Moving to Northern Virginia, advice needed!

[wanderlust]

@Tiramit

I believe the Loudoun County school system is still #1 in the nation? If it isn’t, it’s very close to the top.

Something else to consider is if you’re a little north of Purcellville, your husband could drive up to Brunswick or Point of Rocks and catch the Maryland Marc commuter train (real train, not metro). Country roads for the drive with few, if any lights. The train can take him into the city and he can read a book in peace the whole way.

Loudoun schools are hit or miss. We looked at moving out to the Lovettsville/Purcellville area but the school ratings are horrible.

OP- McLean has great schools and a pretty easy commute into DC. It will be 45 minutes non-rush hour to Middleburg. The other place to consider is Potomac/Darnestown/Poolesville. Potomac is also a pretty easy commute in, very pricey, but fantastic schools and 20 minutes to the barns in Poolesville. Darnestown is a little past Potomac, you get a lot more house for the money, and houses are usually set on ~2 acres. 10 minutes to civilization, 5 minutes to a grocery store.

Poolesville is a great small town, has a couple of good restaurants, a Tractor Supply, a tack shop and several good h/j barns. 10 minutes to grocery store, 15 minutes to real civilization. The schools are some of the best in the state and Poolesville High is a magnet school for sciences, I believe. You get a lot of house for the money, and it’s also a pretty easy commute into DC if driving.

[Mayaty02]

@wanderlust

Loudoun schools are hit or miss. We looked at moving out to the Lovettsville/Purcellville area but the school ratings are horrible.

Ratings or not, we’ve been in the Purcellville area since 2009 and my kids have been through the school system from 1st grade to now 10th and the schools are GREAT. I don’t know what the ratings are based on but our schools are consistently among the top in Loudoun and the state (as well as country).

[ElementFarm]

I work in Maclean and its tough to balance a full time job and getting out to ride after work (or school).

I rode with Terri at Clairvaux for a few months and really liked her. And her lesson horses weren’t bad (one I fell in love with) but the 60-90 min drive out there after work sapped the life out of me. I just couldn’t do it once the days got shorter/colder/darker. The drive back after riding wasn’t bad, since rush-hour traffic was wrapped up, but by the time I factored in driving time, budget, and the repercussions of not getting home until after 9pm every time, I just couldn’t keep it up. I tried two other places closer to me, but they were very backyard places, with honestly kind of scary tack and turnout. I only did one lesson each and just. Nope.

If you can ride during the day when the kids are in school, I think you’d have several decent options. I don’t know how traffic is where you are now, but from about 2:30 through 6:30, it can take 45 mins to drive 8 miles here. And it’s worse when it’s raining, or, gasp, snowing. So that means doing afternoon/evening rides during the week with your one riding child will involve a lot of time in a car.
Virginia Equestrian is a good resource.
http://www.virginiaequestrian.com/ma…ages&GPType=23

Sadly I’ve given up trying to ride during the week while I live in the city. Instead I pack in as much saddle time as possible on weekends when I head back down to NC.

ETA, if I wasn’t driving to NC every Friday night, I think I would have been happier living in MD. If that’s an option for you, it might be worth investigating. DH can still metro in to work, and I feel like MD is slightly more affordable with easier drives out to decent H/J programs.

[wanderlust]

@Mayaty02

Ratings or not, we’ve been in the Purcellville area since 2009 and my kids have been through the school system from 1st grade to now 10th and the schools are GREAT. I don’t know what the ratings are based on but our schools are consistently among the top in Loudoun and the state (as well as country).

Yes- most of the Purcellville schools were good. The elementary zoned to the property we were looking at seemed to be the outlier. The elementary schools in Lovettsville were not good. The source of the ratings is greatschools.org, which has all the state testing information and then breaks it down by different socioeconomic segments. While its arguable that standardized tests shouldn’t be the sole criteria for school ratings, it’s the best that we seem to have right now.

[JenEM]

You’ve gotten some good barn recommendations, so I’ll just add, as a former NoVA resident/currentMarylander, to look at your husband’s work and transit options carefully when making living decisions, and if possible, talk with coworkers on where they live and how they commute. One option somewhere like Leesburg would give you, is the Dulles Toll Rd going in to DC, too, which would help with commute traffic somewhat. Eventually I think the Silver Line is going to be pretty close out that way and an option, too. On the MD side, somewhere in western Montgomery County would give you similar options in the Poolesville/Dickerson area, with a MARC stop in Dickerson going in to DC.

Maclean is close in, but is going to be a long ways to get anywhere to ride. I lived in VA for 8 years and only had my horse in VA for about 8 months before moving her back to MD, because the commute out to barns from close in was horrible, and it was easier for me to get to MD. If you’re going to be wanting to go to the barn twice a day, once for you and once for your daughter, you’re not going to be wanting the 45min+ commutes out to ride. You’ll want to be close to where you’re riding. If it were me, I’d opt for somewhere in the Leesburg/Purcellville area for living, because it will allow you to be close to multiple barn options, similar choice for Poolesville/Dickerson area in MD, if you need/want to be on the western side of DC.

I lived in Falls Church, VA for 8 years, and was 9 miles from my job near Union Station; I relocated out to Annapolis, MD 2 years ago, significantly farther away (25 miles?), and it’s only taking me 15 minutes longer to get in to work. It really depends on how flexible your commute timing is (and it sounds like your husband’s is fairly flexible) and what your commuting options are, given where you’re going.

[AKB]

Look carefully at the school options. We lived in Great Falls, VA for years. It was not a bad commute for my husband to get to work in DC. We had our horses in our 5 acre backyard. The schools were too large and crowded, and not what we wanted for our kids. Langley High School is a great school for many, but not for all. We ended up doing private schools, which were very expensive but worthwhile for our daughters.

[Mayaty02]

@wanderlust

Yes- most of the Purcellville schools were good. The elementary zoned to the property we were looking at seemed to be the outlier. The elementary schools in Lovettsville were not good. The source of the ratings is greatschools.org, which has all the state testing information and then breaks it down by different socioeconomic segments. While its arguable that standardized tests shouldn’t be the sole criteria for school ratings, it’s the best that we seem to have right now.

Lovettsville elementary has not had good ratings the length of time we have lived here and I would not personally live there. I noticed Harmony Middle has a 6/10 on great schools and I have to say Harmony is a GREAT school! And to say that my kids thoroughly enjoyed their middle school years… well that says something. Very well laid out to discourage bullying by older kids, and the staff is amazing. But I digress. OP as I have already said, feel free to ask any specific questions about the schools in our area via PM!

[poltroon]

As far as schools go, I don’t know Virginia but I do know schools, and I’d suggest that before you write off a neighborhood based on school reputation, that you actually go and visit, meet the principal or whatever, and set foot on the grounds. Test scores or what people in the area think are one dimension but not necessarily a measure of how well your kids will do there. You know your kids and what it is they need out of a school; see if the schools in question feel like a good fit. A school with a lower numeric ranking may sometimes be more supportive. IME, I have frequently been surprised how different the numeric rankings are compared to my personal assessment.

In particular, being at a super competitive “top school” isn’t right for everyone. Some kids will do better being with peers that will really push them and some will really fade in that kind of situation.

Good luck with your move!

[gottagrey]

@Bella08

Agree, I can’t be going an hour to the grocery store. But, don’t the smaller towns have stores, soccer etc? I definitely would love a country feel (I grew up in the New England countryside on many acres of land, so that feeling isn’t unknown to me), but I absolutely don’t want to be somewhere so remote that people don’t want to bring their kids to my house for a play date. Only one child rides, she is in middle school. Of course the other kids do other sports/activities, but nothing super intense (they are early elementary school age.) On a side note, how common is it to get into fox hunting if you are into riding? Clearly we have a ton of variables and there is no clear or easy answer- but, I appreciate all the advice! Top of the list is schools for the kids. It seems like there are so many barns that we will have some choices. And, yes a barn with a few lesson horses or horses that we could lease quickly will be key at least to start out. I don’t think I can stay sane staying out of the tack for long!

Honestly Bella08 - based on this last post, I would suggest you look in the Montgomery County area (great schools) in the North Potomac/Gaithersburg/Rockville, Potomac, and North Bethesda areas in Maryland. These areas feed into good public schools and would allow you to get to barn within 30 minutes. Close to shopping and DC as well as getting out to the country. Or you could head further out to Poolesville, Dickerson/Boyds area which is in the country and suburbia, and about an hour from downtown DC. The Potomac Hunt is out in this area and several barns that are local/A barns are also involved in fox hunting so would be easy for you to get involved in hunting. I can’t speak of barns in Virginia and it wouldn’t surprise me if there were similar barns out in Middleburg where they show and foxhunt. 2 barns in MD that I know of would be good as they have a good mix of adult and Jr. riders.

[Limerick2017]

@wanderlust

Loudoun schools are hit or miss. We looked at moving out to the Lovettsville/Purcellville area but the school ratings are horrible.

OP- McLean has great schools and a pretty easy commute into DC. It will be 45 minutes non-rush hour to Middleburg. The other place to consider is Potomac/Darnestown/Poolesville. Potomac is also a pretty easy commute in, very pricey, but fantastic schools and 20 minutes to the barns in Poolesville. Darnestown is a little past Potomac, you get a lot more house for the money, and houses are usually set on ~2 acres. 10 minutes to civilization, 5 minutes to a grocery store.

Poolesville is a great small town, has a couple of good restaurants, a Tractor Supply, a tack shop and several good h/j barns. 10 minutes to grocery store, 15 minutes to real civilization. The schools are some of the best in the state and Poolesville High is a magnet school for sciences, I believe. You get a lot of house for the money, and it’s also a pretty easy commute into DC if driving.

I think you should move to Poolesville. It sounds awesome!!

[Bella08]

@blondewithchrome

Lots of folks in this area stick around for the winter - we do have a good winter ‘circuit’ in this zone between the McDonogh shows in MD, shows at Swan Lake in PA, The Barracks in VA, and shows in Lexington VA. I haven’t been in VA for a while, but others that come to mind are Cavallo Farm (the Bertozzis) and Alan Lohman in Poolesville MD (also doable from McLean). If you’re willing to venture to MD and want to be in Montgomery Co as gottagrey mentioned, Rolling Acres is in Brookeville MD. There’s a few others outside the “quick drive to take the girls after school” radius if you’re interested.

The closer you get to DC, the worse traffic will be on either side of the river. McLean is lovely, but is definitely more expensive than Purcellville. Totally depends on what you want. Commuting to and from the barn every day can be a nightmare in this area, but if you time it right and avoid rush hour it can all be ‘reasonable.’ Good luck!

I’m definitely interested in hearing any other recommendations on barns in Md. I’m really learning a ton from this thread, and am really interested in looking out in Md when we come back to look in October. I don’t know why I wasn’t really considering it before, I think I remember hearing somewhere all the horse stuff was very far from DC, but that appears not to be the case at all! My two boys do not love going to and from the barn to pick their sister up from lessons, so closer to the barn is a plus!

[Bella08]

@Limerick2017

I think you should move to Poolesville. It sounds awesome!!

I literally knew nothing about Poolesville before this thread, and I kind of agree - it does sound awesome! Definitely checking it out when we come and look in October.

[Bella08]

@gottagrey

Honestly Bella08 - based on this last post, I would suggest you look in the Montgomery County area (great schools) in the North Potomac/Gaithersburg/Rockville, Potomac, and North Bethesda areas in Maryland. These areas feed into good public schools and would allow you to get to barn within 30 minutes. Close to shopping and DC as well as getting out to the country. Or you could head further out to Poolesville, Dickerson/Boyds area which is in the country and suburbia, and about an hour from downtown DC. The Potomac Hunt is out in this area and several barns that are local/A barns are also involved in fox hunting so would be easy for you to get involved in hunting. I can’t speak of barns in Virginia and it wouldn’t surprise me if there were similar barns out in Middleburg where they show and foxhunt. 2 barns in MD that I know of would be good as they have a good mix of adult and Jr. riders.

Thanks a million for this advice, very thoughtful and pretty spot on to things we need and want. I’ve never set foot in Maryland before, and for whatever reason, thought all the riding was quite far out from DC in MD. I also didn’t realize what amazing schools they have. Would love to know if anyone knows barns that combine showing and fox hunting and/or separate recommendations for both. I’ve never fox hunted before, but when we visited Middleburg a month ago we were able to follow a hunt, and it looked incredibly fun!

[Bella08]

@wanderlust

Loudoun schools are hit or miss. We looked at moving out to the Lovettsville/Purcellville area but the school ratings are horrible.

OP- McLean has great schools and a pretty easy commute into DC. It will be 45 minutes non-rush hour to Middleburg. The other place to consider is Potomac/Darnestown/Poolesville. Potomac is also a pretty easy commute in, very pricey, but fantastic schools and 20 minutes to the barns in Poolesville. Darnestown is a little past Potomac, you get a lot more house for the money, and houses are usually set on ~2 acres. 10 minutes to civilization, 5 minutes to a grocery store.

Poolesville is a great small town, has a couple of good restaurants, a Tractor Supply, a tack shop and several good h/j barns. 10 minutes to grocery store, 15 minutes to real civilization. The schools are some of the best in the state and Poolesville High is a magnet school for sciences, I believe. You get a lot of house for the money, and it’s also a pretty easy commute into DC if driving.

Thanks so much! Awesome inside scoop. I never really knew anything about any of these towns before in Maryland. I’ve been checking them all out online today and they look really great. Great schools, not too far from DC, and houses not right on top of one another. I’m really curious to see if these areas have the charm of the Middleburg area that we have been looking at so far. One of our boys is wild about science and very bright, so I’ll have to peek at that magnet school! Curious which h/j barns you recommend since it sounds like you are pretty familiar with the area.

[Bella08]

@Tiramit

Commuter traffic on highways during peak hours, yes, but not all Northern Virginia driving is in traffic, lol. We can drive into the city for evening events or on the weekends without hitting much traffic. If she’s coming from CA, it won’t be too much different.

Haha, true! We live in an LA suburb are traffic is nothing new to us. I can tell it’s definitely a real issue in NOVA though based on how often it’s a topic of conversation.

[Bella08]

@AcrossTheCountry

Are you set on living in VA? There are plenty of places in MD, with great schools and H/J trainers, that will also allow your hubby to commute to DC. My husband and I moved from Long Beach (SoCal) to Annapolis, and we were both working in Crystal City at the time. We took the Orange line (Metro) from New Carrolton to work every day - easy peasy.

No, we really aren’t, but we knew a little bit of the Middleburg area and some partners in my husband’s firm also live out there so we really honed in on that area and over towards Leesburg due to influence from those he knew who love it, and my being very into horses. For whatever reason it seemed like there were so many options to consider in VA, we just didn’t think much about MD! This move has come up very fast for us, so I’m learning on the run. I also had never been to VA or MD before September (other then Dulles!) so I’m just learning on the go.

[touchstone]

I can’t speak to schools, but there are a lot of good riding options on the Maryland side.

The commuting in the DC area is really and truly dreadful. I read about it before moving here, but it took living there to really get it. I would encourage you to consider places proximate to public transit so your husband has options if he gets burned out sitting in traffic amid terrible drivers.

[Mayaty02]

@Bella08

Thanks so much! Awesome inside scoop. I never really knew anything about any of these towns before in Maryland. I’ve been checking them all out online today and they look really great. Great schools, not too far from DC, and houses not right on top of one another. I’m really curious to see if these areas have the charm of the Middleburg area that we have been looking at so far. One of our boys is wild about science and very bright, so I’ll have to peek at that magnet school! Curious which h/j barns you recommend since it sounds like you are pretty familiar with the area.

Hate to be the debbie downer LOL but we board in Poolesville and go there several times a week and it in no way shape or form compares to Middleburg… the town itself I find a bit lacking in everything other than a CVS, McDonalds and a gas station or two. lol It looks like the high school is well regarded, though the school itself is an older facility in need of updates apparently.

What I have seen of the downtown area of Potomac Village at least is cute if heavily trafficked and again no Middleburg, but then Middleburg is unique, even in horse country. I know several people who live there and love it, so certainly worth looking at.

[Tiramit]

@Mayaty02

Hate to be the debbie downer LOL but we board in Poolesville and go there several times a week and it in no way shape or form compares to Middleburg… the town itself I find a bit lacking in everything other than a CVS, McDonalds and a gas station or two. lol It looks like the high school is well regarded, though the school itself is an older facility in need of updates apparently.

What I have seen of the downtown area of Potomac Village at least is cute if heavily trafficked and again no Middleburg, but then Middleburg is unique, even in horse country. I know several people who live there and love it, so certainly worth looking at.

I wasn’t going to comment, but as a person who grew up in Bethesda and has family in Potomac and Bethesda now, I’d suggest Virginia. Maryland / Montgomery County is nice… IMHO, Loudoun County in Virginia (your Leesburg / Purcellville options) offers more amenities and barn opportunities plus open space than Montgomery County, Maryland. Just make sure your husband can connect to one of the commuter options such as the train, metro, or shuttle bus.

If it tells you anything, my mother and her husband spend almost every weekend in Loudoun visiting wineries and shopping than in Maryland. They come because they prefer it, we don’t see them, lol.

[Grasshopper]

I grew up in Northern VA; although I’ve been gone a long time, I have family and friends who still live and work there. I think you’ll be able to find good schools and good barns in either VA or MD. The big differences will be commuting and land prices, so I’d encourage a good talk with your husband about what he will be happy with, since he’ll be the one doing the commuting. 66 now has toll lanes (I forget if they still call them HOV’), so that may be an option for easier commuting. Metro is also pretty good if you find a place near a metro line, but be aware that parking for the metro can be a bear.

Even coming from LA, the traffic can be infuriating. Without traffic, I could do the drive from Dale City VA to downtown Baltimore MD in 1.5-2 hours. One Friday afternoon I left at the very beginning of rush hour and it took me over 5 hours. It’s the main factor that keeps me from getting homesick. October in that area can be absolutely gorgeous, though, and is the time of year I do get a bit homesick!

RE schools, Thomas Jefferson is a public magnet school based in Alexandria, VA but pulls from the whole region. If your kid(s) is interested in that option, factor in the commute for him as well, assuming he gets accepted. It can be a little brutal to have to take the bus at 5 am right when you’re in the teenage years and needing more sleep. Overall, the public schools in VA are (or at least used to be) some of the best in the country. I’d say, on balance, it also has better/more public university options than MD, so that may be something to consider as well (qualifying for in-state tuition…).