Single parent moving to USPTO job (Arlington, Alexandria: for sale, real estate, apartment)

[kk2012]

In summer 2012 that I will be moving to VA for a USPTO job. I am a single parent. I would love to know where would be the best place to live closest to the USPTO that is a nice family town with a great school district/elememtary schools. My kids will be in 4th and 2nd grade when we move. I am thinking Arlington or Fairfax. How are the schools in Alexandria? Please let me know any information that would help me decide where would be right for my small family. Thank you everyone

[LynchburgLover]

Congratulations on the job! However, you didn't give anywhere near enough information in your post for people to make suggestions. Everything in Washington, like everywhere, revolves around your budget.

If you can give a rough idea of price range: renting? buying? house? townhouse? apartment? if apartment, how many bedrooms? high rise? garden? bringing a car? do you need a garage? access to Metro? anything else that is pertinent. If one of your children has special needs or has a hobby that requires special facilities (for instance, he/she is madly in love with hockey, so there must be an ice rink nearby)

I'm afraid "nice family town" is kind of vague. You must realize that Fairfax/Arlington/Alexandria is a very densely populated area and not really segregated into "towns".

Generally, you'll find the schools are very good. Of course, there are a few exceptions and, unfortunately, the quality of the school will be partly determined by your budget. There's no point in someone telling you that School A is the very best if all the housing in that district is out of your price range.

Best of luck.

[LynchburgLover]

Oh, also, you need to re-post your question in the "Northern Virginia" forum. You'll get a lot more replies.

[kk2012]

Thank you for your guidance. I will repost in the correct venue and provide greater detail. I am looking for 2-3 bedrooms for 2-3k range. I would ideally like to live in Alexandria but am uncertain about the school system. I will be coming from the west coast suberb with a wonderful school district.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by kk2012

Thank you for your guidance. I will repost in the correct venue and provide greater detail. I am looking for 2-3 bedrooms for 2-3k range. I would ideally like to live in Alexandria but am uncertain about the school system. I will be coming from the west coast suberb with a wonderful school district.

You'll probably find the elementary schools in Alexandria fine. Class sizes are small and the teachers are good. However because there is only one high school in the city it draws from a more diverse racial and socio-economic pool of students. Some people here don't care for that and live in less diverse parts of nearby Fairfax County or send the kids to private schools. The high school, TC Williams, itself is fine as far as teachers, facility (it's brand new in fact) and curriculum. However that doesn't sound like it'll be an issue for you for awhile.

[ersatz]

kk2012

As you know, you should repost in the Northern Virginia forum for a broader range of answers. That being said, your projected rental budget is a realistic one for the area. Use Zillow - Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Recent Sales, Apartment Rentals and select for rentals (not sales) to do your first rough pick. Zip code 22304 should put you within walking or bicycle distance of your office.

Search within zipcodes 22311, 22312, and 22314 for the City of Alexandria. Look at https://www.city-data.com/zipmaps/Ale...-Virginia.html for nearby zip codes (also called Alexandria but actually in Fairfax County). Fairfax schools are sometimes considered a bit better than the City of Alexandria schools. School quality in Fairfax typically improves west of I-95 as you get into the richer neighborhoods. Do take advantage of City-Data (not forum) to research specific neighborhoods.

You can drive (dunno about parking availability at PTO) or use public transport. Two DASH buses service that area and can be picked up at a couple of different metro stations.

General Alexandria bus routes can be found at http://www.dashbus.com/uploadedFiles...PTOCarlyle.pdf

Specific stops for PTO

http://www.dashbus.com/uploadedFiles...PTOCarlyle.pdf

Use GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community to do your first check on possible schools but take results with a grain of salt. Nothing can replace going and checking out the possible schools yourself. If you have specific questions about a specific school and neighborhood, ask us by posting a specific thread in the Northern Virgina forum. Put the neighborhood or school in the thread title in order to increase your chances of a reply from people who know the location specifically.

Good luck and welcome to our neighborhood.

[kk2012]

Thank you all for the helpful information. I have posted it also on the No. Virg. forum.