Fairfax vs. Arlington schools (Centreville, McLean: house, established neighborhood, best schools)

[mayonnaise1948]

We may be moving to Virginia in the next few months for my husband to take a job at the Pentagon.
We have two children who are going into 2nd grade and Kindergarten respectively. I've looked at the Arlington schools report cards and was very impressed with a few such as Arlington Traditional, Arlington Science Focus, McKinley, Jamestown... However, some people I've talked to here (IL) say that no one in their right mind sends kids to public schools anywhere in the DC area, period. Am I missing something?
I was also wondering:
-how Fairfax schools compare to Arlington schools in general. Is there a lot of variation among Fairfax schools?
-also, how are the middle schools and high schools in these areas?
-I understand VA's income tax rate is 9.5%, which is much higher than IL.We can probably afford a house in the mid $700K range. Any idea what the property taxes are like?
-what is the best music school/ conservatory in the area?

Thank you.

[stacylee926]

Well, in general, your 'friend' has no clue about schools in the DC area!! Go to the NoVa forum and say that and people will laugh! In all seriousness, Fairfax schools are rated as some of the best in the country! It is a huge school system in one of the wealthiest counties in the country. I grew up in Arlington schools (in the 60s and 70s) but of course that was a while ago . Much of Arlington is older, smaller, established neighborhoods and Fairfax is bigger, newer and sspprreeaadd out. My children went to Fairfax schools (Centreville) and got wonderful educations - especially my son who was put in Spec Ed because he is a slower reader.

I cannot suggest specific schools - and I think that is silly anyway because the area is HUGE. You really have to narrow it down or you will way too many personal opinions on the subject. Generally, you cannot go wrong in either of those school systems. What will really drive your decision, is $$ and how long you want to sit in traffic to get to work . For 700k, you will get a smaller, older home in Arlington closer to DH's job. In Fairfax you will get a larger home in more of a suburban setting with at least 1 hr+ commute to the Pentagon.

[vanyali]

DC city schools are crap. There are a couple of OK elementary schools in the upper NW part of the city, but that's it. Your IL friends are right that you can't send your kids to DC public schools.

BUT, once you step foot across the city line, a lot of the schools are top-notch. Arlington is awesome. Bethesda/Chevy Chase in MD is awesome. Both areas are fairly urban, and as close in to DC as you can get without having a DC mailing address. A lot of the other VA and MD suburban areas have great schools too, both close in and farther out (some have bad schools too, you have to research).

A smaller point -- you need to distinguish between Fairfax City schools and Fairfax County schools. It's not that one group of schools is bad and the other good, but Fairfax County is HUGE. Fairfax City is like one suburb in Fairfax County.

Your limiting factors are going to be (1) commute time, (2) housing cost, and (3) schools, in that order, when finding a place to live. There are enough good schools around (outside of the city itself) that you'll be OK mainly focusing on the other two I think.

[chill2008]

I JUST TALKED WITH A HOUSING SPECIALIST IN FAIRFAX. I STAY IN OMAHA, AND HAVE 2 CHILDREN IN SCHOOL, AND SHE SAID THAT FAIRFAX HAS THE BEST SCHOOLS AND AREA EVER...I AM THINKING OF MOVING THERE AFTER I GRADUATE.....

[slim04]

I don't know the Fairfax County Schools in detail, but I do know that the schools in the nicer, more affluent areas (i.e. McLean, Langley) generally have better schools with higher test scores vs. than the less affluent areas.

Arlington's schools are comparable to Fairfax County, but some folks aren't happy with the elementary schools in So. Arlington (south of Arlington Blvd.).

Virginia's income tax has a marginal rate of 5.75%. Arlington's property tax is .82% of assessed value, roughly $3200 per $400,000 house.

You might get better info in the Northern Virginia board.