Moving to No. VA in the Fall (Arlington, Alexandria: rental, townhouses) - Northern Virginia - Virginia - City-Data Forum

mhlinnyc · 07-25-2012, 02:32 PM

Hi - Moving to Northern VA in the Fall. Will be working in Foggy Bottom and would like to commute by Metro. Any suggestions for a family w/ 2 boys ages 6 & 4. Good schools, commute under an hour, budget between $550k and $650k? Thanks in advance.

tysonsengineer · 07-25-2012, 02:51 PM

Vienna sounds perfect for you if you want a single family house, there are some along Hunter mill that is bikeable along the W&OD trail to the metro station (not on roads) or you can drive and park at metro. There are some great townhouses in Old Town Alexandria along the Braddock Road metro stop for that price also (1800sf) and walkable to old town and just a beautiful location and next to a metro.

You could also look in the West Falls Church area. Your price range near metros will need you to look for smaller houses or townhouses if you like newer and updated. Its not a deal breaker I dont think, you can definitely find a solid 3br, but I would suggest a really nice townhouse, instead of a smaller regular house.

CaliTerp07 · 07-25-2012, 02:53 PM

Agree with TE.

The other place you may want to look is West Springfield. You could take the blue line all the way in without ever switching trains, but you'd need to account for the time to get to/find parking at the metro.

mhlinnyc · 07-25-2012, 03:00 PM

Thanks for these replies. You are all very helpfull. We will probably rent to start out while we sell our house in NY. Our rent budget tops out at $3,500. We are looking in to Vienna. Are there nice neighborhoods for little kids in Alexandria? Is McLean out of our ball park? Thanks in advance........

CaliTerp07 · 07-25-2012, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhlinnyc

Thanks for these replies. You are all very helpfull. We will probably rent to start out while we sell our house in NY. Our rent budget tops out at $3,500. We are looking in to Vienna. Are there nice neighborhoods for little kids in Alexandria? Is McLean out of our ball park? Thanks in advance........

There are some really nice areas of Alexandria. The problem is that the general consensus is that the schools aren't as good as in the surrounding areas. It's puzzling to me, as there is so much affluence in the city limits, but it is what it is. Obviously some people find great success there (and I'm of the belief that your home life is a far greater indicator of success than your classmates/teachers, anyway).

Note too that "Alexandria" is deceiving. There is the city of Alexandria (ACPS) and there are Alexandria mailing addresses in Fairfax County (FCPS). There are some very nice (and plenty of not-as-nice) neighborhoods with good schools in the latter, but they are far away from metro transport and would likely give you a commute longer than you desire.

There are plenty of rental listings with 3+ bedrooms under $3500 in McLean (I searched using hotpads.com), but there is no metro in McLean, so you could have a potentially tricky commute/parking situation if you are intent on taking the trains (though I'll let someone more familiar with orange line logistics confirm or deny that).

novaman · 07-25-2012, 03:19 PM

Actually West Falls Church metro station is accessible from parts of Mclean. I live off of Great Falls St in Mclean and can walk to the metro from my house... it is right on the border.

CaliTerp07 · 07-25-2012, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by novaman

Actually West Falls Church metro station is accessible from parts of Mclean. I live off of Great Falls St in Mclean and can walk to the metro from my house... it is right on the border.

Good to know. In that case, McLean is definitely an option. (Make sure that if you don't want to disrupt schools, you could afford to buy a suitable house there after you sell your other one--it's one of the most $$$ places in the area).

irvine · 07-25-2012, 03:35 PM

Vienna, which was mentioned earlier is great.

Also along the metro, I'd look at the neighborhoods around the East and West Falls Church Metro stations (in Arlington, Falls Church and McLean). The schools are excellent, and Metro is a short walk, drive, or bus ride away.

ViennaSausages · 07-25-2012, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhlinnyc

Hi - Moving to Northern VA in the Fall. Will be working in Foggy Bottom and would like to commute by Metro. Any suggestions for a family w/ 2 boys ages 6 & 4. Good schools, commute under an hour, budget between $550k and $650k? Thanks in advance.

You can hit some of the homes of Vienna for that range. Will be towards the upper range, but you can do it.

tysonsengineer · 07-26-2012, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViennaSausages

You can hit some of the homes of Vienna for that range. Will be towards the upper range, but you can do it.

yea like I said

You can get the smaller homes in vienna (most of the 4br plus in vienna are starting in the 800s) or you can go with a very upscale and new townhouse for the middle part of your range.