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Old 11-22-2007, 06:04 PM
 
5 posts, read 7,877 times
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Hi All,

My husband is being transferred to a job in Largo MD from Melbourne FL. We are interested in NOVA. We have two small children 1 in Kindergarten and a 2 1/2 yr old. Schools are the most important to us. My husband would like to live near a Metro station. I would like an area with families and possibly stay at home moms where they have lots of things for young kids to do. We could afford between $500,000 and 550,000 for a house (less if possible) and we would definitely like to be in a single family home not a TH. So with that said in what neighborhoods would you suggest we look and more importantly are there any areas or schools we should definitely avoid.

Thanks for your help,

michelle
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Old 11-22-2007, 08:33 PM
 
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Welcome!

My geography of Maryland is not always that good, so I checked Largo ... are you sure you want to head over to VA? The only part of VA that looked close was Alexandria, which might have some possible areas.

If I had no other limitations aside from the sort of community you described, I would send you to something like Dominion Valley in Haymarket or Braemar et al. in Bristow. Both are very popular planned communities with tons of families, family activities, and good schools, where you could find a nice single family home for 500K. (I just checked Bristow to be sure and 500K is fine).

In any case, here are a couple of school web sites that I like:

GreatSchools.net

Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools.
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Old 11-22-2007, 08:40 PM
 
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Dominion Valley is wonderful. I worked there a lot and the houses are very new and very clean, you get your money's worth there, but it is not close to Largo, MD by any means. The commute time for your husband would be awful coming from Haymarket but then again we all have methods of chopping down commute time.

$500,000 will get you a LOT in NOVA. People overestimate how much homes really cost. In Arlington's Courthouse area, I was working on townhouses that were 900,000 a PIECE. They weren't worth that to me honestly, but it's all about location. Out in Haymarket, out around the "I-66 Communities" (what I like to call them) you can find a LOT of wonderful houses for reasonable prices.

Maybe I'll move back up there and snag a house on Chain Bridge Rd. :P Yeah right. lol.

Good luck to you!
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Old 11-22-2007, 09:01 PM
 
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We have looked at Maryland too however hubbie is working a contract that will run out in 3 years when he will move jobs again likely to DC or NOVA. So we are trying to move to that are so we don't have to move again.

Michelle
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Old 11-22-2007, 09:06 PM
 
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I miss NOVA, and emotional things with my wife and I keep us from going back, but it is in general a wonderful area. An entire world different from Southern Virgnia, which is where we are now. Don't ever make the mistake of going there.

I understand why you want to lock in on a house now. There are a lot of housing developments out near Chantilly and Herndon and Reston and whatnot, and even further out like Haymarket. Lots of wonderful homes in lots of wonderful places. Best thing to do is take a look and see what you like.
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Old 11-23-2007, 04:28 AM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,476,088 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdlgator View Post
We have looked at Maryland too however hubbie is working a contract that will run out in 3 years when he will move jobs again likely to DC or NOVA. So we are trying to move to that are so we don't have to move again.
Michelle
Ah, that's a little different, although three years is still a long time. But there is no place in Virginia that is going to provide a good commute to Largo. The Metro Blue Line does run to Largo Town Center (9000 Lottsford Road), and if there are workable logistics for reaching the office from there, that might be an option to look at. Otherwise, you're looking at a lot of Beltway time. From a schools standpoint, NoVa has all the edge. Those in North Arlington, Falls Church City, and Fairfax County all tend toward the excellent end of the scale. These are fairly pricey areas, in part because of those schools, but smaller, older homes (many very cozy and nicely updated) are available in the mid 500's in that general area, as are even some newer places in and around Springfield.

I could not personally endorse a move to the exurbs. There are some lovely and newly-emerging areas out that way, but when I run all the variables through my own little brain, I cannot believe that I would still be sane or rational after three years of daily commuting between Haymarket and Largo. Your mileage may vary, but my take would be that that's just plain too far to be worth it, even in the long-run...

Last edited by saganista; 11-23-2007 at 04:48 AM..
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Old 11-23-2007, 08:50 AM
 
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saganista, Star, et al. -

Do you think Alexandria is a possibility for them? On the map it is the closest thing to Largo in VA ...
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Old 11-23-2007, 09:49 AM
 
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Also everywhere I read says that Alexandria has great schools (seems to be a very widely held opinion). However, when I look at school ratings on websites they are low 2-6 out of ten. What am I missing?

Michelle
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Old 11-23-2007, 10:50 AM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,476,088 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenmom7500 View Post
saganista, Star, et al. -
Do you think Alexandria is a possibility for them? On the map it is the closest thing to Largo in VA ...
Sure, it's a possibility, but it's still 20 miles on the Beltway, and given the emphasis on the kids and the schools, it might be as well to be up in the Springfield area and deal with 25 miles on the Beltway instead.

The hope, though, would be that some combination of rail/bus would work on the Largo end. The Metro ride by itself would be about 55 minutes from anywhere in NOVA, but if Metro were an option, it would open up the even better school choices in and around Falls Church...
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Old 11-23-2007, 11:21 AM
 
1,727 posts, read 2,000,529 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdlgator View Post
Also everywhere I read says that Alexandria has great schools (seems to be a very widely held opinion). However, when I look at school ratings on websites they are low 2-6 out of ten. What am I missing?

Michelle
Well, those ratings (on greatschools.net) I think are solely based on performance on standardized tests. This - to some degree - is determined by demographics. Now, where I live now there is one school with something like 85% free and reduced lunches, which has climbed from 2 to 8 (on the tests and thus greatschools). So, a good learning environment can overcome demographics, and vice versa.

But, to answer your question about Alexandria schools, I'm not sure why they are looking that low. Alexandria has some wonderful parts, some parts to avoid, and a lot in the middle ... (to answer based solely on the demographics side).
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