Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have lived in TOV since 2011. My kids have grown up here - I love that they can walk and bike all over town, and there are always neighbors out and about who know them. I know my kids won't be up to any nonsense at the Chipotle without my hearing about it from someone. LOL

Most of the kid at the elementary schools in town walk and bike to school. We love the farmers market, Halloween parade, Viva Vienna, Chillin on Church, the Madison Homecoming parade, the masses of kids who walk from Thoreau to Waters Field on Fridays to hang out together and the real sense of community. Yes, traffic on Maple is terrible, it's true.

I never really got the "mean girl" vibe overall. Sure, there are some competitive moms and dads who constantly post on social media, but I'm sure you'd get that no matter where you live. I've made a wonderful group of friends here, and so have each of my kids.

^ I think Vienna sounds much better than where we live in Mclean. Most of our neighbors are pretty indifferent. Few kids. We’ve had something pretty catastrophic happen to our family and maybe 2 stopped by to express condolences and sent us flowers. I would much rather have a closer knit community and maybe “gossip”’at least people care enough to talk

We moved from Vienna to McLean. Personally I prefer McLean (not Mclean) because people are a bit more private and not in each other’s business as much as we experienced in Vienna. And there are plenty of kids in our area - McLean HS has about 250-300 more kids than Madison HS.

I’m sorry you didn’t get enough support from neighbors when you had the catastrophic event in your family. Perhaps people didn’t want to intrude? I feel like we know all our neighbors who want to socialize with other neighbors - and we respect those who keep up themselves. Sometimes it’s hard to know when overtures are welcome.

I moved from Falls Church (not FCC, but near the WFC metro and zoned to McLean hs) to Vienna this spring. I very much prefer Vienna. Far more of a sense of community. In Falls Church I didn't know anyone on my block except for the neighbors right next door, and I didn't know them well at all, even after over 10 years. After a few months in Vienna I know all of the neighbors around me better than I knew anyone at the old place after years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PP said it very well. We like Vienna a lot but it isn’t for everyone.

Are your kids in HS already? If so, great, but I think your experience can vary a significant amount at the ES level - some very different vibes, so I wouldn’t just look at high school.

OP here- our DC is not in elementary yet. Could you elaborate more? Houses we are looking at are in Vienna Elementary and Louise Archer Elementary

DP. The schools are all FCPS schools. It's all the same curriculum, so the differences are mainly the makeup of the school, which you can find on Great Schools or the like.

Vienna is a nice community. I think everyone finds their niche, even if they aren't sporty. Plus, you have a really little kid. You don't know what they are going to be into. There a lots of house league sports league for kids that aren't hugely competitive. There's also dance, theater, music, art, etc.

TOV has great town amenities and events. The small town community feel is due to the events and the Vienna Moms club has a strong presence. People also are very generous in helping others in need. You will also probably run into somebody you know whenever you’re out and about. I prefer living in TOV instead of outside of town limits because of convenience and the amenities. Vienna is very sports oriented but there are many other activities for kids too. Every kid I know participates in multiple activities. My kids have gone to Vienna Elementary and Archer. Vienna Elementary has a group of moms who are very cliquey and their kids are also cliquey. Depending on how young your kids are, you may never need to interact with them. Many others are more welcoming and inclusive. It is a small school with very involved parents. Teachers are generally caring. Archer is larger but they make an effort to make each student feel included. I haven’t noticed mom cliques. It is more diverse than Vienna Elementary. Academics are stronger but it is not a high pressure environment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not move to Vienna if you are neither competitive nor sporty. There’s not another community in the DC area where the hierarchy is based as much on sports and “fitting in.”

Do you live here? I do and can't relate to what you are saying. I think there is a conformity in the sense that everyone I know puts their family and kids first, but maybe that appeals to OP. Someone criticized the Vienna Little League - that was an amazing experience for my kids - mostly because of the parents willing to devote their time to it. Vienna is full of so many nice, generous, and wonderful people.

Other than the current situation at Madison with the terrible administration and constant experimentation, we have been really happy here. There will probably be a new principal by the time your kids are in high school OP.

Lived there for several years. Now that we've detoxed, have some perspective on living in Vienna that I wouldn't necessarily expect a current resident to acknowledge.

Anonymous wrote:I would not move to Vienna if you are neither competitive nor sporty. There’s not another community in the DC area where the hierarchy is based as much on sports and “fitting in.”

I have one sporty kid and one not sporty kid. My not sporty kid has plenty of interests and friends and it’s not an issue. YMMV

Anonymous wrote:I would not move to Vienna if you are neither competitive nor sporty. There’s not another community in the DC area where the hierarchy is based as much on sports and “fitting in.”

Do you live here? I do and can't relate to what you are saying. I think there is a conformity in the sense that everyone I know puts their family and kids first, but maybe that appeals to OP. Someone criticized the Vienna Little League - that was an amazing experience for my kids - mostly because of the parents willing to devote their time to it. Vienna is full of so many nice, generous, and wonderful people.

Other than the current situation at Madison with the terrible administration and constant experimentation, we have been really happy here. There will probably be a new principal by the time your kids are in high school OP.

I would not move to Vienna if you are neither competitive nor sporty. There’s not another community in the DC area where the hierarchy is based as much on sports and “fitting in.”

Keeping Up With The Joneses is a choice. You don't have to play.

We live in Vienna, just outside town limits. Our neighborhood has an HOA which means that the small houses (like ours) are not next to 7 bedroom new builds that cost 2.5 million dollars. I'm very glad for that.

OP, we moved here from DC and it was the best possible spot for us to land. We love the elementary school, we're close to tons of activities for the kids (both sports and not sports), and we really love our neighbors. We can walk to lots of stuff, and take advantage of a lot of the events the town has to offer. We're really happy here. We are pretty social people, but I do not get the sorority vibe at all.

*regular THING in HS...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oakton and Madison have exactly the same academic stats give or take 1 percent on any category. One isn't more academic than the other.

Oakton is academically more intense than Madison. That stems from much of Carson feeding into Oakton and over twice as many Asian kids.

Madison is more intense when it comes to athletics and band.

In a generalization, that may be true. But, OP, I assure you -- there are kids at Madison who are NOT into sports. Not into band. Not into ____. They are just regular kids who play video games with their friends, do pretty well on their AP courses, have summer jobs, etc. etc. They don't care about "competing" for top colleges. They are just doing their regular think in HS and moving on to college. I think Madison has good sports teams. And a good band. But, a big portion of the students have no connection to either of those things. They don't make a lot of noise about anything. They are just there to get their education. And their parents aren't loud and involved either. They just go with the flow.

What I do like about Madison is that my kids feel safe. There is a generally positive attitude from administrators and teachers. They are focused on what kids can do in a positive way (academically or extra curriculars). They aren't so busy dealing with hot-mess kids/criminal activity/dumpster fires that they don't have time for kids that are normal and at school to learn. So, yes, OP, there IS a place at Madison, and I'm sure the same is true of Oakton, for just regular kids who aren't "stand outs" in any particular way -- good students, but not into trying to one-up anyone.

Anonymous wrote:Oakton and Madison have exactly the same academic stats give or take 1 percent on any category. One isn't more academic than the other.

Oakton is academically more intense than Madison. That stems from much of Carson feeding into Oakton and over twice as many Asian kids.

Madison is more intense when it comes to athletics and band.

Oakton and Madison have exactly the same academic stats give or take 1 percent on any category. One isn't more academic than the other.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Oakton and it suits my personality much more than Vienna. Low-key, more private. Oakton elementary was great and our kids went to Thoreau with the Vienna kids. Oakton high school is pretty intense grade-wise and there are a ridiculous amounts of kids loading up in AP classes. So, the pressure at Oakton is to be academic much more than athletic like at Madison. my younger kid was very involved in sports and we are zoned for Vienna sports so it was a good combo. to have that involvement but yet live in a more private area. I will say that if your kid is into baseball, Vienna little league is insane.

Agree with this. Vienna is a bit too "keeping up with the Jones" for our tastes.

I’ve lived in TOV since 2014 and in Vienna since 2005 and love it. I have 3 kids - one academic, the other sporty, and the youngest is probably more academic than sporty. Academics has been fine - and it’s not a pressure cooker which I appreciate and kids can take more advanced classes just like at any FCPS school. I do love living in an actual town where I can walk everywhere, which I never had growing up. I cant imagine living anywhere else. And if you look at election results it is a more progressive town.

I live in Oakton and it suits my personality much more than Vienna. Low-key, more private. Oakton elementary was great and our kids went to Thoreau with the Vienna kids. Oakton high school is pretty intense grade-wise and there are a ridiculous amounts of kids loading up in AP classes. So, the pressure at Oakton is to be academic much more than athletic like at Madison. my younger kid was very involved in sports and we are zoned for Vienna sports so it was a good combo. to have that involvement but yet live in a more private area. I will say that if your kid is into baseball, Vienna little league is insane.