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A small section of Pimmit Hills is within McLean HS's boundary.
I don't see one. Pimmit Hills is bounded by Route-7, Pimmit Run, 267, and Magarity Road.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
Also, a small section of generally lower priced homes west of Broad Street near Timber Lane ES also feed into Longfellow and McLean.
That's true...the little wedge that isn't cemetery between Shrevewood and Falls Church proper. Donna Lee Gardens, Walnut Hill...those are less expensive homes alright (and for a reason), but they aren't near Pimmit Hills.
I don't see one. Pimmit Hills is bounded by Route-7, Pimmit Run, 267, and Magarity Road.
That's true...the little wedge that isn't cemetery between Shrevewood and Falls Church proper. Donna Lee Gardens, Walnut Hill...those are less expensive homes alright (and for a reason), but they aren't near Pimmit Hills.
There's a small section that's north of Magarity (along Anderson Road) that's in the McLean district. Lasalle Ave., Colshire dr., etc.
Also, a pocket north of Idyllwood and west of 267 (which is not Pimmit, but near Pimmit) is McLean district.
What's your opinion of the quality of McLean ES's such as Chesterbrook, Kent Gardens, and Franklin Sherman? And, besides the GT program, what do you think makes Haycock ES in Falls Church seem to be a bit better than all 3 aforementioned ES's?
There's a small section that's north of Magarity (along Anderson Road) that's in the McLean district. Lasalle Ave., Colshire dr., etc.
Yes, that's Hunting Ridge, and before they rammed 267 through the middle of it, it was up there with the best neighborhoods in McLean. You'd still expect to pay in the neighborhood of a million to get in there. Neither it nor anything else north of Magarity has ever been a part of Pimmit Hills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by handy man88
Also, a pocket north of Idyllwood and west of 267 (which is not Pimmit, but near Pimmit) is McLean district.
That is Idylwood, and it's all south of Pimmit Run, which is why it isn't in Pimmit Hills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by handy man88
What's your opinion of the quality of McLean ES's such as Chesterbrook, Kent Gardens, and Franklin Sherman? And, besides the GT program, what do you think makes Haycock ES in Falls Church seem to be a bit better than all 3 aforementioned ES's?
Haycock isn't in Falls Church, but these are all perfectly fine schools, and I would expect that any statistical variation one could measure between them would be less than the variance from one teacher to another within those schools. Quality schools depend on adequate supplies of money and quality students. This is why the best predictors of student and school success are the income and educational levels of parents. These schools are plop in the middle of some of the wealthiest and most highly educated neighborhoods in NoVa.
Yes, that's Hunting Ridge, and before they rammed 267 through the middle of it, it was up there with the best neighborhoods in McLean. You'd still expect to pay in the neighborhood of a million to get in there. Neither it nor anything else north of Magarity has ever been a part of Pimmit Hills.
That is Idylwood, and it's all south of Pimmit Run, which is why it isn't in Pimmit Hills.
Haycock isn't in Falls Church, but these are all perfectly fine schools, and I would expect that any statistical variation one could measure between them would be less than the variance from one teacher to another within those schools. Quality schools depend on adequate supplies of money and quality students. This is why the best predictors of student and school success are the income and educational levels of parents. These schools are plop in the middle of some of the wealthiest and most highly educated neighborhoods in NoVa.
I looked at a few homes on LaSalle, and as the market turned sour in 06-07, some of those newish homes on that street dropped from 950k down to final sales price of 750k. One huge drawback was having the DTR in their backyard. Also, those homes there feed to Westgate ES in Falls Church.
Haycock actually is in Falls Church, West Falls Church, bordering McLean. It's in the 22043 zip code. Parts of West Falls Church feed to Kent Gardens also, a McLean school.
I looked at a few homes on LaSalle, and as the market turned sour in 06-07, some of those newish homes on that street dropped from 950k down to final sales price of 750k. One huge drawback was having the DTR in their backyard.
Yes, you sort of have to imagine what Hunting Ridge would have been like with no access road...just the water tower. But the darned road had to go somewhere. It could have been worse.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
Also, those homes there feed to Westgate ES in Falls Church.
Westgate ES is on Magarity Road, no part of which is anywhere near Falls Church.
Quote:
Originally Posted by handy man88
Haycock actually is in Falls Church, West Falls Church, bordering McLean. It's in the 22043 zip code. Parts of West Falls Church feed to Kent Gardens also, a McLean school.
No, Haycock is not actually in Falls Church any more than either of the Metro stations is. Falls Church -- like Vienna, Fairfax City, and Herndon -- is an incorporated place. There are established and defined borders to these. You can unambiguously tell whether you are in one of them or not. It is similarly impossible to "border McLean", because McLean itself has no borders. It is a non-entity...a general area that has no specific definition at all except to decennial census takers. Zip codes meanwhile deal with mail delivery and nothing more. What USPS decides to label a network of postal routes has no bearing whatsoever on where the houses along those routes actually are.
I had children at Chesterbrook and Haycock. Haycock's attendance area is less affluent than Chesterbrook's, but the presence of the GT center definitely skews the test results. Kent Gardens houses a well-regarded and highly sought-after French immersion program. Chesterbrook probably has the highest average parental income, and few if any townhouse communities -- no surprise that many Chesterbrook students enroll in the GT program at Haycock after 2nd grade.
The differences between these schools are on the margins, except for facilities (Haycock could use some updating). We recently moved to a small town in the midwest, where we ended up sending one child to the most expensive private school in town in order to get what he had at Chesterbrook for free.
There are some townhouses near Haycock and Longfellow Middle School, along Great Falls Street near the intersection with Kirby/Idylwood (McLean Green?? I think is the name), that MIGHT be near the OP's price range, but you cannot get even a tear-down SFH in any part of McLean for $350K. There are some smallish homes on rather large lots down the street from Haycock -- closer to the Fairfax/Arlington border along Westmoreland Street, but they would still run well over $350K, even though many are sold as tear-downs.
Hopefully, the new Chicagoland-ish digs will work out well. But as with <dullnboring>'s move to NJ, this is not an event that is without a downside to us NoVa folk. Tip o' the hat for your many accurate and informative posts here...okay, and for giving the back of the hand to some of the trolls now and again. :-)
Yes, you sort of have to imagine what Hunting Ridge would have been like with no access road...just the water tower. But the darned road had to go somewhere. It could have been worse.
Westgate ES is on Magarity Road, no part of which is anywhere near Falls Church.
No, Haycock is not actually in Falls Church any more than either of the Metro stations is. Falls Church -- like Vienna, Fairfax City, and Herndon -- is an incorporated place. There are established and defined borders to these. You can unambiguously tell whether you are in one of them or not. It is similarly impossible to "border McLean", because McLean itself has no borders. It is a non-entity...a general area that has no specific definition at all except to decennial census takers. Zip codes meanwhile deal with mail delivery and nothing more. What USPS decides to label a network of postal routes has no bearing whatsoever on where the houses along those routes actually are.
Both Westgate and Haycock have Falls church addresses and zip codes though.
If they're not Falls Church, do you consider them in the McLean "territory?"
I had children at Chesterbrook and Haycock. Haycock's attendance area is less affluent than Chesterbrook's, but the presence of the GT center definitely skews the test results. Kent Gardens houses a well-regarded and highly sought-after French immersion program. Chesterbrook probably has the highest average parental income, and few if any townhouse communities -- no surprise that many Chesterbrook students enroll in the GT program at Haycock after 2nd grade.
The differences between these schools are on the margins, except for facilities (Haycock could use some updating). We recently moved to a small town in the midwest, where we ended up sending one child to the most expensive private school in town in order to get what he had at Chesterbrook for free.
There are some townhouses near Haycock and Longfellow Middle School, along Great Falls Street near the intersection with Kirby/Idylwood (McLean Green?? I think is the name), that MIGHT be near the OP's price range, but you cannot get even a tear-down SFH in any part of McLean for $350K. There are some smallish homes on rather large lots down the street from Haycock -- closer to the Fairfax/Arlington border along Westmoreland Street, but they would still run well over $350K, even though many are sold as tear-downs.
How is Kent Gardens minus the French Immersion program? Most kids go there just for the regular school.
Both Westgate and Haycock have Falls church addresses and zip codes though.
Useful if one were a mail carrier. But as previosuly noted, mail carriers might believe that houses across the street from the Reston Zoo are in Vienna (22182), even though they are a 20-minute drive from there.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
If they're not Falls Church, do you consider them in the mcLean "territory?"
One needs to keep distinct the actual incorporated limits of Falls Church (and Vienna, Herndon, Fairfax, etc.) from the vernacular names that are commonly used in reference to unincorporated areas around them. Just the difference in taxes and in associated municipal services (including public schools, in the case of Falls Church) is significant.
As for how to tell where you are in an unincorporated area, there are (by defintion) no rules to go by, only guidelines. One such is to consider that if you went out and got in your car to go downtown and do some grocery shopping, where would you end up? If you lived next door to Westgate ES, you'd likely end up in McLean. If you lived next door to Haycock ES, you'd likely end up in Falls Church. That's one way to gauge the focus of where you live, and if you don't live in an incorporated area proper, it's that sort of focus that is the important thing. Focus, however, remains distinct from residency in these incorporated versus unincorporated cases.
Looking back at the Pimmit Hills situation, if you lived on the Route-7 side, your focus would likely be toward Falls Church. If you lived on the 267 side, your focus would likely be toward McLean. It's probably not helpful then to claim that the neighborhood as a whole is actually in either one of them. Looking at my own unincorporated Vienna/Oakton case in that light, if I'm doing a week's worth of shopping, I'm all but certain to end up in Vienna, as you've got Margruder's, Whole Foods, Safeway, and Giant all within three-quarters of a mile of each other, and I'm likely to want to hit at least three of the four. If I just need a few things, it's a simple matter to pop into Oakton. Might pick up a sandwich at Santini's while I'm there. Those are good. Some who live a little west of me might be in an Oakton/Vienna situation. Further still, and they might be Oakton/Fairfax. And after them would come actual residents within the incorporated limits of Fairfax City.
Those who have lived here for a while have some sort of understanding of all this, but it's a unique situation here in VA, and those still on the outside looking in don't have that sort if understanding. Trying to fit the rules (or lack of rules) here into something that they can relate to in their existing frame of reference seems to me to be the name of the game alright, but you can't lose the important distinction between incorporated and unincorporated in the process...
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