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Post by jmd74 on Jul 5, 2016 15:28:55 GMT
After being in Texas only 13 months we just found out that we are being PCS'd to Fort Belvoir next spring. To be honest, I am not too happy as we are finally settled here and we love Texas!
We will have a HS Sophomore, any advice on schools? Living on or off post? What areas to avoid? We have a son who is living at home while going to college but we are not sure he will move with us.
Thanks!
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eleezybeth
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,784
Jun 28, 2014 20:42:01 GMT
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Post by eleezybeth on Jul 5, 2016 15:44:16 GMT
Where will you/spouse be working?
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Post by elaine on Jul 5, 2016 15:50:52 GMT
After being in Texas only 13 months we just found out that we are being PCS'd to Fort Belvoir next spring. To be honest, I am not too happy as we are finally settled here and we love Texas! We will have a HS Sophomore, any advice on schools? Living on or off post? What areas to avoid? We have a son who is living at home while going to college but we are not sure he will move with us. Thanks! Fairfax County Schools are excellent - that is one thing not to worry about, if you choose to live in Fairfax Co. Live on-base, if possible, but there usually is a years' long wait. It is insanely expensive here. Townhouses start in the $300K range and houses start at around $475-500K. |
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Post by jmd74 on Jul 5, 2016 15:54:27 GMT
We will find out this evening where exactly he will work.
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Post by Basket1lady on Jul 5, 2016 16:01:45 GMT
I'll PM you.
DH worked at Belvoir for several years. We choose to live south, as houses are cheaper. DH is a Colonel and we were finding with our BAH and renting, we were looking at some pretty crummy houses with no garages. For another $500 a month the housing improved significantly. But we were trying hard to not pay out of pocket. Plus, we had lived here when DH was a major/lt colonel, so the kids already had friends in the area.
DH goes into work early-about 4:30. So morning traffic isn't an issue. When he came home, traffic was rough--it usually took him about 45-60 minutes to get home. But there are new HOV lanes now where you can use them as HOV lanes or pay if you have to get home quicker. It's often about $5-10, but you can make an event if that's why you need to get home quicker. DH only used it if he needed to be home early or if he had a horrible day. I'd say maybe one a month or every other month.
Fairfax County vs Prince William County schools--school districts are by county here. There is no disputing that FC has more funding for their schools. But I honestly couldn't see where it went in the day to day schooling. We were looking at middle schools and high schools. They all had the advanced classes, the curriculum was similar, class offerings were similar, as were class sizes. The schools were all huge and the FC schools we interviewed seemed similar in size and atmosphere to the PWC schools. I interviewed several schools because I wanted to know if my kids would really be missing out by going to a PWC school vs a FC school.
There are several big universities in the area (George Mason is right in Fairfax, just west of Belvoir). And NOVA Community College is huge around here with lots of campuses. Lots of kids go there for their first 2 years.
For us, the biggest negative is that DH was transferred to Bolling last year and that commute over the bridge is just a bear. But he asked for it, as we didn't want to move DD her last 2 years of high school. She will graduate next year from the same HS she started in and that was really important to us. He worked at the Pentagon last time we were here and took a commuter bus every day from a commuter lot. He almost always took a nap on the bus, both coming and going. He actually really liked the bus and said it gave him some down time before he got home to the kids.
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