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Old 09-15-2009, 02:13 PM
 
18 posts, read 37,798 times
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Hi all.
I've posted here before but I have now actually visited the area and have a better idea of what we're looking at. I was so excited to be moving near a real city (DC) but now feel I will be stuck in the burbs/subdivisions after all. We visited two great schools in FC, either would be great and probably there are others (looking at IB schools), but the neighbourhoods seem anonymous and un-urban and not what I would like for living day to day. I had hoped to find somewhere we could walk to a cafe or store, plus be able to use public transport into DC especially for my teens who are spreading their wings. Am I missing something or is it just impossible to find a mix of these things in Fairfax County. Alex Old Town or Arlington are more our style, and have that convenience to fun downtown areas as well as DC, but aren't in FCPS. I don't care about owning land but do want a nice house, or one I can make nice, somewhere with LIFE!... HELP!
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Old 09-15-2009, 02:24 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,617 posts, read 77,614,858 times
Reputation: 19102
Welcome to my world---and the world of many others who are rather disillusioned with Fairfax County as of present. While FC has great public schools, an above-average bus system, Metrorail service (Orange Line to Vienna with Silver Line to Dulles Airport on the way), exciting career opportunities out the wazoo, and some beautiful scenery on the cusp of our nation's capital it is also home to terrible urban planning that has resulted in us having the nation's second worst traffic congestion (all those dueling cul-de-sacs have to funnel to somewhere), generally bland architecture (people in Reston call the 1960s-era Washington Plaza at Lake Anne "historic") and a very high stress level.

My first recommendation to you would be the City of Falls Church. Here you'll be in an independent city from Fairfax County but will still have an above-average school system, a walkable downtown area (albeit not attractive), and some nice traditional in-town neighborhoods (i.e. sidewalks, tree lawns, GOOD planning). I'm headed there in about an hour as a matter of fact with several friends to try out Elevation Burger and to see a concert at the State Theater downtown. You're book-ended by two armpits---Seven Corners (traffic nightmare) and Tyson's Corner (pedestrian nightmare)---but the city proper, while congested at rush-hour, is actually much nicer than what many give it credit for. The north side of town is also relatively walkable to one of two Metro stations.

I've also heard that Vienna is similar in nature to Falls Church, but I'm admittedly not as familiar with this community.

Much of the rest of Fairfax County is just what you, me, and many others hate---bland suburbia without any charm, soul, character, mass transit, sidewalks, proper urban planning, etc. (or any redeeming qualities whatsoever). The problem is you'll never see any improvement on these fronts either because most people LIKE it that way (i.e. me being the "lone wolf" with my anti-sprawl ranting on this sub-forum and people in Reston on other forums actually OPPOSING Metrorail for fear of the area becoming...gasp...more walkable!)

I wish you and your family the very best of luck, but outside of Arlington/Alexandria your only real choices in/near Fairfax County would be Vienna or Falls Church for an area with a traditional downtown and not God-awful architecture.
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Old 09-15-2009, 02:30 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,779 posts, read 15,790,796 times
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I think your best bets would be the Falls Church area or Vienna.
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Old 09-15-2009, 02:31 PM
 
Location: Town of Herndon/DC Metro
2,825 posts, read 6,893,133 times
Reputation: 1767
Quote:
Originally Posted by steviez View Post
Hi all.
I've posted here before but I have now actually visited the area and have a better idea of what we're looking at. I was so excited to be moving near a real city (DC) but now feel I will be stuck in the burbs/subdivisions after all. We visited two great schools in FC, either would be great and probably there are others (looking at IB schools), but the neighbourhoods seem anonymous and un-urban and not what I would like for living day to day. I had hoped to find somewhere we could walk to a cafe or store, plus be able to use public transport into DC especially for my teens who are spreading their wings. Am I missing something or is it just impossible to find a mix of these things in Fairfax County. Alex Old Town or Arlington are more our style, and have that convenience to fun downtown areas as well as DC, but aren't in FCPS. I don't care about owning land but do want a nice house, or one I can make nice, somewhere with LIFE!... HELP!
Maybe try posting this in the MD forum and asking about Bethesda/ Silver Spring/Rockville. Much more urbane-good schools out there
I know several large families that live in the extreme NW DC-local schools are great, but really expensive. But if you can swing McLean/Langley, you can afford it there too. Again, Try posting that in the DC forum. Good Luck!
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Old 09-15-2009, 11:54 PM
 
3,164 posts, read 6,952,224 times
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The only good school with an IB program is in the City of Falls Church. Marshall high school is the second best school with an IB program. I wouldn't recommend any of the other IB schools.

Why not an AP school? Are your children intending to go to college in Europe? If so, then an IB program is probably better for them. If they hope to go to a US college, AP is much better. Also far better if they happen to be math/science/computer kids.
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Old 09-16-2009, 05:02 AM
 
5,125 posts, read 10,091,039 times
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Seems to me the most semi-urban areas in NoVa with public IB schools are the Arlington neighborhoods around Lee Highway/Route 50 that feed into Washington-Lee and the City of Falls Church (George Mason).

Marshall HS in Fairfax County is highly ranked by most measures, and I won't repeat them, but the neighborhoods that feed into it are primarily traditional suburbs, with some townhouse complexes and apartment buildings as well.

For what you're looking for, Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS in Maryland (which has an IB program) might also be a good choice, unless that area doesn't work from a commuting stand-point.
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Old 09-16-2009, 05:36 AM
 
2,462 posts, read 8,922,722 times
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You don't mention why you are so set on being in the Fairfax County school system, and IB in particular. If those are non-negotiable, then you'll have to settle for at least some degree of suburbia. If you are willing to consider non-Fairfax County schools, the City of Falls Church would be a great choice -- there are two Metro stops nearby, lots of stuff to walk to, the bike path, and a highly-regarded school system with an IB program. Arlington would also work.
I agree with the suggestion to consider Montgomery County.
If money is no object, then you could live in DC and send your teens to private schools.
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Old 09-16-2009, 07:09 AM
 
Location: Springfield VA
4,036 posts, read 9,244,748 times
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I don't know anything about IB or anything but have you thought about living near the Vienna metro at the end of the orange line. Your teens can walk to Oakton high school which is supposed to be a really good school and the Vienna metro. Now the only thing about that is that it is a very residential area, so there's absolutely nothing to really walk to except more condos and townhouses which is what I don't like about Oakton (I'm a mile or two from the Vienna metro). So you have to take the good with the bad I suppose but that's the only high school that I can think that is on the metro in Fairfax county.
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Old 09-16-2009, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,617 posts, read 77,614,858 times
Reputation: 19102
I was very pleased with last night's visit to Falls Church! We parked at Elevation Burger, had great meals, and then walked up Washington Street to the State Theatre for a rockin' Rusted Root/The Kin concert! I laughed profusely at a place called "Meat in a Box" next-door to a carpet dealer (Yes, I'm immature). It was sad that there were ZERO other pedestrians running amok through town (while people inched by in their SUVs on the Route 7 conga line), but then again the weather wasn't the nicest. I'm more and more serously considering The Spectrum at Falls Church in a couple of years.
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Old 09-16-2009, 02:18 PM
 
518 posts, read 1,450,914 times
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If Arlington (and areas like it) are more your style then I think you've pretty much figured out where you want to be. Arlington schools are excellent, and Washington-Lee, the IB/AP school for Arlington ranks well with Fairfax schools. In terms of standardized test scores (VA SOLs), Washington-Lee ranks 93 out of 319 Virginia public high schools, the same ranking as Madison and Westfield in Fairfax County. In terms of student participation rates in advanced classes (Newsweek's Challenge index), W-L has ranked consistently in the top 50 schools nationwide. The elementary schools that feed into W-L are also excellent. Mckinley was the highest ranked in Northern VA in terms of the state's SOL scores a year ago and Science Focus Elementary school and Taylor have similarly high scores. The current secretary of education moved with his family to Arlington, in part because of it's school system, which is highly regarded.

JEB77 also mentioned B-CC High School, which like W-L has IB and AP programs. Students at W-L and B-CC often take both tests.

Last edited by irvine; 09-16-2009 at 02:27 PM..
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