected are separated from others and attend classes at AAP centers located at some of the schools. (There are some cases where a school will have a local AAP program with kids staying at their original school and no one else coming in.) DCUM has a separate AAP forum, reflecting the importance of and strong feelings around this program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is near some of the nicest neighborhoods in DC like Spring Valley, The Palisades, and Barnaby Woods and near Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland. Being in the middle of the nicest region in the area (Upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac) is preferable to being between Tysons Corner and Fairfax City imo, but your mileage may vary.

Talk about taxes, job access, the lack of the amount of retail that Tysons offers to your heart’s content. It doesn’t change the fact that Bethesda is just a more aesthetically pleasing place in a much more desirable cluster of neighborhoods. I’d rather pay more taxes to live in a nicer area; I can telework so job access doesn’t matter as much as it used to; and Tysons is a 15 minute drive from a lot of Bethesda neighborhoods on the weekends.

I kind of agree with this, except that most of MoCo isn’t very nice any longer and you end up propping up the rest of the county more if you live in Bethesda than is the case if you live in Vienna because there are more affluent areas in Fairfax now. Not something to ignore completely if you’re considering the two locations.

You obviously don't know most MoCo.

Most of the county is declining.

Still the one everyone else wants to measure up to.

That hasn’t been the case for decades. MoCo literally benchmarks itself against Fairfax so it can see where it’s falling short and by how much.

But as PP said, there are some very nice neighborhoods. There are beautiful areas in Baltimore too, like Roland Park and Guilford, but you don’t buy there without thinking about the other areas in the jurisdiction.

Fairfax has Annandale, Springfield, and other less than ideal areas but for some reason the Vienna and McLean boosters act like they’re not parts of the same county. It’s also 100 square miles smaller than Montgomery County so it’s an unfair comparison. You might as well throw Woodbridge and Manassas in to make it a fair comparison. The Baltimore analogy is ridiculous hyperbole.

You can drive from the DC line to Poolesville on River Road and see nothing but desirable neighborhoods for miles on either side of the road zoned for schools like Whitman, Churchill, Wooton, and Poolesville HS. Yes, it’s in the same county as Montgomery Village, but do you think someone living in a mansion in Potomac goes to there more than someone in McLean goes to Annandale?

You protest too much.

And Annandale has nice areas zoned to Woodson HS and some of the best Korean restaurants in the region. What do Germantown or Montgomery Village have to offer besides Chick-Fil-A, bad schools, and carjackings?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is near some of the nicest neighborhoods in DC like Spring Valley, The Palisades, and Barnaby Woods and near Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland. Being in the middle of the nicest region in the area (Upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac) is preferable to being between Tysons Corner and Fairfax City imo, but your mileage may vary.

Talk about taxes, job access, the lack of the amount of retail that Tysons offers to your heart’s content. It doesn’t change the fact that Bethesda is just a more aesthetically pleasing place in a much more desirable cluster of neighborhoods. I’d rather pay more taxes to live in a nicer area; I can telework so job access doesn’t matter as much as it used to; and Tysons is a 15 minute drive from a lot of Bethesda neighborhoods on the weekends.

I kind of agree with this, except that most of MoCo isn’t very nice any longer and you end up propping up the rest of the county more if you live in Bethesda than is the case if you live in Vienna because there are more affluent areas in Fairfax now. Not something to ignore completely if you’re considering the two locations.

You obviously don't know most MoCo.

Most of the county is declining.

Still the one everyone else wants to measure up to.

That hasn’t been the case for decades. MoCo literally benchmarks itself against Fairfax so it can see where it’s falling short and by how much.

But as PP said, there are some very nice neighborhoods. There are beautiful areas in Baltimore too, like Roland Park and Guilford, but you don’t buy there without thinking about the other areas in the jurisdiction.

Fairfax has Annandale, Springfield, and other less than ideal areas but for some reason the Vienna and McLean boosters act like they’re not parts of the same county. It’s also 100 square miles smaller than Montgomery County so it’s an unfair comparison. You might as well throw Woodbridge and Manassas in to make it a fair comparison. The Baltimore analogy is ridiculous hyperbole.

You can drive from the DC line to Poolesville on River Road and see nothing but desirable neighborhoods for miles on either side of the road zoned for schools like Whitman, Churchill, Wooton, and Poolesville HS. Yes, it’s in the same county as Montgomery Village, but do you think someone living in a mansion in Potomac goes to there more than someone in McLean goes to Annandale?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is near some of the nicest neighborhoods in DC like Spring Valley, The Palisades, and Barnaby Woods and near Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland. Being in the middle of the nicest region in the area (Upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac) is preferable to being between Tysons Corner and Fairfax City imo, but your mileage may vary.

Talk about taxes, job access, the lack of the amount of retail that Tysons offers to your heart’s content. It doesn’t change the fact that Bethesda is just a more aesthetically pleasing place in a much more desirable cluster of neighborhoods. I’d rather pay more taxes to live in a nicer area; I can telework so job access doesn’t matter as much as it used to; and Tysons is a 15 minute drive from a lot of Bethesda neighborhoods on the weekends.

I kind of agree with this, except that most of MoCo isn’t very nice any longer and you end up propping up the rest of the county more if you live in Bethesda than is the case if you live in Vienna because there are more affluent areas in Fairfax now. Not something to ignore completely if you’re considering the two locations.

You obviously don't know most MoCo.

Most of the county is declining.

Still the one everyone else wants to measure up to.

That hasn’t been the case for decades. MoCo literally benchmarks itself against Fairfax so it can see where it’s falling short and by how much.

But as PP said, there are some very nice neighborhoods. There are beautiful areas in Baltimore too, like Roland Park and Guilford, but you don’t buy there without thinking about the other areas in the jurisdiction.

At the end of the day it comes to taxes and other deep blue policies that you believe in or not. We choose VA because of this. We are blue but don’t need be extreme left to feel warm inside.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is near some of the nicest neighborhoods in DC like Spring Valley, The Palisades, and Barnaby Woods and near Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland. Being in the middle of the nicest region in the area (Upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac) is preferable to being between Tysons Corner and Fairfax City imo, but your mileage may vary.

Talk about taxes, job access, the lack of the amount of retail that Tysons offers to your heart’s content. It doesn’t change the fact that Bethesda is just a more aesthetically pleasing place in a much more desirable cluster of neighborhoods. I’d rather pay more taxes to live in a nicer area; I can telework so job access doesn’t matter as much as it used to; and Tysons is a 15 minute drive from a lot of Bethesda neighborhoods on the weekends.

I kind of agree with this, except that most of MoCo isn’t very nice any longer and you end up propping up the rest of the county more if you live in Bethesda than is the case if you live in Vienna because there are more affluent areas in Fairfax now. Not something to ignore completely if you’re considering the two locations.

You obviously don't know most MoCo.

Most of the county is declining.

Still the one everyone else wants to measure up to.

It’s hard to tell through text if you’re joking or hallucinating.

Np - here’s the moco thread the hallucinating lady is looking for.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1102346.page

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is near some of the nicest neighborhoods in DC like Spring Valley, The Palisades, and Barnaby Woods and near Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland. Being in the middle of the nicest region in the area (Upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac) is preferable to being between Tysons Corner and Fairfax City imo, but your mileage may vary.

Talk about taxes, job access, the lack of the amount of retail that Tysons offers to your heart’s content. It doesn’t change the fact that Bethesda is just a more aesthetically pleasing place in a much more desirable cluster of neighborhoods. I’d rather pay more taxes to live in a nicer area; I can telework so job access doesn’t matter as much as it used to; and Tysons is a 15 minute drive from a lot of Bethesda neighborhoods on the weekends.

I kind of agree with this, except that most of MoCo isn’t very nice any longer and you end up propping up the rest of the county more if you live in Bethesda than is the case if you live in Vienna because there are more affluent areas in Fairfax now. Not something to ignore completely if you’re considering the two locations.

You obviously don't know most MoCo.

Most of the county is declining.

Still the one everyone else wants to measure up to.

It’s hard to tell through text if you’re joking or hallucinating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is near some of the nicest neighborhoods in DC like Spring Valley, The Palisades, and Barnaby Woods and near Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland. Being in the middle of the nicest region in the area (Upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac) is preferable to being between Tysons Corner and Fairfax City imo, but your mileage may vary.

Talk about taxes, job access, the lack of the amount of retail that Tysons offers to your heart’s content. It doesn’t change the fact that Bethesda is just a more aesthetically pleasing place in a much more desirable cluster of neighborhoods. I’d rather pay more taxes to live in a nicer area; I can telework so job access doesn’t matter as much as it used to; and Tysons is a 15 minute drive from a lot of Bethesda neighborhoods on the weekends.

I kind of agree with this, except that most of MoCo isn’t very nice any longer and you end up propping up the rest of the county more if you live in Bethesda than is the case if you live in Vienna because there are more affluent areas in Fairfax now. Not something to ignore completely if you’re considering the two locations.

You obviously don't know most MoCo.

Most of the county is declining.

Still the one everyone else wants to measure up to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is near some of the nicest neighborhoods in DC like Spring Valley, The Palisades, and Barnaby Woods and near Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland. Being in the middle of the nicest region in the area (Upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac) is preferable to being between Tysons Corner and Fairfax City imo, but your mileage may vary.

Talk about taxes, job access, the lack of the amount of retail that Tysons offers to your heart’s content. It doesn’t change the fact that Bethesda is just a more aesthetically pleasing place in a much more desirable cluster of neighborhoods. I’d rather pay more taxes to live in a nicer area; I can telework so job access doesn’t matter as much as it used to; and Tysons is a 15 minute drive from a lot of Bethesda neighborhoods on the weekends.

I kind of agree with this, except that most of MoCo isn’t very nice any longer and you end up propping up the rest of the county more if you live in Bethesda than is the case if you live in Vienna because there are more affluent areas in Fairfax now. Not something to ignore completely if you’re considering the two locations.

You obviously don't know most MoCo.

Most of the county is declining.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is near some of the nicest neighborhoods in DC like Spring Valley, The Palisades, and Barnaby Woods and near Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland. Being in the middle of the nicest region in the area (Upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac) is preferable to being between Tysons Corner and Fairfax City imo, but your mileage may vary.

Talk about taxes, job access, the lack of the amount of retail that Tysons offers to your heart’s content. It doesn’t change the fact that Bethesda is just a more aesthetically pleasing place in a much more desirable cluster of neighborhoods. I’d rather pay more taxes to live in a nicer area; I can telework so job access doesn’t matter as much as it used to; and Tysons is a 15 minute drive from a lot of Bethesda neighborhoods on the weekends.

I kind of agree with this, except that most of MoCo isn’t very nice any longer and you end up propping up the rest of the county more if you live in Bethesda than is the case if you live in Vienna because there are more affluent areas in Fairfax now. Not something to ignore completely if you’re considering the two locations.

You obviously don't know most MoCo.