Absolutely best schools in Arlington/Vienna area (Alexandria, McLean: to rent, live)

[Carlingtonian]

Arlington along the Orange Line is only busy and loud within a half mile of the stations. Just past that, you will find many quiet suburban neighborhoods in great school districts. Look in 22207 and 22205 for Arlington. (I don't know Vienna well.) I think you would like Westover--one of the few remaining small-town-like shopping districts in Arlington.

[ACWhite]

Have you thought about a housing budget? That will determine whether you can have good schools and a commute that is relatively short.

[VeniceSunrise]

Thank you all for the great advice! Lots to think about. I begin dreading the future...

ACWhite, our rent budget is up to 4K per month. I think this should be sufficient for a decent apartment for some 6 months or so. After that we're planning to buy a house. But before that, we want to get familiar with the area, visit many towns around, then see how we feel about them.

[stpickrell]

Get an apartment in DC fairly close to your work while you search for a place to take roots. The DC public elementary schools along the western branch of the Red Line in NW DC are actually quite good. Janney, Key, Lafayette, Murch, Mann are the better ones -- you ought to be able to get a 2BR apartment in those areas for your budget.

If that doesn't work for some reason, something in North Arlington near -- but not on -- the Orange Line will be what you'd want.

If you're from Europe, I am going to guess you're used to older/smaller housing stock, so we don't have to make you understand you're *not* getting a 300 square meter single family home within 30 minutes of downtown DC for $350k.

[VeniceSunrise]

Thanks Stpickrell for the info about the Orange Line.
Actually, I've been living in the US for 14 years, so I'm used to the spacious newly-built houses in this country. 2BR would be way too small for us, I'm afraid. I do realize how much the houses cost in the DC area, been doing the research for a while. I'm realistic, but we don't dread a high price for the right house in a right place.

We used to live in Connecticut, where my husband is from, and there are plenty of little towns that have a cozy atmosphere and somewhat upscale touch. This is something I'm looking for.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by VeniceSunrise

We used to live in Connecticut, where my husband is from, and there are plenty of little towns that have a cozy atmosphere and somewhat upscale touch. This is something I'm looking for.

Connecticut and several of the New England states have many more small towns that Northern Virginia. It is often a complaint from people moving from that area that there are not a plethora of small towns in NoVA. You'll probably find that it is overall large suburban sprawl and not quaint towns that CT has. There are a few exceptions to this, but not many. And even those aren't quiet and not particularly quaint.

You might really want to look at neighborhoods rather than towns. North Arlington has some nice, cute neighborhoods that feed into good schools and are pretty close in. Falls Church City might work, too or even some neighborhoods in McLean. I lived in Vienna and thought it was great but would not meet your commute time requirement.

[VeniceSunrise]

Michgc, yes, I've heard good things about the Falls Church City, and we'll definitely check it out. It's on the top of our list.

[stpickrell]

You could rent and then check out areas near to the Silver Line stations when that opens.

[VeniceSunrise]

Could anyone please advise on a good (ideally, the best) high school in Church Falls City or very close to it? We're trying to narrow down our options as it's all too overwhelming - the area is SO huge! I don't have any experience with schools as we don't have kids, so I really have no clue where to start. We'll have our niece stay with us for a year and I want her to have the best memories about her stay in this country. I'm looking for a public school, not prep.
Thanks so much!

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by VeniceSunrise

Could anyone please advise on a good (ideally, the best) high school in Church Falls City or very close to it? We're trying to narrow down our options as it's all too overwhelming - the area is SO huge! I don't have any experience with schools as we don't have kids, so I really have no clue where to start. We'll have our niece stay with us for a year and I want her to have the best memories about her stay in this country. I'm looking for a public school, not prep.
Thanks so much!

There's only 1 high school in City of Falls Church. It's very good. Pretty much every high school in Fairfax County is good, I think you're splitting hairs worrying about it. There are a select few elementary schools here and there I might avoid but overall the school system in this area is one of the best in the nation.