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Sterling has some shady areas (Sugarland Run) and shady schools (Park View HS and its feeders, to a lesser extent Dominion). Vienna has no real shady areas other than the Vienna Park Apartments and the one-block area around that, and no shady schools except maybe Cunningham Park and Freedom Hill elementaries.
Vienna is about 35-45 minutes further in than Sterling. Hence, an equivalent house is more expensive in Vienna. Many parts of Vienna are within a 10-15 minute walk of the Metro.
Vienna has no large-scale new developments except the teardowns that periodically pop up on existing 1/4-1/3 acre lots. Sterling has several.
The Town of Vienna gets to be a tight community because it's nicely shaded yellow on the ADC maps. Sterling has some area that are pretty well-organized/community-minded, the rest of Vienna is probably equivalent.
Good luck
It would help a lot if we knew where a job offer was or what your rent/buy budget is, and what your requirements are for house/lot size/condition.
Vienna has no real shady areas other than the Vienna Park Apartments and the one-block area around that, and no shady schools except maybe Cunningham Park and Freedom Hill elementaries.
Cunningham Park ES is much shadier than Freedom Hill ES, because it's nicely nestled in a park-like area off of, well, Park Street. The area around Freedom Hill ES has fewer trees. Apart from that, I don't really know why you'd suggest either school is "shady," other than maybe trying to be even-handed after your observations about some of the Sterling Park-area schools.
I'd ask what exactly makes a school "shady" but I'm afraid I know the answer. Sigh.
Cunningham Park ES is much shadier than Freedom Hill ES, because it's nicely nestled in a park-like area off of, well, Park Street. The area around Freedom Hill ES has fewer trees. Apart from that, I don't really know why you'd suggest either school is "shady," other than maybe trying to be even-handed after your observations about some of the Sterling Park-area schools.
I'd ask what exactly makes a school "shady" but I'm afraid I know the answer. Sigh.
Low test scores and high numbers of kids on free-reduced lunch, at least compared to the surrounding schools? At the MS and HS level, high numbers of disciplinary incidents? Higher crime than the surrounding areas? Sure, Vienna Park Apartments may be only a training ghetto at which Culmore thugs laugh at, and which is considered a good neighborhood in Suitland, but it's still crime-ridden compared to the surrounding area, or is the drumbeat of "200 block of Cedar Lane, S.E." in the police reports not enough?
Are Freedom Hill and Cunningham Park terrible? No. These two are way better in comparison to say, Sugarland, Sully, Sterling, Rolling Ridge, or Meadowland. OTOH, Horizon and Lowes are under 5%.
But I wouldn't make it a point to find houses in those two zones, the way I might with Louise Archer or Wolf Trap.
Good administrators and teachers come and go, but poverty -- and the corresponding disinterest (or inability to follow up on interest) in education -- remains.
Maybe I'm like Denton on this issue, but I still haven't had anyone explain to me why it's better for my kid to go to a school with 60% FRL, as opposed to 20% or 5%.
Low test scores and high numbers of kids on free-reduced lunch, at least compared to the surrounding schools? At the MS and HS level, high numbers of disciplinary incidents? Higher crime than the surrounding areas? Sure, Vienna Park Apartments may be only a training ghetto at which Culmore thugs laugh at, and which is considered a good neighborhood in Suitland, but it's still crime-ridden compared to the surrounding area, or is the drumbeat of "200 block of Cedar Lane, S.E." in the police reports not enough?
Are Freedom Hill and Cunningham Park terrible? No. These two are way better in comparison to say, Sugarland, Sully, Sterling, Rolling Ridge, or Meadowland. OTOH, Horizon and Lowes are under 5%.
But I wouldn't make it a point to find houses in those two zones, the way I might with Louise Archer or Wolf Trap.
Good administrators and teachers come and go, but poverty -- and the corresponding disinterest (or inability to follow up on interest) in education -- remains.
Maybe I'm like Denton on this issue, but I still haven't had anyone explain to me why it's better for my kid to go to a school with 60% FRL, as opposed to 20% or 5%.
CP has about 23% lower-income students, and the percentage is lower (19%) at FH. So I don't know where the 60% comes from.
I'd agree that the number of people who'd affirmatively seek out houses in those school districts is probably small compared to those who'd seek to be in the Archer or Wolftrap districts. The real question is whether it should be a deal-breaker, though, to someone who, for example, finds that most of the new Craftsman-style houses they like in the Town of Vienna are being built in the Cunningham Park district or that the FH district includes many of the nicest townhouses being built in the Tysons area.
CP has about 23% lower-income students, and the percentage is lower (19%) at FH. So I don't know where the 60% comes from.
I'd agree that the number of people who'd affirmatively seek out houses in those school districts is probably small compared to those who'd seek to be in the Archer or Wolftrap districts. The real question is whether it should be a deal-breaker, though, to someone who, for example, finds that most of the new Craftsman-style houses they like in the Town of Vienna are being built in the Cunningham Park district or that the FH district includes many of the nicest townhouses being built in the Tysons area.
60% is what it is at some of the Loudoun schools I mentioned -- the gap between 20% and 5% is small enough that only the snobbiest of the school snobs would consider it a problem.
So yeah, nice houses going up in CP and FH ... make the decision harder. (FWIW, if I suddenly got rezoned from Vienna to Cunningham Park, yeah, I'd live with it.)
It's easy enough to choose a place if you're just a school snob or a home snob. But if you're both ... better be rich!
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I can only comment on Vienna because it is where I live - cannot really contrast it to Cascades/Sterling. Vienna is VERY community-oriented. It is mostly families with children who seem to live here - probably because of the high percentage of SFH versus apartments/condos/townhomes. It is an older community for the most part. The Town of Vienna has mostly housing from the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's. In surrounding Fairfax County with a Vienna mailing address, the housing is generally newer and bigger - 1980's - today.
Vienna Youth Sports is very big. Almost every Saturday in the fall and spring you will see all of the fields filled with kids on soccer teams and baseball/softball teams. There are also lots of other offerings as well: Vienna Youth Incorporated Baseball is played at Waters Field and is very big.
The Community Center serves as a focal point for Town activities. Town of Vienna - Parks and Recreation (http://www.viennava.gov/Town_Departments/comctr.htm - broken link) There are classes and events held there as well as a teen center called Club Phoenix:
Town of Vienna - Parks and Recreation (http://www.viennava.gov/Town_Departments/teencenter.htm - broken link)
The schools are very-highly ranked (with regards to test scores), although Freedom Hill and Cunningham Park elementary schools might not be rated as highly as the others. I would not in a million years call either one shady. I have many, many friends whose kids go to Cunningham Park, and they universally seem to like it. We have scout meetings there monthly, and the building itself is nice. The "shadiest" part of Vienna is the apartments referenced above. I stopped at the shopping center near there the other day to get something and there are day laborers who hang out. The apartments are mostly recent immigrants of Hispanic origin. It does not feel unsafe at all - just a different socioeconomic group than the rest of Vienna. If this is the "bad" part of town, Vienna is doing A-OK. Madison High School and Thoreau Middle School is a sought after pyramid to be in, probably one of the most sought after pyramids after the Langley, McLean, and Woodson High School pyramids. Just going by SAT scores, Madison comes in much higher than any school in Loudoun County, not that scores mean everything, but just saying. Along with highly ranked schools come stable housing prices. Sure things change, but, I believe Vienna has always been a fairly desireable place to live, and the schools are a big part of that. In addition, its location relatively close to DC and also convenient to I-66 and Route 7 make it desireable.
Because Vienna is a real town with its own police department, community center, town council, extra taxes, etc, there is a real feeling of community among its residents. I have three children ages 8, 5, and 3. And I cannot go into the market or take a walk around Vienna without bumping into people I know from preschool, elementary school, playgrounds, scouts, swim clubs, community center classes, sports, etc. I've been here just about 10 years and my friends and acquaintances keep overlapping, like the kid in my son's preschool class who takes gymnastics with us at the community center who knows my friend from their soccer team. When my kids start a new school or grade, there are always familiar faces from long-ago preschool, dance classes, etc. It IS that kind of community.
The Farmer's Market on Church Street is popular every Saturday morning as are Friday and Sunday night concerts on the Town Green. There are events sponsored by the Town throughout the year that bring the community together - the Halloween Parade being one of the biggest, with residents claiming their spots on the parade route early in the morning on their way to work. Other events include a Holiday Stroll down Church Street in late November/early December with Santa, a bonfire, carollers, and horse and buggy rides, a big fair called Viva Vienna over Memorial Day weekend with rides, games, and booths, July 4th events including fireworks in the evening, and smaller events such as antique shows at the community center, used book sales at Historic Freeman House and Patrick Henry libraries, craft shows at the community center, bingo every Sunday night at the Fire Station, open house for kids at the fire station, movie nights under the stars in Glyndon Park, music concerts at Nottoway Park, etc.
I know I sound like I am waxing poetic about Vienna and making it sound like it's right out of It's a Wonderful Life. That is because when I moved to the DC area, I felt this area was sorely lacking in a feeling of community like I had back home in numerous small towns in Pennsylvania. It wasn't until I moved to Vienna that I felt like I lived in a real town again.
Complaints?
-It's congested, but honestly, that seems to bother people who have to drive through Vienna more than people who live here. I live just two blocks off Maple Avenue so I walk or bike everywhere I need to go. The congestion doesn't bother me.
-Housing stock is old and small and not cheap. On the plus side, most of the lots are nice 1/4 acre+ lots. Outside the town, there is newer housing if that's what you are after. Again, it's not cheap.
-You will pay more to live in the town limits. It includes services for snow removal, leaf removal, bulk pickups and trash and recycling. Living outside the limits, there is no extra town tax, but you will pay more for those services.
-The Town is not New England quaint. Lots of bad architecture from the 1970's and 80's including ugly strip shopping centers and above ground telephone poles. They are at least making an effort to make Church Street look quaint.
Crime rate is very low here. I would not hesitate to walk around by myself at night and I am a relatively small, white woman. It is VERY safe.
SAHMs? We've got them by the dozens! I'm one of them. When I go to the playground, it is about 80% moms to 20% nannies. There is a very active Vienna Moms Club that I've been a member of since it was formed in 2002. There are about 200 members, most of whom are SAHMs. You will find as kids get older and go to elementary school, more moms go back to work, but for the preschool set, there is a huge SAHM culture with playgroups, playdates, parkdates, classes, etc.
For those who would like to stick a number next to the relative "shadiness" of various neighborhoods, the Washington Post website has a good data page where one can pull crime statistics by city and area.
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