Anyone want to tell me about living in Northern Virginia?

[lovinmyboys]

Vienna specifically?

 

Especially good things since the internet mostly tells me how expensive it is and how terrible the traffic is. Oh, and all the kids are gifted and talented so your "average" kid won't be able to do any extracurriculars (since all the spots will be taken by these super kids).

 

I know this has to be just the internet. What is good about the area? Any tips to make it not quite so expensive? Or tips to avoid the traffic? Of course there are extracurriculars for average kids, right?

 

Also, if you live there why do you homeschool? The schools seem good so I might consider sending a few of my kids. I originally started homeschooling because our local school is not great, but it has since grown on me. Great schools may not be enough to make me give it up but we will look into it.

 

Eta: we will for sure be homeschooling at least two of the kids, so info on homeschooling there would be helpful too.

Edited June 4, 2017 by lovinmyboys

[Paige]

There's lots to do but the internet is right about cost, traffic, and obsessive parents. I think AOPS even has an in person school nearby. Homeschooling options are plentiful. Have you checked out realtor.com or similar? If you're moving from an average US city the sticker shock is staggering. 

[happypamama]

No, the internet is right about expense and traffic. It's insane. We lived outside of DC for four years, but in PG County so it wasn't quite as expensive. I used to go over to NoVA to see my baby wearing group, and yes, traffic. We lived 15 miles from DC, and it would take dh an hour and a half each way to get to and from the city. He needed to have his truck with him, but if he didn't, he could maybe have used the Metro. I'd look into public transportation to see if any of that is available. Saving money on housing may mean living further away, but then that may mean a longer commute.

[Amira]

Yes, the internet is right, but it still can be a great place to live. You can't make it inexpensive.  If you're working in DC, even a two-hour commute will get a large mortgage and Vienna isn't very far out, relatively speaking.

 

We've made it work by living in a small space, using public transit, shopping at ethnic groceries, and enjoying the many free things available in the area.

 

I've homeschooled and used public schools in Northern Virginia.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both. My kids like the public schools they've attended there but we've also been able to do some amazing homeschooling things there too.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Amira

[Tess in the Burbs]

We lived in Nova for 15 months. I read that moms end up feeling like single parents b/c spouse works a lot/traffic. I laughed at that.

 

However, it happened. Dh was often called to office farther away, worked long hours, and traffic sucked. He also had long out of town trips he didn't expect. He hated it there.

 

I loved it minus never seeing him. I met the most wonderful people and the kid and I were always busy with those moms/kids. My life wasn't empty. Dh can have crazy hours now but I don't have the same network like NoVA. At least in NoVA all the moms were dealing with dh being gone before you woke, returning late. So it was different...but not alone

 

I will say again how much DH hated it. He decided the job opportunities were not worth staying and he went back to his old city south. We left the state not long after b/c he didn't like the work (mostly all gov't). Like I said, amazing people. We were in Loudoun county.

[Farrar]

We lived in NoVA before we moved into the city and have homeschool friends scattered around. The homeschool community is incredibly large and diverse there. There are secular and religious options, unschoolers and traditional types, and everything in between. And generally that's true of life in general in NoVA - it's politically and economically a bit diverse.

 

You're near DC, so you get all the benefits of free museums and culture stuff whenever you want to make the trip. Vienna is a bit far out for me personally, but it's not way out in NoVA terms. In terms of traffic, my advice is always just that if someone is planning to be working in DC, to not live that far out. You may have to give up the idea of having a big suburban home with a garage and a large lawn... but in many areas you get walkability and convenience instead. But even living in the inner city, we still deal with traffic all the time. So there's no avoiding it and the tradeoff for the space may be worth it. There's definitely some great communities on the outskirts too. As for the super smart student thing, I think that's absurd, honestly. People are rich out there and all the accompanying school baggage that comes with that is there... but families I know who live in Fairfax county don't feel like their kids can't do anything because they're not "good enough." I'd just put that out of your head. It's a trade off in places like that, I think - there are benefits to being a big fish in a little pond (as in, being the interested student in an area where you can always have a shot at winning things but there are limited opportunities) and there are benefits to being a little fish in a big pond (being an interested student who can't usually win much because of the competition level, but having the chance to try more, see more, meet more people, find more activities).

[hellen]

I'm in Prince William County. It would take me 43 minutes to get to Vienna right now.

 

All of the things you've read are true. Actually traffic isn't as big of an issue for us because I can take EZ Pass when I'm going towards DC. There are a million super smart and talented kids.

 

The best part of living here is the proximity to opportunities and other places. You've probably read that already. My son has done classes at the National Archives and Natural History Museum. I like that we can go to DC and just see a little at a time.

 

I've lived in a lot of states. If you can tell me where you're coming from, I might be able to do a better comparison.

[Davysmom]

The internet is right about pretty much all of it.

[retiredHSmom]

I live in NoVa, about 15 minutes south of Vienna.  To be honest, I love it here.  I have no desire to move.  There are many, many opportunities and yes, there is traffic and yes, kids activities can be very competitive but there are backroads and you get to know the traffic flows and there are many, many extra curricular options for kids that are low-key and you will find them.

 

As far as homeschooling goes there are a plethora of options.  There are groups at just about every level of involvement from support groups that only feature park days and field trips to drop-off day long schools.  I think that one of the best options around is Capital Baptist Co-op.  The co-op is christian and is hosted by a Baptist church but is attended by students of all faiths.  It is a true co-op in that there are no drop-offs.  Parents work in some capacity for two class periods and participate in support group for the third period.  There are 220 families enrolled with about 600 students. The 9-12 grade class usually have about 120 students overall. Classes include curricular classes but feature many electives as well. The parent teachers are usually very good with most teaching in areas of expertise.  We have Phd's from MIT teaching Chemistry and doctors teaching A&P. They have a very well-developed high school drama program.  As a true co-op costs are minimal $100 per student/year with a family maximum.  There are also at least five different options that I know of where you can pay for classes and drop your kids off. 

 

This year my high schooler had five different homeschool proms to choose from.  We have a homeschool sports league that competes with private schools in Football, Soccer (boys and girls), Volleyball and Track.  There are homeschool martial arts schools and homeschool classes at most martial arts schools.  There are two different homeschool performing arts program and a worship dance program.  If you van think it up it probably exists.

 

There are a lot of very competitive extracurricular programs as well and yes some of them can exclude "normal" kids.  There is math circle here that my daughter taught at/ran for a year and the group for kids that had completed algebra had many 5th and 6th graders in it.  An 8th grader who just loves math and is taking algebra would not have fit in very well. You will meet many people who have their kids on workout schedule for their sport that take 20+ hours a week but that is more prevalent in the public school set than the homeschool world.

 

We moved here when my kids were 12, 9 and 6 and have lived here for 11 years.  I know there area well. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk offline or talk on the phone.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Tania

[Pink and Green Mom]

We lived in Arlington, Leesburg, and Hamilton (western Loudoun County) from 1996-2012.  We loved Northern VA.  Yes, traffic is bad.  Yes, things can be very competitive and keeping up with Joneses.  Yes, people will look at you funny when you homeschool because the schools are "so excellent" (ours was highly rated but not without its problems - for us that was no phonics instruction whatsoever and terrible math programs).  But we had great friends, great memories, and great opportunities.  I would move back there in a heartbeat if I could.

[Alice]

I live in Vienna. We love it here. 

 

The cons are what you've heard already.

 

Traffic is a reality. Live as close to where you work as you can. Center all your activities/doctors/etc. as close as you can. It might seem like going to a doctor 5 miles away isn't a big deal but it is with typical rush hour traffic. You will learn the back roads and where not to go at certain times. 

 

COL is also a real factor. Other than just costing more, another side effect of that is that the norm is skewed. We have a nice house and live a good life but we are surrounded by neighborhoods with million dollar plus homes and people that are much wealthier than us. I think that would probably be more of an issue if we didn't homeschool. Most of our friends are not super wealthy and so the kids don't do a lot of comparing but when we've done other activities we have run across that a bit. 

 

It is a super-high pressure environment for kids. As a pediatrician in the area, I see a lot of kids who are just super stressed. The pressure cooker environment is definitely one of the reasons we homeschool. But you can make a choice to not live that way. 

 

Pros: We love being close to DC. We make an effort to go into DC regularly. The free museums are a great resource. Plus shows at the Kennedy Center, Folger Library, etc. Many of which have school or homeschool programs. We also love the diversity. We love being able to go out for pretty much food from any country and have options for the arts and to meet people from all over the world. 

 

Vienna itself has a bit of a "small-town feel". It's not a real small town but it does have a bit of that vibe....a Halloween parade annually, free movies on the green, concerts, an annual Memorial Day festival. There is a bike trail that goes through the town that is awesome. We purposely bought a place near the trail and that has really impacted our lives for the good. 

 

There are a ton of homeschool programs and support. I know a lot of homeschoolers in Vienna. I go to the same co-op as Tania and agree that it's a great one. There are also great secular options and other co-ops, of every variety. Almost everything has a homeschool option (gymnastics, musical theater, art, soccer, baseball, high school varsity sports, etc). 

 

If you want to PM me I'd be happy to talk more specifically. 

 

ETA: As to why we homeschool....we just like it. We've given our kids the option to go to school as they got older and they have chosen to continue to homeschool. There were some things we didn't like about the public schools (pressure, overemphasis on testing, etc) but we also are grateful to know that we have the option of very good public schools as well as the option to homeschool. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2017 by Alice

[mlktwins]

I was born and raised in NoVA.  I lived in Fairfax County growing up and after college.  I moved to Prince William County when I married DH.  I agree that what the internet says is true.  Vienna is a lovely town, but too tight for me.  I feel a bit claustrophobic there.  I'm out in Bristow and I like the feel of a little more space around me.  Housing is a little cheaper out here, but the traffic is even worse getting into DC.  My DH takes the VRE everyday to DC for work.  LONG (almost 4 hours a day) commute.  He leaves around 6 am and gets home at 7:40 M-F.

 

The schools are ok out here, but my boys have homeschooled since K. 

[Chris in VA]

I've lived here for almost 16 years. I'm east of Vienna, in Lorton.  I was in a Nature walking group with Alice back when my now-17yo was about 6 or 7.  :seeya: Hi Alice!

Anyway...

 

Yeah, lots of traffic, but tons of things to do and people to do them with. 

 

We go to Vienna when we attend things at Wolf Trap--it seems like a nice place!

 

I'm convinced it is what you make it. 

[sangtarah]

Timely thread for me, but I don't want to take over the thread. We are moving to NoVA at the end of the month, but in the Springfield/Burke area, I think.

 

Any other co-ops that would be close to that area?

I looked up Capitol Baptist co-op, and chess. Chess seems a little far with traffic?

 

We are coming from a Great Plains state, and 7 miles takes 7-10 minutes of travel. I know the same won't be true there! It'll be a bit of a culture shock!

[Butter]

We lived in Alexandria City for two years and Springfield for three.  Traffic wasn't an issue for us because when we lived in Alexandria, my husband worked literally across the street so he walked to work and when we lived in Springfield, he worked a couple miles from our house.  That was planned, though, precisely because commutes are horrendous.  When we moved back to southern MD he was driving an hour 15 to an hour and a half each way to his office in Springfield.  It is very expensive, but I didn't really know that until I moved to Texas.  NoVa was no more expensive than southern MD where I was born and raised.

 

There are plenty of extracurriculars for average kids.  There are a lot of "stage mom" type parents, though.

 

We homeschooled when we lived there even though the schools were excellent.  It's the same here.  We live in one of the two best districts in San Antonio and are zoned for three of the best schools.  But we still homeschool.  For me, homeschooling isn't about the local schools not being good.  It's about enjoying it and kind of because we can.  My kids went to 1/2-1 year of school when we moved here and it turned out excellent schools still aren't as awesome as homeschooling for our family.

 

Homeschooling in NoVa is great.  So many activities, so many people homeschooling.  My daughter actually met a boardie's daughter in a homeschooled Brownie troop years and years ago (before I was on WTM boards I think).  It's super easy to comply with the law, too.

 

I loved living in northern VA.

[mlktwins]

Timely thread for me, but I don't want to take over the thread. We are moving to NoVA at the end of the month, but in the Springfield/Burke area, I think.

 

Any other co-ops that would be close to that area?

I looked up Capitol Baptist co-op, and chess. Chess seems a little far with traffic?

 

We are coming from a Great Plains state, and 7 miles takes 7-10 minutes of travel. I know the same won't be true there! It'll be a bit of a culture shock!

Not a co-op, buy Compass Homeschool Enrichment in Oakton has a great selection if classes and you pay by the quarter for most of the classes. Registration opened in the last couple of weeks so check it out sooner than later.

 

I've heard great things about Capital Baptist and they also hold a great used curriculm sale in May each year.

 

CHESS is moving from Centreville to Manassas this year. Might not be too bad from Burke if you take the back roads. Classes are for 7h grade and up.

[retiredHSmom]

I've lived here for almost 16 years. I'm east of Vienna, in Lorton.  I was in a Nature walking group with Alice back when my now-17yo was about 6 or 7.  :seeya: Hi Alice!

Anyway...

 

Yeah, lots of traffic, but tons of things to do and people to do them with. 

 

We go to Vienna when we attend things at Wolf Trap--it seems like a nice place!

 

I'm convinced it is what you make it. 

 

Chris I think that we discovered this before but I live in Lorton, too.

 

I especially wanted to address what Chris said  about living here being what you make it.  I have lived every one of my 45 years as a military dependent.  I have lived in many states and countries, many homes and all of them have had good points and bad points. I would love to return to every one of them and hate it too.

 

I didn't address housing in my last post so I will now.  Housing, as with all things in life, has trade-offs.  Someone upthread mentioned that she wanted more space around her so she live in Bristow and her husband commutes 4 hours a day, Alice mentioned that a trail was important to them. We wanted a short commute.  We bought our home as new construction in 2006 on a single income military salary so its not extravagant but location was important to us.  We live five miles from my husbands office on local roads with no traffic. It takes him 15 minutes to get to work but our neighbors house is 24 feet away and our backyard is about 25 feet deep.  My friend bought a house at the same time for the same price. They wanted a yard, their house i3 2/3 the size of mine, 50 years old and about 30 minutes from work.

 

I will say that while I agree with Alice that Vienna has a small town feel (2 of my siblings live there) I wouldn't want to live there because of the traffic. The small local roads have a lot of traffic every time I go there.  I live off of 95 which is often a parking lot, especially on Friday-Sunday but our local roads have little to no traffic at all and I can usually avoid the freeway in my day to day life.

SaveSave

[Paige]

Vienna has a wonderful British Pasty shop. You should go and eat there for me when you move. 

[retiredHSmom]

Timely thread for me, but I don't want to take over the thread. We are moving to NoVA at the end of the month, but in the Springfield/Burke area, I think.

 

Any other co-ops that would be close to that area?

I looked up Capitol Baptist co-op, and chess. Chess seems a little far with traffic?

 

We are coming from a Great Plains state, and 7 miles takes 7-10 minutes of travel. I know the same won't be true there! It'll be a bit of a culture shock!

Compass, STARS and Harvester would all be convenient to Springfield/Burke.  If you are Catholic, St. Raymond's Homeschool Group is good as well.

 

I could be off the mark but in my experience while many great plains areas people are used to traveling 7 miles in 7-10 minutes you often travel more than 7-10 miles to your destinations.

 

I drive

15 min to the grocery store,

15 minutes to 2 different major shopping areas,

10 minutes to church,

10 minutes to Boy Scouts,

10 minutes to Krav Maga,

20 minutes to rugby,

15-20 minutes to co-op,

15 min to one community college,

20 minutes to the other.

[hellen]

Compared to the Great Plains, there is no room to breathe here. Do you know how sometimes you can look around and see sky and land that go on forever? You don't get that feeling here because there are so many trees.

 

There are a lot of traffic lights here which makes trips take a long time. Google maps is pretty accurate for time. You can play around to see how long it takes you to get somewhere.

 

I go to more grocery stores here. There are a lot of grocery store options but for me, there isn't one grocery store that meets the majority of my needs. That was different for me.

[Alice]

I've lived here for almost 16 years. I'm east of Vienna, in Lorton.  I was in a Nature walking group with Alice back when my now-17yo was about 6 or 7.  :seeya: Hi Alice!

Anyway...

 

Yeah, lots of traffic, but tons of things to do and people to do them with. 

 

We go to Vienna when we attend things at Wolf Trap--it seems like a nice place!

 

I'm convinced it is what you make it. 

 

Hi Chris! We still go to Huntley Meadows fairly often and I always think about you. You and the other Moms were so gracious and sweet to me with my little kids. I think that was before my oldest was old enough for our co-op. He was in K or 1st and I was very lonely with everyone else we knew in school. We really loved those walks. 

 

Timely thread for me, but I don't want to take over the thread. We are moving to NoVA at the end of the month, but in the Springfield/Burke area, I think.

 

Any other co-ops that would be close to that area?

I looked up Capitol Baptist co-op, and chess. Chess seems a little far with traffic?

 

We are coming from a Great Plains state, and 7 miles takes 7-10 minutes of travel. I know the same won't be true there! It'll be a bit of a culture shock!

 

STARS is in Springfield. Harvester Pres. has a co-op as well that is fairly close. There are a fair number of people at Cap Bap in the Springfield or Burke area. I think because it was around before a lot of the newer ones and so people came from farther away. 

 

Chris I think that we discovered this before but I live in Lorton, too.

 

I especially wanted to address what Chris said  about living here being what you make it.  I have lived every one of my 45 years as a military dependent.  I have lived in many states and countries, many homes and all of them have had good points and bad points. I would love to return to every one of them and hate it too.

 

I didn't address housing in my last post so I will now.  Housing, as with all things in life, has trade-offs.  Someone upthread mentioned that she wanted more space around her so she live in Bristow and her husband commutes 4 hours a day, Alice mentioned that a trail was important to them. We wanted a short commute.  We bought our home as new construction in 2006 on a single income military salary so its not extravagant but location was important to us.  We live five miles from my husbands office on local roads with no traffic. It takes him 15 minutes to get to work but our neighbors house is 24 feet away and our backyard is about 25 feet deep.  My friend bought a house at the same time for the same price. They wanted a yard, their house i3 2/3 the size of mine, 50 years old and about 30 minutes from work.

 

I will say that while I agree with Alice that Vienna has a small town feel (2 of my siblings live there) I wouldn't want to live there because of the traffic. The small local roads have a lot of traffic every time I go there.  I live off of 95 which is often a parking lot, especially on Friday-Sunday but our local roads have little to no traffic at all and I can usually avoid the freeway in my day to day life.

SaveSave

 

 

Short commute was also the most important thing to us. When we first moved here 17 years ago we moved close to my husband's work and he had a 10 min commute. I didn't have a job then and when I got one it was about 20-25 min away but reverse commute so not as bad traffic and we knew that eventually I would likely go part-time so we wanted his commute to be better. We moved about 7 years ago to Vienna. Dh still has only about a 15 min commute and could bike. My commute is still about 20-25 min, depending on time of day but I only go in twice a week and am never driving at rush hour. We actually have a fairly large yard (1/2 acre) for where we live but we could have more yard and house further out. We just didn't want to live that way, with dh on the road for hours and hours a day. 

 

And I agree with Tania's other post. In a typical day all our activities and needs are no more than a 15-20 min drive. Most things are closer. Scouts is 7 min, Ballet/Dance 10 min, Swimming 10 min, Co-op 15 min, grocery store 10 min, doctor's offices are all in Vienna so 10 min away, etc. It is entirely possible to fix it so that you are rarely or never on the Beltway or the big highways. 

[bettyandbob]

I live in Reston, adjacent to Vienna. 

 

I have lived here since 1975, except after college I lived in Arlington in the late 80s-early 90s. 

 

Housing expensive. Driving can be a bear. 

 

You have to decide the tradeoffs you prefer.  I prefer not to have to spend time on a yard. I prefer not to spend time in traffic. I prefer my dh to have a very short commute. So, I live in an older townhome. The layout of the community is nice because there are not rows and rows of townhomes on top of eachother. My house backs to a good sized playground so the feels like a nice yard. I can walk to an outdoor pool and tennis. There are numerous miles of trails connecting homes, schools, shopping centers and connecting to a trail that cuts through Purceville to Arlington (goes through Vienna), which is utilized by bike commuters getting off the road. 

 

There are plenty of extra curriculars in NoVA. If you are in the town of Vienna (not just postal code) check out Vienna Park offerings. You also should check out Fairfax County Park Authority programs (fitness, dance, martial arts, swim, sports, nature, robotics). FCPA has rec centers and outdoor park space. In Reston next door, Reston Association offers nature programs at the Walker Nature Center and a variety of swim and tennis programs. The Reston Community Center also has a variety of programs. If you end up looking further than Vienna and want small town feel, living in the town limits of the Town of Herndon can provide that as well. The Town of Herndon also has a decent community center with a variety of swim, dance, fitness, nature activities. All of these places have extra curriculars that you just choose and register without tryout. 

 

If you are looking for some level up from the general population for competition, there are plenty of leagues for that too. You just need to get familiar with the leagues for various sports and find out tryout schedules. 

 

Why did I homeschool? My oldest child is 2e. My neighborhood school at the time was a terrible places for a 2 e kid. He's 22 now. If he were in K today with the principal they have now, I probably wouldn't be thinking I need to homeschool. He did go to the public high school. I couldn't homeschool high school for him. The local high school had an amazing principal at the time. Those 4 years were hard on our family, but for my ds that school was a better fit than anything else. 

 

There are ways to avoid traffic. You figure out the best times to go certain directions and sometimes you base you choice of activities on time of day. There are also routes that are faster because there are less lights and maybe not major arteries. 

[MomsintheGarden]

I live farther out than NoVa, but I just wanted to put in another plug for Capital Baptist co-op. Our family is in the speech and debate league that they are, and we have worked with many of the Cap Bap folks for years. They are a first rate bunch, and we really like them.

[lovinmyboys]

Thanks everyone. You have given me a lot of good information. I really appreciate it.

 

Dh is going to be working in DC. He was told Vienna is a good place to live because he can ride the metro. We have 4 kids and aren't going to be making lots of money, so I don't know if it is realistic to get closer. We are going out there later this month to try to find a house to rent. I am open to looking in other areas.

Edited June 5, 2017 by lovinmyboys

[bettyandbob]

He can ride metro from Reston as well. There are many large, older townhomes within a mile of the station.