Ashburn vs. Leesburg VA (Purcellville, Hamilton: crime, new home, layoffs)

[cheer/hockey mom]

My husband is being relocated to the DC area for work. We have visited several times & always come back to the Ashburn/Leesburg area. We have 3 children...2 in competitive cheer & 1 in travel ice hockey. Schools are important to us...2 are in elementary, 1 in middle school. Which in your opinion is the better & why? Is there anywhere else in VA or MD you would look at taking in consideration the schools & activities for our kids? Commute isn't an issue since my husband can work from his home office. We will be looking to purchase a newer home in a family friendly neighborhood with good schools for around 600,000+

Thanks for your help!

[arielmina]

I am not very knowledgable about schools in Ashburn but I believe they are pretty universally good. Leesburg is a little more hit and miss, especially at the middle and high school levels. I personally could never live in Ashburn because I favor more of a country, rural community and I find Ashburn to be too uniform. Some people love it, I couldn't live there - in fact I was just driving through yesterday mourning all of the abandoned older houses that will clearly be razed to make room for some future development.

That said, I love Leesburg, it's more of a diverse community, with a better mix of historic, mid century and new homes. I also prefer it's old town center.

Have you considered any of the towns surrounding Leesburg? In your budget and with a home office, you could consider Hamilton, Purcellville, Round Hill and Waterford, all of which have excellent schools (from K-12) and are great family friendly communities.

[Ashburnite]

Ashburn is a good option for you. The Ashburn Ice House is located there and more than likely will be the location for ice hockey practices. It is also home to one, if not two, cheerleading schools. The public schools are very good in general, although I'm sure some are considered better than others.

Most of the neighborhoods in Ashburn are very family friendly but some are more so than others. Take a close look when considering a house as to whether or not you see children playing outside or evidence of children close to your children's ages. Almost every street has children living on it but they may not be similar ages to your own. Feel free to chat up the neighbors and get a feel for each place.

[JD984]

Competitive cheer for elementary school students definitely strikes me as more of an Ashburn thing than a Leesburg thing. Move soon enough and maybe the cheerleaders can cheer for Stone Bridge at the state football playoffs.

[stpickrell]

Ashburn schools are, on average, a bit better than Leesburg schools (not sure what makes Catoctin ES poor on test scores.) If cheer/hockey is important, then I suspect Ashburn will be more up your alley, although it's not as if Leesburg is out in BFE, so if you like living in a more established area like Leesburg inside the bypass then that'd work too.

[cheer/hockey mom]

Originally Posted by Ashburnite

Ashburn is a good option for you. The Ashburn Ice House is located there and more than likely will be the location for ice hockey practices. It is also home to one, if not two, cheerleading schools. The public schools are very good in general, although I'm sure some are considered better than others.

Most of the neighborhoods in Ashburn are very family friendly but some are more so than others. Take a close look when considering a house as to whether or not you see children playing outside or evidence of children close to your children's ages. Almost every street has children living on it but they may not be similar ages to your own. Feel free to chat up the neighbors and get a feel for each place.

What are some neighborhoods in Ashburn you would consider with kids my age...11,9, & 7? We are looking at spending around 600,000.
Thanks for all your help!!!! I appreciate it so much! :-)

[MrsEvie64]

I would check out Broadlands. Also, Lansdowne, which is technically Leesburg, but right next to Ashburn on the other side of Route 7, although the houses will probably be more expensive there.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by cheer/hockey mom

What are some neighborhoods in Ashburn you would consider with kids my age...11,9, & 7? We are looking at spending around 600,000.
Thanks for all your help!!!! I appreciate it so much! :-)

Brambleton!

[EuroExpat]

Originally Posted by cdmurphy

Brambleton!

This! And Broadlands as well.

[Ashburnite]

Pretty much every subdivision in Ashburn has a lot of kids. If you see the community names of Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village, Broadlands, Brambleton, Alexandra's Grove, Belmont Country Club, Villages at Waxpool or pretty much anything in the general area, there will be kids. If you can, try to drive around the areas to get a feel for each one since quantity and ages of kids will vary.

One thing to consider is that while most of the major communities (like listed above) have community centers, playgrounds, walking trails, and swimming pools, some of the smaller ones in the area do not. So keep amenities in mind as well.

School boundaries can change so generally speaking, the older "more established" communities have more stability with regard to school zoning changes. That, however, is no guarantee as last year there was a lot of discussion about rezoning pretty much everywhere. So if you consider places that are close to the edge of housing development be aware that as the area grows, new schools may be built and zoning boundaries may change. So don't base your home choice on a specific school.

Belmont Country Club is a gated community with a golf course, as is River Creek, which is off Route 7 between Ashburn and Leesburg. I'll keep my personal opinions of the communities out of it; but really they're all the right choice for *someone* just maybe not you. And they're all pretty nice, well-kept, family friendly, and safe communities. Crime does happen here but anything major is quite out of the ordinary.

All of the Ashburn area is a "bedroom community" meaning that there were no old downtowns that the communities were built around. Just subdivisions. Leesburg is older and has more of a historic feel in the downtown area, although there are many subdivisions surrounding it.

Good luck in your search!