Relocating to NOVA - is there a midpoint between Dulles and Bethesda? (Reston: best neighborhood)

[petitchou]

Dh and I are moving back to the DC area in a few months with our two small children (#2 is due in June!). Dh will be working in Dulles. I will not have a typical 9-5 job but will need to travel on 495 and into DC frequently so we don't want to be too far out. We're looking to buy eventually but may end up renting the first year until we get reacclimated (although it seems a shame not to buy right now!). Housing budget is around 300-325k. (Yeah, I know, it's not a lot for the area, but that's what we're working with for now...)

I would LOVE to have ds enrolled in the French school in Bethesda. (Dh is French and we currently live in France.) But it seems that one of us would then have a grueling commute every morning. I was thinking Falls Church might work but it's been years since we've been in the area and I really have no idea how to judge traffic.

Is there a good midpoint between Dulles and Bethesda? Dh doesn't really want more than a 30 minute commute and I obviously don't want to spend too long in the car with a 3yo and a newborn just to get to school every morning!

If it's just a crazy idea, we would forget about the school and look closer to dh's job. Any recommendations then?

[HEATHER72]

Forget about the school... live closer to your hubby's job.

[terrence81]

I'm not as real estate saavy so not sure about your price range. You can get a condo for that much. I'm not saying you can't get a house but it won't be in the best neighborhood. So I recommend a condo cause you can live in a nicer neighborhood than if you stuck to just single family houses.

Falls Church is funny. There are some nice parts and some run down parts. You're going to pay a premium to live in those nice parts. So not really recommending it because of your price range. 300K just isn't going to get a really nice place inside the beltway like it would further out.

I just moved to Oakton and I really like it. There's a bunch of apartment and condo complexes off blake rd and have yet to have a problem. My complex is advertising 2 bedroom units for $225K of course you'd need more room than that but you get the idea. Vienna is good too.

Your main problem will be fighting traffic to Bethesda becuase you have to go through Tysons Corner which has a lot of businesses and workers. I read that there are 117,000 people that work in that rather small area and only 17000 live there. So that means fighting 100,000 people everyday plus those who don't work in Tysons but are going through the area just like you.

Unfortunately the traffic is unavoidable if you're driving to the French school. Because of having to go through the Tysons area to get to Bethesda. If you move to Bethesda I doubt if he'll have a 30 minute commute even though once past Tysons he'll be going against traffic.

So yeah I'd say put your child in a just as nice private school in VA and live close to his job. I hear good things about the schools in Loundon county.

If you decide against the school then go with Sterling, Ashburn or Chantilly. Reston is really nice too. Don't know enough about Herdon to say yay or nay. I've heard great things about it and not so great things. The further out you go from DC the more house you can get for your money.

[claremarie]

You have several options. One is to live in the McLean/Falls Church part of Fairfax County, and apply to enroll your child in the French immersion program at Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean.
If he's not admitted there, driving him to Bethesda from the McLean area is feasible. When we lived in McLean, our kids attended school in the Potomac area, near the intersection of Democracy Blvd and 270. It took only about 20 minutes door to get there, mostly because we lived right off the GW Parkway. There are LOTS of people living in McLean and thereabouts who send their kids to various private schools in Maryland. I saw plenty of them on the Beltway in the mornings. And you would certainly have carpool and perhaps even bus transportation options.
The only real issue would be finding a suitable home in your price range. There are some relatively modest townhouses about a mile or so from Kent Gardens (at the intersection of Westmoreland St. and Kirby Road -- McLean Green is one of the developments), but even that might be out of reach for under $400K.
It is easy to get from Falls Church or McLean out to Dulles. It is not easy getting there from Bethesda.

[Newk]

Don't live in Bethesda or frequent there, it stinks. Montgomery County FTL.

[dkf747]

Remember that going to Dulles in the morning is a reverse commute. Living closer to the Beltway is better, in your case, than living closer to Dulles. If you're on the roads at off peak times then you will not have problems with traffic too often. I'd recommend McLean but your budget is probably too low for there.

[Margery]

Try the 20165 area, it has nice homes in your price range and would be very close for your husband. To get to Bethesda you can use 193 (Georgetown Pike) to the Beltway and miss all the congestion at Tysons Corner. I used to work in Rockville and it would take me 45 minutes from Sterling. Bethesda will be closer to the Beltway and should not take as long.

[TechlawyerinPG]

There is a Montessori French Immersion school in my neighborhood where $300k can buy a 3-4 bedroom single family home on .25 acres. I commute to Dulles in a reverse commute in 50 minutes to 1 hours everyday from my home in Ft. Washington, Maryland.

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by claremarie

You have several options. One is to live in the McLean/Falls Church part of Fairfax County, and apply to enroll your child in the French immersion program at Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean.
If he's not admitted there, driving him to Bethesda from the McLean area is feasible. When we lived in McLean, our kids attended school in the Potomac area, near the intersection of Democracy Blvd and 270. It took only about 20 minutes door to get there, mostly because we lived right off the GW Parkway. There are LOTS of people living in McLean and thereabouts who send their kids to various private schools in Maryland. I saw plenty of them on the Beltway in the mornings. And you would certainly have carpool and perhaps even bus transportation options.
The only real issue would be finding a suitable home in your price range. There are some relatively modest townhouses about a mile or so from Kent Gardens (at the intersection of Westmoreland St. and Kirby Road -- McLean Green is one of the developments), but even that might be out of reach for under $400K.
It is easy to get from Falls Church or McLean out to Dulles. It is not easy getting there from Bethesda.

Townhomes in the McLean part of Falls Church are selling in the 600k range.

You don't need to live in McLean or Falls Church to apply to Kent Gardens.

Your best bet may be to get a small shack in Pimmit Hills, and then when your kids get to elementary school age, have your kids apply to the Kent Gardens French Immersion program.

[claremarie]

True, you don't need to live near Kent Gardens in order to apply. But it's a long haul if you don't.
Pimmit Hills might be a good option, if a SFH is desired.
Are townhomes at McLean Green selling in the $600K range?
Fort Washington is a LONG way from Dulles. I wouldn't recommend that option, especially as the public school system is deplorable.