Moving to Reston or Herndon (Fairfax: apartment, rental, condo)

[vmcclure]

We are hoping to relocate to either Herndon or Reston from the UK later this year. Could anyone give me advice as to what average rental prices are in these areas for a 4 bedroom house? Also, what are these areas like to bring up a young family in?

[mojo_1979]

Originally Posted by vmcclure

We are hoping to relocate to either Herndon or Reston from the UK later this year. Could anyone give me advice as to what average rental prices are in these areas for a 4 bedroom house? Also, what are these areas like to bring up a young family in?

In the nicer parts of Herndon, a 4-bedroom SFH would rent for between $2000 and $2500 per month. It all depends on how desperate the LL is for a good tenant. In some of the less desireable parts of Herndon you may be able to rent this type of home for less than $2000 per month.

[smaug20000]

I was considering Reston/Herndon as well, but somehow am not thrilled with the area. Instead, I'm considering South Riding which seems like a great spot for raising children. Just throwing that out in case you want to visit South Riding as well. Such a nice development for teaching your kid to ride a bike and walking to the neighborhood swimming pool. Two of my co-workers live in South Riding and love the place.

[HerndonRes]

I live and work in the Herndon/Reston area. Whether it will suit you depends on what you're looking for. For example, I had a completely different reaction to South Riding, which I also visited when house-hunting. Two words came to mind and wouldn't leave after I went to that area -- "suburban hell." Street after curving street of all kinds of housing units, with access to the "real world" in the form of a route out of there very difficult to find. But obviously a great place to live for someone looking for something other than what I was.

Herndon, let's say the east side of it anyway, the side nearer to Fairfax County Parkway/7100, has a small-town feel to it (something that I prefer), with a lot of communities dating from the 80's, and some parts considerably older. Mostly nice, safe neighborhoods (and a couple less nice & safe) that nevertheless don't feel cut off from the rest of the town. The side of town closer to the airport is more built up, more condo/apartment housing, some taller buildings, big shopping center with stressful parking lot (can ya tell I'm a small-town girl?). I prefer the east side.

Reston is a little weird. (You can Google it, maybe check Wikipedia.) Some people love it, others hate it, few are indifferent. It has grown up quite a bit in the central part over the last decade or two I guess, with some highrises and a Town Center (big mall) with what I consider to be fairly ritzy stores. Reston's housing seems to me to date mostly from the 70's (at least what I've seen of it), and the less expensive homes look pretty dated and tend to not have garages or even driveways. There are also some really beautiful communities with lots of trees, some with lake views -- they are pretty pricey. Some people like the original Reston design which was intended to let you walk anywhere you needed to get in town -- I think there's a shopping center in walking distance of every community; other people hate what they see as a 1984-ish uber-planned town.

Herndon is in general more affordable -- a general principle along this corridor is the further east you go the higher the prices get.

Search online and if at all possible visit in advance and take a drive through communities you are interested in. Nothing beats seeing it in person. Also, try to get your hands on local papers -- you can check out where crime is being reported and where other problems may be going on. This was immensely helpful in convincing me to go as far east as I could afford (predictions of severely worsening traffic along hwy 7) and eliminating one Herndon neighborhood from consideration (I forget the name of it but it's off part of Alabama Dr./St. whatever).

House-hunting...

[MacUser85]

Greetings UK family!

My best piece of advice would be to find where you will be working first. Maybe rent for a few months first. The Reston/Herndon commute to DC is nice not to have to do if possible. You will be new here and you'll want time with your family, adjusting to your new job and hours spent commuting is just plain not fun! But if you think you will be working in the Dulles corridor or even in Tysons, Reston is great! Planned community with running/biking trails, pools, a great town center with restaurants and a cinema and then of course, close to Dulles for nonstop flights back to Heathrow!

Cheers!

[joshjungalo]

After looking around Herndon for a home, one rule of thumb I came up with in herndon is dont look to buy around the streets that are named after states....

[Darksword]

Originally Posted by joshjungalo

After looking around Herndon for a home, one rule of thumb I came up with in herndon is dont look to buy around the streets that are named after states....

Why is that? Too much traffic? Too much crime?

[scimitar12]

Originally Posted by Darksword

Why is that? Too much traffic? Too much crime?

Way too much crime and deteriorating neighborhoods, especially Alabama.

[smaug20000]

I'll just say what realtors always do, make sure to look around Reston/Herndon on the weekends and in the evenings when the residents are out so that you will be living in neighborhoods with neighors you will "enjoy." Some areas were not what I was looking for.

[vmcclure]

Thank you for all your advice. It is great to get some idea of what the areas are like and how much it's going to cost. Hopefully we'll be able to go over and have a look around before we actually move!

My husbands company is based in McClean at the moment but they are planning on moving to Herndon or Reston. We want to keep commuting down to a mimimum hence why looking in these areas.

Thank you again.