McLean (Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church: section 8, for sale, insurance)

[gtownorbust]

Originally Posted by JEB77

We could probably give you more suggestions if you were more specific as to your budget, space requirements, and commuting schedule. I get the impression that you are a rush-hour commuter, in which case Vienna probably won't be a major improvement over Great Falls unless you take Metro (which usually means living within walking distance of the station or arriving at the station early enough to get a parking space).

Unfortunately I am a rush hour commuter I do have some flexibility but not much. I notice the traffic is usually lighter on Fridays, and I've been told that's because a lot of people telecommute or work compressed weeks and take Fridays off. I can see this could be a great way to go in the NOVA area!

Budget and space requirements: ideally 4 bedrooms, we're open to either townhomes or smaller houses. I'm fine with commuting an hour door to door, but would rather avoid longer than that on an average day. (I've done several years of 1.5-2 hr commutes each way and it's worn me out). Budget is up to around 825,000.

[irvine]

Originally Posted by gtownorbust

Unfortunately I am a rush hour commuter I do have some flexibility but not much. I notice the traffic is usually lighter on Fridays, and I've been told that's because a lot of people telecommute or work compressed weeks and take Fridays off. I can see this could be a great way to go in the NOVA area!

Budget and space requirements: ideally 4 bedrooms, we're open to either townhomes or smaller houses. I'm fine with commuting an hour door to door, but would rather avoid longer than that on an average day. (I've done several years of 1.5-2 hr commutes each way and it's worn me out). Budget is up to around 825,000.

I'm surprised you didn't find anything to your liking in Arlington, Falls Church, or Bethesda. $600,000 is generally the low end for a single family home in those areas. Search the real estate listings again, that is if you still want to be close to the city. If you like Vienna, the Metro Orange line is direct (i.e. no transfers) and should get you downtown within your hour commute timeframe: it's about 35 minutes from Vienna to the Capitol South station. Trains leave about every five minutes. You can use the WMATA rider tools to time your commute (you can add a mix of bus and train routes).

[gtownorbust]

Originally Posted by irvine

I'm surprised you didn't find anything to your liking in Arlington, Falls Church, or Bethesda. $600,000 is generally the low end for a single family home in those areas. Search the real estate listings again, that is if you still want to be close to the city. If you like Vienna, the Metro Orange line is direct (i.e. no transfers) and should get you downtown within your hour commute timeframe: it's about 35 minutes from Vienna to the Capitol South station. Trains leave about every five minutes. You can use the WMATA rider tools to time your commute (you can add a mix of bus and train routes).

Thank you for your advice and suggestions. I will certainly be checking further. We haven't yet been out with a realtor. My impressions are based on my own searches on HomesDataBase and Trulia, coupled with driving around neighborhoods and a few open houses. We're in the process of trying to sell our current house, so when that's done I know we'll be looking again more closely at the areas down here.

I think I need to do some trial runs where I time the commutes from various places. Hopefully this will give me more realistic ideas of what's possible.

Thanks again. And bye the way, that custard place sounds great -- I will have to try it!

[JD984]

I think you probably just need to spend more time looking and assessing the trade-offs. $825K will get you a SFH or townhouse in North or Central Arlington, McLean or Falls Church, which is probably where you want to look in NoVa if you want (1) to keep your commute under an hour; (2) the option to drive or take the Metro, and (3) schools with solid to excellent test scores. Many of the properties in your price range may be older, or have old kitchens or bathrooms, but that's not a bad trade-off for a shorter commute.

If you look at some of these properties, and decide you want something newer, the Dunn Loring and Vienna areas are a good alternative, but I'd plan on taking Metro every day. You can't really count on getting to Capitol Hill from those areas by car in less than an hour during rush hour.

[Carlingtonian]

825K will get you a damn nice SFH in N. Arl.

McLean is great, but the areas closest to DC are very expensive--e.g., on or near Chain Bridge Road (Langley) or off of Old Dominion.

If you're shooting for an easy commute to Georgetown, there are some very nice townhouses in far north Rosslyn, walking distance to the Key Bridge and Georgetown. No idea what they sell for.

I think your quickest commute to Cap Hill would be from Lyon Park in N. Arlington (off Washington Blvd/Route 50/Pershing Drive), via 395. Or if you can find another rider and take I-66 during rush hour, then somewhere near I-66 (which turns into Constitution and gives you a relatively straight shot to Cap Hill).

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

825K will get you a damn nice SFH in N. Arl.

McLean is great, but the areas closest to DC are very expensive--e.g., on or near Chain Bridge Road (Langley) or off of Old Dominion.

If you're shooting for an easy commute to Georgetown, there are some very nice townhouses in far north Rosslyn, walking distance to the Key Bridge and Georgetown. No idea what they sell for.

I think your quickest commute to Cap Hill would be from Lyon Park in N. Arlington (off Washington Blvd/Route 50/Pershing Drive), via 395. Or if you can find another rider and take I-66 during rush hour, then somewhere near I-66 (which turns into Constitution and gives you a relatively straight shot to Cap Hill).

Some of the close-in areas in McLean off Kirby Road near 123 and GW Parkway, like Potomac Hills, are quite similar to parts of North Arlington and would include homes in the OP's price range. Same for some of the neighborhoods off Old Dominion or Westmoreland heading towards Arlington (Old Dominion) or Falls Church (Westmoreland).

These areas are less than an hour to DC by car during rush hour (about 20 minutes in non-rush hour), and some of them are also close to the West Falls Church Metro station, which has a large parking lot. In some of the neighborhoods in North Arlington, if you want to commute by public transportation, you generally have to take a bus to the Metro station, unless it's within walking distance, as the stations themselves don't have dedicated lots. If you work long and/or unpredictable hours, that makes public transit less appealing.

Lyon Park would be a nice area, too. In some ways, it may feel a bit more like the OP's town in NJ than some other places in NoVa. I know it's also a short drive to DC - is it also near a Metro station (or is that Lyon Village)?

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Some of the close-in areas in McLean off Kirby Road near 123 and GW Parkway, like Potomac Hills, are quite similar to parts of North Arlington and would include homes in the OP's price range. Same for some of the neighborhoods off Old Dominion or Westmoreland heading towards Arlington (Old Dominion) or Falls Church (Westmoreland).

These areas are less than an hour to DC by car during rush hour (about 20 minutes in non-rush hour), and some of them are also close to the West Falls Church Metro station, which has a large parking lot. In some of the neighborhoods in North Arlington, if you want to commute by public transportation, you generally have to take a bus to the Metro station, unless it's within walking distance, as the stations themselves don't have dedicated lots. If you work long and/or unpredictable hours, that makes public transit less appealing.

Lyon Park would be a nice area, too. In some ways, it may feel a bit more like the OP's town in NJ than some other places in NoVa. I know it's also a short drive to DC - is it also near a Metro station (or is that Lyon Village)?

Yeah, I guess there are probably a few homes around 825 in that part of McLean.

Most of Lyon Park isn't as close to the Clarendon Metro as Lyon Village (just on the north side of Clarendon), but it's not far at all. LP has the advantage of fewer commuters and shoppers parking in the neighborhood, and there are still homes there for (guesstimate) 700-900, whereas LV starts at around 800 I think. LV is better if you commute via GW Parkway or I-66, though. Also, they're building some subsidized housing atop a church in Lyon Village (though plenty of LV isn't near that church).

[claremarie]

JEB nailed it above. We lived in Potomac Hills, and there should definitely be at least a few homes in your price range there, as well as in the Kent Gardens area and the neighborhoods near McLean HS and Haycock ES. Not the biggest and newest houses, for sure, but solid construction and larger yards than most Arlington communities. And usually a garage too, which is harder to find in North Arington. The commute should be less than an hour.

If you are still torn about neighborhoods, home rentals are a possibility. Potomac Hills had lots of State Department folks who rented their homes out while posted overseas.

[Carlingtonian]

Claremarie, is Potomac Hills an HOA? We looked at a house on Cottonwood last year (just outside the PH boundary, according to the Googler). Our only real concern was traffic on Kirby Road going toward Glebe.

[claremarie]

There is no HOA in Potomac Hills proper, but there may be one in the two neighborhoods of newer homes that are adjacent to PH.

At certain points in the morning, especially near the school drop-off times at Chesterbrook, there can be some delays at the Old Dominion light and the stop sign at Chesterbrook Rd. However, heading left from Potomac Hills towards 123/GW Parkway/Beltway, there was very little traffic at 7:30-ish, when I took my boys to school.