In the beginning..... (Arlington, Tuckahoe, Chantilly: fit in, short sales, foreclose)

[stepdisney]

Hello to all. My husband's transfer to the DC headquarters location requires that we move from NJ. We are exploring ALL options with the following criteria:

1. Best schools for 14-year-old entering high school and 8-year-old who will be entering the third grade.

2. Safest, Family friendly area. (I've read articles about surge in gang violence in Northern VA and it frightens me)

3. My children love sports, oldest son has been on an AAU basketball team for several years and is very good. (moms opinion of course)

4. Close to shopping and recreation.

5. We don't mind cultural diversity. We do mind areas where education, and respect for self and others is not valued.

6. Some commute time is okay, but lets not get ridiculous.....90 minutes one way is ridiculous for us. Husband can utilize early hours and perhaps 3 days in 2 days out of office.

7. I am an educator and would like to teach in the district where my children are educated.

Looking for honest answers. Please help. We were looking into Leesburg, Ashburn and Aldie. Are they good choices?

Thanks all

[CaseyMac]

[quote=stepdisney;8726303]Hello to all. My husband's transfer to the DC headquarters location requires that we move from NJ. We are exploring ALL options with the following criteria:

1. Best schools for 14-year-old entering high school and 8-year-old who will be entering the third grade.
Vienna, Vienna, Vienna. North Arlington, North Arlington, North Arlington.

2. Safest, Family friendly area. (I've read articles about surge in gang violence in Northern VA and it frightens me)
Many areas fit this, but Vienna and North Arlington are GREAT for avoiding the gang crud.

3. My children love sports, oldest son has been on an AAU basketball team for several years and is very good. (moms opinion of course)
I know Vienna has a strong mothers group. Google Vienna Moms or something like that.

4. Close to shopping and recreation.
Arlington is great for this! DC at your doorstep without all of the cruddy issues that plague DC.

5. We don't mind cultural diversity. We do mind areas where education, and respect for self and others is not valued.

6. Some commute time is okay, but lets not get ridiculous.....90 minutes one way is ridiculous for us. Husband can utilize early hours and perhaps 3 days in 2 days out of office.
Again, can't beat Arlington's location if he works downtown. Even if he works deep into the suburbs, the reverse commute is good. Going to work at least....

7. I am an educator and would like to teach in the district where my children are educated.
Arlington schools and Fairfax (covers Vienna) would work here.

Looking for honest answers. Please help. We were looking into Leesburg, Ashburn and Aldie. Are they good choices?

Leesburg, Aldie and Ashburn are nice, BUT SO FAR OUT!!!! Many people like that, but if you want to be able to take your kids and walk around the Smithsonian for an afternoon of free fun, this becomes harder to do the further out you live.

[Fern435]

Vienna, Vienna, Vienna. If you absolutely must fit in with the "right" people!

[Yankeesfan]

What will your housing budget be?

[normie]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

What will your housing budget be?

Also, where is his job? If it's actually in DC, Ashburn, Leesburg and Aldie would be long commutes. Vienna would be ok, but you might be better off in a closer suburb like Arlington.

[claremarie]

Your housing budget and exact workplace location will be the determinative factors, since you can find what you are looking for (good schools, activities, shopping, recreation, safety) all over northern Virginia.

[Fairfax Mom]

What part of NJ are you coming from?

Dont worry about the gang violence - there is no problem in most of the upscale D.C. suburbs - crime here is nothing compared to NJ

[stepdisney]

Thank you for all of the responses. Some I understand, for some I will need further clarification. We are moving from the Northfield area, Atlantic county. My husband works for the federal government and will be working downtown. Arlington seems a bit "close" to the city. I think we would like a bit of distance but not too much. We are considering short sales and foreclosers which seem abundant according to our realtor. Our budget is around the $500 - $600 range. (Yankees fan eh? I love the Mets!) Not sure what you mean Fern by the "Right" people. Can you recommend particular neighborhoods in the North Arlington or Vienna areas? Also, how is Chantilly? A lot of the homes that fit our criteria are coming up in Chantilly. One more question and then I'll shut up for a while Freedom High School? Good? Bad? Any comments?

Thanks for the help. I'm off to research Northern Arlington.

[claremarie]

North Arlington has many great neighborhoods, and your husband will appreciate the proximity to his DC workplace. We lived in the 22213 zip code, which was walking distance to Tuckahoe Elementary School, Bishop O'Connell (Catholic) High School, and the East Falls Church Metro stop. Also close to the Overlee Swim Club, shopping, nice local restaurants, the library, and the W&OD bike path. Other good areas are 22205 and 22207. Any neighborhood that feeds into Yorktown High School would be fine, and Washington-Lee High School is also good, but is located in a much more "urban" area and serves a more diverse student body. $500-600K would get you a decent 3-4 BR 1.5-2 BA home, but you would need to spend more for an updated home or a larger lot. You could also consider townhomes in that price range; there are some nice ones literally up Sycamore Street from the East Falls Church metro.
You would get a lot more house in Chantilly, but pay for the space with a much longer commute, and no Metro options.

[stepdisney]

Thanks Claremarie. We are currently looking for more house for the budget. I see that the sacrifice is proximity/commute for house/lot size. Vienna/Oakton seem more like towns we would be interested in. I keep getting specs on homes in Chantilly and South Riding. Are there areas we should avoid in these towns. Does anyone know about Freedom and Chantilly High Schools? Should they be avoided? Thanks continuallly.