Howard County vs. Fairfax County (Alexandria, Reston: 2015, rent, house)

[Mimismom]

Hi,
We are from Columbia, MD and we absolutely love it here. Unfortunately the school district is not up to our expectations. We are thinking of moving to either Ellicott City (Centennial School Dist) or Fairfax (we frequently visit family in NoVA and love the area too except for traffic).
I work in Baltimore while my husband works in DC. If we do decide on Fairfax, I will be looking for something in that area.
Our budget for a house is upto 850k. Any suggestions on how the two school districts compare, neighborhoods to consider and other pros/cons is greatly appreciated.
Thanks much in advance!

[spleuchan]

I'm editing my post because I didn't read yours very well. Howard's schools are rated pretty high. Is there specific things you don't like about it?

[FindingZen]

While there may be long-time regional locals that are familiar with the other side of the Beltway, you may also find it beneficial to query the folks over in the Washington DC suburbs in Maryland sub-forum.

Fairfax County Public Schools as a whole are considered among the best in the country. That said, the new superintendent has raised the spectre of budget cuts that may lead to increased classroom size and other adjustments in order to counter a considerable deficit. It's too early to say how deep the cuts will be or whether the superintendent is overestimating the pain in order to negotiate smaller budget cuts.

Note that in Virginia, public school systems are county-wide or city-wide. Families often look for the most appropriate high school "pyramid" under which elementary and middle schools fall. As you might imagine, the "best" school pyramids, if standardized tests scores are an accurate barometer, are in the least socioeconomically diverse sections of the county where parents are known to encourage (or pressure) their kids to maintain a high academic standing.

While your housing budget may not go quite as far as in Howard County, you should still be able to find a quality home in an upper-middle class neighborhood and likely one of the top school pyramids. I'll let others more knowledgeable than me share their opinions on the "best" pyramids.

Hopefully you will be able to make your transition to a job in Fairfax or NOVA in general rather quickly as it would be a bear of a commute to Baltimore.

[Mimismom]

Thanks!

[justtitans]

In my opinion both places are very very similar, with Howard County being less populated and more spread out. I believe both areas have parts where the schools are really good and really mediocre (parts of Columbia versus parts of Lorton/Alexandria). Traffic is likely to be lighter in Columbia but you will likely have to travel a bit more to get to things as Howard County isn't as built up as Fairfax relatively speaking. It's more than likely going to come down to what kind of lifestyle you want. Either place has some good options though.

[michgc]

I agree that they are probably more alike than different. Both areas are large county school systems with good overall reputations but come with the problems that large and growing school systems face. I am somewhat familiar with Centennial High School and know it to be one of the best up that way. You will get more for your money up in Howard and it has the benefit of being midway to both of your jobs (although close to neither which isn't great either). If you love living there, I would personally stay up there. I cannot imagine that you would be significantly happier at one of the better FCPS high schools than Centennial, unless there is a specific reason to be in the Fairfax area.

[newintown4]

We are moving to the DC area with a job transfer, office is on the north side of town. Considering either Fairfax or Howard County. Any additional input on the differences? We lived in the Fort Meade area of Anne Arundel County from 2013-2015. We didn't enjoy the overall culture of the area, maybe because we lived on base and maybe just because its a crappy area. We will have one child in elementary and the other in middle school. We will get the results of their GT tests next week. Based on a MD public school skipping DS a grade a few years ago, with zero extra studying or pressure at home, we're guessing that at least one of the kids will be in GT / AAP. We also want them to be happy. Some of the best rated schools in both counties seem to have the typical rich kid issues according to reviews. So I'll state that we aren't wealthy although it looks like we could rent a modest place in almost any school boundary that we choose. We understand that test scores are linked more to demographics than anything else. I'm not sure how my kiddos school experience would be different from HoCo to Fairfax. I'm not sure how the way we would spend weekends would be different. They're both really nice areas overall. Any first hand experience with BOTH counties?

[Meddian]

Hi! I'm upping this so many years later because we are having the exact same doubt. We can remote work anywhere, and we have a 3-year-old with (nearly) diagnosed autism, and we'd like him to go to a school district whose preschools will support him the best way possible.

We are also in doubt between Fairfax County and Howard County -- it seems both have very good services for small children with such issues. If you can help us we would be most grateful!

Thank you!

[Turnerbro]

Reston is very similar to Columbia in terms of housing stock and the way the neighborhoods are laid out. They were built by the same developer originally. You might like it. I definitely would not want to commute from Reston to Baltimore though.