Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in the McLean area has 2 HSs, both good. The curriculum and offerings are maybe 90% the same within FCPS, except some HSs use IB and others use AP. Both McLean HS and Langley HS are AP schools.

Langley HS is on Georgetown Pike inside the beltway. McLean HS is close to downtown McLean. Langley HS was recently rebuilt, is under unrolled slightly, and has great facilities. I think it is the only FCPS HS offering Russian as a foreign language. Strong academics.

McLean HS is over enrolled, has not been renovated or rebuilt in many years, and it shows. It has similar academics to Langley HS.

ES and MS in that area all are very similar, except that one ES has a French language immersion option.

The ES with a French immersion program is Kent Gardens ES, in the McLean HS pyramid. McLean also offers German, which Langley does not.

With recent boundary changes, McLean HS will be at about full capacity in the coming years, and Langley will be above capacity.

Anonymous wrote:Falls Church City is small. Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS) reflects that. Many like the elementary schools. There is a single MS and a single HS, Meridian HS. (Oddly, "Falls Church HS" is outside FCC and is part of FCPS).

Meridian is mostly an IB school, with limited AP offerings. People who prefer an IB curriculum like that. People who prefer an AP curriculum dislike that. Because it is smaller, it might have fewer clubs or offerings than a larger HS might. Meridian HS is academically strong.

Advantages of a smaller high school is also that your kid can actually make the sports teams and school plays without being a prospective professional athlete or actor

I live in Falls Church City and also commute to downtown DC 2-3 times a week. It’s about 10 minutes longer than N Arlington in terms of driving. I sometimes park at West Falls Church metro (there is always available parking) and metro in but it takes a bit longer.

If you aren’t driving in the middle of rush hour the commute isn’t bad at all.

We love the Falls Church neighborhood & schools and houses are not as expensive as N Arlington.

Most of McLean and most of N Arlington is suburbia.

Although VDOT and Fairfax County are now working to plug selected sidewalk gaps in McLean, many areas of McLean do not have sidewalks. By contrast, most of N Arlington does have sidewalks.

The area within maybe 1/2 or 3/4 of a mile from McLean metro is densifying rapidly now. McLean metro is in McLean, but is not in downtown McLean.

There is regular weekday bus service connecting downtown McLean with McLean Metro. Several higher density, mid-rise, condos have recently opened in downtown McLean. There has been talk for 30+ years about revitalizing downtown McLean, but only limited progress has been made. For now, it is mostly a series of strip shopping centers with an astonishingly high number of pizza places.

One quick caution for house hunting. A large swath of Fairfax County is called "Falls Church" by the postal service, but is outside Falls Church City. So if one wants FCCPS, it is important to double check that the property is indeed in FCC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want N Arlington walkable to Metro. There are lots of houses in Bluemont.

Bluemont is not walkable to metro. Frankly, most of N Arlington is not walkable to metro but instead requires a not-so-fun drive to the East Falls Church metro, which has very limited parking.

+1

Anonymous wrote:People tend to understate their car commutes (or commute during hours that are not when most people commute), so I always recommend trying the commute yourself on a Monday through Thursday during the times you actually would do the commute.

+10

Falls Church City is small. Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS) reflects that. Many like the elementary schools. There is a single MS and a single HS, Meridian HS. (Oddly, "Falls Church HS" is outside FCC and is part of FCPS).

Meridian is mostly an IB school, with limited AP offerings. People who prefer an IB curriculum like that. People who prefer an AP curriculum dislike that. Because it is smaller, it might have fewer clubs or offerings than a larger HS might. Meridian HS is academically strong.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in the McLean area has 2 HSs, both good. The curriculum and offerings are maybe 90% the same within FCPS, except some HSs use IB and others use AP. Both McLean HS and Langley HS are AP schools.

Langley HS is on Georgetown Pike inside the beltway. McLean HS is close to downtown McLean. Langley HS was recently rebuilt, is under unrolled slightly, and has great facilities. I think it is the only FCPS HS offering Russian as a foreign language. Strong academics.

McLean HS is over enrolled, has not been renovated or rebuilt in many years, and it shows. It has similar academics to Langley HS.

ES and MS in that area all are very similar, except that one ES has a French language immersion option.

Arlington County Public Schools (APS) have several option schools (examples: Spanish immersion, science focus, & Arlington Traditional School - ATS) for elementary. Admission to option schools is by lottery. Many like having those options. Worth exploring to lesrn more about APS.

For STEM HS, APS students can apply to TJ and also apply to Arlington Tech, which is a college-track STEM-focused option HS within APS. APS' general HSs also have strong academics.

From McLean, there are multiple options to downtown DC.

PP mentioned 123 and then Chain Bridge to Canal Road. N Arlington folks can take Glebe Rd to Chain Bridge.

Another option is the recently totally rebuilt GW Parkway to your choice of Key Bridge or Roosevelt bridge or a different bridge. N Arlington folks would drive south to Spout Run Pkwy and GW Pkwy and then same choice of bridges.

Anonymous wrote:McLean has the best schools and is the richest, so I would pick that. But if you are more liberal (McLean is pretty liberal) and want to experience limousine liberalism, look down at blue collar workers, and promote diversity when your neighborhood is all white libs, then I would pick Falls Church or North Arlington.

Hilarious and true about N. Arlington. Its exhausting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why everyone is assuming OP needs to live near a metro? I have never taken the metro to work. From Falls Church (FFX just outside FCC), my commute is usually 30-45 minutes by car. My employer pays for parking. I'd rather drive than metro, maybe OP does too.

OP. We don’t have to use the metro. Both our offices (Foggy Bottom and Farragut Square) have garages. But if the car commute is awful, then maybe metro proximity is something to consider.

I’d stick to the SFH neighborhoods flanking the orange line corridor in Arlington - you’ll be able to drive in 15 min without traffic and 25-35 during rush hour or take the metro if you prefer.

Not sure about budget - if you’re above $3 or close to it high 2s look at Waverly Hills, Cherrydale, Lyon Village, Ashton Heights, Lyon Park. Closer to $2-2.5 look at Bluemont. Closer to $1.5-2 look at a renovated / bumped out Arlington Forest home if it comes up.

PP here, apparently I can’t read and missed your $2M budget. Look at Bluemont.

Prices are not this high in real life unless you insist on 6000 sq ft or something. We recently bought in Lyon Park under $1.5. The $2-3 is just the giant boxy new builds.

Some people want better schools than what you get in Lyon Park.

The schools are fine! Not amazing but DMV public schools aren’t amazing anywhere. There is no New Trier in the DMV.

Anonymous wrote:OP. I appreciate everyone’s input! We’ll plan to check out the commute times during rush hour and likely prioritize something on a less busy street for the two kids. It sounds like the schools are all pretty decent (although not sure if the Great Schools delta between McLean/Meridian/Yorktown and W&L is actually significant? But we have quite a few years before high school).

The difference is mostly the result of WL having more economic diversity than the other schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd buy this for $2m.

https://redf.in/KiZsX9

Same. Great house. Should go $100-200K over asking.

Basic ugly Arlington McMansion.