Seeking family-friendly neighborhoods in NoVa (Reston, Annandale: real estate, 2014, mortgage)
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My husband is taking a job in Tysons Corner, so we will be moving to the area soon. I'm looking for a family friendly neighborhood (lots of kids playing with each other outside) for no more than $540K within a 45-min commute of Tysons Corner. It also needs to have good schools. Any recommendations appreciated!! Specific names of subdivisions would be great.
Outside of Tysons Corner itself, most of the surrounding area epitomizes suburban family-friendliness. Without knowing how many bedrooms/bathrooms you may need, I'd predict that you'd maximize your options NW of Tysons Corner in Loudoun County towns such as Ashburn and Sterling. Others more knowledgeable can provide details on specific subdivisions.
Definately look into ashburn and brambleton area. fairfax as well. leesburg would be sound advice but that will be close to your commute limit and exceeding it on some days
Ashburn is about 18 miles from Tysons. I would think that it's probably easier to get to Tysons in 45 minutes or less if you pay for the toll roads (the Dulles Greenway and Dulles Toll Road) rather than join what one C-D poster used to refer to as the daily "conga line" to Tysons on Route 7.
Reston is about 9 miles from Tysons and there are single-family homes in your price range as well there, although the variety won't be as great as further out in Ashburn and the homes likely will be a bit older. It really comes down to what's more important to you and your husband - a shorter commute or a larger and/or newer house. Either way, if possible, your husband should try out to the commute to his work place in both the AM and the PM - and then assume it may get worse - before you make a decision.
For what it's worth, the Metro will eventually arrive in Tysons, Wiehle Avenue in Reston and Ashburn. The Tysons/Wiehle stations are expected to open in 2013 or 2014, while Metro doesn't seem to have a target date yet for the completion of Phase II (which includes the Loudoun stations). Obviously, when those stations are completed commuters will have the option to commute by rail from Ashburn to Tysons Corner.
You can get a new 4-bedroom TH in Loudoun for your price range. For a SFH, that price range will get you a 20+ year old SFH either in Leesburg (but within walking distance of downtown!) or Ashburn (but in one of the county's top-performing schools!)
As for schools, the only LCPS high school I'd even hesitate to send my daughter to is Park View. You'll hear some muttering about Dominion, Tuscarora, and Heritage, but that's dependent on where in the zone you live.
If you are ok with a smaller (1050 square foot, 3BR) place, the town of Vienna awaits.
You can get a 1960s or 1970s vintage somewhat larger SFH in/around Fairfax City or Herndon. Woodson HS has a better reputation than Fairfax or Herndon HS, but again, this is quibbling.
You can get a new 4-bedroom TH in Loudoun for your price range. For a SFH, that price range will get you a 20+ year old SFH either in Leesburg (but within walking distance of downtown!) or Ashburn (but in one of the county's top-performing schools!)
As for schools, the only LCPS high school I'd even hesitate to send my daughter to is Park View. You'll hear some muttering about Dominion, Tuscarora, and Heritage, but that's dependent on where in the zone you live.
If you are ok with a smaller (1050 square foot, 3BR) place, the town of Vienna awaits.
You can get a 1960s or 1970s vintage somewhat larger SFH in/around Fairfax City or Herndon. Woodson HS has a better reputation than Fairfax or Herndon HS, but again, this is quibbling.
It looks to me from perusing the real estate sites that $540K will get you a brand-new SFH in some Ashburn neighborhoods, probably on a fairly small lot. I don't think that can said for Herndon, Reston or Vienna, although they offer a shorter commute to Tysons.
To quibble with the quibble, "reputations" of schools in jurisdictions like Fairfax or Loudoun (which operate county-wide systems) usually boil down to two factors - standardized test scores (the higher, the better) and the percentage of students receiving subsidized meals and/or learning English as a second language (the lower, the better). So understood, Woodson does have a "better reputation" than Fairfax HS and Herndon HS, but it's also the case that those schools match up well against other schools in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. One would be hard-pressed to contend that students can't get a solid education at Fairfax HS, Herndon HS or their Loudoun counterparts (or at their respective elementary and middle feeder schools).
There is no chance you can live in Ashburn and get to Tysons in 45 minutes. I lived in Herndon and it took 50-60 minutes without any incidents using the toll road most days (except for the middle of summer when schools and some feds are off).
If you live in ashburn and commute to Tysons it will take 75 minutes easily most days, and hope to god theres not an accident at hunter mill (dont worry there always is).
My suggestion, which no one has said which leads me to believe that many of the people who right on this forum are ex-urbers, is Vienna. Now you might only be able to afford a townhouse in Vienna for that budget if you want newer construction, but if you are ok with something that is only 2 stories and around 1800 sf you can find houses for that price too (they are prolly a bit outdated and need some love). If you live in Vienna you have access to great places to eat, see shows, movies, walking areas, the W O&D trail, wolftrap, and oh btw, its a 10 minute drive to Tysons. The entire area is super family friendly, more so I would say than the sterile lands of Ashburn which has nothing but houses.
If you want the big 4 bedroom house out in the farlands of northern VA then Ashburn is the place for you, if you want an actual community with community events and real families then I think Vienna is more suited to you.
Also remember when you spend 10 dollars a day on tolls + 4 or 5 dollars a day on gas, it adds up, thats 300-400 dollars a month in order to live in Ashburn and have 1 person commute to Tysons. Instead of using that money on tolls and gas you could apply it to live closer in with a larger mortgage payment. 300-400 dollars a month would translate to about $70,000 more in purchasing power for your house. And on top of that get more time with your kids and less time in traffic.
There is no chance you can live in Ashburn and get to Tysons in 45 minutes. I lived in Herndon and it took 50-60 minutes without any incidents using the toll road most days (except for the middle of summer when schools and some feds are off).
If you live in ashburn and commute to Tysons it will take 75 minutes easily most days, and hope to god theres not an accident at hunter mill (dont worry there always is).
My suggestion, which no one has said which leads me to believe that many of the people who right on this forum are ex-urbers, is Vienna. Now you might only be able to afford a townhouse in Vienna for that budget if you want newer construction, but if you are ok with something that is only 2 stories and around 1800 sf you can find houses for that price too (they are prolly a bit outdated and need some love). If you live in Vienna you have access to great places to eat, see shows, movies, walking areas, the W O&D trail, wolftrap, and oh btw, its a 10 minute drive to Tysons. The entire area is super family friendly, more so I would say than the sterile lands of Ashburn which has nothing but houses.
If you want the big 4 bedroom house out in the farlands of northern VA then Ashburn is the place for you, if you want an actual community with community events and real families then I think Vienna is more suited to you.
Also remember when you spend 10 dollars a day on tolls + 4 or 5 dollars a day on gas, it adds up, thats 300-400 dollars a month in order to live in Ashburn and have 1 person commute to Tysons. Instead of using that money on tolls and gas you could apply it to live closer in with a larger mortgage payment. 300-400 dollars a month would translate to about $70,000 more in purchasing power for your house. And on top of that get more time with your kids and less time in traffic.
Since others were recommending Ashburn, I'd assumed they'd read the OP's "requirements" and were confirming you could get to Tysons in 45 minutes. 50 minutes from Herndon to Tysons on the Toll Road? Wow. Guess they can't build the Silver Line fast enough.
As to Vienna, both stpickrell and I used to live there (he moved to Leesburg and I moved to McLean), and he did mention it in his post. It's a great place, particularly for those working in the Tysons area, but $540K doesn't necessarily go too far there. The money that might buy you a relatively new 4-BR in Loudoun or many other parts of the country will generally get you a 1950s rambler with 1350 SF or less in the Town of Vienna or maybe a slightly larger house right outside the Town.
It's certainly my impression there's plenty for families to do in Ashburn as well. Very good sports facilities and very good schools, and not too far from Dulles Town Center. Brambleton has its own town center as well. The homes were all built in the last 20 years or so, but I don't see why they are any more "sterile" than blocks of 1950s ramblers in the Town of Vienna or my old subdivision of Colonials outside the Town of Vienna, which was built later.
Fairfax Station is a nice area, you'll need to get used to using 495 and 95 to get everywhere though because there arent that many jobs in the SE part of the county if you arent military. Annandale is a bit blighted right now, they are trying to fix it, but its awork in progress. Springfield (I grew up there) ehhhh, parts are ok and parts are really awful.
Fairfax proper is a great area thats really coming around now. Its beginning to be a lot more like Vienna (which is a very good thing) and you can find good properties there for cheaper than Vienna or McLean.
I agree with JEB if you really need the 4br then you need to probably head to Loudoun, but if you could do with a 3br, with slightly smaller components, I think you will find that you have a lot more time available for your kids than others who live out in the far exurbs. I think time with parents is what kids want the most, more than how big their house is.
Sounds like your doing some good homework though and you will find the right fit for yourself.
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