Relocating Family to Northern VA-help!

[goldenmom7500]

Hi, The post about the Girl Scouts was probably from me, but it would be extremely easy to find a troop anywhere at all in this area. We joined one in Manassas at a school we didn't attend (JC Round) and after one meeting had three birthday party invitations, etc. Super nice moms, but not really on your route ...

[claremarie]

Alittle more background, then more questions: my husband travels up to Fairfax tomorrow to meet with his new prospective employer. Their office is actually in Vienna but lots of the work is done in Anacostia/The Navy Yard. There may be a possiblity of him working between Vienna and The Navy Yard for awhile, or having to commute between those points at various times. He's from the Boston area originally and LOVES public transportation...one of his major complaints about Hampton Roads! He does hate to be stuck in traffic in his own vehicle...so question 1 is if we were to pick a home near one of the metro stations, would he be able to commute between Vienna and the Navy Yard w/o a car? I'm thinking probably not, but if anyone has suggestions that's why we're here.

There is a Metro station at the Navy Yard, and also in Vienna. Your husband would have to change trains from the Orange Line to the Green Line at L'Enfant Plaza in DC, but the commute is definitely do-able. There is a trip planner on the Metro website that can help you calculate the routes and times.


Also, I'm excited to hear about the Fairfax County schools being able to serve all our our children's needs!!! But I'm confused about which towns would be considered within that district...is it limited only to Fairfax; does it include McLean, Falls Church, Vienna, etc??

Fairfax County schools serve all of the communities you mentioned, except for the City of Falls Church, which is a two-square mile enclave within Fairfax County that runs its own (excellent, but very small) school system.

Also, two of our 5 kids enjoy swimming very much and have indicated they would like to try out for a swim team, but have no formal/competitive experience thus far. Any recommendations on a good location to get involved at a beginner level?

You've come to the right place. The Northern Virginia Swimming League runs the biggest summer swim league in the country, with more than 10,000 swimmers on 100+ teams. Most Fairfax County neighborhoods are near one or more of the community swim clubs that make up the league. The league is divided into divisions based on team size and strength, and can be extremely competitive in the higher divisions, but nearly every team has a developmental program for new swimmers. You need to be a member of one of the league pools in order to compete, but membership is relatively affordable, and though some clubs have waiting lists, others do not. After you find a place to live, ask your neighbors (or come back here) for the names of the local pools, and sign up. There are also a number of year-round United States Swimming club programs. My son swims with one of them, and they have swimmers from the developmental level to those with Olympic trials time cuts. Finally, the Fairfax County Rec Centers have good aquatics programs for beginning swimmers.

As far as a commute goes, my husband currently has a 20 minute commute and yes, gets stuck in tunnel traffic at times, making it 40 minutes or so. I don't think 45 is what we'd call unreasonable, but what type of commute would he have if we lived a little further out in those other locations and took VRE or metro. Having been in the military for 20 years, he has no trouble rising by 5 a.m. and getting out the door...beauty sleep apparently not required!!

It will definitely take over an hour to commute from the further out suburbs, especially if he has to drive to the VRE or metro. Depending upon the location, it might take closer to 90 minutes.

[viennamom]

[quote=redsox fan;2143463]We are long time residents of Chesapeake, VA with children ages 8 to 17 and may be relocating to Northern Va after a 20 year military career. Our children are all very different with varying interests. One has Aspergers Syndrome, a mild form of autism, and several are highly gifted academicallly. Our 17 y.o. is interested in pursuing cuilinary arts after graduation this spring.

Marshall Road Elementary School, in Vienna, has a very strong program for children with autism. The school district for Marshall Road E.S. has a range of houses and housing prices. Our 4th-grader son started there in September and really likes the school. James Madison High School is the designated high school for this district. It has a great reputation, but if there's something in particular a high school student wants to pursue (whether it's an IB program, culinary arts, biotechnology), there are so many in-county options. Our son opted to stay at George C. Marshall for his senior year. He loves it there and they have a strong IB program. As for being close to Anacostia, well, that part the Vienna area doesn't help with. You would be close to I-66, though, from the neighborhood around Marshall Road E.S., and the Metro is in walking distance from the school. Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions.

[viennamom]

One more thing, there should be plenty of places to rent in your price range. Yes, it is more expensive here than Chesapeake, but the market has changed to your advantage. Moving here from Richmond two years ago took a huge adjustment on housing prices, but I adjusted and so did the prices. With such a slow real estate sales market, rentals abound all over NOVA!!

[apete185]

I'm going to downsize after divorce and so will be moving out of my Vienna home once I find another property. I highly recommend the area we live in for all age groups. It is called Tyson's Green. Its very near Tyson's corner. Westbriar Kilmer Marshall is the school triangle within Fairfax county. My son is ADHD and ED. While they had a good program at Westbriar, they now bus him to Marshall Rd Elementary. FFX county schools do have a gifted and talented program as well. There is a very good soccer club, and good scout troops. To save funds right now, I am renting my basement to another fed for $700 a month. I can make it to Navy Med in 20 min if I go before 6 a.m. There are a lot of back routes in from the Tyson's area. There are great bike paths that take you to the metro as well, which is about 3 miles away.
The home across the street from me rented for $2600, a five bedroom split level. My price will be slightly higher since it is bigger with a sport court.
I would recommend doing a search on the zip 22182.