3rd time's the charm? We are moving to Virginia ...

[Mama Lynx]

Yes, I know I've said that before. But perhaps the third time's the charm? Frankly, if we don't make it to VA this time, I'm giving up. :banghead:

 

So. Northern Virginia. DH works contract, so he could work anywhere in the metro area, but most likely will work in DC proper, downtown. (But you know, as soon as we choose a house based on that, he'll get a contract in Reston.) My parents live in Leesburg.

 

Where are some areas I should look at, to live? What areas have good homeschooling groups/classes/activities?

 

Will I like it? Will the cost of living kill me? Will I spend my life in the car? :driving:

[Aubrey]

I have no idea. I love Va (although I've only been to just the tip of it just once). But it's pretty in the pics. And SWB lives there. ;)

 

Btw, I just wanted to let you know I got the great comments from you on my blog. It sends them to my email before it posts them. I guess that's the trouble you were having? Anyway, neat info. I'm so glad to be learning so much hist along w my dc. I don't know if it's sad or funny that I started learning stuff I missed in college in their 1st g, though! :blink:

[Jenny in Atl]

I don't know, but good luck. :driving:

[Mama Lynx]

I have no idea. I love Va (although I've only been to just the tip of it just once). But it's pretty in the pics. And SWB lives there. ;)

 

Btw, I just wanted to let you know I got the great comments from you on my blog. It sends them to my email before it posts them. I guess that's the trouble you were having? Anyway, neat info. I'm so glad to be learning so much hist along w my dc. I don't know if it's sad or funny that I started learning stuff I missed in college in their 1st g, though! :blink:

 

Did you get my comments multiple times? I have a Blogger/Google account, but whenever I comment on someone's blog, it gives me an error that tells me my password is incorrect. But ... it's NOT! lol. I can use that Blogger/Google account name for anything else and it works, I only get the error when I comment on blogs.

 

So I finally re-sent them to you under the "anonymous" option (not everyone puts that option on their blog).

 

I know, though. I was amazed at how much *I* learned when I took my kids through 1st grade.

 

Virginia is pretty. And my parents are there. And SWB ;-) We've been trying to move there for a long time now, but I'm starting to feel rejected by the state as a whole! And then I start to wonder ... do I really want to do this?

[Mamagistra]

Virginia is pretty. And my parents are there. And SWB ;-) We've been trying to move there for a long time now, but I'm starting to feel rejected by the state as a whole! And then I start to wonder ... do I really want to do this?

 

No, you don't want that. Come back to Texas and wallow in mosquitoes, unbearable heat, and good salsa. (And come over for coffee.) :thumbup: :D

[Mama Lynx]

bump

[Aubrey]

So I finally re-sent them to you under the "anonymous" option (not everyone puts that option on their blog).

 

I got it under the anonymous post. Glad you let me know it was you!

[Amy loves Bud]

Yeah, Texas. That's the ticket!

[Alice]

We've been trying to move there for a long time now, but I'm starting to feel rejected by the state as a whole!

 

We would never reject you!

 

I'm in Northern Virginia. We live in Falls Church. I go to church in Arlington and lived there during med school so know it pretty well. And I work in Reston. We love where we live...we wanted to be inside the Beltway. It's more important to us to be closer in with a smaller house although you can definitely get more house and space the farther out you go.

 

Will you like it? Not sure since I don't really know you. :) But we do. It wouldn't have been my first choice of where to live. I grew up in Richmond (2 hours south) and never thought I'd end up here. But I met my dh here while I was in school and the rest is history. His family is here, mine is close in Richmond and it works really well for us. My husband definitely chose to live here, and I've since grown to really love it.

 

Things we like...

*The amazing access to museums, zoos, parks, theater, symphony, etc.

*The libraries (this may sound silly but I have access to 3 different great library systems)

*Great public services (rec centers, classes, parks)

*The diversity of people...you can pretty much find any food you want to try, meet someone from any country around the world, hear any language you want to, etc. There is a shopping center near us that has the highest concentration of Koreans anywhere outside of Seoul.

 

Things we don't like...

*Traffic. You get used to it and plan accordingly. We live 5 minutes from dh's work and my commute is always against traffic and non-rush hour. We try and find dentists, shopping, etc close to us.

*Generally a faster pace of life. People always seem to be in a hurry.

*It's an area with a lot of wealth so there it's easy to feel pressure to have more of everything. We try not to live this way but it can be hard.

 

The trade-off we've decided is that to make it worthwhile to live here we have to use the city. We have lots of friends who never use the resources in the area and for me, I'm not sure the traffic, higher costs and pace of life would be worth it. We make a point of going downtown as a family at least once a month (usually more often) and going to a different museum or the zoo or something.

 

Chris in Va also is in Nova. She would likely have more info about homeschooling resources as she has older kids. I think there are others, but I'm not sure where they are. My kids are young so we're only beginning to explore the homeschooling community...from what I've heard from other Moms there is too much to do. I think from what I've heard from others I know who are homeschooling it's a great place to be. I have noticed that a lot of the facilities offer homeschooling classes (the rec center where we took a gymnastics class has homeshool gymnastics and a soccer league...the zoo also has classes for homeschoolers that look like they would be a fun science alternative)

 

Wow. I wrote more than I expected. Feel free to PM me or Email me at acjhs@juno.com if you have any other questions about the area.

[Amy loves Bud]

If I were going back I'd choose Brookmont or Glen Echo (neighborhoods along Macarthur Blvd) in Bethesda. We lived in Brookmont. The neighborhoods along Sangamore Drive in Bethesda are really neat family neighborhoods, too. These areas would get you to Georgetown in about 10 minutes by car, plus the bike path is right there, too.

 

I have no idea how much real estate would run you now. I know our old house is now worth twice what we sold it for in 2000. And let's just say it was a bit more than what we live in now. But you might just look.

 

Brookmont is such a cool neighborhood. There are some very expensive houses mixed in with some that aren't so much. The U.S. kayak team trains nearby and they have a "kayak" house in the neighborhood. There is a green space right in the middle of the neighborhood. A (stereotypical in every sense) homeschooling family came and set up a little farmer's market there every Tuesday afternoon. It was a very neat, eclectic neighborhood.

 

Here's the link to a map of the area I'm talking about.

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

 

I hope it works this time!

[Mama Lynx]

You know, it had never occurred to me to look as close in as Bethesda and Falls Church. I think I was dismissing those areas because I was assuming that close to downtown = too expensive, and too scary.

 

Now you're making me think.

 

Yes, I want a house with land for the kids to roam on. I always have. Still, I learned the benefits of city living during our stint in Chicago. I very much enjoyed being RIGHT THERE, with all the museums only a bus ride - or just a walk! - away.

 

I do not want to have a house with land, and never go into DC because the drive is too much of a PITA. Maybe it would be worth it to evaluate that want, and look for something without land but closer to those wonderful museums, etc.? Hmmm.

 

Where are the scary areas inside the beltway?

[Mama Lynx]

Yeah, Texas. That's the ticket!

 

Yeah, except for that pesky BREATHING thing, which I can't seem to do in Texas ... :)

 

You never know. We may very well end up back there. Especially if Virginia rejects us again, lol, or if we just run screaming from the cost of living.

[Amy loves Bud]

Whoa. I just looked in those areas on Zillow. They are WAY more than when we lived there.

 

That said, I really loved being in close like that, and if you can swing it, it would really be great. If you went over by downtown Bethesda you can be close to the metro and get into the museums and all very easily. Wherever I went in MD or VA I would put a nearby metro station high on my list. Then it wouldn't be such a PITA to go into downtown.

 

I think as long as you are Northwestish your okay. Definitely don't want SE, don't know so much about NE or SW, though.

[AFwife Claire]

just over the Fairfax County line (just past Reston, actually). I definitely agree that anywhere in the Beltway that is north west is probably just fine. and I think trying to live close to a metro station is an excellent idea as well. We really are not that close to one, and it does limit our downtown trips, I think. We still get there though!

 

I have enjoyed NoVA a lot more that I expected to. We were transferred here, and I thought we would be itching to go at 3 years, but here it will be 4 years this summer, and we are staying another year! I have found it to be a wonderful place to homeschool. There are a lot of women who have similar standards to mine who homeschool here, so I definitely don't feel like I don't fit in, what with the Latin, etc, LOL. And like someone else said, there are a TON of activities for homeschoolers of all ages and all interests. I can forward you a SHARENET email that basicaly tells everything homeschooling-wise that is going on for the whole NoVA area if you are interested.

 

Feel free to ask me any more questions too! One thing is for sure--housing prices may still be expensive compared to other areas, but they sure have dropped like a rock in the last 2 years! Houses are MUCH more affordable now (comparatively), I think, and there are no crazy bidding wars, etc., like when we moved here! : )

 

I don't know if my email shows up somewhere, or even if I put it in my profile anywhere, so it's bcbolha at aol (dot com of course).

[Chris in VA]

I'm here, I'm here!

We live in Lorton. It is very close in, but not as close as Alexandria. There are homes in a wide range of prices here. If you want a house and not a condo, you can check out Pohick Estates. They are older, smaller homes, with basements that most have converted to living areas and bedrooms (so they say 4-5 bedrooms, but really, there's 3 above and one or two in the walkout basements). You would be basically across the street from me! How great is that?!! Just kidding.

 

There's a very nice homeschool co-op within 5 minutes, parks and open areas just a few minutes away, and we are about 20 mins from Washington DC.

There are homeschool scout groups (we belong to a very sweet Brownie group), theatre groups, other co-ops, Classical Conversations, etc. Dd took a swimming class at a local park-n-rec which was just for homeschoolers. As Alice said, lots and lots to do. (We are going on a nature walk tomorrow!)

 

Pm or email me if you want more info.

Hope you come!

[Alice]

Where are the scary areas inside the Beltway?

I'm not sure I'd say any one area is "scary" or not. Each area here somewhat is it's own little community but it's also pretty fluid (as demonstrated by the fact that we live in one area, work in another and go to church in a third.) For example Alexandria has really great parts and also really not so great parts...same with Arlington or Reston or anywhere. As I said before we live in Falls Church but our house wouldn't be anywhere near the average Falls Church house price. We're in a small 1940's house in a "transitional" neighborhood that is not in the "city" of Falls Church (the main difference is in the public school quality and it hugely effects house prices). The neighborhood isn't totally ideal but we like the diversity of people and the closeness to town. I think if we could afford it we'd move closer in to Arlington. I also like Vienna which is right outside the Beltway. We have good friends who live there. It has a really nice "town" feel...they have an annual Halloween parade anyone can show up for right through town, an annual summer fair, a great book fair at the library, etc.

 

I would say you need to think about what your priorities are...bigger house, closer in, big yard, etc. That should help you to narrow down where would be a good fit for you.

 

Metro?

Honestly we hardly ever use Metro for going downtown. Mostly we go on the Sundays after church and we have learned the places we can always find parking. Even when I go during the week with the kids I often drive. It is nice to be close to Metro but a lot of them limit parking in their lot for commuters (you have to buy a pass and generally the lots fill up very early in the day) so unless you are walking distance from the Metro it's not always a good option. My husband's office is walking distance from a station so we have on occasion driven him to work and parked at his office to use it. But really I've found that we mostly drive. One way to look is to look at what is close to the last station out..so you still have Metro access but are have more of the bigger yards, etc. Vienna is the last train on the Western Orange line. They have been talking about extending Metro out to Dulles Airport and through Reston but the federal government just essentially killed the project. It may still happen though, so if you are here long term you may find that there is eventualy Metro access along the Dulles Toll Rd. (Reston, Herndon).

 

Maryland vs. Virginia?

My dh and I joke that the Maryland suburbs are the "redundant" suburbs. It really is in many ways very similar. In general, I think Maryland as a state is a little more liberal but NOVA is a pretty liberal area of VA. One thing you will find is that people hardly ever cross the river. Even though Bethesda is probably just as close as some other places we go...we would hardly ever think to go there.

[SandBeach]

We live in Leesburg. If you move near the area, maybe we could meet sometime.

There are quite a few homeschool groups and co-ops.

 

Sandy

homeschool mom to 3 boys (9, 6, 4)

[Mama Lynx]

Metro?

Honestly we hardly ever use Metro for going downtown.

 

 

Thanks. I know that when my parents go, they park at Arlington and take the metro in from there. I'm a bit of a chicken driving into big cities. If it's a scary PITA to drive into the city, I won't do it ... but what's the point of living there if I don't take my kids to all the wonderful museums, etc? So I'll have to figure something out.

 

The problem with my priorities is that they are to have a house with land, in a big city with lots of cultural opportunities :lol: I could trade one for the other, but it could go either way.

 

Maryland vs. Virginia?

My dh and I joke that the Maryland suburbs are the "redundant" suburbs. It really is in many ways very similar. In general, I think Maryland as a state is a little more liberal but NOVA is a pretty liberal area of VA. One thing you will find is that people hardly ever cross the river. Even though Bethesda is probably just as close as some other places we go...we would hardly ever think to go there.

 

Actually, my very Southern mother has forbidden me to live in Maryland ;-) (I guess she hasn't figured out that I live in MICHIGAN now.) How funny that people don't think to cross the river. I have friends in Maryland, though.

[Mama Lynx]

We live in Leesburg. If you move near the area, maybe we could meet sometime.

There are quite a few homeschool groups and co-ops.

 

Sandy

homeschool mom to 3 boys (9, 6, 4)

 

Thanks! Leesburg is really, really tempting; I'm just afraid of what my Dh's commute time will be like.

[Nestof3]

Come back to Texas and wallow in mosquitoes, unbearable heat

 

It sounds like you are describing Virginia!

 

I live in the Tidewater area -- Virginia Beach -- so I cannot tell you about N. VA, but I like it here. I like everything except the mosquitoes and the heat -- ah, and the humidity!

[Suzannah]

There are TONS of homeschool resources...I think Claire said something about SHARENET, and e-mail list with all sorts of activities. I have several friends in Centreville who take advantage of lots of homeschool co-ops and activities in Western Fairfax County and Loudoun County. It is my impression that Loudoun County is the most homeschool-friendly place in Northern Virginia. But you are right to take your DH's commute into account.

:auto:

My DH works on The Hill and is able to take the HOV lane so his commute is about 30 minutes or so, depending on traffic. If he could not take the HOV lane, even though we are only about 14 miles from his office, it would take 1-1 1/2 hours during morning rush hour. He usually leaves work at 6 and gets home around 7. By then everyone can use the HOV lane so he doesn't really benefit much from it. We usually eat dinner around 7:15-7:30 and the kiddos go to bed around 8:30 or 9...or 9:30. I'd prefer to have them in bed earlier so we could get school started earlier in the morning. But then they'd never get to spend time with DH.

 

Such is life in this area! But there are more resources than you can shake a stick at. The last time I counted there were 3 homeschool bands/orchestras nearby. Our friends participate in homeschool swim team. And a homeschool Boy Scout troop just started down the road from us. Plus we are surrounded by history, past and present. We drive past Pohick Church, one of the congregations George Washington attended, a couple of times a week, not far from Mount Vernon. We see the Washington skyline regularly and sometimes see news personalities and members of Congress at the airport or shopping. We try to visit a museum or free concert or exhibit every month or two. It's a very neat place to live.

[Alice]

Actually, my very Southern mother has forbidden me to live in Maryland ;-) (I guess she hasn't figured out that I live in MICHIGAN now.) How funny that people don't think to cross the river. I have friends in Maryland, though.

 

 

:lol: That made me laugh. My parents who live in Richmond feel the same way about me living me in NORTHERN Virginia. My college roommate was from Maryland and we had a lot of fun arguments about Maryland vs. Virginia.

[Guest Mariann]

Hi, all - I have been gone since November - caring for my dd28 who is being treatment for Lyme's among other things -- and was checking in today so that I can list items on the For Sale Board and I glanced and saw this thread about moving to Virginia.

MamaLynx: We have been here since 2001, and I truly do like it! The summers are hot, but there are other places where it is much hotter, so one learns to live with it. Folks are NOT exaggerating (sp?) about the traffic -- someone wrote that she simply plans where she is going depending on what time of day it is, and that is the BEST advice for dealing with the road congestion here. When we moved here I said that I was not going to let 'traffic' run my life.......well, it doesn't control my life, but one must develop a plan for peaceful co-existence.

RE prices are dropping like a rock here - I watch the market constantly as we will be purchasing in the next three months, having sold our home in Loudoun County just one year ago. There are many options out there that were not there just 2-3 months ago with respect to seller incentives. Personally, I have stopped fighting the Loudoun vs Fairfax battle with DH - we are in Vienna (again) and now that I have replaced my desire for 'big, new house' with 'older, smaller, better quality of life b/c DH is not commuting 4-5 hours a day', I am enjoying Vienna and the surrounding areas. Truthfully, I do not think the traffic issue is going to improve enough to justify moving further west. That being said, just over the FFX Cnty line in Cascades, Lowes Island there are gorgeous properties. In FFX County, Reston and Oak Hill are great places, a little out of the way you will find FFX Station and Clifton to have nice properties in wonderful neighborhoods. There are MANY other places in FFX - but I am only commenting on the places with which I am most familiar. HINT: Let the PS school ratings be a guide for you to areas that are unfamiliar to you -- school ratings DO impact price and re-sale value. Just an example: Navy ES and Waples Mill Elementary School have excellent ratings.

I found Loudoun to be EXTREMELY homeschool friendly - with many support groups - SHARENET is a great resource. There are MANY programs for homeschooling families. To name a few: Fairfax Ice Arena and Reston Ice Arena (Reston is called something else) have homeschool skate times during the week. FFX Parks and Recreation has a great schedule of activities for kids offered at many, many different times and at many different locations -- our DD 'almost 9' took a wonderful Art Class through P & R. Also, I think there are swimming sessions and lessons at the indoor rec center pools with homeschool friendly scheduling.

Real Estate prices in Fairfax county (and in Loudoun) are affected very much by the school 'triangle' for a particular property. Even if you are homeschooling, if you are ever going to sell, it is something to keep in mind. Also, there is a 're-drawing of school boundary lines' going on in Oakton/Vienna right now so that is something that needs to be kept in mind - I think it is a change that the residents are fighting.

Sorry to have written so much -- hope this stuff helps -- if you like it half as much here as I do, you will love it!!!!!!! G-d bless -- Mariann (still in Va.) DD who will be 9 in 2 weeks and is in 3rd grade in a Classical Christian School, and B/G twins 7.5 y/o who have been in school for 1 month now and are loving it!

[Mama Lynx]

Thank you, Mariann :)

 

I tell you, it also makes me nervous to hear y'all talking about how low the housing prices are (comparatively). We were figuring on renting for a year before deciding where to buy. It sounds like if we do that, we'll miss the lowest of the prices.

[Guest Mariann]

this is my take on the housing prices here in Nova: the new FNMA guideline for mortgages which raises the limits to $725K is having a downward impact on Re prices -- what this means to prospective homebuyers even if $725K is way out of their range, is that much of the 'froth' that is still very very present in pricing, is going to have to fizz out. Right now (and, believe me, I study real estate prices in nova the way a bookie studies racing sheets) there are properties in nova (ffx county particularly) that came on the market at $1M -- 6 months later, they are reduced to $800K. With the $725K FNMA limit, a prospective buyer should offer the $725K for that home, and if the seller is serious (i.e., MUST sell), well, that's quite a price drop from $1M. Now, I am talking about properties that TRULY would be worth the $1M price tag all things considered. What happens then to the home priced at $725K? Well, it probably will sit until someone offer them $499K or maybe less. And, I have watched at least half dozen homes in the past 6 months run through that same scenario. There are homes that have sold in Oakton for below $450K which is just amazing. As far as missing this price cool down....I don't think you will miss it -- it is expected to continue through 2009 with an upturn not expected till 2010. On a daily/monthly basis, I see approx. 12 houses going under contract a month in the perhaps 6 communities that I check constantly, and approx. SIX properties coming on as NEW listings EVERY DAY in those communities. If you would like, I can email you the 'EMAIL Notification' Service that I use for new listings and price changes. IT is up to date, and the same service the realtors use. Hope this helps -- and definitely, look at rentals -- 'Rent To Own' is becoming very popular especially with the number of owners who began as 'speculative' owners and have found themselves in a soft market. Mariann

[Mama Lynx]

That is encouraging. Thanks!

[BMC]

I'm here, I'm here!

We live in Lorton. CUT You would be basically across the street from me! How great is that?!! Just kidding.

 

Wow - you must be really close! We live in Springfield Oaks (Corner of Alban. South Pohick, Rolling & North Pohick [four names; two streets])

 

Northern Virginia is (as are all places) what you make of it. Being close to DC is only an advantage if you go there and take advantage of what it offers.

 

When we moved here, we had so many options on where we could afford to live, but DH wanted to live close to work, so we ended up in a condo in Arlington and he biked to work most days. We live now in southern Springfield (very nearly Lorton) and he wants to move to the areas I wanted to live in when we arrived; we can't afford it now even though his salary has incresed. He even mentioned moving to the area I lobbied for 6 years ago (which he said was "too far" from his current work) but we can't afford that anymore either. Heck we couldn't even afford to buy our own townhome on the current market.

 

I can't remember where you are currently, but overall Northern Virginia is not such a bad place. Fairfax County is an easy place to homeschool, there are loads of groups, co-ops and pick-up activities (tag along with a group). The museums, the zoo, the galleries, theater, music, recreation centers, professional sports, youth sports clubs, .... but that's no good if you don't like to drive or more importantly, "drive in DC". The traffic is hideous at rush hour; off rush not so bad, but everything takes longer than you might expect looking at the distances involved. :auto:

 

Yes everyone is in a hurry, it is not Southern in lifestyle, but it is not as rushed as some cities.

 

As for where to live... I'd look around - a lot! If you want to be close, you sacrifice new and large housing for smaller and older. In the middle distance, the new houses are very close together -the bare minimum of clearance. You could probably pass the grey poupon mustard to your neighbor without leaning very far our your windows so "closer in" is: older homes/neighborhoods = larger lots; newer homes = non-existent lots.

 

Contact me by private message if you want more info.

[Suzannah]

Wow - you must be really close! We live in Springfield Oaks (Corner of Alban. South Pohick, Rolling & North Pohick [four names; two streets])

 

 

I hate trying to explain that intersection to people. Whoever was responsible for naming the roads around here needs to have his head examined!:blink: