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I have read all the posts on "moving to Warrenton" and I still have questions! We are almost certainly moving to VA from TX. While difficult to leave my home, I prefer to focus on as much positive as I possibly can. Currently, my first grader is in a great public school, 7th and 12th graders are in a fantastic private, but inexpensive, school where I also teach. Senior is going off to LSU next year (geaux tigers!), but need to figure out schooling for what will be 2nd and 8th grade.
Warrenton was recommended to us by a friend. I like small town much better, but it is quite overwhelming to figure out where to live. Currently in D/FW Metroplex. Husband has 35 mile commute each way through traffic. His office will be in Falls Church, at 66/495 interchange area.
Schools: Interested in academics, values, drugs/alcohol issues. Do most kids attend public school or are most kids private schooled? Midland Christian is affordable, but stops at 7th grade (odd). The other affordable school I saw was Farquier Private (I think that's the name). Would love to be able to put kids in public school and feel good about it. Homeschooling? Common or not? Any familiar with the UMS school in Stafford? Grace Prep Academy, I believe. I know Stafford is too far to commute to work, but I would consider possibly commuting there the three days a week it would require.
Church: Currently attend non-denominational Bible church. Conservative, not charismatic. Any words?
Commute: The things I've read on commute are all over the map (on pun intended). One hour? Two hours? Three hours? I've been told all three of those. I am looking at either Warrenton proper or just to the east.
Housing: Probably will lease/rent at first. Made the mistake one time of moving into a completely new city and buying before we even got there. All our friends, church were on complete opposite side of town! Would love to have an acre or two.
Suggestions--I am very open to suggestions. Strongly prefer the small town environment (I grew up in a nice small town and am tired of living in the metroplex!). My husband will have a nice salary, but we are not wealthy and don't want to deal with too much snob appeal.
Thanks so much for any help. This is my lifeblood now as I try to make good decisions. We have some time--will move this summer. Very stressful to send my oldest baby off to college and move from both my husband and my home state, all our friends, church, beloved school (and my career!) after living here almost 12 years.
Warrenton to Falls Church? Yowza . That's a pretty brutal commute. I can account for the differing commuting times you've heard. Traffic. Here's the deal. A commute from Warrenton to Falls Church in NON-rush hour traffic, should run you approximate 50 minutes. Of course, non-rush hour is rarely the problem. Assuming your husband has standard office hours, he will be commuting during the infamous rush hour and traversing some of the region's most notoriously unpredictable and traffic-clogged roads. As such, commute will probably run him at least 90 minutes each way every day. More likely than not, two hours or more.
It's definitely a smart idea to rent, especially with the commute being what it is. It may be one of those things that sounds doable at the present time, but that after a few months, can really wear and tear on your husband and there may be a desire to move closer or change jobs. Commuting really puts a strain on a lot of people so it's best to rent first to test both the commute, and the community and schools out to see whether or not it's a good fit and then adjusting yourselves accordingly when the time comes to buy.
As far as schools, private schools exist, but most people send their children to public schools and there really is little need to send them to private school or homeschool barring any sort of religious/moral reason. In terms of the value of their education, Fauquier County and Northern Virginia as a whole, have terrific schools. Drugs and alcohol are going to be an issue anywhere. No place is safe and kids are exposed to that regardless of whether they attend private or public schools in the inner city or in a wealthy suburb (actually, drugs are more common in "good" suburban schools than they are elsewhere contrary to popular belief). I wouldn't be too concerned with it though as there's really no way to keep children completely cocooned from it, minus homeschooling (where they can still be exposed to it through their friends), so it's just a matter of keeping an eye on your child to make sure they stay on the straight and narrow. As a whole though, public schools are great and definitely comparable to those in the Dallas Metroplex if not better.
I can't really help much with churches except to say there's a large number of them that have very diverse congregations and tones and I'm sure after some shopping around, you'd find one you're comfortable with.
As far as the small town vibe, Warrenton is one of the few areas in Northern Virginia to still retain a bit of it. There is danger of the ever-present sprawl encroaching upon the town eventually, but I don't see that happening very soon as the sprawl tends to be moving south towards Stafford and Spotsylvania as opposed to out towards Fauquier. At the moment, Warrenton seems safe from it. You're around 25 minutes however from a good large selection of shopping and many suburban amenities, located in Gainesville, Manassas or elsewhere in Prince William County.
That's the most helpful reponse I've received on schools. Believe me, I don't want to homeschool but school situations are not always the best and you have to do what you have to do. Our local schools in Arlington are just beyond huge. The high school my kids would attend has 4300 students! It's very, very easy to get lost in the crowd. There's still only 5 starters on a BB team, and 22 on a FB team, etc, etc. The size of the F County schools seems much more reasonable. The other consideration is, at the risk of being a snob, when everyone else is private schooling, often the public schools are left with the students whose parents are the least involved. Many years ago, before I even had school-aged children, I lived in a city where that was the situation and the public schools were a mess. So, gracias.
Would you have any suggestions on "closer in" (read "less commute")? Coming from Texas, the housing prices are just shocking. Warrenton is much more affordable. It seems pointless to rent somewhere that we could never, ever buy a house. Changing jobs is not a consideration--we are moving to VA for a very specific job my husband loves. We would definitely drive the commute on an upcoming visit. Right now, he has about a 60 to 90 min commute barring a huge wreck.
No shopping is no problem. I live in the heart of "shoporama" and I visit the mall only about twice a year and then only under duress! If I can get to Walmart regularly and Target occasionally, I'm a happy camper.
Again, all info is SO APPRECIATED!
sooz
sooz2 is also me, because for whatever reason it won't let me log in under sooz!
That's the most helpful reponse I've received on schools. Believe me, I don't want to homeschool but school situations are not always the best and you have to do what you have to do. Our local schools in Arlington are just beyond huge. The high school my kids would attend has 4300 students! It's very, very easy to get lost in the crowd. There's still only 5 starters on a BB team, and 22 on a FB team, etc, etc. The size of the F County schools seems much more reasonable. The other consideration is, at the risk of being a snob, when everyone else is private schooling, often the public schools are left with the students whose parents are the least involved. Many years ago, before I even had school-aged children, I lived in a city where that was the situation and the public schools were a mess. So, gracias.
Wow, 4300 students?! And I thought that the schools in Fairfax County were big! Anyways, yes the situation with the public schools here is pretty good. The only areas really where large numbers of people send their children to private schools are in the city districts in places like Richmond, Hampton, Norfolk and D.C. There's really little need to elsewhere. The top notch school systems are a huge draw for people to the area and parents in general are very involved in education in the area, ensuring that the standard remains high.
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Would you have any suggestions on "closer in" (read "less commute")? Coming from Texas, the housing prices are just shocking. Warrenton is much more affordable. It seems pointless to rent somewhere that we could never, ever buy a house. Changing jobs is not a consideration--we are moving to VA for a very specific job my husband loves. We would definitely drive the commute on an upcoming visit. Right now, he has about a 60 to 90 min commute barring a huge wreck.
Well, you should always move closer in, just looking at a map, moving further down Route 28 towards Gainesville, but this would compromise your desire for a traditional small town sort of community. The DC sprawl sort, with all of it's suburban trappings that I think you're trying to avoid, fans out for a good 40 miles outside of D.C. (or 30 miles from Falls Church). Nevertheless, I would recommend checking out the areas around Gainesville and Haymarket and seeing if they're doable as well. They'd shave off probably 25 minutes in commute time, but of course, homes are more expensive as well. I definitely understand the sticker shock coming from Texas. Homes are ridiculously overpriced and while I'm not sure of how much you're looking to spend, chances are, it's under what the average price of single-family homes is in the closer-in areas.
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No shopping is no problem. I live in the heart of "shoporama" and I visit the mall only about twice a year and then only under duress! If I can get to Walmart regularly and Target occasionally, I'm a happy camper.
There's a Wal-Mart in Warrenton and several in Manassas (30 minutes away) as well, and a Target in Gainesville which is around 20 minutes away. I think the nearest mall is in Manassas and it's not really that well-regarded (sorta dumpy), but basically, most of your shopping needs can be met within 30 minutes; definitely within 45 which shouldn't be a problem if you only go on rare occasions.
I would try to avoid communities that require a long commute on I-66. It's horrible during rush hour and not much better during the rest of the day. I am more familiar with Fairfax County and other areas near the Capital Beltway (495) so I would suggest looking there if possible. It won't be a small town, but there are many very pleasant suburban neighborhoods with good public schools, lots of church options, and plenty of kid activities. Springfield, Burke, and Annandale are three areas that are relatively affordable and also an easy commute to your husband's workplace. If you could afford $600k and up, the City of Falls Church would be ideal.
Other areas to consider, not quite as convenient but still way closer than Warrenton, are Herndon and Reston.
The comments about a commute from Warrenton are right on. DON'T! Well, it's brutal if you work office hours. I did it for a decade, but I work quite early and avoided most of it. Still, it's a crap-shoot everyday when you leave work what the traffic will be.
The schools in Fauquier aren't up to par with Fairfax and Loudoun schools. The SOL's haven't returned the best ratings. There is also a problem with the mindset of the school board itself. Instead of being pro-active in planning for the future, planning for the growth that is taking place, all they know is damage control. Instead of realizing the need to build more schools, they started bringing in mobile trailers for classrooms, and a bunch of them! Then they realized this was an expensive way to go, so they sent them back recently, and told each school thay have to "make due" with what they have. Which translates into converting storage rooms into classrooms, anding numbers of students to each class, etc. The two high schools are GROSSLY overcrowded. There is a third under construction now, but won't be open until 2008. It will be over capacity when it opens. Then there is the school boards control over it's budget. Let's just say a tax payer in the county would be well advised to be very nosey into where the money, your tax dollars, are spent.
There are two very good private schools, Highland and Wakefield.
Herndon and Reston did look nice when I "interneted" them. I'm not sure where Springfield is . . . and Mclean was out of reach realty-wise. Actually, coming from N. Texas everything seems out of reach realty-wise! *sigh*
Sooz2;
I have to be an advocate for Warrenton, all the way around. I have lived here for the past 6 years and just love it.
Commute: The commute will be long, BUT my husband commutes to Rockville, MD everyday and USUALLY it takes him 1 hr 15 minutes in the am, and 1 1/2 in the evening. Of course if there is an accident, it takes longer, but usually not. For what you gain in small town feel, views, and lower priced housing both my husband and I feel it is worth being here.
Churches: Like someone else said, there are many many churches and denominations here. I can recommend Warrenton United Methodist Church. While we attend a more contemporary service, there is also a traditional service every Sunday. The church also has several programs for families, and my son has been attending the youth groups there and we love it. they do many fun things, but also lots of outreach.
Schools: Many will disagree with me, but I think Fauquier schools are great! I have worked at an Elementary school for over 6 years here. My son also attends Fauquier HS. I am proud to say that all (except 1) of our schools are fully accredited due to SOL scores. For the most part, the class sizes where I work are under 20. We moved here from Loudoun County where my 2 older children went to school. From my perspective, Loudoun County schools are not as good as Fauquier. Fauquier has that country, we care about you, feel to them. The teachers and staff members in Fauquier do not get paid as well as other counties. While we do have a minority of young teachers, who are getting experience and move on. The seasoned teachers who stay with the county, are here because they want to teach in Fauquier. We even have a few teachers, in my school alone who travel from counties that pay more. All counties have their problems. I don't know first hand of drug problems, although i am sure there are students who use them. My son have been activily involved in the band program since he started middle school. We have had NO problems with drugs or alcohol with him. I am not a political person. I don't know the ins and outs of Fauquier politics. I am speaking of my experiences and giving you my own personal opinion.
Shopping: There is not alot of BIG BOX shopping here. Walmart, Home Depot and Sears are in Warrenton. I see that people have recommended going to Gainesville, and Manassas for that. I recommend going to Culpeper to shop for clothing etc. Culpeper is about the same distance as Gainesville, (traffic taken into account) but the drive is so much easier. Culpeper has recently opened a Target and Kohls, and is currently working on another large shopping area. There is also a JCPenney and Belk there. For groceries, go to Warrenton, but for other shopping try Culpeper.
Sadly when my son graduates in June, we are moving from this area. I have truly loved living here and will miss it terribly. I hope you decide to give Warrenton/Fauquier a try. I don't think you will be sorry.
THANK YOU so much for the input. This is what I need to get a feel for an area. It is so hard to articulate what is actually important to me and you did a great job of getting across the "feel" of the community.
Warrenton is still my first choice from what I have read and heard. Of course, the commute will be probably the ultimate decision-maker. And the only way to actually discern that is to come and drive it. We hope to do that soon. The realtor is coming Friday to give us a listing price on our house here in Texas and then we begin to map out our plan.
A question: What is "SOL"? Not familiar with that term
In Texas I teach British Lit in a private school. I have a double major in English and History (Baylor Univ--and actually, majored in history but have more hours in English: BU doesn't technically award "doubles"). I do NOT have to be certified to teach in a private school so long as I have the requisite number of hours in my subject area. I can't teach chemistry (0 hours in college!), but I can teach either English or History. In the public schools, I would also be able to teach English or History under what is called "emergency certification" because I am degreed in those areas. I then have to take six hours of elem classes and test, but I have several years to accomplish that. Do you know the rules for teaching in VA?
Not a fan of strip centers, don't need a mall. I do love Wal Mart and Target; they usually have all that I need :-)
Thanks again.
sooz
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. That's a pretty brutal commute. I can account for the differing commuting times you've heard. Traffic. Here's the deal. A commute from Warrenton to Falls Church in NON-rush hour traffic, should run you approximate 50 minutes. Of course, non-rush hour is rarely the problem. Assuming your husband has standard office hours, he will be commuting during the infamous rush hour and traversing some of the region's most notoriously unpredictable and traffic-clogged roads. As such, commute will probably run him at least 90 minutes each way every day. More likely than not, two hours or more. 
Warrenton definately
