Large Family with Special Needs moving to NOVA

[Oldhag1]

As far as military hospitals, you may want to be located near Fort Belvoir, which now hosts more of the specialized care. Active military dependents with Tricare prime are allowed to use off base medical care here more than in most areas.

The amount of rent you are talking about generally gets people a lot less than you are asking for in Fairfax County. You'll get the best bang for your rent buck by commuting from south of the Occoquan River. Yes, that commute from the pentagon can be dicey at times, but if you can get near a direct commuter bus stop in Prince William County it isn't too bad. I know the time from the pentagon to the last stop on the Lake Ridge Omni bus is 55 minutes, which isn't so bad.

I do however want to warn about something, travel time per mile around here does not work the same as most of the country. What I was told, and what has held pretty true, is that you need to take your mileage and multiple it by three to figure out the travel time under normal conditions - please note, that is not rush hour. The distance from my house to Fort Belvoir is 11 miles and it generally takes me from 30-40 minutes to get there in the 9-10 am time frame. Traveling around and running errands is not as bad in the Stafford-Fredericksburg area, but then your husband's commute would be worse. It is, however, significantly cheaper down there and you can use the Quantico commissary and pharmacy. Any services you would need are most likely available in Fredericksburg too, and they do have a good hospital down there, so I wouldn't worry about that part.

It is a hard call to make and it is really hard to grasp how different things operate in this area until you are actually living here. Between your large family, budget, special needs, and limited time frame here, were I in your shoes, I would probably rent, at least until you can get a good grasp on the place.

ETA: 1/2 acre is a huge amount of land here.

[slduvall]

I agree with PP, being near Ft Belvoir would be a good start. And your budget would limit you to further south. But if you do have to come up to Belvoir vs Reed it would be much easier on you. There is also quicker access to Commisary and Exchange. You can go to the one down at Quantico, but then the medical care access would be limited/further away.

Congrats on your adoptions - I have a NSN from China, and she has changed my life. We aged out, so now just sponser thru Half of the Sky and LWB. Kudos to you.

[michgc]

Perhaps you can find something in Burke/West Springfield in your price range? Good schools, pretty convenient to most things and I believe a good commute to the Pentagon via public transportation.

[Yankeesfan]

I suggest Fairfax County, despite the cost. The school system is large enough to be able to find appropriate placements for your children. There is a large cluster of medical offices, including Children's Hospital offices, around Fairfax Hospital. The West Springfield-Burke area would likely have houses in your price range -- older, but in good shape, and with decent sized yards. That would be reasonable driving distance to the Fairfax Hospital area, Fort Belvoir, and the Pentagon. As mentioned by someone else, driving in Northern VA takes more time that most places due to traffic -- even in non-rush hours, you'll need to wait at more traffic lights than in other areas, for example. So being near to the places you need to go with make a difference.

God bless you and your wonderful family. When will you be arriving (sorry if I missed that detail in your previous posts)? Fairfax County has around two dozen high schools and around 150 elementary schools. If you have time, it might be worthwhile to call or meet with some special ed administrators to see if there is a particular cluster of schools they would recommend. I have no first-hand knowledge of that process so can't be more specific. The website is FCPS Home Page Redirect Page.

Good luck!