Prince William County vs. Fairfax County for Relocation (Burke, Reston: to rent, movers) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

ChristineVA · 06-28-2015, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashley Tauzier

I'm a Realtor so I do not have your typical commute into DC. I drive at all different times of day. My husband works in Chantilly and just takes 29 in and doesn't think it is bad. I have several friends and neighbors that commute into DC though. One of my best friends husband takes the bus from manassas to the Pentagon daily. It takes him about 1.5 hours at most in total from house to Pentagon.

Okay, I was just wondering. I have a friend in Bristow and her husband's commute into DC via VRE is a hike. I was wondering how Gainesville compared as well as if someone was actually driving that.

I agree, though, that it's a good location if you work out towards the west of PWC and Fairfax.

Ashley Tauzier · 06-28-2015, 03:33 PM

I live on the line of Bristow and Gainesville but on the Gainesville side, very close to the VA Gateway. Bristow, Gainesville and Haymarket just run right into one another in my opinion. As for commute no matter where you live you have to deal with traffic. I personally prefer commuting on 66 as opposed to 95 though, but neither is fun.

noahzarc1 · 06-29-2015, 04:45 PM

Thanks Ashley. We noticed on Zillow that the school ratings in Manassas Park were not that great, so it gave us pause. I have a friend in Bristow and a friend in Gainesville. It sounds like they are one and the same. What type of activities are in the areas of Bristow/Gainesville for a 4 and 2 yo. My wife is an RN, so we heard the Prince William hospital was in the area? Are you familiar with that? Do you have any housing developments you would recommend? I heard Braemar was really nice and the middle school was very good and new.

What are the child care options in that area? What can we look to spend on childcare? What are the pre-school options in that area? What other family type suggestions/activities do you have for us? :-)

I heard there is a Wegmans in the area, which has me really excited. They got their start up in my hometown, and I've been on the west coast 16 years, so it would be good to experience some hometown flair again.

noahzarc1 · 06-29-2015, 05:16 PM

Good advice. Thanks. Yes, we've definitely found Prince William has the type of home we're used to or would be looking for. I've recently heard about the slugging thing. That is just odd to me, but I'm sure I'll become familiar with it as time goes by. I would be mainly looking to use the VRE, but I know I have to have other options planned out. We're still exploring the child care options, but heard it can get pricey.

Ashley Tauzier · 06-29-2015, 08:25 PM

Things to do: Regal theater does $1 movies on Tuesday and Wednesday's over the summer, VA Gateway has interactive fountains the kids can play in, VA Gateway has tot times during the week-not sure on times, they have summer concert times on Saturdays for families, I go to the library in Manassas often with my girls for the activities, there are a few bounce houses-bounce mania and jumpin jimmy's, they also have a new place called Mila's playground which I heard was great for littler children.

Hospital: The new NOVANT hospital is located in Haymarket. I have unfortunately had to visit it a few times and it is a very nice facility.

Developments: Braemar is a very large community with lots of amenities and child care options within the neighborhood. I personally live in Morris Farms and think it is great. We have a really awesome community feel and the elementary school is inside the neighborhood!! Initially when we were moving to the area we started looking in Braemar and decided to go with Morris Farms, the homes are both built by Brookfield, but Morris Farms is a newer.

Childcare: Personally my younger daughter went to St. Paul's in Haymarket, they are changing names next year to St. Michael's. They start with Mothers Morning out at age 2 and go up to 4th grade. My younger daughter went there for prek and Kindergarten and for the area I felt they were reasonably priced. We moved from Georgia and it was about 3 times more expensive though, so it took some adjusting. I can't say enough good things about the school though. My daughter is has learned so much and is far above grade level.

Wegmans: Yes we have one on 29!! It is awesome, but I don't have to tell you that!

Ok I think I covered everything. Feel free to message me if you have any other specific questions!
Good luck on your house hunt.

noahzarc1 · 06-30-2015, 12:25 AM

Wow Ashley, thank. I read your message with my wife and I think you just about hit it all. Very informative post and great ideas in there. We just sent our realtor about 5 homes in the Bristow area we want to check out soon. So am I safe to assume the VRE from the Broad Run VRE stop into DC is around an hour to an hour-fifteen? We found so many awesome housing opportunities that were with in 10 minutes of the VRE, that an hour-fifteen to an hour--twenty commute does not seem bad at all.

Everyone I know that recommended Burke to me all rent out there. So yes, they've found housing within 1-5 minutes of the Burke VRE, but they are all rental properties. I heard the Burke VRE stop is about 40-45 minutes into DC. To sustain an extra 30 minutes in commute to have a home and land, etc, seems worth it to me.

So is St. Michael's a Catholic church or what exactly is that? We have parents day out here, which sounds similar to mother's day out you were mentioning. Do you know the prices on that for 1 and 2 kids? So it runs through the summer? That is super helpful if it does.

Are you aware of any type of parents evenings out that provide childcare? We have Presbyterian church close by, and they do PNO on Friday nights from 6-10. It was extremely reasonable, and really allowed you to look forward to a Friday night with your spouse. However, it only runs from end of August to early May (with breaks for Thanksgiving/Christmas-New Year). They could've made a killing if they ran through the summer out here, but that is how it is set up. Anyway, I was curious if there were any options like that for us to have date nights and the kids to have a great place for activity?

Thanks again for all of your info!

noahzarc1 · 06-30-2015, 12:28 AM

Wow Ashley, thank. I read your message with my wife and I think you just about hit it all. Very informative post and great ideas in there. We just sent our realtor about 5 homes in the Bristow area we want to check out soon. So am I safe to assume the VRE from the Broad Run VRE stop into DC is around an hour to an hour-fifteen? We found so many awesome housing opportunities that were with in 10 minutes of the VRE, that an hour-fifteen to an hour--twenty commute does not seem bad at all.

Everyone I know that recommended Burke to me all rent out there. So yes, they've found housing within 1-5 minutes of the Burke VRE, but they are all rental properties. I heard the Burke VRE stop is about 40-45 minutes into DC. To sustain an extra 30 minutes in commute to have a home and land, etc, seems worth it to me.

So is St. Michael's a Catholic church or what exactly is that? We have parents day out here, which sounds similar to mother's day out you were mentioning. Do you know the prices on that for 1 and 2 kids? So it runs through the summer? That is super helpful if it does.

Are you aware of any type of parents evenings out that provide childcare? We have Presbyterian church close by, and they do PNO on Friday nights from 6-10. It was extremely reasonable, and really allowed you to look forward to a Friday night with your spouse. However, it only runs from end of August to early May (with breaks for Thanksgiving/Christmas-New Year). They could've made a killing if they ran through the summer out here, but that is how it is set up. Anyway, I was curious if there were any options like that for us to have date nights and the kids to have a great place for activity?

Thanks again for all of your info!

FCNova · 06-30-2015, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashley Tauzier

I live on the line of Bristow and Gainesville but on the Gainesville side, very close to the VA Gateway. Bristow, Gainesville and Haymarket just run right into one another in my opinion. As for commute no matter where you live you have to deal with traffic. I personally prefer commuting on 66 as opposed to 95 though, but neither is fun.

Sure no matter where you live around here there's traffic. But don't be so flippant about it and act like everyone deals with the same amount. You can definitely deal with less if you live closer to work, unfortunately that usually means buying less house. It's a personal choice obviously but traffic problems can be mitigated if people really want to.

HereinVA · 06-30-2015, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noahzarc1

Are you aware of any type of parents evenings out that provide childcare? We have Presbyterian church close by, and they do PNO on Friday nights from 6-10. It was extremely reasonable, and really allowed you to look forward to a Friday night with your spouse. However, it only runs from end of August to early May (with breaks for Thanksgiving/Christmas-New Year). They could've made a killing if they ran through the summer out here, but that is how it is set up. Anyway, I was curious if there were any options like that for us to have date nights and the kids to have a great place for activity?

Thanks again for all of your info!

My kids are older now, so we haven't had to use it for years, but when they were younger we sometimes brought our kids to Jumpin' Jimmy's parents night out. I believe it was from 6-9 pm every Friday, $25 per kid, and included pizza and drink? But like I said, it's been a few years so they may have changed the terms.
Jump-n-Jimmy's - Home

Also, my kids preschool offered a parents night out once per month. From what I remember, it was about the same cost/hours-but that will vary by preschool (if they even offer it.)

Ashley Tauzier · 06-30-2015, 07:01 AM

FCNova never my intention to be flippant about traffic, sorry to offend.

Anyway, St Michael's is an Episcopalian church. The school is located off premises from the church. I am not sure the exact cost. I know for Kindergarten it was $500 a month. They do offer summer camps all through the summer. As well as before school and after school programs.

For PNOs I was also going to suggest Jump n Jimmy's. If your kids get involved in dance, karate, gymnastics, etc those places sometimes offer PNOs as well.