Anyone living and/or homeschooling in VA or MD?

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alaskaaggies

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We’re a homeschooling military family with six children and were just notified that my husband’s next assignment will be at the Pentagon.

I am a bit nervous about finding a decent place to live and what homeschooling will be like there. I’ve heard mostly negative things concerning both areas. “Cost of living there is enormously high… hs laws are strict… blah, blah, blah.” I’ve looked up both state laws on the HSLDA web site and quite frankly they don’t look *that * different.

I would love to get information any of you might have in regards to these areas.

Blessings and thanks in advance!
 
If your husband doesn’t mind a bit of a commute, Frederick County Maryland is very nice. I didn’t homeschool when we lived there, but I knew a number of homeschooling Catholic families there. They would normally get together for daily mass, and I know there was some type of cooperative arrangement with the homeschoolers. They belonged to a group called TORCH (Teachings of the Roman Catholic Home) and would meet together regularly at the parish.

Frederick County is also a little less expensive than some of the closer in suburbs. It is a very family and church oriented place though.
 
I live in Northern Virginia…right by DC. You are going to LOVE it here. yes, the cost of housing is astronimical but the communties are great. It may take a bit of time to get used to, but I really think that you and your family will soon be very happy here.
I love the Fredericksburg, VA area…but it would be a bit of a commute for your husband. Also, there are sections of Alexandria that are not too bad pricewise.

Feel free to ask me any questiosn you might have concerning the area.
 
We live in Westminster … St. John’s Parish is absolutely AWESOME!! It’s pricey, but a great place to live.

IT’s about an hour and a half commute from here, but I know a few people who do. In my opinion it is worth a commute to raise the children in a less “citified” environment, but you would know what is best for your family.
God bless you on your relocation.
 
There are large wonderful groups of Catholic hsing families in Frederick Co, in Montgomery co. and in Carroll co. Maryland. I’m talking 3 different groups of 50+ families each, so you will have lots of companionship. Carroll and Frederick Co. are the least expensive to live in. I love living in rural MD. St. John’s in Westminster is awesome. In Montgomery co. there is St. John Neumann’s in Gaithersburg that has a wonderful pair of priests who are really reaching out to the hs community.
Hsing in MD is not a problem.
 
Welcome! We are a military family of with 3 children and also homeschool, but we are just a few hours east of you.
 
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Ana:
We live in Westminster … St. John’s Parish is absolutely AWESOME!! .
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Oh my gosh! You have Fr. Leo. He’s the best.

MD is a great place to homeschool. The rules are not constraining.

—KCT
 
Okay, so MD is lookin’ pretty good for the HS part. I just started pulling up some info on rentals in both VA and MD. (not sure yet how long we’re supposed to be there… 2-3 yrs is my guess) We looked at buying for about a half a second, but mil pay ain’t THAT great ;). Most of the places we’re coming up with in our price range that are an acceptable distance are in VA. How far out is Westminster? That’s in Fredrick co, yes?

Lots of nice places (at least by lookin’ online) so far, in Fredericksburg, VA. That’s about 40 miles or so out?

Westminster sounds great! How many miles (approx) from there to the Pentagon? Is that on a or near a commuter train route --pls forgive the ignorance here-- I’ll get a map of the area soon so I can figure some of these things out for myself. 😛

DH and I are planning to go for a visit in March, so it will be nice to be familiar with some of the information and places y’all have provided.

THANK YOU!!
 
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alaskaaggies:
Okay, so MD is lookin’ pretty good for the HS part. I just started pulling up some info on rentals in both VA and MD. (not sure yet how long we’re supposed to be there… 2-3 yrs is my guess) We looked at buying for about a half a second, but mil pay ain’t THAT great ;). Most of the places we’re coming up with in our price range that are an acceptable distance are in VA. How far out is Westminster? That’s in Fredrick co, yes?

Lots of nice places (at least by lookin’ online) so far, in Fredericksburg, VA. That’s about 40 miles or so out?

Westminster sounds great! How many miles (approx) from there to the Pentagon? Is that on a or near a commuter train route --pls forgive the ignorance here-- I’ll get a map of the area soon so I can figure some of these things out for myself. 😛

DH and I are planning to go for a visit in March, so it will be nice to be familiar with some of the information and places y’all have provided.

THANK YOU!!
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Westminster is in Carroll County. My husband says it takes an hour to an hour and a half to get to the pentagon, depending on traffic. About 55 miles.
 
I live in the Columbia area. Columbia is in Howard County. Columbia is only minutes from Ft. Meade where if you are getting on base housing could be where you are going. Columbia/Howard County itself can be pretty expensive, but also has one of the best school systems in the area. Not sure about the home schooling rules but I know several kids in my scout troop are home schooled and they don’t complain much about the rules.

This area is about 30 minutes from the Pentagon. Time varies depending on if you decide to drive, take MARC (local train system) or Metro (the subway.) Columbia is half way between Baltimore and DC.

Although I wouldn’t suggest any of the churches in Columbia there are several good churches outside Columbia (i.e St. Louis, St Mary of the Mills.)

Let me know if you want any more details on the area. I also just found out my neighbors townhouse is going be available for rent at the end of the month.
 
I am rather jealous! We lived in N. VA for ten years (move to the west coast 2004) and came into the Church there. The Arlington Diocese of N.VA is wonderful and very orthadox. Almost every parish you visit will make you feel at home. There is a huge homeschooling group. In any one of the parishes you will have no problem finding hs families.

These catholic families are very serious about being catholic and the education of their children. So even the parish schools are an easy option.

As for rentals: Fairfax Co. will have your highest rates but parishes are great. Look into St. John’s, McLean (pronouced MC Lane) and St. Catherine of Sienna, Great Falls. As you move further south west into Prince William Co you will find an abundance of rentals for really reasonable prices and they vary. Some parishes here would be All Saints (huge parish), in Manassas, my favorite Holy Trinity in Bristow, And then there is Loudoun Co.

Commuting is awful!!! It will take you longer to get to the Pentagon from the MD side then from the N. VA side. The Beltway in both directions is insane and 66 unless you commute is just as dreadfull but what can you do. The metro line is great runs parallel to 66 on the N.VA side, threw DC from MD side. There are some great places to rent in S. Arlington right by the Pentagon. Rents are reasonable. Stay out of DC. Your husband will probably find some guys to commute with at some point.

Visit www.arlingtondiocese.org to look up these areas and the parishes. Also, visit www.catholic-homeschool.com this is the TORCH group someone mentioned before.

There is so much to here. It will be a great place for you and your family to live for the next couple of years. I have been hs for 7 years (5 of them there) and never felt out of place.

Good Luck and if you want to contact me for further info please feel free!
Blessings
 
I forgot. If you are need of a doctor may I suggest Tepeyac Family Center. Visit their website www.tepeyacfamilycenter.com it is located in Fairfax, VA. There is one in MD too. It is run by all Catholic doctors. Boy do I miss that.

God Bless
 
Not to be completely obnoxious, but I forgot to comment on Laws. I don’t even know if you are still interested or reading these replies but here it goes.

In VA all you have to do is call your countys, say Prince William Co, school super intendants office and tell them you are planning on hs. They will send you a form that you need to fill out, then submit back to the Co. Very basic. If your children are 1st grade and older they will need to be “tested out” in which case you go to the “Seton” website, buy a Standardize test packet (say IOWA), thats grade appropriate, have your child take it per the directions, send it back to Seton, they grade it send you the official results and then you send it to the Co. That is it unless they have changed since I left two years ago but I doubt it. Hope that helps. Have fun!
 
My4Ducks

Yes, this certainly does help. I am about to post some similar questions to my online hs groups as well. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer. I’m starting to feel a bit better about the move with some of the information folks have shared with me here.

Blessings to you!
 
Oh I forgot to mention, if you want details on MD area and commuting to the Pentagon. One of the other leaders of my scout troop actually works at the Pentagon. He lives in Laurel, MD. And commutes every day via MARC (MD commuter train system) and the subway. If there are any specific questions I could relay them to him.
 
i know this is an old post but there is a chance we may move to NO.VA, possibly fredericksburg or somewhere out in spotsylvania county…i just wanted to see if anyone else on here is down that way with info
thanks
 
spacecadet said:
i know this is an old post but there is a chance we may move to NO.VA, possibly fredericksburg or somewhere out in spotsylvania county…i just wanted to see if anyone else on here is down that way with info
thanks
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Hey, welcome back, spacecadet! 👋
 
spacecadet said:
i know this is an old post but there is a chance we may move to NO.VA, possibly fredericksburg or somewhere out in spotsylvania county…i just wanted to see if anyone else on here is down that way with info
thanks
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I’m actually with the Frederick County, MD crowd above. I can tell you, though, that Fredericksburg is growing like a weed, as it’s become a de facto suburb of DC.

I know a lady who lived in King George (just east of F’burg) with her family, and housing there was pretty reasonable at the time (1998 or so). Not sure what it’s like now.
 
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