Relocating to NOVA (Arlington, Reston, McLean: apartment, condos, new house)

[riley1319]

My husband has started negotiations with Cap One in McLean. We've got a current Kindergartner, a 2 year old and an infant. Here's what we think we want - please tell me where we should focus our attention...

1) Good public school pyramid (most important)
2) Short commute
3) Kid friendly neighborhood/lot (half acre? we currently live in a more urban, densely spaced single family home neighborhood, not bad, but I think I'd like a bit more space)
4) Not too far from conveniences
5) Regarding housing, I can go old or new it just depends on the house. We have a budget of 1.25M.

Considering McLean seems obvious, but what about the surrounding towns. Everything I've read says stay in VA if you don't want a bear of a commute. A co-worker of my husband's was recruited recently and they've decided to buy in the Georgetown area and send their kids to private school. I think I'd rather put my $$ into a house in a good public district.

Thanks to the poster who did the photo tour of McLean. It's sooo helpful!

[JD984]

Capital One has a McLean address, but it's really in Tysons, which is more or less halfway between McLean and Vienna. You could find plenty of houses in your price range on at least 1/2 acre in both McLean and Vienna.

If you want over an acre of land, and don't mind having to spend a lot of time driving, Great Falls is an obvious place to consider as well. Great Falls, McLean and Vienna all are reasonably close to Tysons.

Public school students who live in Great Falls, McLean or Vienna all attend Fairfax County public schools. The schools that serve these areas tend to have high test scores. There are some variations among the schools and their demographics, but they'll be large numbers of motivated, supported kids in all these schools. You can explore this data at the FCPS web site: www.fcps.edu and might also want to glance at the latest "Capital Improvement Plan" (most of the schools that serve Great Falls, McLean and Vienna students are in Clusters 1 and 2):

http://www.fcps.edu/fts/cipbook2012-16.pdf

There are a fair number of families in these areas who send their kids to private schools, but it's not quite as prevalent in Virginia as it is in Maryland or, in particular, DC. There are some private schools in NoVa, but there are more private schools in Maryland and DC than in NoVa. If you're leaning toward public schools and your spouse will be working at Capital One, it probably doesn't make much sense to consider Maryland. The only exception that comes to mind is that there are definitely larger Jewish communities in Montgomery County, Maryland than in NoVa, which might be a consideration for some Jewish families.

[riley1319]

Thanks for the feedback.

Any thoughts on Falls Church?

[Winter2010]

What does your husband do for a living?

[michgc]

McLean is obvious. It's one of the more upscale communities around here. Great schools. Great Falls is prestigious as well, with more spread out housing, in general. But is more "country" on windy roads. Vienna is a step below McLean as far as wealth. But also very nice with good schools. Falls Church and its school system are good - not sure about finding a house on a 1/2 acre there, though. It's probably the most urban of them all. Those 4 would be my top choices.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by riley1319

Thanks for the feedback.

Any thoughts on Falls Church?

Falls Church refers to both the City of Falls Church and unincorporated parts of Fairfax County with Falls Church mailing addresses.

The City of Falls Church is generally quite affluent. It also has its own, small school system that is separate from Fairfax County and much more like the school systems found in many towns in states like NJ, NY and Mass. Test scores are comparable to the McLean schools in Fairfax County. By NoVa standards, the City of Falls Church is considered walkable, and most of the homes are on smaller lots (1/3 acre or less). Homes on 1/2 acre or more are fairly rare.

The sections of Fairfax County with Falls Church mailing addresses are more diverse, and tougher for newcomers to get a handle on quickly. There are some Falls Church neighborhoods in the 22043 zip code that feed into Haycock ES/Longfellow MS/McLean HS, and some residents of these areas have been known to refer to them as the "Falls Church part of McLean" (or the "McLean part of Falls Church"). At least some of these neighborhoods are part of a special tax assessment district that funds the McLean Community Center, so that may be how that phrase developed. In general, houses in this area are less expensive than houses in McLean or Great Falls, but there are some very pretty neighborhoods and the lots typically will be a bit larger than the lots in the City of Falls Church. There are a fair number of "in-fill" houses (homes built after someone bought an older property, tore it down, and built a new house on the lot) there now, as is also the case in both McLean and the Town of Vienna.

There are also some neighborhoods in the 22043 zip code that feed into Shrevewood ES/Kilmer MS/Marshall HS that include some newer, Craftsman-style houses in your price range on decent sized lots (as well as a fair number of relatively new homes on small lots). I don't think any of these neighborhoods are in the McLean Community Center tax assessment district. The schools are also good, though they serve more diverse neighborhoods and the test scores aren't as high as at Haycock ES/Longfellow MS/McLean HS. [As an aside, Haycock and Longfellow also house "gifted/talented" centers, so students originally assigned to other nearby schools who attend Haycock and Longfellow for the advanced programs boost their test scores.] The 22043 zip code also includes the Pimmit Hills neighborhood, which is very close to Tysons and consists primarily of very small houses built in the 1950s, as well as some newer houses that have been built after older houses were torn down. If you have $1.25M to spend on a house, Pimmit Hills won't be on your radar screen.

Most of the other parts of Fairfax County with Falls Church mailing addresses will be in other zip codes (22041, 22042 and 22044) that are further away from Capital One. With a few exceptions, such as the upscale Lake Barcroft and Sleepy Hollow areas in 22041 and 22044, homes in these areas will be less expensive than most homes in the 22043 zip code, other than houses in Pimmit Hills. Students in the 22041, 22042 and 22044 zip codes generally attend schools in the Stuart and Falls Church HS pyramids. The schools in these pyramids are quite diverse, with a substantial and, in recent years, increasing percentage of Hispanic students. They are part of the same county-wide system as the schools in Great Falls, McLean and Vienna, but the reality of our area is that some people simply will not consider them because they have lower test scores and educate more students of limited means. On the other hand, for those who like the idea of a contemporary, lake-front house built in the 1950s or 1960s, Lake Barcroft offers something that simply can't be found in Great Falls, McLean or Vienna (though there are other lake-front properties in Reston).

Hope this helps.

[JfromReston]

I would look in McLean or Great Falls - here are a few that you may consider checking out.
1355 WINDY HILL RD, MCLEAN, VA 22102 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-WINDY+HILL-MCLEAN-VA-MRIS-FX7476409 - broken link)
8602 DIXIE PL, MCLEAN, VA 22102 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-WOODSIDE+ESTATES-MCLEAN-VA-MRIS-FX7282390 - broken link)
8432 WELLER AVE, MCLEAN, VA 22102 - HomesDatabase
8752 BROOK RD, MCLEAN, VA 22102 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-WOODSIDE+ESTATES-MCLEAN-VA-MRIS-FX7530713 - broken link)
935 PEACOCK STATION RD, MCLEAN, VA 22102 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-PEACOCK+STATION-MCLEAN-VA-MRIS-FX7430764 - broken link)
9056 JEFFERY RD, GREAT FALLS, VA 22066 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-RIVER+BEND-GREAT+FALLS-VA-MRIS-FX7303201 - broken link)
251 CARRWOOD RD, GREAT FALLS, VA 22066 - HomesDatabase (http://www.homesdatabase.com/home-listings-CARRWOOD+ESTATES-GREAT+FALLS-VA-MRIS-FX7359702 - broken link)

[riley1319]

I don't know about Great Falls - anything too "country" feeling gives me hives unless it's for vacation.

Is it safe to assume that Arlington (what county is that?) is even denser than Falls Church (that might seem obvious, but I don't have a visual for that area beyond the National Cemetery)? I like having close neighbors, I'm just over being able to see into their homes.

[JD984]

Arlington is east of Falls Church and southeast of McLean. It's a separate county with a population of approximately 208,000, and the residences all have Arlington mailing addresses. For the most part, it is denser than Falls Church, with more apartment buildings and condos, and the single family homes typically are on lots of 1/4 acre or less. There are many Metro stations in Arlington, so it's quite popular with those who value dense, transit-oriented development and short commutes to DC.

[robbobobbo]

Take a look at Arlington around Military Rd, Chesterbrook, N Glebe (north of Rt 29), and along Old Dominion. Some neighborhood names: Bellevue Forest, Rivercrest, Gulf Branch, Chain Bridge Forest. The school district is very good. The commute would be longer than if you lived in McLean, but it wouldn't be bad.