Will work in Rosslyn do not know where to rent (Arlington: rental, how much)

[Midwfam]

We are a family of 5 , kids are 15, 9, and 6, relocating from Minnesota.
Our plan is to rent and are having a difficult time deciding what to do. We will be in corp housing for a month and would like to decide this first step based on the high school location so we can enroll them right away and look for the rental around that area only.However based on the size of houses and rental amounts are finding ourselves in a tough spot.

Here are our constraints:
Work Place: Rosslyn
Rental Budget: under 3500
Size of the house 3000+
Good Highschool

We have been between Fairfax(because of schools),Arlington and Falls Church, but houses are too small or too old.
Houses in Alexandria are beautiful but we are not hearing very good things about the schools, specially High Schools and...

We are going crazy and do not know what to do!!!

[CaliTerp07]

Commute
Housing age/size
Price
Schools

Pick 3.

You're asking for the perfect storm, and it really doesn't exist in NoVA. It's hard to find new construction close in without going into tear down/rebuild areas, which often aren't in the best schools.

You can get good schools and a big, new house in your budget if you're willing to accept an hour+ commute and head out to Loudoun county...but if I were you, I'd lower your housing expectations and stay closer in. The other option is that you can get close to what you want if you're willing to go for a townhouse instead of a SFH--they're generally the newer construction closer in (and you can actually get 2500+ sf in some of them).

[Teebyrd86]

Originally Posted by Midwfam

We are a family of 5 , kids are 15, 9, and 6, relocating from Minnesota.
Our plan is to rent and are having a difficult time deciding what to do. We will be in corp housing for a month and would like to decide this first step based on the high school location so we can enroll them right away and look for the rental around that area only.However based on the size of houses and rental amounts are finding ourselves in a tough spot.

Here are our constraints:
Work Place: Rosslyn
Rental Budget: under 3500
Size of the house 3000+
Good Highschool

We have been between Fairfax(because of schools),Arlington and Falls Church, but houses are too small or too old.
Houses in Alexandria are beautiful but we are not hearing very good things about the schools, specially High Schools and...

We are going crazy and do not know what to do!!!

I did a little search and found this approx 3,400 sq foot home in Tysons Corner/Vienna would put you in an ideal spot with a high school that gets a 9 on greatschools.net Just gives you an idea.. Hope it helps!http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/82...bubble-photos} btw it was just listed today!

[shamrock847]

What do you consider too old for a house? If you are willing to look at 1980s or older you'll have a lot more options in Fairfax.

How do you define good high school? Some people are only interested in the top 5 or so schools in the area, while for other most of the high schools here would meet their criteria (high % of college bound students, AP or IB classes, above avg test scores, etc).

Also, what is your max acceptable commute and what time of day will you be commuting? If you are good with a longer commute and/or have a flexible schedule you will be able to find what you are looking for in Loudoun County.

[Midwfam]

You have no idea how much we appreciate your responses! We LOVED the houses in Loudoun, and really liked the house in Vienna, I really do not mind the long drive each day actually, but staying a lot closer to Rosslyn is better.
We found a couple of houses close to Fairfax High School, but don't know much about it, is it good one?

We are looking for a big house so we don't have to get rid of a lot of stuff(our current house is close to 4,000 sq ft a, 5 br , etc... ). Exactly like Loudoun houses..how are schools over there compared to Fairfax?


Thanks a lot!

Thanks a lot for your help!!!

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Midwfam

You have no idea how much we appreciate your responses! We LOVED the houses in Loudoun, and really liked the house in Vienna, I really do not mind the long drive each day actually, but staying a lot closer to Rosslyn is better.
We found a couple of houses close to Fairfax High School, but don't know much about it, is it good one?

We are looking for a big house so we don't have to get rid of a lot of stuff(our current house is close to 4,000 sq ft a, 5 br , etc... ). Exactly like Loudoun houses..how are schools over there compared to Fairfax?


Thanks a lot!

Thanks a lot for your help!!!

I've have several coworkers who have sent their kids (recently) through Fairfax High School and they are very pleased with it.

My one coworker has 5 kids and the oldest two (who are 30 and 26) respectively didn't have such a good time with it and she wasn't pleased with it. However, the next two have just come through there and she said that in the last 6 years or so they've had a totally new administration and she and her kids are thrilled with it. It is a smaller high school in comparison to some so I think it might feel a bit more personal.

The areas that feed into Fairfax High School are also very family friendly and I think you'll be happy in that area.

[RUSDC]

If you are going to work in Rosslyn, I would look into Falls Church and Arlington for rental
Anything along Rt. 29 corridor, INSIDE the beltway preferably.

Commute from Loundon? Way too far, way too long (but people do it....god knows why)