Moving to NoVa -Family of 6 Rental- Impossible? (Alexandria, Burke: for sale, rentals)

[MovingfromKS]

Ok, I know there's a ton of threads already and I feel like I've read them all.
But still feel like I haven't gotten the answers I need.
So here are the facts.
About us:
Family of 6
No pets currently but we would like to get a dog soon (mid to large)
Mom is SAHM
Dad works primarily in Reston but has office in Sterling as well. Will be bouncing back and forth between two locations often.
Twin Daughters in 4th Grade
Son in Kindergarten (Currently in full day and would like to keep him in a full day program)
and an infant.

What we're looking for:
Budget: $2,300 will go as high as $2,500 if absolutely necessary
Rooms: 4 Min, would like 5
Bathrooms: 2 Min
Would like Fenced Yard or at least a deck. Don't need a ton of land, Just a place to put a grill so we can entertain outdoors.
Commute: Would like to keep it under 1 hour
Good Schools with a full day kindergarten program (Currently only Fairfax and Prince William County offers)
Safe neghborhood.

Recommendations?

[Caladium]

One of the forum realtors would know for sure, but as far as I know that's quite doable right in the Reston/Sterling area. There are a lot of 4 BR townhomes and houses in that area because it's family oriented. And your budget seems reasonable to me.

[Margery]

Try HomesDatabase - Home for Sale and Rent in DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, you can start with Herndon and pan out to expand the area. 5 bedrooms is probably not doable unless the 5th bedroom is in the basement and you won't want that with young children. If you can do with half day kindergarten, there are many detached homes in the 20165 zip code (Loudoun County) in your price range. There are some detached homes in Herndon, in Fairfax county between Reston and Sterling, which would be excellent for commuting to both areas.

[djmont]

You should be able to find what you're looking for in Reston.

I did a quick search and found this rental, which seems to suit all your criteria. I'm sure there are others:

1602 Sierra Woods Dr Reston VA - Rental Home - MLS #FX7430501 - Realtor.com®

[mlv311]

Since you'll be working in Reston and Sterling, I think it's definitely doable. The hardest part will be finding a 5-bedroom. Besides homedatabase.com, I recommend you look for rentals in militarybyowner.com (just input zip codes you are interested in). Good luck.

[JfromReston]

Welcome to Reston! Your search is very realistic - however you might have to keep an eye on the market and be ready to jump when you see a good property come on the market. I just did a HomesDatabase search and several of the good prospects were listed as "application received." As others have said the 5th bedroom will be hard to find and most likely in the basement when you do find it. However, there are many homes in South Reston of the same model I live in with 5 bedrooms upstairs. I would concentrate on the 20191 and 20171 zip codes.

[MovingfromKS]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I'll definitely check out the websites. I've been all over realtor.com. Djmont, I was just looking at that townhouse! We were also looking at the townhomes right near lake thoreau and lake audubon.

I saw that herndon was right inbetween sterling and reston but I've heard that it wasn't a great place for families. Anyone living in Herndon have any recommendations on areas to focus on or areas to avoid?

We were originally looking at Ashburn and north Sterling area but started looking at fairfax county for the kindergarten program.

JFromReston, I'll definitely look in those two areas. Thanks a lot!

[MovingfromKS]

How's the southeast Fairfax County areas? Like Springfield, Annandale or Alexandria? I'm assuming I would take what ever travel time google gives me and essentially double it, is that right? I've heard the commute is horrible in the area and I remember driving there a few years back on business and it wasn't to pleasant.

[Middlin]

A lot depends on exactly where in each location as some of these wouldn't be too bad or it might have one bottleneck place. In looking, take into consideration distance to main arteries. Obviously the closer the better

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by MovingfromKS

How's the southeast Fairfax County areas? Like Springfield, Annandale or Alexandria? I'm assuming I would take what ever travel time google gives me and essentially double it, is that right? I've heard the commute is horrible in the area and I remember driving there a few years back on business and it wasn't too pleasant.

Alexandria communities east of Route 1 (e.g. Belle View, Hollin Hall, Hollin Hills, Waynewood) may appeal to you. Kingstowne (which has an Alexandria address) features newish homes and retail as well as lots of THs; SFHs may be hard to come by.

Annandale outside the (I-495) Beltway appeals to those looking for "quintessential" suburbia. West Springfield tends to get more positive press here than the rest of Springfield; nearby Burke is well-regarded as well.

All of that said, you would generally get less house for your money compared to Reston, Herndon and points due west. Unless you wanted/needed to be closer to DC, there may not be a compelling reason to consider SE Fairfax for your situation.