Family possibly relocating to NoVA (Reston, Chantilly: rentals, townhouses, neighborhood)

[AffordabilitySeeker]

Looking for housing and good schools.

I am a single parent of school aged kids- middle school and elementary school though middle schooler is looking at high school in one school term.

I am coming from the Charlotte area but haven't yet accepted a job because housing seems to be really expensive for what I am looking for. Job location is in Herndon/Reston area.

I would prefer work and school and housing be in close proximity. I am looking for a 3 bd/2 bath single family home to rent in a family friendly (parks, bike trails, walking trails, etc)..... all for around $1600 to $2200. I am searching Craigslist, realtor.com.

For schools-I am seeking an accelerated program, safe, friendly, learning environment.

Any advice is appreciated.

[saganista]

Try MilitaryByOwner.com. You don't have to be military to use it. Select VA as the state and NRO Chantilly as the nearest base. Fill in your prefs, and click submit. I got one place in Herndon (Jeff Ryan Drive) at $2200 per month. Didn't see much else that would nick even that upper end of you budget in the Herndon area...

[CaliTerp07]

There are quite a few homes listed on hotpads.com in the herndon/reston area around $2200. Most are townhouses, but there are a few SFH's if you can jump quickly.

The schools are all, in general, well thought of. You can look at specific school offerings (AP vs. IB, EC's, etc) on the FCPS homepage. Fairfax County Public Schools - Schools and Centers Directory Click on the school profile to get test data and student population info as well as course offerings and class sizes and such.

[JfromReston]

I highly recommend Reston - but in your price range you will not find single family detached houses. In your price range you will find 3/2 (and sometimes larger) townhomes. Here are a couple examples I would recommend.

10963 HARPERS SQUARE CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com
11500 HEARTHSTONE CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | HomesDatabase.com

[hilsmom]

Reston is really your best bet. BUT, I would also recommend looking along the 7100 corridor. You MIGHT even find some SFHs in the Oak Hill, Lees Corner or Greenbriar districts for the higher end of that range.

I live in Greenbriar and am very happy (my daughter attends Greenbriar West, which is an AAP center school). However, we lived in North Reston for almost 8 years and also loved it. There is one neighborhood called Stuart Ridge that is right across 7100 from North Reston that tracks to Armstrong ES - might find some rentals there.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

[AffordabilitySeeker]

Thanks for the responses, I will check the recommended sites.

I saw a few places in Chantilly. They are townhomes. Anyone who is familiar with Chantilly please provide insight. Is it family-friendly? How are the schools? There is a TH on Whipporwill that looks promising.

[reiliz]

Chantilly is basically an industrial park with houses around it.

[hilsmom]

Originally Posted by AffordabilitySeeker

Thanks for the responses, I will check the recommended sites.

I saw a few places in Chantilly. They are townhomes. Anyone who is familiar with Chantilly please provide insight. Is it family-friendly? How are the schools? There is a TH on Whipporwill that looks promising.

I just looked up that street. That is actually in south riding in loudoun. It IS Chantilly, but South Riding is a planned community with lots of amenities within it.

Chantilly in Fairfax has nice areas, but there isn't a community feel or a community center. We like our area, which actually has a Fairfax address and is right around the corner from Chantilly HS and Library.

[Candicem]

I live in Chantilly (Fairfax side) and I love it here. My kids are in elementary and go to Brookfield. The school is amazing! We moved here from CA a year and a half ago and the school really helped my daughter to adjust and make new friends. She went from hardly even reading to the top reader in her class with in a few months. (CA schools are terrible). All the teachers and staff have been amazing and very helpful and friendly. We live in a very safe family friendly neighborhood with kids on all sides the same age as mine. We are renting a town home and have a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath for $1650. I also do love South Riding, but it's just too expensive for us right now. Maybe in the future. The clean and landscaped feeling of the area reminds me of where I used to live in CA.

[Middlin]

South Riding is huge and is very family friendly. I have friends and family that live there and enjoy the community, but getting in/out of the community during rush can be very slow moving. Developments are sprouting up all around South Riding and further west which just keeps adding to the congestion. They have widened Route 50, but frankly I don't think it will do much to ease the congestion.

I would recommend Franklin Farms which may not look as maintained as South Riding and TH's are older, but it is very centrally located and feeds to excellent schools. 20171 is the zip