Reason to consider relocating to FAIRFAX CNTY instead of HOWARD CNTY Maryland

[luke9.54_56]

I would choose to live in Rockville, Md. as close to the "spur" as possible. You can choose Bethesda, but the closer you get to Rockville itself, the more Jewish people you will meet. I am Jewish, and miss not being active in the the biggest community of Jews in the US, outside of Brooklyn, New York. It would make for a better community, better schools, better friends for your son, and the better options for Jewish education are there. It is your best chance to have him meet a gal and marry within the community.

Yes, there is a nice Jewish Community center here in Fairfax...but it draws on jewish people scattered over all of the county. In Rockville, you have it all. I tried to find Hebrew lessons, a small Kosher store, and a few little groups I could enjoy, and yikes, they are all either non-existent here, or way way too expensive....like the groups.

There are some nice synagogues here in Northern VA, but your best best is to try Rockville. Be aware the property taxes in Montgomery County are going to be killers.....so to get close to Rockville, and still be in Va, you can look at Great Falls, Va. It is one heck of a great place to live, but people in both states mysteriously tend not to cross the state lines much to visit, even family members across those lines...a real throw back to civil war days, I guess....

Better for your son to make his future in Rockville, but check around alot for nice neighborhoods. There can be some scary crime areas if you are not careful...why not call and write some of the Jewish orgs/schools right there in Rockville, to get some neighborhood tips?????????? Wish I were there!

[CandCsmom]

PAFAMILY -
We, too, are relocating to DC area this summer for husband's job. Finding a Jewish community, and Jewish schools, were high on the priority list. We zeroed in on Fairfax County almost immediately. There is a huge JCC there with an excellent preschool (my kids are 3 and 5). They've been attending a JCC preschool where we live now (Norfolk area) for the past 3 years and I did not want to give up the Jewish-based ed. they've begun. My oldest will actually be starting kindergarten this fall and there are excellent excellent schools in Fairfax city and county. There is also a Jewish private school called Gesher Day school for elementary and I believe secondary but I could not see spending tuition for private when the public is so good, plus we will belong to the JCC for the community and preschool for my youngest son so will get involved in the Jewish community that way. There are many great neighborhoods and cities in close enough driving distance to the JCC and synagogues nearby. We focused our search initially in Annandale (outside the beltway!), Fairfax and Burke. We ended up renting in Burke - a little further from the JCC than I wanted, but the elementary school - White Oaks - had a great reputation and the house is awesome. I still like the older more established neighborhoods of Fairfax and Annandale better - and if we buy here that is where I would focus - but every good rental house we saw in those areas got rented up before we could even have a chance so we settled for a little further in Burke but just as good neighborhood and school just not exactly what I was looking for in terms of quaintness. In answer to your other questions about how to know which schools are fed by which neighborhoods, go to the Fairfax County PUblic Schools website fcps.edu and you can look up anything by school pyramid, district, maps, addresses, etc. It is an essential search tool for moving to the area! Good luck and maybe we'll run into you at the JCC!
p.s. by the way we spent 2 years living in city center Philly (pre-kids) and LOVED it!

[neighborhoodfind]

The good and bad thing about Fairfax county is that there are many very good schools. It makes it harder to narrow down your home search. But seeing as your husband works in DC, I'd recommend Vienna, Mclean, Arlington, Fairfax or Burke. You will find excellent schools here, an extensive park system and tons of kids activities.

[DC Oldtimer]

We are Jewish refugees from Montgomery County MD. Fled the carnage over a decade ago.

Forgive my drama ... I just burned out on the place. It is a tax hell run by politically correct politicians who know everything there is to know about how the world should be and are clueless about the way it is.

You ask if taxes are "as high" in MD as VA. They are SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER in MD, and you get next to nada for it. MD politics is about taking wealth from Montgomery County and giving it to Baltimore. However, if you are very liberal, and dont mind the higher taxes, you might like the place.

There are lots of Jews here in NOVA. Neighborhoods like Mantua and Ridgelea Hills are particularly favored by Jews due to their proximity to the temple (both are great neighborhoods). We don't live there but are close.

At this point in my life I have spent equal amounts of time in both Fairfax and Montgomery. I much prefer NOVA, although in a few months we will probably put our beautiful home on the market and head south. Retirement is here.