Haymarket/Gainesville/Bristow- move w/kids (Springfield, Fairfax: for sale, HOA, insurance) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

adolpho · 03-16-2010, 04:03 PM

this was leave his house at 7:35, and leave Annandale at 15:00. Driving through Clifton, would probably be easier than taking I-66 at 8 am. Bristow to Annandale is going to be a white knuckled hour and lots of wear and tear on the auto.

ngadude · 03-17-2010, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adolpho

this was leave his house at 7:35, and leave Annandale at 15:00. Driving through Clifton, would probably be easier than taking I-66 at 8 am. Bristow to Annandale is going to be a white knuckled hour and lots of wear and tear on the auto.

Definitely leaving at 7:35 AM puts you right smack in the middle of rush hour, so that couldn't have been much fun. I'd imagine it must have been better on the way back leaving Annandale at 15:00.

All I know is, even leaving Reston at 16:00 - it really isn't that bad getting back to Gainesville. Then again I don't go on I-66 - as that's a mess.

I will say, I think I'd much rather commute to Reston from Gainesville than Annandale, so that may not be a fun commute at any time around rush hour.

The only way for someone to really know - is do a test run at exactly the times you intend to commute. That's what I'd recommend to anyone considering moving to some area - if they know where they are going to be working. Otherwise, there's just too many variables - the time you come and go really matters, and exactly the route you take matters, plus of course the exact start and end points of the commute matter. Of course, job locations and jobs change, so you have to think about that too. It would be impossible for me to locate "close to where I work" - my office location has moved so many times, and sometimes by 5 or 10 miles, that I'd be relocating every year or two if I wanted to live "close to work". That obviously is not practical, so I sort of gave up and just decided to live where I wanted to, as long as the commute didn't become too outrageous. My office location is moving again in October, and will no longer be in Reston. It will now be in Loudoun County as a matter of fact.

kdreeves · 03-17-2010, 08:21 PM

As a teacher in this area, I can confirm the quality of the schools. You may want to closely examine the redistricting lines, as there is a brand new high school opening in 2011 in Nokesville, which will change the school populations quite a bit in PWCS. Depending on the age of your children, you may want to check out what kids will go where.

adolpho · 03-17-2010, 08:37 PM

I can confirm that PWC Schools take a backseat to FCPS. Always have; always will. Take a drive by Stonewall High at around lunch time, some school day. Can you actually keep a straight face and say you would send your kid there?

vwlizard · 03-18-2010, 03:52 PM

Except for the few places that send their kids to school in Manassas, the Gainesville/Bristow/Haymarket area seems to have much better schools than the places I would be able to buy a house in Fairfax County (according to test scores and reviews at greatschools.com).

What's really important to me is that the parents like the schools their kids attend. I feel like the school my kids go to now is great, as does most of our community, yet when I looked on greatschools.com, they weren't ranked very high. I hope that would not keep someone from buying our house in MA, as they would miss out on a great town with great school IMO.

adolpho · 03-18-2010, 11:06 PM

Fairfax County: "My dad works for the State Department."
PWC: "My dad has a septic cleaning business."

Claire2900 · 03-19-2010, 08:07 AM

Really? I think my neighbors of teachers, engineers, IT, state dept, and other professionals would get a kick out of that statement.

HEATHER72 · 03-19-2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claire2900

Really? I think my neighbors of teachers, engineers, IT, state dept, and other professionals would get a kick out of that statement.

Yeah I agree with you Claire. All our neighbors that we know of work for the gov't in some way or another... military, FBI, CIA or contractors who do gov't work.

vwlizard · 03-19-2010, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adolpho

Fairfax County: "My dad works for the State Department."
PWC: "My dad has a septic cleaning business."

HMMM>>>> Don't know how to take THAT comment. I'd be just as happy and proud to have a neighbor that pumps septic systems as I would be to have one that works for the State Department as long as they were good people.

I guess I should add to this post that we are not superficial or try to "keep up with the Jones'". Things like cars, clothes and gadgets are not important to us. Neighbors that are friendly, caring, hard working and open minded are important to us. Snottyness is a turn-off.

Claire2900 · 03-19-2010, 10:38 AM

Good for you vwlizard! Sounds like you would fit in just fine in Bristow.

If you search the forum you will find a lot of opinions about education/schools in NoVA. I believe that test scores alone don't indicate a true picture of a school, but as someone comparing and contrasting different schools, I think it has to be considered high on the list, especially if you feel that the SOL's are the minimum requirements of your child's education. Each child is different and you can't predict you would even get the same teacher another parent raved about, or share the same opinions as other parents that weren't happy with the school.

I guess I'm trying to say that if a 1000 students attended a school and you got 10 or 20 opinions of good experiences with a particular school, would you feel that was prediction of your child succeeding at that school?